The Japanese Government communicates its policies on climate change and intentions for cooperation with China through various channels. Over the years, it has sponsored a number of energy conservation and environmental protection projects here by offering economic assistance and extending loans. Japanese companies are also eager to participate in the cooperative projects.

At the First China-Japan Forum on Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection in Tokyo in May 2007, the NDRC and Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry signed a letter of intent on promoting the two countries' cooperation in energy conservation. They agreed to focus on establishing a dialogue mechanism on energy-saving policies and training personnel.

Last December, the two ministries decided to launch energy conservation and environmental protection demonstration projects between companies from both countries. Under this initiative, some 1,000 Chinese firms will carry out "energy conservation diagnoses" to study the feasibility for Chinese companies to adopt sophisticated Japanese equipment in an effort to facilitate their import of the equipment.

During Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Japan last April, China and Japan issued a joint statement on further strengthening their cooperation in environmental protection. In September, the Second China-Japan Forum on Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection was held in Beijing. Nearly 1,000 representatives from government agencies, companies, research institutes and nongovernmental organizations participated. Since the first forum was convened, China and Japan have signed 10 cooperative projects in energy conservation in coal-fired power plants, heat recovery in textile enterprises and the comprehensive use of urban garbage and crop stalks.

The environment and energy were also high on the agenda of the first China-Japan high-level economic dialogue in Beijing in early December. Wen and former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe jointly launched the dialogue mechanism during Wen's trip to Japan. In the document, China and Japan acknowledged the effectiveness of the multi-field cooperation in the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate. They agreed to make concerted efforts to tackle public hazards and global warming. The two countries also vowed to enhance their cooperation in expanding experimental zones for recycling, improving water quality in major rivers including the Yangtze, tackling air pollution and preventing illegal cross-border waste transfers.

The NDRC official pointed out that China and Japan have huge potential for energy cooperation. The Chinese Government has set a goal to reduce energy consumption of per unit gross domestic product by 20 percent and emissions of sulfur dioxide and chemical oxygen demand by 10 percent during the five-year period from 2006 to 2010. Japan, as a developed country, boasts cutting-edge energy conservation and environmental protection technologies. It also has adopted a series of effective policies and management practices in industry, transportation and construction, which China can learn from, the NDRC official said. Policy dialogue, demonstration projects and the development of a business-to-business technology transfer system are the major areas for future cooperation, he said.

A Significant Step Forward

Australia officially ratified the Kyoto Protocol on December 3, the first act of its new government under Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. Rudd signed the instrument of ratification the very day he was sworn in by Australia's Governor General Michael Jeffery.

This is a significant step in Australia's efforts to fight climate change domestically and with the international community, Rudd said in a statement. The Australian Government will do everything in its power to help Australia meet its Kyoto obligations, he added.

Under UN guidelines, ratification comes into force 90 days after the UN receives the instrument of ratification, making Australia a full member of the global climate change accord by the end of March 2008.

Rudd took the step as the 12-day UN Climate Change Conference kicked off in Bali, Indonesia. Representatives from more than 180 countries broke into applause in the conference hall to welcome the Australian Government's decision. While in Bali on his first overseas trip as prime minister, Rudd announced that Australia has committed reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 60 percent on 2000 levels by 2050.

The move left the United States as the only industrialized country to refuse the binding targets for greenhouse gas emissions.

"Our position vis-à-vis Kyoto is clear-cut, and that is all developed and developing countries need to be part of the global solution," Rudd told Australia's Southern Cross Broadcasting radio network. "And, therefore, we do need to see the United States as a full ratification state."

Rudd's Australian Labor Party defeated the Liberal-National Coalition in the federal elections on November 24. Unlike his predecessor, John Howard, who refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol because it imposed emission reduction requirements only on developed countries, Rudd had pledged to sign Australia up to the protocol once he won the election campaign. Though Australia's total emissions are not significant, it is a major greenhouse gas emitter on a per-capita basis.