China's emissions cut target "injects momentum" into Copenhagen summit: UNDP

BEIJING, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- A high-ranking United Nations official on Saturday said China's decision to dramatically cut its carbon emissions would inject a momentum in leading up to the upcoming Copenhagen climate summit.

"That is a very important and ambitious target... The announcement injects a momentum in leading up to the Copenhagen summit," United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark said at the end of her three-day China visit.

Clark made the comments on China's latest pledge to cut carbon dioxide emissions per unit of gross domestic product by 40 to 45 percent by 2020 compared with levels in 2005.

Clark said China was determined to meet the target and would look for support and ideas in meeting those targets.

"We stand ready to mobilize expertise and support which will help china with that," Clark said.

Together with the country's emissions cut goal, "Premier Wen Jiabao and his substantial delegation also add momentum to the summit," Clark said.

She, however, downplayed the outcome of the Copenhagen summit, which will run from Dec. 7 to Dec. 18, saying major countries' aspiration "is a political document" rather than a legally binding treaty.

The UN climate change talks in Copenhagen had been widely seen as an opportunity for world leaders to strike a deal to succeed the carbon-capping Kyoto Protocol that expires in 2012.

"Developed countries as a group have not yet got ambitious enough offers on the table," she said. "Part of a successful climate negotiation will have to be ambitious enough emissions reduction targets from the developed countries."

Even if a political agreement comes out at Copenhagen, it will probably take another six months to a year to translate the document into a legally binding treaty, Clark said.