Experts say China, LatAm could cooperate in battling climate change

The shared concern of China and Latin America for climate change presents opportunities for cooperation, leading experts said following the adoption of a historic climate deal in Paris.

Lenin Corrales, a Costa Rican expert working with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), told Xinhua that China is embarking on a sustainable development program that is "innovative, coordinated, green and open," as shown by its top leaders' statements regarding climate change on various occasions lately.

These resounding statements also show that China is looking for ways to promote international cooperation through technology transfer and economic investment, Corrales said.

Latin American countries, Costa Rica in particular, is also striving to find a path toward sustainable development that does not negatively impact the environment, noted the expert.

This shared objective presents opportunities for coordination and joint efforts, he added.

China can help Latin American countries tackle urban pollution, an area which China has rich experiences and technology know-how, while Costa Rica can help improve China's green endeavors by transferring its knowledge in successful public policies in such areas as reforestation and the promotion of clean energy, the expert suggested.

While noting that China's pledge to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases is "one of its most important policy decisions," environmental appraiser Allan Astorga said he sees at least four areas in which China and Latin American can effectively cooperate in fighting climate change.

In addition to forest conservation and renewable energy, the two sides could also cooperate to find ways to improve urban planning so as to reduce emission in the future, and they could work jointly for solutions to protect the seas, which generate more than half of the oxygen in the atmosphere. Endi