Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

China has unveiled its first firm target for limiting greenhouse gas emissions, less than two weeks before a global summit on climate change in Copenhagen.

Beijing said it would aim to reduce its carbon intensity by 40-45% by the year 2020, compared with 2005 levels.

The BBC reports that carbon intensity, China's preferred measurement, is the amount of carbon dioxide emitted for each unit of GDP.

It says the target does not mean China's overall levels of carbon dioxide will start falling.

About 190 nations will gather in Copenhagen from 7-18 December, aims to work out a global deal to fight climate change after the first phase of the Kyoto Protocol ends in 2012, though observers have said this is unlikely.