Mr. Zhou Shengxian, Minister of Ministry of Environmental Protection and Chinese Executive Vice Chairman of CCICED met with the International Vice Chairman Børge Brende and other International Members in Beijing on April 21. The two parties exchanged their views on such issues as international environmental cooperation and low carbon economy.

Minister Zhou firstly welcomed the arrival of these International Members and gave a brief introduction about the latest development of environmental protection in China. He said, energy saving and emission reduction work in China have obtained some achievements with unremitting efforts. As a result, total SO2 emission of China went down by 4.66％ and COD by 3.14％, the first time of both reductions over the past period. This greatly enhances the confidence of all people engaged in environmental protection. The establishment of Ministry of Environmental Protection shows that with rising status of environmental protection in China, environmental awareness of all social sectors and the public is continuously improving.

Minister Zhou said, although environmental protection work in China enters a new stage, the overall environmental situation is still grave. Many CCICED International Members come from developed countries and have advanced environmental protection ideas and mature technologies, which China is in urgent need now. He hoped that the cooperation areas are on continuous expansion and International Members present their wisdom and insight to environmental protection work of China on the basis of mutual benefits.

On behalf of International Members, Mr. Børge Brende expressed that with concerted efforts of CCICED, we would hand in hand facilitate the development of environmental protection cause of China.