GINOWAN, Japan, June 17 (Xinhua) -- China should handle the issue of climate change from a development point of view, the newly-elected President of the Pacific Science Association (PSA) and leading Chinese scientist on climate change, Fu Congbin said Sunday.

In an interview here with Xinhua, the 67-year-old professor Fu said "The issue of climate change, in essence, is a topic of science. It has become increasingly prominent because in the past 100 years or so, human activities have played a more and more explicit role in climate change."

Fu noted that the major force behind climate change is still nature itself. "To date, we have yet to understand all the factors behind climate change and the contribution of each individual factor," he said.

It is widely agreed among international scientists, however, that most of the observed increase in global averaged temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely to be due to human activities.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has released assessment reports which are based on examination of manysorts of theories, hypothesis and models on climate change, which "still may not be the case," Fu said.

"But we cannot wait till the disaster happens to take actions," Fu said. "We should work to prevent the worst scenario. As a responsible member of the international society, China has made its efforts in coping with climate change and will continue to do so."

As a leading Chinese scientist working on climate variability and dynamics and a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fu has been providing advises to policy-makers. "On the emission of carbon dioxide, the developed countries bear major responsibilities," he said.

"The greenhouse gas can stay in the atmosphere for as long as 100 years. Most of them are from the developed nations," Fu said. "In the process of development, China will try to avoid such damages to the environment and realize sustainable development."

Fu said that there are some local Chinese manufacturers who put economic interests first and ignore environmental protection measures. "That is a problem China has to deal with."

The scientist also noted that there could be some market opportunities as mitigation of greenhouse gases becomes increasingly important.

"Emission quota, trading of emission rights, as well as environment-friendly technology may be opportunities for us to realize development during the process of mitigation," he said, adding that due technological support would be needed.

On becoming the new president of the 87-year-old PAS, Fu said that he wished the organization could make more contributions to the sustainability of the Pacific region.

"The PSA is involved with disciplines of various kinds and I will work to realize more exchanges and cooperation among different areas of study and wish to contribute to the sustainable development in the Pacific region," Fu said after being announced as the new president of the organization at the conclusion of the 21st Pacific Science Congress in Okinawa of southern Japan.

The PSA, founded in 1920, is a non-governmental scholarly organization that seeks to advance science, technology, and sustainable development in and of the Asia-Pacific region.

The Hawaii-based academic organization is composed of both individual scientist members and national and regional member organizations including China, Australia, France, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, a range of Pacific island nations and others.

By Ni Hongmei