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China lauds US climate bill but more action needed

By TINI TRAN,Associated Press Writer AP - Saturday, June 27

BEIJING - China's chief climate change official said Friday a major U.S. bill calling for nationwide limits on greenhouse gases is a key step forward but much more action will be needed to reach an agreement during talks on global warming at the end of the year.

The U.S. House of Representatives will vote Friday on the landmark bill, which introduces sweeping legislation that would impose the first mandatory cap on U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. It would still have to pass the U.S. Senate before becoming law.

Xie Zhenhua, vice minister of the National Development and Reform Commission in charge of China's climate policy, said in an interview that the bill marks a positive break from Washington's former stance on global warming issues.

"The legislation is a positive change from the attitude of the Bush administration on climate change, and it is a big step forward," he told a small group of reporters in Beijing. At the same time, it still falls short of international expectations of U.S. action.

China and the U.S. have long demanded that the other take steps to control greenhouse emissions. China has said that global warming is largely the responsibility of rich nations, which have historically contributed more to the buildup of greenhouse gases. Global climate change talks have been stalled over the reluctance of both nations to commit to emission reductions.

China and the United States _ the world's two largest emitters of greenhouse gases _ account for an estimated 40 percent of the world's total emissions. Observers have noted that without the cooperation of the two countries, no global framework for climate change will be possible.

The current Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012, was deemed largely ineffective because it made no demands on developing nations, and the U.S. refused to sign it.

"We hope the U.S. government could do more and better. If the U.S. government takes more positive and stronger action on the issue of dealing with climate change, especially emissions reduction, there will be a bigger push to the meeting in Copenhagen at the end of this year," he said.

This December, United Nations-led talks will seek to forge a framework for a global treaty on climate change in Denmark.

The landmark U.S. legislation centers on a "cap and trade program" that has emission reduction targets of 17 percent by 2020 and 84 percent by 2050, below 2005 levels. It would require factories, refineries and power plants to cut emissions of carbon dioxide and six other greenhouse gases, blamed for global warming.

However, the targets are still far below the cuts that developing nations have demanded from the United States and other developed nations. They have said that industrialized nations must cut emissions by 25 to 40 percent from 1990 levels by 2020 to prevent climate disasters.

Earlier this month, the United States backed away from its long-held position that China submit to mandatory caps on greenhouse emissions. Instead, China and other developing nations should agree to binding actions in reducing greenhouse gases that can be measured, verified and reported, U.S. officials said.

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