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    December 13, 2011

China: Canada's Kyoto Protocol Withdrawal 'Regrettable'

   Stephanie Ho | Beijing
   Ministers gather in a huddle where agreement was reached to extend the
   Kyoto Protocol during a plenary session at the United Nations Climate
   Change Conference (COP17) in Durban, December 11, 2011. Photo: Reuters
   Ministers gather in a huddle where agreement was reached to extend the
   Kyoto Protocol during a plenary session at the United Nations Climate
   Change Conference (COP17) in Durban, December 11, 2011.

   China is calling Canada's decision to withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol
   "regrettable" and says it goes against the efforts of the international
   community. Canada's move comes days after climate-change negotiators
   met to hammer-out a global deal in Durban, South Africa.
   Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin expressed China's dismay at the
   news that Canada had pulled out of the Kyoto Protocol.
   He says the timing is particularly bad, because negotiators at the
   just-concluded Durban conference made what he described as important
   progress on the issue of the Kyoto Protocol's second commitment period.
   Liu says Canada's move goes against the efforts of the international
   community and is regrettable. He says Beijing hopes Canada will face up
   to its obligations, honor its commitments and actively participate in
   international efforts to fight climate change.
   Canada Monday announced that it is pulling out of the Kyoto Protocol, a
   treaty hammered out in 1997 that calls for major industrialized nations
   to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
   The United States never ratified the Kyoto Protocol. The accord
   recognizes China as a developing country and so does not impose
   mandated emissions reduction targets on Beijing.
   China and the United States are the world's two biggest emitters of
   carbon gases that many scientists say exacerbate global warming.
   Liu indicated that Ottawa's decision will not affect Beijing's actions.
   He says China has been actively participating in the international
   effort against climate change and made what he describes as "utmost
   efforts" for the Durban meeting's success. He says this will continue
   in the future.
   The Chinese negotiator at Durban, Xie Zhenhua, says he is concerned
   that developed nations are reluctant to reduce their own greenhouse gas
   emissions, which many scientists say exacerbate global warming. He also
   called on developed countries to provide financial and technical aid to
   help developing nations fight against and cope with the effects of
   climate change.

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