Posted : 2014-04-29 18:31
Updated : 2014-04-29 18:40
Korea, China, Japan agree to tackle ultrafine dust
By Kim Se-jeong
DAEGU ― Environment ministers from Korea, China and Japan agreed Tuesday to jointly tackle air pollution caused by ultrafine dust. An action plan will be finalized next year when they meet in China. Some of the possible areas of collaboration will include exchanges of scientists, government officials and private sector representatives, sharing data on the concentration of ultrafine dust and comparing technology and assessment methodology. This is the first time the issue of particulate matter has been adopted at the ministers meeting which has been held annually for the past 16 years. Wrapping up the two-day Tripartite Environment Ministers Meeting, Yoon Seong-kyu, Korea's environment minister; Ishihara Nobuteru, the Japanese minister of the environment; and Li Ganjie, the Chinese vice minister, signed an agreement to collaborate in solving the dust problem. Li replaced Minister Zhou Shengxian, who had to remain at home to oversee the historic revision to China's domestic environmental protection legislation. "It is significant that the three countries have shown determination to do something to this end," said Yoon during a press conference, adding the cooperation will take time to bear fruit. Tuesday's development is expected to reinstate existing dialogue channels. In March this year, the three countries held their first annual meeting on air pollution in Beijing, followed by a meeting between mayors of Seoul, Tokyo and Beijing in April. Concerns are rising over the increasing amount of fine particles in the air and their potential impact on public health across Northeast Asia. China and Korea are the most affected countries. China's air pollution rate is far more severe making international headlines. Korea launched daily dust forecasts earlier this year. The meeting in Daegu comes on the heels of a historic development in China. Amendments to its 25-year-old Environmental Protection Law were passed by the National People's Congress on April 24, and are expected to impose huge penalties on polluters when they come into force. "The amendment shows that there has been a fundamental shift in how China views the environmental protection," said Li. "In the past, it was perceived as a supplement to economic growth. But, the new amendment reflects there is a genuine interest in protecting the environment so that it can make the people's lives better." Apart from improvement in air quality, the three countries have designated eight future priority areas: biodiversity, chemical management and environmental emergency response, cyclic management of resources, climate change response, conservation of water and the marine environment, environmental education and public awareness, rural environmental management and transition to a green economy. |
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