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President Jiang Zemin said Wednesday that protecting the global environment and achieving sustainable development is a pressing task for all countries of the world.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Second Global Environment Facility (GEF) Assembly in Beijing, Jiang said past lessons make it clear that sustainable development is the correct choice for mankind.
He delivered four proposals for the implementation of sustainable development worldwide in his speech:
The principle that developed countries and developing countries take common but differentiated responsibilities in reaching sustainable development must be upheld.
Developed countries should take the lead in changing unsustainable patterns of production and consumption and help developing countries in concrete ways.
At the same time, developing countries should also work hard and push forward their development in a sustainable way.
In achieving sustainable development worldwide, full respect should be given to the sovereignty of all countries and their right to independently choose their own paths of development.
Different countries should, based on their own conditions, take active measures to exploit and use their natural resources rationally, protect their ecosystems and promote harmony between economic development and environmental protection.
International environment norms should be formulated through discussion among all countries on a basis of equality and should reflect the will and interest of all sides.
The difficulties of developing countries especially should be taken into full consideration.
Therefore, the issue of poverty should be combined with environmental protection.
In developing countries, environmental degradation has its roots in poverty. It will be very hard for developing countries, which face the dual tasks of poverty elimination and environmental protection, to achieve sustainable development if a sound and supportive international economic environment is not available.
Reform of the international finance, investment and trade systems should be carried out and funds and techniques shared with developing countries to ensure that such countries get an equal opportunity to develop in this age of economic globalization.
GEF, which has been in operation for 11 years, is devoted to financing projects and programs worldwide that protect the global environment.
During the assembly, which is held every four years, participants review its performance in the past and set its future directions.
GEF's Chief Executive Officer and Chairman Mohamed T. El-Ashry, said in his welcome address at the ceremony that the challenge now is how to ensure sustainable development by bringing growth and environmental protection into harmony.
"We need to strengthen our partnerships, multiply our resources, streamline our processes, improve our responsiveness, and increasingly focus on results and impacts," said El-Ashry.
(China Daily October 17, 2002)
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