Chinese Ambassador Tong Xiaoling talks to The Brunei Times.

Bandar Seri Begawan - China and Brunei can cooperate to champion the collective interests of other developing countries to protect the environment. Two days before the start of the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference, Chinese Ambassador to Brunei Tong Xiaoling told The Brunei Times that her country would be championing the cause of developing countries by ensuring developed nations would fulfil their commitment to providing capital, ensuring technology transfer and capacity building support.

Asked how both countries could cooperate in tackling climate change, the diplomat said Brunei and China were similar in the sense that "both are developing countries and face the arduous tasks of needing to advance the economy and reduce CO2 emissions at the same time".

"Our countries can exchange experiences and share expertise in developing a low-carbon and environment-friendly economy by resorting to non-fossil fuels and renewable energies," she said.

"We can also enhance cooperation on climate change under the frameworks of 10+1, 10+3, East Asia Summit, BimpEaga and others. With joint efforts, the cooperation on climate change will further enrich the all-round friendly and cooperative relations between China and Brunei," she added.

The ambassador lauded Brunei's relentless efforts in the Heart of Borneo (HoB) project and recalled that Brunei joined the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) at the 6th Bimp-Eaga Summit held in Thailand in October, citing the vast area of the Indo-Pacific coral triangle as a very important habitat for 75 per cent of the world's known coral species, 50 per cent of world reefs and 40 per cent of world coral reef fish species.

"All these actions by Brunei to conserve nature have won recognition and acclaim from around the region," she added.

While lauding the Sultanate's efforts, she also said that there were still things to be done by Brunei to combat climate change. "Brunei is a Shangri-La in Southeast Asia, but is not an exception to the impact of climate change. The most noticeable impact is the abnormal changes in weather conditions," said Tong, remembering the massive floods and landslides which hit the country early this year due to unusual heavy rains.

"There is still room where Brunei can do more. Brunei is rich in petroleum and natural gas resources which are precious gifts from nature. But some people take them for granted and hardly practice energy saving. I read a report saying that Brunei's energy consumption per capita, in terms of kilowatt, is the second highest in the Mean. So I think Bruneian people should further raise awareness of environment conservation and contribute their parts." -- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Write comment

Name

Email

Title

Comment

smaller | bigger

Write the displayed characters

Add Comment