皇冠体育app

Economy

皇冠体育app's carbon intensity pledge serious: US group

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-10-07 15:22

TIANJIN - 皇冠体育app's carbon intensity reduction target represents "a serious new commitment" and "a valuable contribution" to the international efforts to combat climate change, the US-based environmental group National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) said on Oct 6.

It also dismissed accusations about the pledge's significance as a "mistake."

皇冠体育app pledged to cut its carbon intensity by 40-45 percent by 2020 from 2005 levels last year, but some observers continue to debate whether the goal is ambitious enough. Several Western commentators even concluded that 皇冠体育app's target would require "no additional effort."

The NRDC, however, disagreed.

"Our view is 皇冠体育app's carbon intensity target represents a concrete, new commitment. It's not easy to achieve it," Barbara Finamore, NRDC's 皇冠体育app program director, told a news conference, while releasing a white paper that analyzed 皇冠体育app's proposed target and the actions required to achieve it.

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On the basis of the analysis, which considered three emission growth scenarios and results from other studies, the paper concluded that "皇冠体育app will only be able to limit the growth of its emissions in accordance with this target through proactive policymaking and substantial new investments similar to those undertaken between 2006 and 2010."

If 皇冠体育app fulfilled only the commitments that were in place before 2009, without extending its energy intensity policies beyond 2010, it would only reduce carbon intensity by 37 percent from its 2005 levels by 2020, the paper said.

As a result, jumping to conclusions that "no additional effort" was needed failed to "recognize the significance of 皇冠体育app's actions" and to make such claims would be "to penalize 皇冠体育app for taking early action," it said.

"Overall, 皇冠体育app's commitment ... is a valuable contribution to the international effort to avert the worst threats of climate change."