Climate Change

Treaty

As the UN requires that countries should by 31 January 2010 approve the Copenhagen Accord and append their own goals for cutting carbon emissions or slowing emissions growth by 2020, China, together with other major developing nations, stressed that only the industrialised countries need to make internationally binding commitments and that the efforts by developing countries to slow the climate change would be voluntary steps. Environmental advocates say, however, that China is forging ahead with its own plans to become more carbon-efficient. Later, China agreed to join the Copenhagen Accord by submitting a a single-sentence letter saying that the UN “can proceed to include China in the list of parties” signed up under the accord.