China to reduce CO2 emissions by 40-45 percent

China is to reduce the intensity of carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP in 2020 by 40 to 45 percent compared with the level of 2005, according to a decision of the State Council announced yesterday.

This is "a voluntary action" taken by the Chinese government "based on our own national conditions" and "is a major contribution to the global effort in tackling climate change," the State Council said.

In a meeting presided over by Premier Wen Jiabao Wednesday, the State Council reviewed a national task plan addressing climate change.

The index of carbon dioxide emission cut, announced for the first time by China, will "a binding goal" to be incorporated into China's mid- and long-term national social and economic development plans, and new measures will be formulated to audit, monitor and assess its implementation.

China will also devote major efforts to developing renewable and nuclear energies to ensure that the consumption of non-fossil power account for 15 percent of the country's total primary energy consumption by 2020, said the statement.

China will plant more trees and increase the country's forest area and stock volume by 40 million hectares and 1.3 billion cubic meters, respectively, from the level of 2005. "Appropriate handling of the climate change issue is of vital interest to China's social and economic development and people's benefits, as well as the interests of all the people in the world and the world's long-term development," the State Council said in the statement. Xinhua