The first manual for farmers and foresters on how to reduce
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions will be available to Chinese users
soon, a US environmental protection NGO announced in Beijing on
Monday.
The guide explains how farmers and foresters can reduce
emissions of gases such as methane and nitrous oxide by making
alterations to land use and farming practices, said David Yarnold,
executive vice president of Environmental Defense, a non-profit,
nongovernmental organization.
Environmental Defense, which has been working in China on a
series of environmental policy innovations since 1997, developed
the guide in collaboration with Duke University's Nicholas
Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, and many American
scientists
Zhang Jianyu, who is in charge of the project in China, said
burning stalks, improper tilling methods and usage of chemical
fertilizers can produce greenhouse gas, which accounted for 25
percent of total emissions from annual fossil fuel consumed by the
country.
Curbing agricultural greenhouse gas emissions is much easier
than reducing industrial greenhouse gas, said Zhang.
"We know land-use practices give us more options for reducing
greenhouse gas emissions over the next 20 to 30 years," said deputy
chief of China's Xinjiang Environment Protection Bureau Wang
Lianshe.
"But more importantly, these practices can also help us achieve
environmental benefits such as reduced water consumption and air
pollution, and the new income stream through the sale of these
carbon reductions can also help us fight poverty, which is still a
major concern in places as remote as Xinjiang," said Wang.
Yarnold said, "We are deeply encouraged by China's efforts to
meet energy-saving targets, as revealed in the most recent China
National Climate Change Program, because they not only help the
country improve its environment, but also demonstrate its
willingness to work with other countries to solve a global
problem."
(Xinhua News Agency June 19, 2007)
