China defends joining with India on coal ‘phase down’

Beijing: China on Monday asked developed countries  to stop using the coal first  and provide financial aid  to developing countries to  adopt green technologies as  it defended its move to join  hands with India in calling  for “phase down” instead  of “phase out” of coal in  the final text of the COP26  conference declaration.

Negotiators from nearly 200 countries accepted a  new climate agreement after the COP26 summit in  Glasgow concluded on Saturday with a deal, which  recognises India’s intervention for the world to “phase  down” rather than “phase  out” fossil fuels.

“Low carbon transformation is an overriding trend  and the goal all countries  are working towards,”  Chinese Foreign Ministry  spokesman Zhao Lijian told  a media briefing here.

He was responding to a  question on COP26 Chairman Alok Sharma’s reported comments that China  and India need to explain  to developing nations why  they watered down the language on efforts to phase out coal at the conference and  rejected calls for phasing  out coal firepower instead  opted to phasing down .

Zhao said the improvement of the energy structure and reduction of the  ratio of carbon consumption is a progressive process  that requires respect for the  national circumstances of  different countries and their  development stage as well as  their different resources.

Chinese official media has  criticised the Western media  for targeting China and India for pressing phase down”  use of coal power instead of  “phase out in the final text  adopted by 197 countries at  the COP26 conference which  concluded last week.

Climate scientists hailed  the “unprecedented determination of tackling global  warming” demonstrated by  summit participants, especially developing countries  including China and India,  as not only underscoring  the urgency of the climate  issue but also a stimulus for developed countries to  match their promises with  actions, state-run Global  Times reported on Monday.

He praised India for its  pledge to target net zero  greenhouse gas emissions  by 2070.

In his reply, Zhao said  China pays high importance to green transformation and has made tremendous efforts to control the  coal consumption of coalfired power plants. -(AP)