To further strengthen its efforts in regional carbon research, the Executive Committee of the Global Carbon Project (GCP) approved an affiliated office established in Beijing.

Housed at the CAS Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, the GCP Beijing Office has a supporting and coordinating role nationally, and performs as an activator to boost an integrated regional carbon research within Asia, in particular to provide scientific information on regional carbon cycling, and its relevance to global climate change, says Prof. Liu Jian, former vice director of the CAS Bureau of Science and Technology for Resources and Environment and now deputy secretary of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. He is an active initiator of the office.

It will also provide opportunities for regional cooperation and links to the global efforts of the GCP, so making China and the larger region of Asia respected and desired places for international cooperation in studying the carbon cycle. Details about its background, scientific objectives, activities and working plan can be found on its website http://www.cern.ac.cn/12lj/caomingkui/gcpindex.htm.

The new office now functions with Prof. Cao Mingkui from the CAS institute serving as the director. According to Cao, the office will collaborate with other two affiliated offices in Canberra and Tsukuba respectively to coordinate a regional and global strategy consistent with the GCP Science and Implementation Framework (GCP 2003).

Offering a common, mutually agreed knowledge base to support policy debate and action, GCP serves as a platform for cooperation and exchange over the carbon cycle research in an effort to respond to the challenge posed by the global climate change. With an extensive network in Asia, the organization is on the lookout for promoting scientific activities and exchange of visits in this regard.

GCP considers the regional carbon research is particularly important as the Kyoto Protocol takes effects. As the most densely populated areas with the highest economic growth rates, Asian regions are hot spots from the perspectives of environmental change and sustainable development. Beijing Office will facilitate to understand and quantify the consequences brought by the development paths and environmental changes in the region. A symposium on the carbon budget of the Asian regional terrestrial ecosystem is already planned to open in the middle of coming year.