China, UK clash on climate change
19 April 2007
The first-ever UN Security Council debate on climate change ended in a face-off between China and the UK on Tuesday as Beijing claimed the 15-member body had no competence in dealing with global warming. British Foreign Secretary Margaret Becket argued that the Security Council had to pay more attention to climate change as a potential catalyst for war, the Financial Times reported. Liu Zhenmin, China's deputy ambassador to the UN, was blunt in his response: "The developing countries believe that the Security Council has neither the professional competence in handling climate change - nor is it the right decision-making place for extensive participation leading up to widely acceptable proposals." With several other countries also in opposition to Security Council action, no resolution is expected.