Climate skeptics would still argue that climate change is just a figment of some mad scientists' imagination. They still believe that the melting of the Arctic ice is good for business, and thus the world, and still deny that the weird weather patterns such as freak storms, severe winters, intense rainfall and unbearably hot summers have anything to do with climate change.

In this grim situation, China perhaps has the most important role to play. China realized the importance of environmental protection long ago. It has already decided to change its economic growth model by reducing air, soil and water pollution. And the thick smog shrouding parts of the country has made it realize what delay in taking action against climate change can lead to. China, given its espousal of ecological civilization, is in a position to lead the world toward an eco-friendly road to economic development, which can be paved at the annual sessions of the National People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. But the policies that are meant to lead to that road have to be carefully devised and should be free of contradictions. For instance, we cannot have perpetual economic growth and a healthy environment at the same time. Or for that matter, we cannot continue to sell unlimited number of cars and burn huge volumes of fossil fuels and expect our skies to be blue.

Economic growth is necessary to feed China's huge population and grant it a better life. But if the urbanization drive continues to swallow agricultural land at the current pace where will the food to feed the people come from? The path to a better future is tough. But the Chinese leadership can be trusted to tread that path with success, because if it wants to it can take up cudgels for the people against big money. And more importantly, there is no other path to human salvation.

The author is a senior editor with China Daily. E-mail: oprana@hotmail.com.