China will continue its efforts in the battle to prevent climate change, said Yu Qingtai, China's new special representative of Ministry of Foreign Affairs for climate change negotiations, in Beijing on Friday.

While seeking economic growth China had been controlling energy waste and greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with the country's sustainable development strategy to fight climate change and improve the ecological environment, said Yu.

The government had set the goal of reducing energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product by 20 percent and raising the proportion of renewable energy by 10 percent by 2010.

The government had set up a leading group for the work of responding to climate change, headed by Premier Wen Jiabao, and announced its first national action plan to respond to climate change.

"From 1990 to 2005, the country has saved an energy equivalent of eight hundred million tons of coal, which equals 1.8 billion tons of carbon dioxide," said Yu.

President Hu Jintao put forward four proposals to tackle climate change, including ways to strengthen cooperation, pursue sustainable development and promote scientific and technological innovation, at the 15th Economic Leaders Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) earlier this month.

"China will continue to try its best to tackle climate change in accordance with its responsibility for the Chinese people and all humanity," said Yu.

Though climate change was mainly caused by developed countries that had been discharging greenhouse gases since the Industrial Revolution, it affected the whole world, said Yu. "It needs global cooperation to tackle the problem."

China had developed bilateral consultation and cooperation on climate change with the United States, the European Union, Japan, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, India and Brazil, and was involved in the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate.

Yu said China was willing to strengthen technology cooperation with developed countries to raise energy efficiency, develop renewable energy and limit greenhouse gas emissions.

Meanwhile, China would strengthen cooperation with developing countries on climate change to promote their sustainable development.

Yu, a former ambassador to Tanzania, was appointed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sep. 4 as the special representative for climate change negotiations.

(Xinhua News Agency September 22, 2007)