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EU Environment Chief Says He Is Confident China Will Improve Environment
The European Union's Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said Sunday he is confident China will improve its environment, but it may be too soon for Beijing to commit itself to cutting emissions. "I think it's too early for China to take a decision for reductions, but what China and other countries can do is contribute in the fight against climate change," Dimas told a news conference. "They can contribute by increasing the proportion of renewable energy sources it uses in the total energy supply of the country, increasing energy efficiency and employing clean technology that reduces emissions of carbon dioxide." Dimas was answering a question on whether he was hopeful China will agree to emission cuts in the second phase of the Kyoto Protocol, the global pact to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Kyoto Protocol sets legally binding targets for developed countries to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases blamed for global warming by 2012. China, India and other emerging economies that require large amounts of energy to fuel their rapid growth are not part of the targeted emissions cuts. The United States has refused to sign the treaty because it says developing countries must also be fully involved in any effective remedy to combat global warming. Dimas said Sunday the Chinese government "fully realizes" the seriousness of climate change. China is expected to surpass the United States in greenhouse gas emissions in a few years. "I'm absolutely sure the situation is not hopeless because the Chinese government is determined to take the right measures to improve the situation and they have already taken some measures that have helped improve the situation," Dimas said. He said China has ordered some factories to cut sulfur dioxide emissions by 46 percent. He also said China was paying a lot of attention to wind energy and has set up both offshore and inland windmills. By 2008 when Beijing will host the Olympic Games, the air quality in Beijing will be much better, as good as it was during the Athens Olympics, said Dimas, who is Greek. But he added: "The development of renewable energy is very important to resolving Chinese cities' energy problem." He emphasized solar energy and biomass energy should be explored along with wind energy. Dimas was speaking ahead of a two-day renewable energy conference starting in Beijing Monday. He said the conference, in which China and the EU will discuss ways to cooperate on developing the use of renewable energy, was significant because it was rare for such a meeting to be held outside the industrialized world. All rights reserved. � 2004 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse. Related Links SpaceWar Search SpaceWar Subscribe To SpaceWar Express 
400,000 People In China Die Prematurely From Air Pollution Annually: Expert
Beijing, China (AFP) Oct 25, 2005More than 400,000 people in China die prematurely annually from air pollution, according to an unpublished study by the research arm of the government's environmental protection agency, AFP learned Tuesday.
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