China reiterated its support for the Copenhagen Accord and pledged to reduce carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by 40 – 45% by 2020 compared to the 2005 level, in a letter to the United Nations.
The United States and Canada both pledged to reduce emission by 17% by 2020 using 2005 as the base year to honour the Copenhagen Accord.
Canada’s pledge depends on the passage of US legislation. In its submission to the UN, Canada said that its target is “to be aligned with the final economy-wide emissions target of the United States in enacted legislation.”
Gloria Galloway and Nathan Vanderklippe of the Globe and Mail reported that there is no guarantee that the U.S senate will pass the legislation that is known as the Waxman-Markey bill, but if the U.S. ultimately chooses different targets than what the bill proposes, Canada’s Environmental Minister Jim Prentice said that Canada will also change course.
Although the Copenhagen Accord is not legally binding, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon described it as “an essential beginning” and that the countries “must transform this into a legally binding treaty [in 2010].”
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has indicated his support for a binding agreement and said that China will be working with the international community to produce a binding outcome at the Mexico climate talks that is set to take place from November 29th to December 10th, 2010, as reported in Xinhua News Agency.
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