About Us
A Legacy of Environmental Cooperation Between Norway and China
Norway and China have a long-standing history of collaboration on environmental issues, spanning over three decades. This partnership was officially established in 1995 with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on environmental cooperation. In 2022, the cooperation was renewed through a new agreement between Norway’s Ministry of Climate and Environment and China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE). This cooperation has henhanced the possibility to combat climate change, improve air quality, and promote sustainable development.
The Role of NEA and CRAES
The Norwegian Environment Agency (NEA) and the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences (CRAES) have played pivotal roles in this partnership. NEA has contributed technical expertise in air quality management and climate mitigation, while CRAES has driven research and policy development in China. Together, these institutions have spearheaded innovative projects that address critical global environmental challenges.
Major Milestones in Sino-Norwegian Environmental Cooperation
1995: Bilateral environmental cooperation formally established.
2013: CRAES and NEA initiated collaboration on black carbon
2020: CRAES and NEA launched the ChiNorBC Project to tackle black carbon emissions.
2023: ChiNorBC Project successfully concluded, providing critical insights into black carbon impacts and reduction strategies.
2024: The ChiNorCH4 Project began, expanding the partnership’s focus to methane emissions.
The Black Carbon (ChiNorBC) Project
The ChiNorBC Project addressed black carbon, tiny particles that contributes to air pollution, climate change and adverse health effects. Launched in 2020, the project targeted emissions from key sectors such as residential heating and industrial processes in Northern China. During the project, it developed innovative reduction strategies, improved air quality monitoring, and raised public awareness of black carbon’s impacts. The project concluded successfully in 2023, paving the way for expanded collaboration on short-lived climate forcers (SLCFs).
The Methane (ChiNorCH4) Project
Building on the success of the ChiNorBC Project, the ChiNorCH4 Project was launched in 2024 to address methane emissions from livestock production and waste management. Methane, a potent greenhouse gas with a warming potential far exceeding CO2, has been a key focus for China and Norway in their shared goal of mitigating climate change. This project aims to improve local emission data, evaluate reduction technologies, and provide actionable policy recommendations to support China in achicing its 2060 carbon neutrality goal and commitments under the Paris Agreement.
The many benefits of cutting Short-lived climate forcers (SLCF)
Air pollution, a leading cause of premature deaths globally, claims an estimated seven million lives annually. A major contributor is particulate matter (PM), which includes black carbon (BC), organic carbon (OC), and sulfate particles. While BC warms the atmosphere, OC and sulfate cool it. Other SLCFs, are ozone (O3) formed in the lower atmosphere, nitrogenoxides (NOx), volatile organic compounds (NMVOC), carbonmonoxides (CO), ammonia (NH4) and some hydrofluorocarbons (HFC).
While ozone, hydrofluorocarbons, volatile organic compounds , and carbonmonoxides contribute to warming the atmosphere, nitrogenoxides and ammonia have a cooling effect.
Unlike CO2, which affects the climate for centuries, SLCFs have much shorter lifespans. This makes their reduction a powerful tool to slow the rate of warming in the near-term, and achieve significant co-benefits for air quality and climate mitigation. Both the ChiNorBC and ChiNorCH4 Projects exemplify the value of addressing SLCFs, providing tangible outcomes for climate action and air quality improvement.
The strong linkage between air quality, SLCP, and climate planning
Source: FAQ 6.2 from IPCC 2021
Naik, V., S. Szopa, B. Adhikary, P. Artaxo, T. Berntsen, W. D. Collins, S. Fuzzi, L. Gallardo, A. Kiendler
Scharr, Z. Klimont, H. Liao, N. Unger, P. Zanis, 2021, Short-Lived Climate Forcers. In: Climate Change
2021: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Masson-Delmotte, V., P. Zhai, A. Pirani, S. L. Connors, C. Péan, S. Berger, N. Caud, Y. Chen, L. Goldfarb, M. I. Gomis, M. Huang, K. Leitzell, E. Lonnoy, J. B. R.
Matthews, T. K. Maycock, T. Waterfield, O. Yelekçi, R. Yu and B. Zhou (eds.)]. Cambridge University
Press. In Press.
Date: August 2021
THE PUBLICATIONS LISTED HERE NEED TO BE MOVED TO THE BLACK CARBON PROJECT
Publications
The kick-off meeting of the “Chinese-Norwegian Project on Emission, Impact, and Control Policy for Black Carbon and its Co-benefits in Northern China (ChiNorBC)” was held in Beijing and virtually on Zoom on 9th December 2020. Leaders and project experts from the Department of International Cooperation and the Department of Atmosphere Environment of the Chinese Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE), the Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment (MCE), the Norwegian Embassy in Beijing, the Chinese Academy of Environmental Sciences (CRAES), the Norwegian Environment Agency (NEA), Chinese Academy for Environmental Planning (CAEP), Center for International Climate Research (CICERO) and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) attended the meeting.
The ChiNorBC project Emission Workshop was held concurrently with the kick-off meeting on 9th December 2020. More than 20 experts and governmental officials from relevant departments and the project group from both China and Norway attended the meeting. Experts from within the project and outside experts from Tsinghua University and IIASA introduced the current status of BC emissions in China and relevant research results. After this workshop, more data, including emission factors and activity levels, have been investigated and a BC/OC emission inventory of northern China has been developed.
On 15th December 2021, a ChiNorBC Project Workshop on Emissions inventories and preliminary modelling results was held in Beijing and virtually on zoom. The meeting was co-chaired by the Chinese Academy of Environmental Sciences (CRAES) and the Norwegian Environment Agency (NEA) as the main implementing partners of the project.
A project internal workshop on Scenarios was held on 16. February 2022. Zheng Yixuan (CAEP) presented the progress that has been made. This included status of BC/OC control in China, scenario design and emission projection results.
Final Governmentale seminar on 20th April 2023
The final governmental seminar for the ChiNorBC project was held on 20th April 2023 in Beijing co-chaired by the Chinese Academy of Environmental Sciences (CRAES) and the Norwegian Environment Agency (NEA) as the main implementing partners of the project. Representatives from the competent authorities of the Chinese and Norwegian implementing partners and the project team members attended the workshop and delivered speeches.
In-depteh seminar on 20th April 2023
An in-depth seminar on Short-lived Climate Forcers (SLCFs) open to the public via live broadcasting was held 20th April 2023. This seminar focuses on the co-benefits of mitigating short-lived climate forcers based on the key results from the ChiNorBC project.
