On October 11, Ambassador Cong Peiwu published a signed article titled "Cooperation is needed between Canada and China to protect our planet" on The Hill Times. Here is the full text:

2021年10月11日，驻加拿大大使丛培武在加拿大主流媒体《国会山时报》发表题为《携手共进，推动人与自然和谐共生》的署名文章。全文如下：

Cooperation Is Needed Between Canada and China to Protect Our Planet

携手共进，推动人与自然和谐共生

In the last few years, loss of biodiversity, worsening desertification and frequent extreme weather events have all posed a stark challenge to human progress, and even to human survival. This summer, a heat wave swept across much of Western Canada, leading to record-breaking temperatures in many places. A UN report published this year shows over one million plant and animal species are in danger of extinction. Without proper protection, those beautiful animals and plants may disappear from the pages of history, and children will only be able to see the specimens displayed in the museum. It's a painful vision that may become a reality.

近年来，生物多样性丧失、荒漠化加剧、极端天气事件频发，给人类生存和发展带来严峻挑战。今年夏天，热浪席卷加拿大西海岸，多地气温打破最高纪录。联合国2021年发布的报告指出超过100万个动植物物种正面临灭绝的风险。如果我们不加以妥善保护，现实中那些美丽的动植物可能会永远消失在历史长河中，孩子们将只能看到博物馆里陈列的标本，这将令人非常痛惜。

In order to protect global biodiversity, COP15, or to give it its full name, the Fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, will be held in Kunming, China, in two phases from Oct. 11 to Oct. 15 and in the first half of 2022, where international participants will be urged to make firm commitments and take real action to protect biodiversity. In 2010, the United Nations announced that 2011-2020 would be the UN Decade on Biodiversity. COP15 will be a chance to reflect on the work done to protect biodiversity over the last ten years, and to set new targets, looking toward a vision of biodiversity for 2050.

为保护全球生物多样性，《生物多样性公约》第十五次缔约方大会（COP15）将于本月11-15日和2022年上半年分两阶段在中国昆明举行。此次会议将推动各方为保护生物多样性做出切实承诺、采取有效行动。2010年联合国宣布2011-2020年为联合国生物多样性十年，COP15大会将总结这十年全球生物多样性保护工作，制定新时期生物多样性目标，展望2050年生物多样性愿景。

This COP conference comes at a critical juncture, and the international community has high expectations for it. This year's theme, "Ecological Civilization: Building a Shared Future for All Life on Earth," reflects the global shift towards green growth and the hope of billions of world citizens for a shared global biome. It also demonstrates the global significance of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization. President Xi has pointed out that human and nature are a community of shared destiny. It falls to all of us to act together and urgently to advance protection and development in parallel, so that we can turn Earth into a beautiful homeland for all creatures to live in harmony.

COP15可谓召开于“非常”时期，国际社会对此次大会充满了期待。“生态文明：共建地球生命共同体”这一会议主题顺应了世界绿色发展潮流，表达了全世界人民共建共享地球生命共同体的愿望和心声，也彰显了习近平生态文明思想的世界意义。习近平主席指出，人与自然是命运共同体，我们要同心协力，抓紧行动，在发展中保护，在保护中发展，共建万物和谐的美丽家园。

China is home to some of the greatest biodiversity on Earth, so we have a keen understanding of its importance. In the last 10 years, China has added more forests than any other nation on Earth. More than 90 per cent of terrestrial ecosystem types, together with 85 per cent of key wild animal populations, are now protected in China. Desertification used to claim 10,400 square kilometres of land per year; now that process has been reversed, and we are reclaiming 2,424 square kilometres per year. The Belt and Road Initiative and South-South cooperation are helping developing nations respond to challenges like the loss of biodiversity and climate change. By working together, we can protect global biodiversity.

作为世界上生物多样性最丰富的国家之一，中国高度重视生物多样性保护。中国的森林资源过去10年增长面积居全球首位，90%的陆地生态系统类型和85%的重点野生动物种群得到有效保护，荒漠化土地面积由年均扩展1.04万平方公里转变为年均缩减2424平方公里。中国通过共建“一带一路”、南南合作等渠道，帮助发展中国家应对生物多样性丧失和气候变化等挑战，合作推动全球生物多样性保护。

China also collaborates with Canada on a long-term basis, in areas like environmental protection and climate change. Canada is rich in ecosystem resources, with about 24 per cent of the world's wetlands and nine per cent of the world's forest. There is enormous potential in a China-Canada partnership on biodiversity and more. China looks forward to working with all the nations of the world, including Canada, to inject new impetus into the protection of global biodiversity.

中国同加拿大在环境保护和气候变化等方面有着长期的合作与交流。加拿大生态资源丰富，拥有地球上约24%的湿地和9%的森林，中加两国在生物多样性等领域合作潜力巨大。中国愿与包括加拿大在内的世界各国积极开展合作，不断为全球生物多样性保护注入新的力量。

More and more countries around the world are realizing that our future is intertwined and interdependent. Humanity must remain committed to multilateralism and to working together if we are to achieve a shared victory and success for all. More and more people are changing their old perspectives and lifestyles, and using personal action to become a part of a green growth model, with low emissions, environmental protection, and harmony between humanity and nature. The UN Messenger of Peace Jane Goodall once said, "Only if we understand, can we care. Only if we care, we will help. Only if we help, we shall be saved." We hope that COP15 will be an opportunity for everyone to talk, deeply engage, and weave the fabric of world cooperation on ecological protection a little tighter. We hope that the governance of global biodiversity will stride forward to whole new levels.

当前，越来越多的国家认识到，人类命运休戚与共，只有坚持多边主义，加强团结合作，才能实现互利共赢。越来越多的人正在转变旧有观念和习惯，以实际行动参与减排、保护环境、推动人与自然和谐发展。联合国和平使者珍·古道尔曾说过，“唯有了解，我们才关心；唯有关心，我们才会采取行动；唯有行动，生命才会有希望”。真诚希望大家以COP15为契机，广泛交流、深入探讨，为生态保护国际合作穿针引线，共同推动全球生物多样性治理迈上新台阶。