• China plans to slow emissions growth by up to 45% • PM Wen Jiabao to attend Copenhagen climate talks

This article is more than 10 years old

This article is more than 10 years old

The Chinese prime minister, Wen Jiabao, will attend the Copenhagen climate talks next month, the government said today, as it unveiled firm targets for curbing the world's biggest carbon footprint for the first time.

A day after the US president, Barack Obama, confirmed he would attend the early stages of the conference, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, Qin Gang, said Wen would join the gathering, which aims to set a global strategy for reducing emissions.

China announced that it would cut emissions of carbon relative to economic growth by 40% to 45% by 2020 compared with 2005 levels.

"This is a voluntary action taken by the Chinese government based on its own national conditions and is a major contribution to the global effort in tackling climate change," the state council was quoted as saying by the Xinhua news agency.

Because of its high economic growth rate, China's emissions will continue to rise rapidly for at least a decade. But this target commits China to slowing the speed of emissions growth through the adoption of renewable energy, replacing old power stations with more efficient plants, and possibly capturing and storing more carbon. It is also likely to galvanise moves to introduce a carbon trading scheme and a carbon tax.

Kim Carstensen, leader of WWF International's global climate initiative, told Reuters: "It is extremely welcome news that China is now putting specific figures on its reductions of carbon intensity towards 2020."

John Hay, spokesman for the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat called news of Obama's visit and China's announcement of firm targets as "a huge morale booster".

By setting its first carbon target, China moves its policies more closely into line with international efforts to reduce greenhouse gases.

But the figure is unlikely to be high enough to satisfy European and US negotiators, who have indicated that anything below 50% would represent a less ambitious target than its current efforts to improve energy efficiency. The UK government said China's first ever carbon target was an "important opening contribution", but it reminded Beijing that it, and other major developing nations, had made a commitment to make a meaningful deviation from business as usual in order to hold back warming.

"It is essential that for the right ambitious deal to be made in Copenhagen, China and other nations will need to take action consistent with this 2 degree objective," the UK government said in a statement.

China's negotiators counter that it is doing far more than wealthy nations at a similar stage of development, particularly given the greater historical and per capita responsibility of the US and Europe.

But Xie Zhenhua, the country's most senior climate negotiator, hinted at the possibility of faster steps if the developed nations provided more assistance. "It will be difficult because it is already tough for us to achieve our target," he said. "If we receive technical and financial support, we might be able to reach our target at an earlier date."

European diplomats expressed disappointment that China would not be represented in Copenhagen by President Hu Jintao, which may weaken the negotiating team's ability to set an emissions reduction strategy.

Wen ranks considerably lower than Hu in the Communist party hierarchy.

However, Qin said: "Wen Jiabao's attendance at the meeting shows the importance that the Chinese government places on this issue, and shows that the Chinese government is willing to co-operate with the international community."

Other observers said Wen was the best choice because he headed the climate leading group in the state council, China's cabinet, and may be better versed on the issues than the president.

"Wen is the one really driving the action," said Wu Changhua, China director for the Climate Group. "There is not a major difference in terms of decision-making at Copenhagen. They all speak with one voice."

Other environmental groups said China's representation may have been partly determined by the US announcement that Obama would attend only the first part of the meeting.

"We would have liked Hu Jintao to go because he has more power and is in a better position to make decisions in the final stages of the meeting," said Yang Ailun of Greenpeace.

"But if Obama is not going to be there at the end, then China may have decided that the prime minister should go instead."

The announcement comes ahead of two hastily scheduled press conferences by senior officials in the national development and reform commission, which heads China's climate policies.

Brazil, Indonesia and South Korea have recently released their carbon goals. The US has said it will bring a numerical commitment to the negotiating table.