China appeared to cast doubts yesterday on the scientific consensus on the underlying causes of global warming, with a senior official saying that Beijing had an “open attitude” towards what he described as “disputes in the scientific community” on the issue.

“There is a view that climate change is caused by cyclical trends in nature itself,” Xie Zhenhua, vice-chairman of China's National Development and Reforms Commission, told a press conference in New Delhi. “We have to keep an open attitude.”

Mr Xie said later global warming was a “solid fact” that was already having an impact on developing countries but that there were still “uncertainties” over the cause of the phenomenon. “The major reason of the climate change is the unconstrained emissions of developed countries during the industrialisation process. That's the mainstream view,” he said. “But there are some uncertainties.”