Government and Policy

China drafting special law on climate change

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-04-27 06:43

BRUSSELS -?China's chief negotiator to UN climate change talks said here on Tuesday that the country is drafting a special law dedicated to climate change and will explore a low carbon development path suitable to China.

"We are in the process of preparing for a special law dedicated to climate change and we have already set up a working group and started the preliminary work," Xie Zhenhua said while attending the launch of a study of climate change-related legislation by Global Legislators Organization (GLOBE).

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Xie, vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China's top economic planning body, said China attached great importance to the legislation of climate change and has already published relevant regulations concerning the management of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects and international cooperation on climate change.

In its latest efforts, the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, has approved the country's 12th Five-Year Plan in March, identifying the proactive approach to combat climate change as a key element.

According to the plan, China will reduce energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product (GDP) by 16 percent and lower CO2 emission per unit of GDP by 17 percent in the next five years. And the targets are "legally binding domestically," Xie said.

The vice chairman said that China will draw on experiences from other countries in climate change legislation and deepen cooperation with its global partners.

The study launched by GLOBE revealed that legislation is being advanced, to varying degrees, in all of the 16 major economies.

"It is particularly encouraging that the large developing countries of Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa-- who together represent the engine of global economic growth"-- are developing comprehensive laws to tackle climate change," the report noted.

But the report said that current legislation does not yet, cumulatively, add up to what is necessary to avoid dangerous climate change.

GLOBE said it hoped that the report will act as a baseline from which legislators will work to further advance legislation in 2011 and beyond.