South Korea to make bid hosting climate talks in 2012

SEOUL, Dec 15 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak will announce his bid to host the climate summit in 2012 in a keynote speech he is set to deliver at the United Nations climate summit on Thursday, the presidential office said Tuesday.

"The government has decided to hold the 2012 U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change in Seoul," the presidential office said in a statement.

"Domestically, the year 2012 would be the time for the South Korean government to assess progress in its national vision of green growth. Globally, the year would mark a turning point for post-2012 climate cooperation," it said.

The move comes after South Korea, currently not required to cut carbon emissions under the Kyoto Protocol, announced its plan last month to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent from the expected emission levels in 2020.

Seoul's bid, if won, will renew its image as an initiator of global climate change and promote green technology and industries at home, the government said.

With the U.N. Kyoto Protocol on climate change set to expire in 2012, this year's climate talks in Copenhagen is seeking to find away to bridge gaps in participating countries' different stances on climate change and create a replacement of the protocol.