China's special representative for climate change talks, Yu Qingtai, urged the international community to conduct substantive negotiations aimed at securing a new global post-2012 agreement on climate change by 2009.

 

Speaking at the UN General Assembly debate on climate change, Yu said that the Bali roadmap, adopted at the UN climate conference last December by delegates from nearly 190 nations, is "only a beginning."

 

"The international community must continue with the task of conducting substantive consultations and negotiations, so as to insure a final agreement on the post-2012 international cooperation on climate change within the next two years," he said.

 

Yu emphasized that any framework for future arrangements must be firmly based on the principles established by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) and the Kyoto Protocol, particularly the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities.

 

The four building blocks of the roadmap -- mitigation, adaptation, technology transfer and financing, are all important components for developing an effective framework for responding to climate change, and should be given equal attention, and none of them should be neglected, he noted.

 

Urging developed countries to further strengthen policies and measures aimed at emission reduction, the special envoy said the concerns by developing countries over adaptation, technology transfer and financing should be addressed in earnest, so that they will have the capacity to make greater contributions to confronting the challenge from climate change.

 

"The effectiveness of participation by the developing countries will, to a significant extent, depend on whether the developed countries will take substantive actions on financial and technological assistance," he said.

 

"Effective mechanisms should be set up as soon as possible to insure that measurable, reportable and verifiable assistance be provided to the developing countries with regard to financial resources, technology and capacity building," he said.

 

China takes climate change "very seriously" and have adopted various policies and measures to respond to the challenge, with "noticeable success," he said.

 

"While making our own due contribution, we will also help other developing countries to enhance their ability to adapt to climate change," Yu added.

 

Representatives, including some 20 ministers, from more than 100 countries and international organizations attended the two-day high-level session and exchanged views on ways to move forward the negotiating process launched in the Bali conference.

 

(Xinhua News Agency February 13, 2008)