Climate summit

Analysts and environmental organizations worldwide have welcomed the Chinese initiative to cut its greenhouse gas emissions as a significant move, a good gesture and a strong signal.

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) welcomed China’s announcement of specific targets for emission cuts.

Kim Carstensen, leader of WWF International's global climate initiative, said it was an important boost to the summit, increasing the chances that an ambitious global climate deal can be agreed on.

He told Deutsche Welle that the fact that both the Chinese and the US leaders plan to attend the Copenhagen meeting was a fantastic development. It was, he said "a clear indication that climate change is on the international agenda of world leaders and that they do see the Copenhagen meeting as a place where important decisions need to be made."

China on Thursday unveiled its first concrete target to curb greenhouse gas emissions, a goal that Premier Wen Jiabao will present at the Copenhagen talks as his government's central commitment.

China plans to reduce its carbon intensity - the amount of carbon dioxide emitted for each unit of gross domestic product (GDP) - 40 to 45 percent by 2020, compared with 2005 levels.

"This is a huge morale booster," said John Hay, spokesman for the Bonn-based UN Climate Change Secretariat, referring to the Chinese target as well as US President Barack Obama’s planned participation.

World's biggest polluters

The Chinese announcement comes on the heels of confirmation by the White House that US President Barack Obama will attend the summit bearing the first concrete US plan to reduce carbon emissions.

The United States has said it would cut greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020. Many experts regard the offer as inadequate, as it is far below the 25 - 40 percent cut from 1990 levels recommended by the UN climate panel.

UN climate chief Yvo de Boer said on Wednesday that a US offer could "help pave the way for a successful outcome at Copenhagen."

The goal of the talks is a new global treaty to replace the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.

Meanwhile, leading German reinsurer Munich Re on Thursday joined other voices appealing for a successful summit, saying that global warming already is costing billions of dollars per year.

"Our statistics clearly show that the loss burden from weather-related natural catastrophes is increasing," said Munich Re board member

Torsten Jeworrek.

db/AP/Reuters/AFP

Editor: Kyle James