China announced yesterday that it intended to slash its greenhouse gas emissions per unit of economic output by 40-45 per cent by 2020, a key requirement for reaching a global deal to tackle climate change at December's Copenhagen conference.
Beijing also said that Wen Jiabao, the premier, would attend the Denmark talks. Analysts said the decisions underlined the seriousness with which Beijing is treating the climate change debate.
The carbon intensity target means reducing the amount of carbon produced per unit of gross domestic product, and is not the same as cutting emissions. Indeed, China's economy will double in size by 2020 at current growth rates and its emissions will be considerably higher even if it meets the new target.