Environmental protection is now turning out to be an urgent and serious global issue directly linked to the very survival of humankind.

It is because the destruction of natural environment at an alarming rate has brought about extremely abnormal weather conditions, and the phenomena like global warming, desertification, pollution of air, rivers and oceans have led to serious devastation of land, forest and many species of fauna and flora, thus tremendously affecting the survival and development of humankind.

Hence, the international society is actively engaging in environmental protection to preserve the earth – a home of humankind – and provide sustainable and safe living environment by way of forest restoration, biodiversity protection, prevention of land degradation, environmental protection of river and ocean, wetland protection, protection of ozone layer.

As part of the efforts to prevent global warming which is costing humankind innumerable human and material losses, the “Paris Agreement on Climate Change” was adopted in December 2015, and practical measures for reducing greenhouse gas emissions continue to be taken in many countries and regions.

The European Union put forward in December last year the strategy for achieving “net zero” greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and adopted an integrated environmental protection law of Europe to legally ensure an implementation of the Strategy, thus laying a political and legal basis to make reduction of greenhouse gas emissions compulsory.

Developing countries are also mapping out detailed national plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions and stepping up their implementation.

In this year, Indonesia, Singapore and South Africa announced plans to multiply the current production amount of renewable energy in a few years and are taking positive measures for their implementation, and Rwanda made public its plan to cut 16~38% of its current greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

In addition, many countries around the world are working out various action plans such as phased prohibition of production and use of disposable plastic goods and development of their alternatives, development of renewable energy, introduction of electric vehicles, and ban on chemicals and agrochemicals harmful to humans and environment, and they are taking measures to arouse the public interests in restoring forest resources.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) is pushing its efforts for converting all mountains in the country into “gold mountains” and “treasure mountains” by dynamically launching a forest restoration campaign. And as a party to several international conventions relating to environmental protection, it is proactively taking nationwide legal measures for their implementation. The DPRK acceded to the Paris Agreement in August 2016, submitted in October same year its first plan for voluntary reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and strives to tackle the global environmental issues as a party to the Agreement.

Environmental protection is not an issue confined only to any single country, but a project to be carried out by entire humankind for ensuring its survival, development and future.

All countries should reject all the practices of ignoring environmental destruction while only seeking economic interests, and increase international collaboration and cooperation in their work for environmental protection.