Leading authorities on climate change have asked the developed world to help encourage positive movement concerning the environment in China.

Nicholas Stern, a British economist and a leading ecosystem expert, said the intensifying focus on ecology in China in recent years has been striking.

"The movement in China is very clear and strong," he told reporters after meeting with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

"We, as the rich world, have a duty and an interest in helping to make that movement even stronger," he said.

Stern said the Chinese leadership is doing an in-depth analysis of what should be done. The energy strategy in China's 12th five-year plan that starts in 2011 will refer explicitly to greenhouse gas emission reduction targets and emission-to-output reduction targets, he said. There were discussions in China that its emissions should peak by 2020.

Stern said the developed world should help China not only with climate change, but also with poverty reduction and support for China's economic growth. In particular, the rich countries must share technology with China, he added.

Rajendra Kumar Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, said China is concerned about energy security and the environmental impact of climate change.

He said China is convinced that the reduction of emissions has benefits. But he said the developed world must lead the effort to improve the environment.

"If it was to lead, you will find some of the emerging markets doing what is possible on their part as well," he told the same press conference.

Both experts have been encouraged by positive movements in the United States as well.

Pachauri predicted a "tangible effort" by the United States at the Copenhagen global climate change conference in December in order to be part of the international community.

Stern said the United States and Australia have gone through a lot although they still lag behind the European Union in pledges. EU leadership on climate change, he said, is essential.

If EU leadership concerning the environment becomes fragile, the effects could be very large, he warned.

Barroso asked for global action with more key players willing to co-lead with the EU.

(Xinhua News Agency May 14, 2009)