发达国家呼吁更好的应对气候变化

Officials attending this year's UN climate change conference in Doha, Qatar are working to try to narrow the divisions among countries when it comes to the broader goal of reducing climate change.

CRI's Li Jing has more.

Delegates from nearly 200 countries are working on detailed arrangements for the extension of the Kyoto Protocol, a legally binding accord requiring industrialized countries to cut their carbon emissions.

The Kyoto Protocol's first commitment period is set to expire at the end of this year.

As such, developing countries such as China have been calling for more action by the developed world to tackle the challenges of a warming globe.
Guo Xiangang is the Deputy Director of the China Institute of International Studies.

"Only a few developed countries promise to implement the reduction targets of the second period of the Kyoto Protocol. These countries include Norway, Switzerland and the EU. Other developed countries, such as Japan, Canada, New Zealand and the United States have all said that they wouldn't be committed to the second period targets."

Climate change expert Zhang Haibin with Peking University says gaps needs to be bridged during the Doha conference.

"Developed countries didn't meet the commitments well, and their capital support is far less than what the developing countries demand. Plus, the emission reduction commitments of many countries are not ambitious enough. It is hard to achieve a target of keeping the average global temperature rise below two degrees Celsius."

Aside from the extension of the Kyoto Protocol, working under a new negotiation platform and dealing with climate change financing are expected to be dealt with in Doha.

Guo Xiangang says financing is one of the key challenges that need to be tackled.

"Developed countries are facing a financial crisis, many European countries are suffering a sovereign debt crisis. Under this circumstance, these countries are less likely to contribute money to help developing countries to meet emission goals."

An annual aid program of 100-billion dollars promised by developed countries by 2020 remains largely an empty shell.

The UN Environment Program is warning that levels of greenhouse gas emissions are now 14 percent above where they need to be by 2020.

At the conference, deputy chief of the Chinese delegation Su Wei has expressed the stance of the BASIC nations, namely China, India, Brazil and South Africa, on stemming climate change.

He stresses that concerned parties should protect the climate system on the basis of equity and in accordance with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.

For CRI, this is Li Jing.