Cablegate: Media Reaction: Climate Change

VZCZCXRO1589
RR RUEHCN RUEHGH RUEHVC
DE RUEHBJ #3411/01 3550901
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 210901Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY BEIJING
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7311
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RHMFIUU/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 003411

DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EAP/CM, EAP/PA, EAP/PD, C
HQ PACOM FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY ADVISOR (J007)
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL ECON SENV KGHG KMDR OPRC CH

SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: CLIMATE CHANGE

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Editorial Quotes
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CLIMATE CHANGE

a. "International cooperation on climate change is going forward,
some difficulty remains"

The official Communist Party People's Daily (Renmin Ribao)(12/21)(pg
13): "The Accord is a strong combination of commitment and
compromise. Some media believe that although the result of the
Copenhagen Conference is not satisfying, the conference has
effectively promoted climate negotiation's movement forward. The
results of the Copenhagen Conference leave our final hope to the
2010 U.N. Climate Conference in Mexico City. The two most disputed
issues at the Conference were emissions reduction goals and
financial support. The challenge facing the future will be the
competition between the right to develop and room for that
development. Developing countries will most directly be influenced
by climate change. Counselor Yi Xianliang, director of foreign
affairs office on climate change at the Foreign Ministry of China,
said that the nature of the climate change issue is the issue of
development. In 2009 there has been an unprecedented increase in
all countries' focus on climate change, their political will and
their public's attention to climate change. Disputes over the issue
are being intensified, which urge all the countries involved to
'show their cards.' However, at the same time, due to the financial
crisis and other reasons, developed countries were withdrawing
support of the issue and shaking off their responsibilities to
countries which are still developing."

b. "The Copenhagen Conference showed us some signs of hope, at
least"

The official Communist Youth League China Youth Daily (Zhongguo
Qingnianbao)(12/21)(pg 5): "The Conference almost completely failed.
However there are some signs of hope. The Copenhagen Accord will
take effect in ten days and as President Obama said, it was an
'unprecedented breakthrough.' However, some countries did not view
the Accord positively. German Prime Minister Merkel said that she
was forced to agreed to the Accord, the only other choice would have
been the failure of the negotiations. Two characteristics are worth
noting at the Conference: first, the whole world is united and all
countries are making efforts towards one goal - combating climate
change, which in the past 100 years, and in all human's history,
this is the very first time. Two, the Copenhagen Conference also
reflected the shift to a 'new multi-polar world.' The United States
is no longer the sole contributor. Many small countries issued
their voice at the Conference, for example the Sudan and the
Republic of Maldives."

c. "China should 'cut the clothes according to the cloth' over
climate disputes"

The official Communist Party international news publication Global
Times (Huanqiu Shibao)(12/21)(pg 14): "The Copenhagen Summit closed
amid disappointment. At the summit, although the two groups should
have been on the same side, two major groups formed: the offensive
Western industrial countries and the defensive underdeveloped
countries. The result of the competition is hard to predict since
each party is a bit 'unbalanced': first, their responsibilities were
unbalanced, for example: the developed countries tried to shake off
their responsibilities by only looking to the newly-emerging
countries' economic activities in the latest decade while ignoring
the West's industrialization over the past several hundred years.
Second, their duties were unbalanced. Western countries intended to
let the developing countries take the main task in emissions
reductions. Third, the consequences will be unbalanced. When the
poor countries become poorer, the sky of rich countries become
bluer, the justice of this climate war will be a new research
subject for historians. China has reason to request that scientists
from developing countries, including China, bring forth their
research results, which are crucial for making decisions that
maximize their own interests. China's development policies should
not be decided based on reports compiled by foreign institutes."

d. "Why did China take a 'strong' stance at the Climate Conference"

The Beijing-based newspaper sponsored by official intellectual
publication Guangming Daily and Guangdong Provincial official
publication Nanfang Daily The Beijing News (Xin Jing Bao)(12/19)(pg
A03): "Shi Yinhong, the Director of the School of International
Relations at Renmin University, said that China's performance and
all the developing countries' performances were prominent at the
Conference. For instance, China brought forward a positive
emissions reduction goal. In comparison, the developed countries'
performance was quite dissatisfying. Especially the U.S.'s request,

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that China needs to fulfill its emissions reduction promise and
receive international supervision, violated China's interests as a
sovereign country. What's more, it is also unreasonable that the
United States intends to single China out of the developing
countries who would receive compensation. These are the reasons for
China's strong stance at the Conference. First, China needs to
uphold the principles of the United Nations. Second, China needs to
protect its national interests as well as that of the other
developing countries. However, Shi added, China does not want to
act as the advocate for developing countries."

GOLDBERG

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