Chinese demand for greenhouse energy will not abate.

Trying to slow global warming without limiting economic growth is one of the central problems facing delegates in Montreal this week at the first climate change conference since the Kyoto Protocol came into effect in February this year. This is not helped when the two largest emitters, both put prosperity ahead of environmental concerns, and both emphasise efficiency measures of greenhouse gas production rather than the absolute amounts.

Mr Sun Guoshun, director of the Department of Treaty and Law at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said China had set a goal of increasing energy efficiency by 20 per cent between 2006 and 2010, while President George Bush aims to reduce greenhouse gas production by 18 per cent as measured against gross domestic product.

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