China's premier says rich nations should ditch 'unsustainable' lifestyles
Posted: 07 November 2008 1728 hrs

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BEIJING: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said on Friday that rich nations should alter their lifestyles to help tackle global warming, at the start of a two-day meeting on climate change, state media reported.

"The developed countries have a responsibility and an obligation to respond to global climate change by altering their unsustainable way of life," Wen was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.

Developed countries should also help developing countries respond to climate change, Wen said, according to the agency.

The gathering in Beijing, which is being attended by representatives from 76 nations, is expected to focus on development and transfer of technology that can help tackle climate change.

China proposed last week that rich nations devote one percent of their economic output toward helping poor countries fight global warming.

A lack of firm funding commitments could derail efforts to cut emissions in developing countries, especially during times of economic turmoil, a senior Chinese climate policy official warned then.

Rich nations that signed the landmark Kyoto Protocol have targets for cutting greenhouse gases and talks are under way to complete a new global agreement on tackling climate change by the end of next year.

China has long resisted calls to join rich nations in setting targets for emissions cuts, saying its relatively low per capita emissions and recent emergence as a major source of greenhouse gases should exempt it from action.

Scientists said in September that China had leapfrogged the United States as the world's biggest producer of carbon dioxide (CO2), one of the principal gases that cause global warming.


- AFP/so