BARELY a week after the lacklustre United Nations Climate Change Summit wrapped up in Copenhagen, Denmark, the first shots in the ensuing international blame game have already been fired.

But Brunei Darussalam, which apparently did attend the summit with Pehin Orang Kaya Hamzah Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Awg Hj Abdullah, Minister of Development, as well as officials from the Department of Environment, Parks and Recreation representing the Sultanate, despite the best efforts of the Bulletin to verify this information, has discovered that “as an important and responsible member of the international community, Brunei has tried its utmost in addressing climate change”.

The remarks were obtained by the Bulletin during a press briefing with the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Brunei Darussalam, Tong Xiaoling yesterday.

In his remarks during the Copenhagen Summit, the Minister of Development said that Brunei is not spared from the spate of adverse impacts of climate change although it is not a significant emission contributor.
Ambassador Tong explained to the Bulletin that Pehin Dato Hj Abdullah’s remarks were extracted from bilateral meetings between Chinese and Bruneian officials after the signing of the Copenhagen Accord. She went on to confirm that delegates froth the environment department were also present.

During the run-up to the much-anticipated Copenhagen Summit, the Bulletin had contacted senior environment officials to verify Brunei’s participation amongst the 190 countries that participated but to no avail.

It was further learnt that Brunei’s proactive efforts to advance the Heart of Borneo project and the Coral Triangle Initiative, as well as its resolve to develop renewable energy and achieving sustainable development were met with high appreciation amongst the participants, including China, the Chinese ambassador added.
“China and Brunei share common ground on the issues of climate change and sustainable development,” said the ambassador, adding: “The two countries have maintained sound communication and cooperation in this regard on both international and regional occasions.”

She went on to highlight, “In the years to come, China and Brunei and other developing countries should stand even more united to ensure an effective and sustained implementation of the Copenhagen Accord, the United Nations Framework and Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol, and to safeguard the common interests of the developing countries and the whole of humankind.”

She emphasised this fact by adding, “Now it is not just about the climate, it has become an international political agenda”.

Speaking further about Brunei’s energy conservation efforts, the Chinese envoy added: “We must adapt ourselves to green lifestyles as oil and gas are nonrenewable resources. Brunei has to develop renewable sources of energy and make its economy more circular and renewable.”

She cited examples such as Brunei’s high-energy consumption on air-conditioning appliances and the fact that the country also has one of the highest water consumption rates in the region all indicate that environmental awareness in Brunei is still lacking.

Talking on China’s examples and efforts in the fight against global warming, Ambassador Tong spelt out that China was the first developing country to adopt and implement a national climate change programme, through its Energy Conservation Law, Renewable Energy Law, Circular Economy Promotion Law, Clean Production Promotion Law and Regulations on Civil Building Efficiency, to name a few.

“We have introduced 10 major energy conservation projects and launched an energy conservation campaign involving 1,000 enterprises, bringing energy-saving action to industry, transportation, construction and other key sectors. We have worked hard to phase out backward production facilities that are energy intensive and heavily polluting.”

The Chinese ambassador listed out several statistics such as the fact that between 2006-2008, in its bid to eliminate inefficient production capacity, China trimmed 60 million tonnes for iron, 43 million tonnes of steel, 140 million tonnes for cement and 64 million tonnes for coke.

“By the end of the first half of this year, China’s energy consumption per unit of GDP had dropped by 13 per cent, equivalent to reducing 800 million tonnes of CO2.”

To further underline the Chinese government’s sincerity in combating climate change, she underlined more statistics. “Between 1990-2005, CO2 emissions per unit of GDP were reduced by 46 per cent. Building on that, we have set a new target of cutting CO2 emissions per unit GDP by 40-45 per cent by 2020 from the 2005 level. To reduce CO2 emissions on such a large scale and over such an extended period of time will require tremendous effort on our part.”

Drawing a comparison with other advanced countries, the Chinese ambassador remarked that developed countries account for 80 per cent of the total carbon dioxide emissions since over 200 years ago.

Echoing the opinions of many developing countries at Copenhagen, Ambassador Tong said: “It is totally unjustified to ask developing countries to undertake emission reduction targets beyond their due obligations and capabilities in disregard of historical responsibilities, per capita emissions and different levels of development. Developed countries must take the lead in making deep quantified emission cuts. This is an unshirkable moral responsibility, as well as a legal obligation that they must fulfil.”

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