China has found itself under a growing obligation to cut its mounting emissions of greenhouse gases, driven by the country's roaring economic growth.

Li Xueyong, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology, told media at the release of the National Assessment Report on Climate Change, "The report will serve as the country's scientific and technical reference in policy making and international cooperation and shows China's attention to the global issue and its resolve to work together with the international community."

Li also said his ministry has listed "the monitoring and countermeasures of global climate change" as a national key project and China will increase the investment in research and development of energy-saving technologies, renewable-resource technologies, nuclear power technologies, clean coal technologies, and carbon dioxide capture and storage.

Besides summarizing China's scientific research on climate change and shedding light on future scientific studies, the report's other two objectives include providing decision-making references in drafting the nation's long-term economic and social development strategies and scientific evidence for China's participation in international joint efforts to curb climate change.

China has joined over 50 international treaties on environmental protection, including the milestone United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and Kyoto Protocol. In order to fulfill China's international commitments to reducing the emission of greenhouse gases, the government has formulated a series of measures to deal with climate change, including policies of enhancing energy efficiency, saving energy, developing renewable resources and increasing plantation of trees.

In China's economic and social development plan for the five years between 2006 and 2010, the government has set goals of reducing energy consumption per 10,000 yuan of gross domestic product by 20 percent, major pollutant emission by 10 percent and enhancing forestry coverage to 20 percent.

The report has put forward a new goal of realizing a zero growth or minus growth of carbon emission from the middle of this century. Toward this goal, the report also promulgates an outline of China's efforts to relieve climate changes: while guaranteeing the social and economic development goals of building a well-off society in 2020 and realizing industrialization and modernization by the middle of the 21st century, China is about to initiate a transformation of economic growth and social consumption models, develop and popularize energy-saving techniques, enhance energy usage efficiency, develop renewable resources, nuclear power, coal usage with low-carbon emission and hydrogen power technologies. China will continue to streamline its energy mix, protect its ecological environment and develop a low-carbon emission economy to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases.