Chinese legislature passes its first climate change resolution

New laws to combat global warming are highly likely, according to the state media
Jonathan Watts
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 27 August 2009 16.45 BST

China's top legislative body approved its first climate change resolution today and announced plans to draw up new laws to combat global warming, according to the state media.
The moves by the rubber-stamp National People's Congress are timed to strengthen China's negotiating position as it prepares a new announcement on emissions policy before the UN climate change talks in Copenhagen in December.
Environmentalists welcomed the unusually high degree of attention that the NPC's standing committee paid to the environment during a week-long session in which lawmakers also debated a more ambitious target for renewable energy.
Details of the final resolution were not immediately available, but a draft submitted this week called on the government to take further measures to control greenhouse gas emissions and invest more in low carbon technology.
But there was tough language on international negotiations, noting that China would defend its right to further economic development.
Senior lawmakers said further action would follow. "China will draw up new laws and regulations to provide a legal basis for combating climate change," Wang Guangtao, director of the NPC's environment and resource protection committee was quoted as saying by the China Daily.
While apparently lacking specific targets to reduce emissions, the resolution was welcomed by environmental groups.
"It's very significant. For the first time, they have put climate change at the core of economic and social planning at all levels of government," said Yang Ailun, climate and energy campaign manager for Greenpeace China. "This lays the ground for China to make a big announcement ahead of Copenhagen."
Ahead of those crucial climate talks in December, Yang said the government appeared to be leaning towards a mid-term target for carbon intensity, as first reported in the Guardian.
This would represent progress from China's current policy of reducing energy use relative to gross domestic product in the latest five-year economic plan.
But even the setting of a carbon intensity goal for 2020 would disappoint hopes that China will set a target for overall emissions to peak. Last week, an influential research panel said this might be possible by 2030, but the government has given no suggestion it will make this into policy.
The draft resolution called for the government to strengthen its early warning systems and make better preparation for extreme events, such as typhoons. It recommends greater investment in water-saving technologies and low carbon energy.
"We should make carbon reduction a new source of economic growth, and change the economic development model to maximise efficiency, lower energy consumption and minimise carbon discharges," the draft says.
All of the measures included in the draft resolution were previously outlined in government white papers, but environmentalists said the issue has moved to a more prominent position in the nation's political system and a climate change law is highly likely.
"This is a good step forward," said Yang Fuqiang, the director of global climate solutions at the China office of the World Wildlife Fund. "Before we only had government policy, which local governments could challenge, but a law would be harder to violate."
Lawmakers are also discussing a revision of the renewable energy law that could set the stage for the government to raise its target for wind, hydro, nuclear, solar and biomass, currently set at 15% of the total energy mix by 2020.
China is already ahead of its interim goals for wind, hydro and nuclear power. Each extra percentage point that can be added to the renewables target by 2020 is estimated to save 150 million tonnes of coal equivalent.