Chinese airlines joins UN efforts to promote sustainable development

Flight MF849 (down) prepares to take off at the Fuzhou International Airport in Fuzhou, capital of East China's Fujian province, Feb 15, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

UNITED NATIONS - China's Xiamen Airlines on Wednesday signed a cooperation agreement with the United Nations to promote a set of global goals for sustainable development.

The goals, known as Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), were adopted by UN member states in 2015 to enhance the global efforts to eliminate poverty, promote equality and combat climate change.

At the signing ceremony, Xiamen Airlines promised to help carry the message of SDGs around the global through sound systems on board and in lounges, printed magazines and painting one of its planes with "Sustainable Development Goals."

According to the company, it will further support the SDGs through actions including reducing its carbon emissions, sorting and recycling garbage on flights.

"In doing so, Xiamen Airlines demonstrates its own strong commitment to corporate social responsibilities and also showcases Chinese enterprises' concrete actions to support SDGs implementation," said Liu Jieyi, Chinese ambassador to the United Nations during the ceremony.

"Hopefully, this exemplary role will motivate other enterprises in China and other countries to join in the global SDGs cause," he added.

UN Under-Secretary-General Cristina Gallach said the implementation of SDGs involves governments, private sectors as well as civil societies, and Xiamen Airlines will play a helpful role in promoting these goals to reach a larger number of people.

Also on Wednesday, a direct fight has been opened between Fuzhou, capital of East China's Fujian province, and New York by Xiamen Airlines.

The 14,000-km air route will be the first direct flight between Fujian and the United States, with an expected one-way flight time of around 14.5 hours.