Amidst rising criticism and controversy, China has promised that it will curb its carbon emissions, stressing that it would cut down the ratio of pollution to GDP by as much as 50% over the next 10 years. This is being viewed as a very significant move by a country which is ranked as the world's largest emitter of carbon, and whose co-operation is very crucial to any deal as the Copenhagen Summit on climate change inches closer.

The voluntary pledge came on Thursday in Beijing, following an announcement by the US President Barack Obama that the country is all set to lay out plans at the summit about how it will substantially cut back the nation's greenhouse gases' emission.

"Governments from all over the world are delivering before the climate conference. U. S. and China have come forward. All across the globe, things are moving. This is good news", said Denmark's Climate Minister Connie Hedegaard.

Looking at the rate of damage in China, however, environmental experts have been quick to warn that the country has not committed to reducing its current rate of carbon emission, which is more important, and these have very good chances of rising, even if at a slower rate.

China's pledge to "cut carbon intensity" by 40-45% by 2020 has come after US offered specifications of its own plans to reduce carbon emissions by nearly 17% from the recorded levels in 2005 by 2020.