04 Jun 2007 - China has
remarkably stepped forward in addressing
climate change by releasing its first Climate
Change National Action Plan on June 4, 2007.
The plan is the first formal acknowledgement
of China’s goal to reduce CO2 emissions
through a cut of energy consumption by 20
per cent per unit of GDP (Gross Domestic
Product) by 2010. This clarification of
the country’s basic stand on the issue is
expected to play a positive role and stimulate
an agreement on greenhouse gases emission
cuts in post-Kyoto Protocol days, WWF says.
“The Chinese government has set a responsible
and positive example for other countries,
both developing and developed, in the efforts
to increase energy consumption efficiency
and explore low-carbon development path
despite several factors of pressures such
as population and fast economic development,”
said WWF International Director General
James Leape.
Assigned by the State Council, the plan
was jointly completed by relevant departments
and several scores of experts mobilized
by the National Development and Reform Commission
over the past two years. Although the plan
does not put forward new policies and objectives,
WWF thinks that it will take effect similar
to China’s 11th Fifth-year Plan in terms
of official significance that will strengthen
the practical execution capability of governments
on provincial and county levels by guiding
them to build new constitutional outfit
and capacity towards climate change and
integrate the issue into local sustainable
development policy and planning. This is
an applicable guideline developed on the
basis of Chinese society’s political and
economic framework.
According to WWF China Climate Change and
Energy Programme director Chen Dongmei,
the quick and effective transfer and spread
of technologies that help combat climate
change is crucial to determine the ultimate
result of our global fight against the challenge.
“We hope that innovative mechanism could
be explored within the United Nation's Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to
encourage regional and global technological
cooperation, which will turn the counteraction
into a driver for growth,” she said.
Tan Rui, Communications Officer, WWF China
+ More
WWF annual conference marks World Environment
Day
05 Jun 2007 - Beijing, China/Gland, Switzerland
– World leaders, corporate partners and
conservationists join forces today in a
renewed focus on solving some of the most
urgent issues of our time — halting climate
change and living within the natural resources
of the planet.
As part of World Environment Day celebrations,
more than 200 delegates to the WWF Annual
Conference are attending a special forum
sponsored by WWF and China’s State Forest
Administration in the Great Hall of the
People in Beijing. Former UN Secretary General
Kofi Annan will give the opening address,
where he is expected to challenge nations
and citizens to change the way they think
about and use energy to halt climate change
and create a more fair and equitable society
for all.
“The theme of our conference is Living
Within One Planet, and never has the need
to do so been greater,” said WWF International
President Chief Emeka Anyaoku.
“If poor countries are to develop, rich
countries maintain their prosperity, and
emerging economies reach their full potential,
then we must all embrace sustainable development.
We simply cannot go on living beyond our
natural means."
WWF’s Living Planet Report 2006, released
last October, highlighted a rapid and continuing
loss of biodiversity, showing an overall
decline of about 30 per cent over a 33-year
period. It also showed that humanity’s footprint
– our impact upon the planet – tripled between
1961 and 2003. Climate changing emissions
from fossil fuel use made up 48 per cent
– almost half – of our footprint.
“If we are going to succeed in reducing
our footprint, and reducing our loss of
biodiversity, we must do more, and we must
do it now," said WWF International
Director General James Leape.
"We need to embark on ambitious new
partnerships with governments, corporations,
international institutions and other NGOs
if we are going to get the world on a sustainable
track.”
The Chinese government recognizes the place
of conservation and has included the environment
as a key part of its policy to build a "harmonious
society". Also, in its new National
Action Plan on Climate Change, China has
for the first time linked its existing plan
to cut energy use by 20 per cent to cutting
carbon emissions to combat climate change.
“This is a good step forward, but there
is still more to be done in China and around
the world," Leape added. "The
time has come for tough decisions, for bold
action by governments and the private sector."
WWF regularly engages with both, working
together to find solutions to problems that
affect us all.
“Today we are announcing a collaboration
with The Coca-Cola Company, which will focus
on a new global initiative to conserve water
resources," Leape said. "By pledging
to replace the water it uses, Coca-Cola
is stepping up to protect its future and
the planet’s.”
WWF’s annual conference will also be addressed
by high-level figures from the Chinese government
as well as corporate leaders including:
E. Neville Isdell, Chairman and CEO of The
Coca-Cola Company; Dr Ursula Schaefer-Preuss,
Vice-President of Knowledge Managements
and Sustainable Development at the Asian
Development Bank; Jorma Ollila, Chairman
of Nokial; and Xu Xubo, CEO of China National
Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corporation.
Moira O’Brien-Malone, WWF International
