INFO  LOG-00   AIT-00   AMAD-00  CA-00    INL-00   PDI-00   EAP-00   
      DHSE-00  EUR-00   UTED-00  VCI-00   TEDE-00  IO-00    L-00     
      VCIE-00  PA-00    GIWI-00  DOHS-00  NCTC-00  FMP-00   BBG-00   
      R-00     ECA-00   IIP-00   SAS-00   FA-00    SECC-00  SANA-00  
      
  
P 270949Z NOV 09
FM AMCONSUL HONG KONG
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9059
INFO WHITE HOUSE WASHDC
USDOC WASHDC
AMEMBASSY BEIJING 
AMCONSUL SHANGHAI
AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU 
AIT TAIPEI 0504
CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI

UNCLAS HONG KONG 002179 
 
 
DEPT FOR INR/R/MR, INR/IC/CD, I/FW 
DEPT FOR EAP/PD, EAP/CM, EAP/P 
DEPT FOR VOA/BRF, TV-WPA 
WHITE HOUSE FOR NSC 
PRC POSTS FOR PA 
AIT 
USPACOM FOR FOR CIS PD ADVISER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: COPENHAGEN SUMMIT 
 
TOPIC: Copenhagen Summit 
 
 
HEADLINES AND EXCERPTS: 
 
"The right move on the climate chessboard" 
The independent English-language South China Morning Post had this 
editorial (11/27):  "In less than a year, China has moved from being 
a pariah to an advocate in the run-up to the climate talks in 
Copenhagen next month...  Unlike the U.S., Australia and the 
European Union, it has not declared a target for an outright cut to 
carbon emissions, pledging instead to reduce its carbon intensity, 
the amount of greenhouse gases it produces as measured against its 
economic output.  But the commitments Beijing has already made 
towards establishing a low-carbon economy have convinced many 
doubters that it means business. 
 
"Ed Miliband, the British energy and climate secretary, and Todd 
Stern, the U.S. special envoy for climate change, have acknowledged 
China's efforts in recent months.  This is not just a matter of the 
central government seizing the initiative to make sure China is not 
diplomatically isolated if the Copenhagen talks fail...  The truth 
is that Beijing is genuinely scared by what extreme climate change 
could do to the nation's farming regions, food supply, the 
livelihoods of tens of millions of farmers -- and the threats such 
disruptions pose to the rest of the economy....  In the end, though, 
Beijing's ability to rein in emissions will ultimately depend on the 
nature of the economy. 
 
"It has long relied on industrial investment and exports to promote 
economic growth.  This tendency has been exacerbated by the massive 
stimulus program launched in the wake of the global financial 
crisis.  A shift towards domestic consumption and services will not 
only help rebalance world trade and reduce its massive trade surplus 
that has antagonized many trading partners...  It will cut emissions 
and energy consumption on a sufficiently large scale to reverse 
global emission trends.  )/LHQQ+[-language Hong Kong Economic Times had 
this editorial 
(11/27):  "No doubt, it is great news to most global 
environmentalists that both the U.S. and China, the two top 
greenhouse gas emitting countries in the world, support the upcoming 
Copenhagen Summit.  Behind the scene, it is, actually, an economic 
competition between the two... The Chinese government finally 
realized climate change has become a matter of 'life-or-death.' 
Developing energy efficiency technology, the so called fourth 
industrial revolution, has become a key to survive in the coming 
decades." 
 
"Green clock starts ticking" 
 
The English-language China Daily HK Edition had this editorial 
(11/27): "China's pledge to substantially reduce its greenhouse gas 
emissions in the next decade will not only boost the prospects of a 
global deal on climate change at next month's conference in 
Copenhagen, but also is a clarion call from the world's largest 
developing economy that it's going all out to embrace a low-carbon 
future.  The country will cut carbon dioxide emissions per unit of 
GDP by 40 to 45 percent by 2020, taking 2005 as the base year.  The 
government decision, announced yesterday, was voluntary and based on 
existing national conditions...  If the rest of the developing world 
sees that a country like China can thrive by emitting less, they 
will find more reason to throw their weight behind a global deal on 
climate change.  Of course, that decision will also depend on 
whether the rich countries keep their promise of transferring 
technology and providing financial aid to poor countries to enable 
them to fight climate change." 
 
MARUT