PARIS , Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- China has been very active and constructive in the ongoing climate change negotiations here, former executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Yvo de Boer told Xinhua in an exclusive interview on Thursday.
Stressing that the current COP21 had to be a growth opportunity for developing countries, de Boer said: ""For many developing countries, priority number one is still economic growth and poverty eradication.""
But for China, ""changing the mode of economic growth and making economic growth greener , is very much a top priority today,"" said de Boer, who is now director general of the Global Green Growth Institute.
""What is happening at this conference (COP21) is in line with that objective,"" he added.
In line with this, De Boer hailed China's South-South Cooperation Fund on Climate Change which aims to help other developing countries cut greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the effects of global warming.
""It is a sign that the position of China on the international landscape is changing , that China is contributing very actively to helping other countries to engage on climate change,"" de Boer told Xinhua.