Japan, China, S. Korea adopt 1st joint plan on environment

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TOMAKOMAI, Japan, May 23 Kyodo -
Environment ministers from Japan, China and South Korea adopted Sunday their
countries' first joint action plan to deal with global warming, the problem of
yellow dust and other priority environmental issues for the five years through
2014.
In a joint communique also issued at the end of their two-day meeting in
Tomakomai, Hokkaido, the three ministers referred to the initiative to create
an East Asian community, promoted by Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, and said
cooperation in the environmental area would be a key element to that end.
The agreement among Japanese environment minister Sakihito Ozawa, China's Zhou
Shengxian and South Korea's Lee Maanee will be submitted for endorsement at
their leaders' summit from May 29 on South Korea's Jeju Island.
Specifying trilateral cooperation in 10 areas, the action plan calls for the
countries' coordinated action and joint technological development to help
mitigate climate change, plus work to establish the so-called co-benefit
approach to promote both anti-pollution and anti-global warming measures in
developing countries.
In the area of cross-border pollution, the three East Asian states will start a
joint study on ways to deal at its origin with the issue of yellow sand carried
by the wind to Japan from deserts on mainland China and its vicinity, and the
mechanism of air pollution.
The Japanese and Chinese ministers agreed in their bilateral talks Saturday to
hold a working group meeting this year in China on the so-called yellow sand
phenomenon.
==Kyodo
2010-05-23 21:10:22