China and Canada are taking steps to build a strong partnership in
the fight against global climate changes, said Sun Cuihua, division
chief of the State Development Planning Commission.
Speaking at the inaugural reception of the Canada-China Cooperation
in Climate Change (C5) Project over the weekend, Sun said China has
done much to tackle problems related to climate changes.
China has built a national climate change coordination committee to
help the successful implementation of the C5 project, Sun said.
Total funding for the C5 project amounts to 31.5 million yuan
(US$3.8 million). The Canadian International Development Agency
contributes 26.25 million yuan (US$3.2 million) while China funds
approximately 5.25 million yuan (US$638,000).
The memorandum of understanding for the project was signed this May
by Vice-Foreign Trade Minister Long Yongtu and Joseph Caron, the
Canadian Ambassador to China.
The two-and-a-half-year C5 project focuses on strengthening the
capacity of Chinese institutions to deal with climate change,
including training courses, workshops and case studies.
According to meteorologist Wang Bangzhong, climate change is the
most significant environmental issue the world faces.
"Forecasts show that a continued warming of the earth's atmosphere
could trigger a wide range of changes in our climate that could
have consequences for our environment, our health, our agriculture
and our future," said Jeff Nankivell, a counselor at the Canadian
embassy.
"Canada and China have been partners in the environmental field for
more than a decade. Our two countries can learn from each other and
can meet the expectations and demands of our citizens by addressing
the very important issue of climate change."
According to Nicole Jasmin, the project director for the Canadian
side, this is an issue no country can handle alone.
(China Daily November 25, 2002)