Workshop on East Asia Low Carbon Regional Development was held in Beijing

Workshop on East Asia Low Carbon Regional Development was held in Beijing

On July 2, 2010, the workshop on East Asia Low Carbon Regional Development was held in Beijing. It was sponsored by EnviroFriends Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, supported by China Civil Climate Action Network (CCAN) and Beijing Association of Sustainable Development, assisted by East Asia Environmental Information Express Messenger, Korean Citizen Environment Information Centre, and Editorial Department of China Low Carbon Yearbook. More than 40 participants from Chinese, Japanese and South Korean NGOs, government, enterprises and academies attended the workshop. Ms. Wang Xiangyi, Project Manager and Mr. Patrick Schroeder, International Advisor from CANGO joined the workshop.

In 2000, East Asia Environmental Information Sharing Network was established by EnviroFriends Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, East Asia Environmental Information Express Messenger and South Korean Citizen Environment Information Centre, engaged to promote environmental information sharing among China, Japan and South Korea. Since 2002, the network has organized citizen meetings every two years. In October, 2010, the 5^th citizen conference will be held in Gwangju, South Korea. The topic is Building Low Carbon East Asia and the Role of Citizens . This workshop as the preparatory meeting for the citizen conference, was expected to get valuable comments and suggestions on how to jointly respond to climate change among China, Japan and South Korea from NGOs, government, enterprises, and academies.

Experts from three countries were invited to share experience on climate change mitigation and adaptation, as well as NGOs cooperation among the three countries. Ms. Kimiko Hirata , Director of Kiko Network Tokyo Office, introduced the status of Japan GHG emissions and the policies and measures from government and enterprises. She also provided suggestions from NGOs on CO₂ reductions. Dr. Yang Fuqiang, Director Global Climate Solutions of WWF, introduced mitigation policies of China, Japan and South Korea, especially the role and efforts from Chinese different industries on CO₂ reductions. He also gave the expectation that the three countries jointly respond to climate change. Mr. Gu Jasang, Director of South Korea Climate Change Energy Alternative Center, introduced the status and policy of GHG emissions in South Korea, and gave the expectation for more research in the future. Mr. Hirose Toshiya, representative of East Asia Environmental Information Express Messenger, analyzed the relationship between trade and environment among the three countries, the common responsibility of China, Japan, South Korea environmental community, and provided specific suggestions on the long term target of emission reduction, CO₂ monitoring, environmental sharing.

All participants had a lively discussion after the presentations; environmental information sharing and NGOs cooperation were welcomed by the participants, the three countries joint action as well as their mitigation responsibility was discussed hotly and effectively. Many suggestions provided valuable reference to the citizen conference.