China defended itself on Tuesday against charges it is not doing enough to
fight climate change, as a government think-tank said global warming was
shrinking glaciers and exacerbating water shortages in the parched country.
A UN conference in Nairobi is working to fix long-term rules to fight global
warming beyond 2012, when the provisions of the first phase of the Kyoto
Protocol, which calls for many industrialised nations to cut emissions to below
1990 levels, run out.
"The Chinese government pays great attention to the climate change problem,"
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told a regular news conference.
Industrialised countries should carry out their promises to address the problem,
she said.
China has resisted calls for a cap even on emissions growth, arguing that most
carbon dioxide currently in the atmosphere was produced by developed nations as
they industrialised, and they have no right to deny ...