Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said in Beijing Wednesday the world should fend off a tendency of erecting trade barriers in the name of environmental protection and meanwhile should not relent in fighting global warming because of economic recession.
"The worst response will be to be protectionist, either by front door or back door. That is not the way to resolve this (climate change) or the economic crisis," said Blair during a visit here at the invitation of the Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs.
"What we've got to watch is protectionism by the back door, using environmental standards ... as a way of effectively keeping out other nations' goods," said Blair in an interview.
His comment came after the U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said last week he advocated a carbon tariff on imports from countries that don't have mandatory carbon emission reductions once the Obama administration implements its plan of limiting carbon emissions.
Blair, also initiator of the Climate Group (TCG), a British-based non-governmental environmental advisor, didn't specifically refer to the U.S. announcement but said tariffs are "also back-door protectionism" and are "wrong."
While explicit protectionism is "unlikely," the back-door kind will be "a very difficult part of the discussions" about tackling climate change and financial crisis, said Blair.
The World Bank said last week in a report that 17 of the Group of 20 (G20) developed and emerging economies have implemented measures that restrict trade at the expense of other countries since last November, when the G20 leaders promised to avoid protectionist moves to prevent the faltering world economy from further worsening.
"It's very important that we take a firm stand against protectionism," said Blair, who underscored the significance of pushing forward the world trade talks.
Despite the economic downturn, countries should not delay the action of promoting a low carbon future as climate change is plaguing the world with or without the crisis, said Blair.
He noted the U.S. president Obama's call to reduce the country's greenhouse gas emissions to their 1990 levels by 2020 is a big progress but some concerns within the U.S. Congress need to be resolved.
Some U.S. senators are "skeptical and difficult to persuade" about the emission reduction targets, said Blair, talking about his communications with U.S. senators in Washington earlier this month.
"Some people in America are saying if they are going to cut emissions in their country, then China will get the benefit by increasing their import to America," said Blair. "If they understand how radical China's targets and commitment are, that will make a big difference."
He praised China's moves to curb emissions and improve energy efficiency, saying the country is "in many ways on the forefront of action on this issue today."
China last year announced a plan to increase the share of renewable energy to 15 percent of the total energy consumption by 2020 from 7.5 percent in 2005.
