"I heard about the mention that carbon trading is a priority, and as a U.S. citizen I can only dream that our national government would make such a statement in one of our policy platforms," said Derek Walker, Associate Vice President with Environmental Defense Fund. He urged the U.S. federal government to work prospectively and aggressively on climate change policies that will make a difference in people's lives.

Though China is now the second largest economy in the world, the average wealth of its 1.3 billion population fails to match its prominent international status. In 2012, China's per-capita GDP was registered at $6,000, ranking 87th in the world. The current challenges facing China include the task of developing its economy, eradicating poverty and improving people's lives while actively confronting the threats brought about by climate change.

"We have nowhere to go if we don't tackle the problems of climate change," said Xie.

To promote the concept of carbon reduction and raise the citizens' awareness of climate change, China is expected to have five pilot carbon trade centers across the country by the end of this year, said Xie. They are places where companies with fewer carbon emissions can sell their excess pollution quota to heavy polluting companies.

Matthew Rodriquez, California Secretary for Environmental Protection, said he is deeply impressed by the Chinese Government's efficiency in launching carbon trade systems. "While it takes California six years to get started, it's taking Chinese provinces and government six months to get started. That's a remarkable achievement."

China pledged to cut carbon emissions by 40-45 percent in 2020 compared with that of 2005, and the proportion of non-fossil fuels will account for 15 percent of all energies used in the country. Xie said the target is ambitious because the development of hydropower and nuclear energy has been stalled in China. But he reassured that China will employ all measures to guarantee these goals.

The UN climate conference in Warsaw serves as a prelude for conferences in the next two years to be held in Lima of Peru in 2014, and Paris of France in 2015.

Xie expected this climate conference to be able to reach an agreement that "can be accepted by all parties—which they might not necessarily be happy about."

(Reporting from Warsaw, Poland)

Email us at: liuyunyun@bjreview.com

China's Status

- In 2012, CO2 emissions per unit of the GDP fell 5.02 percent compared to 2011.

- At the end of 2012, the output of energy saving and environmental protection industry exceeded 2.7 trillion yuan ($443.1 billion).

- Some 127.7 billion yuan ($20.96 billion) was invested in hydropower stations, 77.8 billion yuan ($12.77 billion) in nuclear power plants and 61.5 billion yuan ($10.09 billion) in wind power in 2012.

- The generation sets of non-fossil fuel, including hydro, nuclear, wind and solar energies, took up 28.5 percent of the whole, 4.2 percentage points higher than the 2005 figure. The electricity generated from non-fossil fuel accounted for 21.4 percent of the total of on-grid electricity.

- In 2012, the capacity of hydropower reached 249 million kw, up 7.1 percent from 2011 and ranking first globally;

- The capacity of nuclear power plants reached 12.57 million kw, equal to that of 2011 and the largest in the world;

- Wind power capacity amounted to 61.42 million kw, increasing 32.9 percent year on year and ranking the largest in the world;

- Solar power reached 3.41 million kw, growing 60.6 percent from a year earlier.

(Source: China's Policies and Actions for Addressing Climate Change)