Editor's note: "Shared by Nature" invites experts and scholars from around the world to share their knowledge of major issues in nature, such as climate change, biodiversity conservation and environmental protection. The ongoing Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) mentions about the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and its contribution to the joint effort of tackling global climate change.Zhang Zhiqiang, director of the Ministry of Foreign Cooperation with National Center for Climate change Strategy and International Cooperation (NCSC), also shared some thoughts with CGTN Nature.
The annual Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) is underway in Boao, south China's Hainan Province from March 28 to 31. The conference covers various topics such as carbon neutrality, green energy and climate change. This year also marks the 10th year after the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was proposed. Therefore, with the theme of "An Uncertain World: Solidarity and Cooperation for Development amid Challenges," the BFA also brings the BRI's accomplishments over the past 10 years as a discussion topic.
According to the forum, the BRI welcomes everyone to jointly explore opportunities for shared growth, and countries involved in the BRI will enhance cooperation with China. In the forum, a minister from Mongolia indicated that Mongolia is willing to work with partners to tackle environmental issues. A minister from the Islamic Republic of Pakistan also pointed out that Pakistan is shifting from fossil fuels to renewable energy, and attends some green economy initiatives under the BRI to withstand natural disasters and climate change.
The site for the Boao Forum in south China's Hainan Province. /VCG
"The construction of [the] BRI will help member countries to learn from China's successful practices and experiences in green and low-carbon transformation and development," Zhang Zhiqiang, director of the Ministry of Foreign Cooperation with National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation (NCSC), told CGTN Nature. He said the Chinese government has allocated a total of about 1.2 billion yuan for South-South cooperation in response to climate change since 2011, and has been helping island countries, African countries and other countries improve their capacity to cope with climate change.
Zhang said, China and countries along the BRI route have established multi-level cooperation mechanisms to jointly promote the process of global climate governance, and so far mechanisms that have been built include: the climate negotiation and consultation mechanism, the cooperation mechanism of the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor, the action plan of China-ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the China-Africa Cooperation Forum and so on. He points out that cooperation between China and the leading countries has been strengthened, especially through active consultation and unified position on some major issues, and actively safeguarded the rights and interests of developing countries.
Ethiopia with silhouetted mountains in the background at dawn. /VCG
Zhang also shared an example about how cooperation helped between BRI countries. In October 2016, China and Ethiopia signed the Gift to Ethiopia Micro Satellite System Project. The satellite was successfully launched in December 2019 and delivered the following year. This has enabled Ethiopia to achieve a breakthrough in its space system from scratch, becoming the 76th country in the world and the first country in Africa to have an Earth observation satellite. Ethiopia's capacity in climate disaster monitoring, land survey and urban construction has been enhanced. This project is an important measure to strengthen cooperation among the BRI countries in the high-tech field, and is also a model of South-South cooperation in tackling climate change.
(Cover image designed by CGTN's Yu Peng.)
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