CRI听力:Expectations Weighing-in Ahead of COP21 in Paris

Professor Chris Rapley with the Department of Earth Sciences at University College London says he expects the Chinese delegation is most likely going to take on a leading role in Paris.

"China is showing real international leadership in this issue, which we see as incredibly welcomed. It is such a huge economy, it is so politically important and the fact that it is taking leadership is really showing the rest of the world the direction that they need to head in."

The Chinese government has already promised to cut CO2 emissions by 60 to 65 percent from the 2005 levels, based on the growth of the Chinese economy, over the next 15-years.

At the same time, Chinese authorities have set a goal to have emissions peak by 2030, on top of pledging just over 3-billion US dollars to help poorer nations reduce their impact on climate change.

United Nations climate Chief Christiana Figueres says she believes that an agreement will be reached in the upcoming conference as countries are having increased 'will' towards this end.

The UN official also says that she believes China's role in coping with climate change can be divided into three main areas.

"First is what China is internally, which is quite admirable all the steps that China is taking toward what many of the Chinese authorities call the eco-civilization. Then there is the whole set of initiatives that China has undertaken bilaterally with other countries."

China has already signed a number of bilateral climate agreements with big emitters, including an independent South-South cooperation fund of over 3 billion U.S. dollars to help developing countries affected by global warming.

Earlier this month, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his French counterpart Francois Hollande issued a joint statement on climate change in Beijing.

French ambassador to China, Maurice Gourdault-Montagne says the two countries can focus more on green development projects.

"We hope our cooperation can be implemented into detailed projects. In fact, many French companies have already carried out projects such as waste disposal in Chinese cities. President Holland first arrived at Chongqing when he visited China earlier this month, because we have models of successful cooperation there. We hope that we can continue to create opportunities for such green development cooperation. "

During Chinese President's state visit to the United States in September, Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama also issued a new China-U.S. joint statement on climate change, reiterating their resolve to work together and with others towards an ambitious, successful outcome at the upcoming climate conference in Paris.

For CRI, this is Niu Honglin.