China’s Environmental Protection Ministry and the Asian Development Bank have signed memorandums of understanding to deepen their cooperation in addressing the country’s problems with pollution and climate change.
Under one of the memorandums, a partnership has been created between the two parties from 2014 to 2018. Within this time period A.D.B. will cooperate with China in terms of the prevention and management of pollution.
According to Environment Minister Zhou Shengxian, action plans for water and soil pollution prevention and control in China are still in progress, and are among the key priorities of the government’s agenda. The partnership will be a part of implementing these plans.
Two other memorandums were also signed, one addressing climate change and the other to promote initiatives for green and sustainable growth.
During the course of five years, A.D.B. will support China in addressing climate change and green growth; this will include the development of low-carbon economic zones, energy efficiency improvement, clean coal technologies, and the piloting of emissions trading schemes.
“I was impressed by the comprehensiveness of the decisions of the recent Third Plenum of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China,” commented A.D.B. President Takehiko Nakao.
“As we look closely at the scope and implications of the seemingly rather simple policy statement to give market the ‘decisive role,’ we realize that the successful implementation of the forthcoming reforms can indeed bring the P.R.C. to a new era in its socioeconomic development,” Mr. Nakao said.
Under A.D.B.’s Country Operations Business Plan, the regional development bank will be providing China around $4.13 billion in loans in the 2014 to 2016 period for projects covering natural resources and the agriculture, energy, transport, and urban and social sectors. – EcoSeed Staff
