US 'could nullify Kyoto'

2005-02-17 09:13

Beijing - China, the second largest producer of greenhouse gases after the United States, criticised Washington on Thursday for refusing to sign the Kyoto protocol, saying its failure to join the pact could doom efforts to reverse global warming.

Heavily coal-dependent China is a signatory to the agreement, which went into effect on Wednesday, but as a developing country is not required to limit its own greenhouse gas emissions.

"The negative impact of the US absence from the protocol on fighting global warming is obvious," the state-run newspaper China Daily said in an editorial.

"As the largest emitter of greenhouse gases, the United States' failure to reduce its gas emissions to below its 1990 level could nullify the global undertaking."

The Kyoto Protocol, adopted in Japan's ancient capital in 1997, imposes legally binding requirements on 35 industrialised states to cut their emissions in an effort to reverse rising world temperatures. The treaty has been ratified by 140 nations.

Stricter standards

The United States has refused to ratify the agreement, saying it would harm its economy and is flawed by the lack of restrictions on emissions by emerging economies such as China and India.

Two decades of rapid industrialisation have left China's cities and much of the countryside cloaked in a haze of noxious smog. A sharp rise in private car ownership has added increased levels of vehicle exhaust to the mix.

The China Daily said that the Kyoto agreement spotlighted environmental challenges China must meet.

"As the most populous country in the world and the second largest emitter, China has a huge stake in keeping its growth momentum in a sustainable way," the newspaper said.

China says that emissions of major pollutants have dropped in recent years but acknowledges that the country's total output of waste is unsustainable.

The government has said it plans to impose progressively stricter standards on cars and trucks to cut vehicle exhaust and to lessen its reliance on goal by switching to natural gas and other cleaner fuels. - AP

- SAPA