The Chinese government's decision to curb greenhouse gas emissions was correct and significant, a Russian climate expert told Xinhua.

Alexei Kokorin, head of Russia's climate change program of the World Wide Fund for Nature, spoke highly of China's announcement to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions per unit of gross domestic product by 40 to 45 percent by 2020 from the 2005 level.

Kokorin said the announcement highlighted China's responsible attitude towards climate change.

It was hard to predict the outcome on the upcoming Copenhagen climate change conference, said Kokorin, a Russian negotiator during the talks on the Kyoto Protocol.

The best result would be the participants reach consensus on controlling carbon emissions and achieve a legally binding agreement, he said.

Kokorin added that there were many impediments to such an international agreement, given the current situation.

The new deal should stipulate clearly developed countries' obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the period up to 2020, said the expert.

Developing countries might not be able to cut carbon emissions all by themselves and needed external financial assistance, Kokorin said, therefore more funds should be established to support them.