A UN Symposium Held in Beijing to Discuss Green Economy & Sustainable Development

A high-level symposium¹ on the UN Conference on Sustainable Development has kicked off in Beijing. The two-day session, which serves as the forerunner² to the conference that will be held in Rio de Janeiro next June, offers an opportunity for in-depth discussions among experts and UN representatives on two topics—the green economy and a sustainable development institutional framework.

CRI reporter Wei Tong has the details.

 
The green economy theme focuses on sustainable development with regard to poverty eradication³, job creation, energy access, water scarcity⁴, food security and increasing urbanization. The institutional framework for sustainable development will address global governance issues.

Sha Zukang, Secretary General of the Conference, has voiced concerns over developing nations' increasing worries about potential trade barriers, technological⁵ gaps, new additional investment costs and new aid conditionality⁶ in developing the green economy.

"We should also be looking forward to reducing technological gaps between developed and developing countries. Developing countries need investments in their green sectors⁷. They need support in fulfilling standards that are green enough to compete in international markets. And we need to acquire and implement⁸ technologies to build greener infrastructures⁹ and industries."

Sha says because countries have to mobilize green economy financing by themselves, a public and private financing initiative, such as a global green economy fund could be considered at next year's Rio conference.

China, the world's largest developing country, is facing many challenges such as the excessive exploitation of natural resources and environmental degradation¹⁰.

Zhang Ping, China's top economic planner, says the country will become an energy-saving and environmentally friendly one in the near future.

"In the next five years, China will focus on saving energy and reducing emissions¹¹ and further build its capacity for sustainable development. By 2020, we will try to reduce carbon intensity¹² by 40 to 45 percent over the 2005 level and raise the forest area by 40 million hectares and forest stock by 1.3 billion cubic meters."

Zena Nzibo, Kenya's representative at the conference, says she hopes her country can partner with China to achieve joint¹³ development goals.

"In Kenya, we have integrated a lot of environmental policies to address chronic¹⁴ issues like drought, climate change. It's a question of balancing human development with environmental sustainability, and we don't think that is a tradeoff between either one. As we develop, we can anticipate some of the challenges but require commitments from developed countries, working with partners like China and the South to learn from lessons, capacity building and investments."

The Rio summit, referred to as Rio+20, is an important global event marking the 20th anniversary of the original Rio Earth Summit in 1992 when an agreement on the Climate Change Convention was reached, which in turn led to the Kyoto Protocol¹⁵.

For CRI, this is Wei Tong.

1 symposium   

n.讨论会，专题报告会；专题论文集

参考例句：

• What have you learned from the symposium?你参加了这次科学讨论会有什么体会？
• The specialists and scholars present at the symposium come from all corners of the country.出席研讨会的专家学者们来自全国各地。

2 forerunner   

n.前身，先驱（者），预兆，祖先

参考例句：

• She is a forerunner of the modern women's movement.她是现代妇女运动的先驱。
• Penicillin was the forerunner of modern antibiotics.青霉素是现代抗生素的先导。

3 eradication   

n.根除

参考例句：

• The eradication of an established infestation is not easy. 根除昆虫蔓延是不容易的。
• This is often required for intelligent control and eradication. 这经常需要灵巧的控制与消除。

4 scarcity   

n.缺乏，不足，萧条

参考例句：

• The scarcity of skilled workers is worrying the government.熟练工人的缺乏困扰着政府。
• The scarcity of fruit was caused by the drought.水果供不应求是由于干旱造成的。

5 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

6 conditionality   

n.受限制性，制约性

参考例句：

• We have the same value plus half the upside, with no conditionality. 我们获得了相同价值，外加一半的上行机会，而且没有条件限制。 来自互联网
• Gate conditionality does not mitigate the adverse effect of gate review criteria. 关卡制约性不会减少关卡评价标准的反作用。 来自互联网

7 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

9 infrastructures   

n.基础设施( infrastructure的名词复数 )；基础结构；行政机构；秘密机构

参考例句：

• Public transportation termini and depots are important infrastructures for a city. 公交场站设施是城市重要的基础设施。 来自互联网
• The increasingly fast urbanization process requires more and more infrastructures. 我国城市化进程不断加快，对城市基础设施的需求也越来越大。 来自互联网

10 degradation   

n.降级；低落；退化；陵削；降解；衰变

参考例句：

• There are serious problems of land degradation in some arid zones.在一些干旱地带存在严重的土地退化问题。
• Gambling is always coupled with degradation.赌博总是与堕落相联系。

11 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

12 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

13 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

14 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

15 protocol   

n.议定书，草约，会谈记录，外交礼节

参考例句：

• We must observe the correct protocol.我们必须遵守应有的礼仪。
• The statesmen signed a protocol.那些政治家签了议定书。