Beijing - Chinese leaders on Friday called for developed nations to take the lead on climate change and share technology to help developing nations to reduce carbon emissions.

Developed nations should "take responsibility and obligations in addressing climate change" and "alter their unsustainable way of life," Premier Wen Jiabao said in a speech at a UN-sponsored conference on climate change.

"As the global financial crisis spreads and worsens, and the world economy apparently slows down, the international community must not waver in its determination to tackle climate change," Wen said.

Zhang Ping, China's minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, said developed nations should transfer technology and provide financial support for developing nations to curb their carbon emissions.

Wen said China faced "unprecedented" difficulty in reducing carbon emissions but added that that the government always saw climate change as "very important."

"It took developed countries several decades to solve the problems of saving energy and reducing emissions, while China must solve the same problems in a much shorter period," he said.

He said China was confident of meeting its targets for 2010 of reducing energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product (GDP) by 20 per cent and emissions of major pollutants by 10 per cent from the 2005 levels.

The two-day conference, attended by delegates from more than 100 nations, is focussing on development and transfer of related technology.

Zhang also urged the international community to set up a UN-linked fund to "stimulate the development and transfer of climate-friendly technology" between developed and developing nations.

"The transfer of technology to developing countries on favourable conditions is the obligation of developed countries," he told the official China Daily newspaper before the opening of the conference.

According to some estimates, China surpassed the United States last year as the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases.