China’s senior representative on climate change said on Sunday that Beijing had an “open attitude” towards disputes on the underlying causes of global warming, the Financial Times reported. Xie Zhenhua, vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, admitted that it was a solid fact that climate change was having an impact but said there were “some uncertainties” as to the cause of the phenomenon. Xie’s remarks came after a meeting between China, India, Brazil and South Africa concerning international cooperation on climate change. The group, known as BASIC, agreed to meet a January 31 deadline to submit national goals for limiting carbon emissions. The UN cast doubts last week as to whether this deadline – which was set at the Copenhagen climate change summit – would be met. Jairam Ramesh, India’s environment minister, called on developed countries to act quickly on a pledge to give US$10 billion to help the most vulnerable nations combat climate change.
Categories