Climate envoy defends Beijing after UK attack Cheung Chi-fai Dec 23, 2009 Email to friend Print a copy Bookmark and Share Hong Kong's environment minister has sprung to China's defence after British leaders, including Prime Minister Gordon Brown, blamed Beijing for the disappointing outcome of the Copenhagen climate summit. Edward Yau Tang-wah, secretary for the environment, who took part in the talks as a member of the Chinese delegation, said China had been positive, proactive and progressive throughout. "China has been more honourable than many others and it has acted responsibly," said Yau, who ended his one-week trip to the Danish capital yesterday. Yau was the most senior Hong Kong official to join Chinese negotiators in international climate talks since 2003 when the Kyoto Protocol was extended by Beijing to Hong Kong. His comments came after senior British officials accused China of vetoing a possible deal during the talks, which could have included a deep cut in global emissions, and emissions from developed countries. Yau said China had tried to engage in discussions with different groups at the conference and had even offered a voluntary carbon intensity reduction target before the talks. Carbon intensity is the amount of carbon by weight emitted per unit of energy consumed. He also defended the outcome of the talks, the 12-point Copenhagen Accord. "Even if it is not an accord that everyone is satisfied with, this is not something that makes perfect the enemy of the good," Yau said. Yau said the climate talks began with rifts between the different parties, and a sense of distrust in many of the lengthy and difficult debates, which were often marred by disputes over procedural matters. "Doubts were often raised over who chaired the conference, what texts were used and drafted by whom, resulting in many disputes ... it all boiled down to the question of mutual distrust," Yau said. "The chairman of the conference was changed three times ... and it seemed there were too many leaders but too few negotiators." As for the implications of the talks on Hong Kong, Yau said the city would not slow down its efforts to tackle climate change, but the government was reviewing how to co-ordinate with the mainland on target-setting. The mainland has voluntarily proposed to cut carbon intensity by 45 per cent below the 2005 level by 2020. "We should not take stock of what has been done, but focus on what more can be done," Yau said, adding that a Hong Kong climate change study would be completed next year.
LOL That is like a bxtchslap to Americans energy consumption users when the average person there used about 11kW compare the world at 2kW.. lol I suggest everyone to ignore the West and all other 3rd world and poor nations join together and form their own organizations. The truth is that the west care less about other country, all this spreading of democracy is nothing but a cover up of its ugly side and its true intention for the world. People of the world need to stop being stupxd and believe every brainwashing that is coming out of their mouth.
Dont u just wanna throw up reading as if these western leaders are trying hard to rescue the world and yet they are the 1s who are forcing others to clean their poop...look at the emission per capita of the west, compare it to china's or the developing world's. now who are the 1s who really need to change their greedy,gluttony,swinish lifestyles to make a difference in the world? The soltuion does not lie in people who live in mud houses and earn less than a dollar a day and instead, it would really make an ocean of difference if western bratz and teens tone down their lavish lifestyles and voracious appetitie for shopping, really...
We will never know the truth unless we experience both sides of the world ourselves, by that meaning actually going to the nastier sides of both cultures. We can't just, despite this being an Asian cultural site, always say "screw the west" or the "west are evil", we must also understand that we as Asians have our fair share of nastiness in this world. I guess, all humans should be blamed on what is happening to the world's environment. Like the minister said, we should be working on solving the problem.
