Climate change has become a worldwide "security" and foreign relations issue, former UN under-secretary-general Maurice Strong said in Beijing yesterday.
China has the responsibility of tackling global warming, but the real solution lies in cooperation at the highest international level, in which developed countries should take the lead, he said. Instead, however, developed countries are shying away from their responsibility.
"What I see today is a tendency among some industrialized countries, notably the US, to shift the onus on China, India and other developing countries to divert attention from their own commitment," he said in his address to the China Foreign Affairs University Forum.
"I predict there's going to be tremendous additional pressure on China, and some of it will be unfair," he said, because its per capita carbon footprint is very low.
Strong said, "No country can solve the problem alone. China is right to expect that the US, Canada and other countries that created the problem in the first place should take the lead in helping resolve it."
The 78-year-old veteran environmental activist appreciated China's policies fighting climate change. Asked how can the Chinese people's environmental protection awareness be raised, he said: "I am delighted your leaders are already doing this."
（英語點津 Celene 編輯）
About the broadcaster:
Jonathan Stewart is a media and journalism expert from the United States with four years of experience as a writer and instructor. He accepted a foreign expert position with chinadaily.com.cn in June 2007 following the completion of his Master of Arts degree in International Relations and Comparative Politics.
