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Asia-Pacific Countries Share Climate Change Data

Published: Thu 24 Apr 2008 10:07 AM
Asia-Pacific countries convene at UN forum to share climate change solutions
23 April 2008 - Participants from countries in the Asia-Pacific region will have an opportunity to share good practices on ways to cut greenhouse gases while reducing poverty at a meeting convened today in Bangkok by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).
The gathering, organized in cooperation with the Japanese Ministry of the Environment and the Japanese Overseas Environmental Cooperation Centre, will also launch an Asia-Pacific Gateway for Climate Change and Development.
The web-based platform provides a forum to exchange experiences and information on "co-benefits" activities, and measures to adapt to climate change.
One example of a co-benefits project from the region is the use of landfill gas, by which the greenhouse gasses created by decaying trash is burned to generate electricity. As a result, the effect of these gasses on the climate is reduced - creating a source of energy for development while mitigating climate change.
Other 'win-win' projects can be found in the Philippines, where enhanced public transportation services are reducing both commute times and carbon emissions, and in Malaysia, which has introduced innovative strategies for waste management which lower emissions and reduce the build up of waste at the same time.
Participants at the meeting, which was opened by the Deputy Executive Secretary of ESCAP, Shigeru Mochida, and Japan's Vice-Minister for Global Environmental Affairs, Toshiro Kojima, also explored ways of helping developing countries to make adaptations to climate change part of their development efforts.
ENDS
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