China rejects provision for scrutiny of carbon use at UN climate conference

China declined a proposal to scrutinize efforts to limit carbon emissions.

Representatives from China attending a UN conference on climate change in Lima, Peru on Friday prevented the insertion of provisions into a draft text that would have allowed other countries and non-governmental organizations to question China’s carbon reduction policies.

The provisions are part of a carbon reduction pledge made by all nations participating in the conference. They are to be included in a global deal that will be finalized next year and come into effect in 2020.

Last month, China and the United States agreed on a climate deal that requires the United States to achieve more than 25 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2025 and China to cap its carbon emissions by 2030. The agreement was hailed as a move towards greater cooperation between the two countries on tackling climate change.

Observers of the conference in Lima expressed concern that the Chinese officials’ actions could thwart global collaboration on reducing carbon emissions. However, Western officials were criticized by a spokeswoman for WWF International for removing “any reference to a review of the commitments they’ve made before 2020.”