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Eileen B. Claussen, Assistant Secretary for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Remarks at the Second High Level Roundtable on China's Agenda 21 Beijing, China, October 26, 1996 Released by the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs

Ministers, Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen. It is truly a great privilege for me to be here this morning, and I would like to thank the Chinese government, and particularly the State Science and Technology Commission, for inviting me to participate in this most important conference.

In 1992, at the UN Conference on Environment and Development, the nations of the world committed to pursue the goal of sustainable development. Almost five years later, it is clear that China is at the forefront of efforts to incorporate sustainable development into national planning. Agenda 21 represents a tremendous achievement, one that can serve as a model for countries everywhere.

What is important about sustainable development is that it can serve the national interest, the regional interest, and the global interest. For example, a coal-burning electricity generation facility can cause a local health problem. The same plant contributes to regional air pollution in the form of acid rain. And, of course, it is a generator of carbon dioxide, and, therefore, related to global climate change. By selecting a cleaner burning fuel, or by strictly controlling emissions from the plant, or by improving the plant's operating efficiency, China can institute a sustainable solution that has national, regional, and global benefits.

Sustainable development in China is of particular interest to the United States because of China's potential to transform the global environment through its own actions. Our two countries, perhaps more than any others, can determine whether issues such as climate change will ever be solved. That is why we want to be helpful in making your Agenda 21 succeed and also why we want to find new ways of working together to deal with pressing global issues. I believe this means being active on five different levels, all of which are important if we are to achieve real and lasting environmentally sustainable development.

First, we must cooperate multilaterally by helping to negotiate sound international agreements and make them work through strong and effective implementation. As we approach 1997 and the fifth anniversary of the Rio Summit, we must place particular emphasis on negotiations toward reaching agreements on climate change, the trade in banned or highly restricted chemicals and pesticides, and sustainable forest management. Additionally, we have a great interest in the action of the Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly devoted to follow-up from Rio. And finally, we must endeavor to make UNEP a more effective international body for catalyzing environmentally sustainable international efforts and securing sound outcomes. China is critical to success on all of these fronts.

Second, we must cooperate regionally to solve environmental problems, recognizing that today many issues lend themselves to regional solutions. The regional forum where we can best work together is APEC. Specifically, we would like to see APEC develop its initiatives on Clean Oceans and Seas, Sustainable Cities, and Clean Technologies and Production, thus helping all regional economies toward environmentally sustainable development.

Third, we must expand our bilateral efforts. My visit here gives me great hope for the possibilities in this regard. In almost every meeting I have had - and that is a great many - we have found that we have remarkably similar views on how to proceed on a wide range of global issues. We must continue to build these dialogues because they are critical to our ability to move toward sound solutions. And we have also agreed on the need for increased bilateral cooperation, whether in science and technology, information exchange, training and enforcement, or activities to be implemented jointly.

Fourth, as I have mentioned, it is critical that both of our nations work domestically to promote sustainable development at home. In Agenda 21, you have an outstanding blueprint for action, one from which many countries, including my own, have much to learn. In the United States, we have the recently completed Report of the President's Commission on Sustainable Development to guide our efforts. The challenge now is implementation. Making these plans work means that we must develop better cooperation and communication within our governments in dealing with environmental issues. This is because today's environmental problems are extremely complicated and cross-cutting, requiring the consideration of industrial, energy, trade, labor, finance, agricultural, and foreign policies, among others. Only by incorporating all of these disciplines can we set sustainable development priorities and have a solid chance of achieving them.

Fifth, we must be active locally in explaining the need for environmentally sustainable development to the public and by incorporating them in the solutions we develop. In the United States, we have found that building partnerships with private citizens, businesses, environmental NGO's, and other interested groups is absolutely necessary to achieving environmental protection.

Finally, I recognize that as a developed country the United States must today assume a proportionally greater share of the burden in tackling the global environmental challenges we all face. And I can assure you that we are committed to doing so. Nevertheless, we cannot solve these problems alone, and specifically we cannot solve them without China. So let us strive together to create a sustainable future for our generation and all those that follow.

Again, I thank you for the opportunity to be here, and I look forward to continued dialogue, cooperation, and action.

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