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French President Francois Hollande will start his two-day visit to China Monday, and climate change will be high on the agenda. World leaders will gather in Paris at the end of this month for a high stakes summit aimed at sealing a global climate deal.
Beijing is positioning itself to play a key role in the fight against climate change. In September, the United States and China pledged their joint commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The presidents of the world’s top two economies, and it’s biggest polluters, teaming up to tackle climate change sent a powerful message, urging other countries to do the same.
China has laid out its ambitious plans to reduce its emissions, promising to cut its carbon intensity by 60%, to cut back on consumption of fossil-fuels and to increase the amount of energy it gets from clean sources
At the end of this month, delegates from around the world will gather here in Paris. The hope is that they can forge a climate accord that commits every country to curbing it’s emissions. But a deal is far from guaranteed. And while French President Francois Hollande is in Beijing this week, he will launch a joint appeal with President Xi Jinping calling for a the world to act to make the Paris climate pact a success.
If a universal and durable climate agreement is going to reached. It’s essential that China is on board.
"If China has a strong engagement it is true that it will be closely observed by the other developing countries… especially the big developing countries like India, Indonesia, South Africa, Brazil as well as many other counties from Asia and Africa who are looking at what China is going to do. So, it’s true that China can have a knock on effect on other countries and at some point that can have a big impact, a big effect and it can add weight in Paris during COP21," Hollande said.
The world has tried, and failed, to address the threat of climate change before. For the French President, seen here addressing the United Nations General Assembly in September the stakes have never been higher — this, he says, is the last chance to save the planet.
"I assure you here, that if we don't make this decision in Paris, it will not be late. It will be too late," Hollande said.
中国公共新闻网摘编：GAN JADE |
