VI. Strengthening International Cooperation

China proactively participates in and promotes practical cooperation with governments, international organizations and institutions based on the principles of "mutual benefit and win-win cooperation, being practical and effective," and is playing a positive and constructive role in promoting cooperation of the global community in addressing climate change. In March 2010, China issued the Interim Measures on the Administration of External Cooperation to Address Climate Change, which further standardized and promoted international cooperation on climate change.

1. Expanding cooperation with international organizations

China strengthens communication and exchanges, resource sharing and practical cooperation with relevant international organizations and institutions, and has signed a series of cooperative research agreements and implemented a batch of research projects on the scientific study, mitigation, adaptation, policies and measures to respond to climate change, including project cooperation with the United Nations Development Program, World Bank and European Investment Bank; carbon capture, utilization and sequestration cooperation with the Asian Development Bank, Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum and Global Carbon Capture and Sequestration Research Institute; cooperation on the assessment of China' s technological needs with the Global Environment Facility; and cooperation with the Energy Foundation on the greenhouse gas inventory preparation capability, research into related policies and technical road maps, and legislation concerning climate change. China proactively joins relevant international scientific cooperation programs, such as the World Climate Research Program within the framework of the Earth System Science Partnership, International Geosphere-Biosphere Program, International Human Dimensions Program, Intergovernmental Group on Earth Observation Satellites, Global Climate Observation System and other programs, and the results of relevant researches have provided a useful reference to China in formulating its policies to address climate change.

2. Strengthening practical cooperation with developed countries

China has established a dialogue and cooperation mechanism on climate change with the United States, European Union, Italy, Germany, Norway, Britain, France, Australia, Canada, Japan and other countries and regions, and has signed relevant joint communiques, memorandums of understanding and cooperation agreements with climate change as the focus of cooperation. China has promoted cooperation on energy conservation and environmental protection with Japan; carried out joint research on the three prioritized areas of building energy conservation, clean coal/carbon capture and sequestration, and clean energy automobiles with the United States; boosted scientific cooperation on electric vehicles with Germany; and pursued cooperation on the geological sequestration of carbon dioxide with Australia, cooperation on clean energy/carbon capture and sequestration technology with Italy, cooperation on building energy conservation and quality with the European Union, cooperation on green buildings and ecological urban development with Britain, cooperation on the adoption of modern wooden structures to address climate change with Canada, and cooperation on urban and rural sustainable development with Sweden.

3. Deepening practical cooperation with developing countries

China has signed relevant joint communiques, memorandums of understanding and cooperation agreements with South Africa, India, Brazil, Republic of Korea and other countries, established a cooperation mechanism on climate change, strengthened cooperation on meteorological satellite monitoring, new energy development and utilization and other areas, and aided the construction of 200 clean energy and environmental protection projects in developing countries. China is strengthening its cooperation on science and technology, and has implemented 100 China-Africa joint scientific and technical research demonstration projects. It also bolsters agricultural cooperation and aids the construction of agricultural demonstration centers. It has dispatched agricultural technical experts, trained agricultural technical personnel and improved Africa's ability to realize food security. It attaches importance to cooperation in human resource development, and has carried out 85 foreign aid training programs. China held a training session on clean development mechanism and renewable energy resources in Djibouti in December 2008; held a seminar on addressing climate change for officials of developing countries in Beijing in June 2009; opened an advanced seminar on climate and climate change in developing countries for officials and scholars from African nations in Beijing in July the same year; and arranged a total of 19 international seminars addressing climate change and clean energy in 2010, which offered training to 548 officials and professionals of the recipient countries. China has also offered support and assistance to small island states in the South Pacific, the Caribbean and other regions, and aided the construction of over 130 projects in the island countries of the Pacific, providing assistance within its ability to developing countries to improve their capability to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

4. Proactively carrying out cooperation on clean development mechanism projects

In order to promote the orderly implementation of clean development mechanism (CDM) projects, China formulated and promulgated the Measures on the Operation and Management of Clean Development Mechanism Projects in 2005, which was amended in 2010 to increase the efficiency of CDM program development and validation and verification. China vigorously carries out relevant capacity building to improve its capacity to promote CDM project development, and organizes experts to calculate baseline emission factors for power grids each year which are timely published and shared by others. By July 2011, China had approved 3,154 CDM projects, mainly focusing on new energy and renewable energy, energy conservation and the enhancement of energy efficiency, methane recycling and reutilization and other areas. A total of 1,560 Chinese projects have been successfully registered with the United Nations Clean Development Mechanism Executive Board, accounting for 45.67 percent of the world's total registered programs, and their estimated certified emission reduction (CER) has reached an annual issuance volume of 328 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, accounting for 63.84 percent of the world's total, providing valuable support for the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol.