Hu helps fight climate change

CHINESE President Hu Jintao and a group of other state leaders were pictured wearing open-necked shirts with short sleeves, rather than their normal jackets and ties when attending a high-profile conference at the Party School of the Communist Party of China Central Committee on June 25 of this year.
The less formal attire wasn’t just for their own comfort. China’s leaders are trying to set an example for all the office workers to dress in light, casual clothing in summer in order to reduce the use of air conditioners.
The State Council, or Cabinet, ordered in June that air-conditioning units in most office buildings be set no cooler than 26 degrees Celsius. “As a developing country, China tries to shoulder more responsibilities in addressing the issue of climate change and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions,” says Lu Xuedu, deputy director of the Global Environmental Affairs Office of the Ministry of Science and Technology.
In China’s National Climate Change Program issued on June 4, the government pledged to restructure the economy, promote clean energy technologies and improve energy efficiency. With the new program, the nation has opted not to hide behind the fact that the Kyoto Protocol frees developing countries from the obligation to reduce GHG emissions, said Ma Kai, minister in charge of the National Development and Reform Commission.
“Climate change has begun to take its toll in China in recent years, and we shouldn’t wait till it is too late to take action,” says Lu Xuedu.
Since the mid-1980s, China has experienced 19 warm winters. In 2006, the average temperature for winter hit 9.92°C, the highest since 1951, according to statistics from the National Meteorological Centre.
Lu points out that if climate change remains unchecked, the output of China’s major crops including wheat, rice and corn will drop by up to 37% in the second half of this century. Global warming will also reduce the river levels, and lead to more droughts and floods. – China Daily/ Asia News Network