BRI, BRICS, & Global South~

High up in the Tibet Autonomous Region and western China lies the Tibetan Plateau, an imposing landmass of huge importance to Asia. Now, climate change is threatening to melt its glaciers. What does this mean for China and south Asia? Nicknamed the ‘Roof of the World’, the Tibetan Plateau, or 青藏高原 (Qīng–Zàng Gāoyuán), far surpasses Mount Olympus in height and grandeur. Standing proudly at 4500 metres above sea level and surrounded by […]

China Environment editorial note: The Kunming Declaration (see full text in English here) was adopted today. Its main purpose is to reaffirm the global political commitment to tackling the biodiversity crisis, and continue the process of coming to an agreement on the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). The text is agreed by ministers of all parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which includes just about every country, except the […]

Parties to the United Nations Biological Diversity Convention have adopted the Kunming Declaration, as a two-day high-level segment of the 15th meeting of the conference of the parties to the convention, or COP 15, concluded on Wednesday. A copy of the full text of the Kunming Declaration is available at this link: https://www.cbd.int/doc/c/0b20/847a/a9bf5b31366057821460aa68/kunmingdeclaration-en.docx The largest UN gathering on biodiversity in a decade, COP 15 is tasked with elaborating on the […]

Two months ago, a herd of China’s wandering Asian elephants finally returned home after a 17-month odyssey that caught global attention. But the discussion on ecological civilization continues, and the public’s ongoing interest in these international stars reflects that more and more awareness is being paid to the issue. China’s efforts to escort the elephants home also show the world that the country is committed to being an important participant, […]

The first passenger train to run on the Laos-China railway, which is scheduled to open on December 2, is expected to arrive in Vientiane on Friday. The Prime Minister’s Office on Monday issued a notice that named the historic passenger train ‘Lane Xang’ – Laos’ former name when the country was known as the Lane Xang (million elephants) Kingdom. Laos and China have agreed to inaugurate the railway, which links […]

Our planet – the only home we have – is at breaking point. Two-thirds of our Earth’s oceans and three-quarters of its land have been damaged by humans. One million species could vanish by 2050 – accelerating the global extinction rate potentially hundreds of times faster than over the last 10 million years. One-fifth of all nations could see their ecosystems collapse completely, according to insurer Swiss Re, due to […]

China will on Monday launch a crucial biodiversity summit to build political momentum to halt and even reverse the destruction of nature by man. The virtual opening of the COP15 summit will transfer leadership from Egypt, which presided over the last gathering in 2018, to China. As the human population climbs toward 9 billion by mid-century, animals are being crowded out, eaten, snared, poisoned, poached, hawked and hunted out of […]

China’s recent announcement about stepping up support for other developing countries in developing green and low-carbon energy and not to build new coal-fired power projects abroad makes the Belt and Road Initiative more appealing, experts have said. Kaposvar 100MW Photovoltaic Power Plant under construction in Kaposvar, Hungary. (Photo by Attila Volgyi/Xinhua) NEW YORK, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) — The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) continues to be seen as an opportunity of […]