The reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in China as outlined in the Tokyo Protocol was identified yesterday by a senior environmental official as making the nation one of the most effective in cutting such emissions.

 

 

Since the beginning of 2006 China's emission cuts have been more than 40 percent of the total reduction of the 40 countries involved in the Clean Development Mechanism of the Tokyo Protocol, according to Lu Xuedu, deputy director-general of the office of global environmental affairs at the Ministry of Science and Technology.

 

Through the mechanism the total reduction in the world at the end of this year is expected to reach about 106 million Certified Emission Reductions (CERs). China is expected to achieve more than 46 million CERs.

 

The mechanism is run on cooperative projects between developing and developed nations. As a developing country China has 164 projects in existence or in the planning stages with help from around the globe, according to Lu.

 

Of these 18 are in cooperation with Japan. In an effort to improve how projects are carried-out a training course started yesterday for more than 50 environmental scientists and officials from 17 Chinese cities.

 

Leading environmental scientists from China and Japan will lecture on the guidelines of the Clean Development System, laws governing greenhouse gas emissions and the preparation of paperwork in related projects.

 

The training is sponsored by the Japan International Cooperation Agency and hosted by the China 21st Century Agenda Center under the Ministry of Science and Technology.

 

"The training will greatly improve the ability of local governments and their scientists to implement the international Clean Development Mechanism," said Huang Jing, center deputy director.

 

(China Daily December 19, 2006)