Many scientists have said that 2030 may be too long to wait for China?s greenhouse gas emissions to stop growing, if the world is to keep the average global temperature from rising more than 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius) above the preindustrial average. That goal was adopted by governments from around the world at talks in Copenhagen in 2009.

Almost no country has done enough yet to reach that goal, but because of its size and industrial development, China is crucial to any effort to even come close. (So is the United States, which promised on Wednesday to emit 26 percent to 28 percent less carbon dioxide in 2025 than it did in 2005.)

Some experts said that China should try to halt the growth of its emissions much sooner than it has pledged, by 2025 rather than 2030.

?Based on China?s current coal consumption numbers, they can do much more,? Mr. Li said on Wednesday. He said of the pledges made on Wednesday that ?this should be the floor on which they work, rather than a ceiling.?

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