MEDIA REACTION: COPENHAGEN SUMMIT

UNCLAS HONG KONG 002179 DEPT FOR INR/R/MR, INR/IC/CD, I/FW DEPT FOR EAP/PD, EAP/CM, EAP/P DEPT FOR VOA/BRF, TV-WPA WHITE HOUSE FOR NSC PRC POSTS FOR PA AIT USPACOM FOR FOR CIS PD ADVISER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: COPENHAGEN SUMMIT TOPIC: Copenhagen Summit HEADLINES AND EXCERPTS: "The right move on the climate chessboard" The independent English-language South China Morning Post had this editorial (11/27): "In less than a year, China has moved from being a pariah to an advocate in the run-up to the climate talks in Copenhagen next month... Unlike the U.S., Australia and the European Union, it has not declared a target for an outright cut to carbon emissions, pledging instead to reduce its carbon intensity, the amount of greenhouse gases it produces as measured against its economic output. But the commitments Beijing has already made towards establishing a low-carbon economy have convinced many doubters that it means business. "Ed Miliband, the British energy and climate secretary, and Todd Stern, the U.S. special envoy for climate change, have acknowledged China's efforts in recent months. This is not just a matter of the central government seizing the initiative to make sure China is not diplomatically isolated if the Copenhagen talks fail... The truth is that Beijing is genuinely scared by what extreme climate change could do to the nation's farming regions, food supply, the livelihoods of tens of millions of farmers -- and the threats such disruptions pose to the rest of the economy.... In the end, though, Beijing's ability to rein in emissions will ultimately depend on the nature of the economy. "It has long relied on industrial investment and exports to promote economic growth. This tendency has been exacerbated by the massive stimulus program launched in the wake of the global financial crisis. A shift towards domestic consumption and services will not only help rebalance world trade and reduce its massive trade surplus that has antagonized many trading partners... It will cut emissions and energy consumption on a sufficiently large scale to reverse global emission trends. )/LHQQ+[-language Hong Kong Economic Times had this editorial (11/27): "No doubt, it is great news to most global environmentalists that both the U.S. and China, the two top greenhouse gas emitting countries in the world, support the upcoming Copenhagen Summit. Behind the scene, it is, actually, an economic competition between the two... The Chinese government finally realized climate change has become a matter of 'life-or-death.' Developing energy efficiency technology, the so called fourth industrial revolution, has become a key to survive in the coming decades." "Green clock starts ticking" The English-language China Daily HK Edition had this editorial (11/27): "China's pledge to substantially reduce its greenhouse gas emissions in the next decade will not only boost the prospects of a global deal on climate change at next month's conference in Copenhagen, but also is a clarion call from the world's largest developing economy that it's going all out to embrace a low-carbon future. The country will cut carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by 40 to 45 percent by 2020, taking 2005 as the base year. The government decision, announced yesterday, was voluntary and based on existing national conditions... If the rest of the developing world sees that a country like China can thrive by emitting less, they will find more reason to throw their weight behind a global deal on climate change. Of course, that decision will also depend on whether the rich countries keep their promise of transferring technology and providing financial aid to poor countries to enable them to fight climate change." MARUT