United Technologies and Conservation International Partner to Support Reforestation in China

United Technologies and Conservation International Partner to Support Reforestation in China

September 15, 2006

-- Investment will help restore natural habitat in the Mountains of Southwest China Hotspot

    BEIJING, Sept. 15 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- United
Technologies Corp. (UTC) announced today that it is
supporting Conservation International's (CI) efforts to
restore critically endangered forests within the Mountains
of Southwest China through a $200,000 grant stretching over
two years.

    UTC's grant donation will be used to support a pilot
reforestation effort that will replant and improve natural
regeneration of native tree species on 102 hectares in the
Teng Chong County, Yunnan Province around the Gao Li Gong
Nature Reserve. When completed, this effort, a part of CI's
Forest Restoration for Climate, Community and Biodiversity
(FCCB) initiative, could have the potential to absorb about
16,600 tons of carbon dioxide over 30 years. 

    "Environmental sustainability is part of UTC's
commitment to social responsibility," said Jim
Gradoville, president of United Technologies International
Operations in China. "That's why we are pleased to
support a project such as this, which will help restore the
forest in one of the world's most threatened natural
environments."

    CI's FCCB initiative is working in partnership with the
State Forestry Administration of China, the Yunnan and
Sichuan forestry departments and other non-government
partners to demonstrate the benefits of utilizing native
species to restore degraded lands in areas that provide
critical habitat for wildlife. In addition to revitalizing
habitat, the pilot projects will demonstrate the additional
value of ecological services provided by native species,
such as carbon sequestration and water services. Initial
funding for the initiative was provided by the 3M
Foundation.

    The Mountains of Southwest China face increased
pressure from over logging and flooding due to loss of
natural habitat. By reforesting with native species, it
provides multiple benefits, such as protecting the region
from massive soil erosion and flooding, insuring a viable
habitat for endangered species, conservation of soil and
water, reducing the risks of pests, pathogens and fire, and
sequestration of carbon, one of the main contributors to
global climate change.  

    "We are pleased that CI is helping China restore
our natural forests within this vital region, and would
also like to thank UTC for their generous support,
"said Zou Heng Fang, director of reforestation
division of the Yunnan Forestry Department. "Such
projects show how both private and public entities can work
together to support conservation efforts." 
 
    CI's reforestation efforts in China will follow the
standards created by the Climate, Community and
Biodiversity Alliance (CCBA), an initiative of leading
companies and NGOs to promote land-based projects that
deliver multiple benefits. To earn approval under the CCB
Standards, projects must satisfy 15 required criteria to
demonstrate compelling net benefits for fighting climate
change, conserving biodiversity, and improving
socio-economic conditions for local communities. 

    "This is a terrific start," said Lu Zhi,
Ph.D., country director, CI-China and project leader.
"UTC is one of the pioneering companies which
understand that such support is a strategic investment in
conservation efforts that will not only benefit China, but
the world."  

    One of the world's hotspots, The Mountains of Southwest
China stretches over 262,400 square kilometers and is
characterized by extremely complex topography, ranging from
valleys to mountains. Among these mountains and valleys are
a wide variety of ecosystems, including broad-leaved and
coniferous forests, bamboo groves, scrub communities,
savanna, meadow, prairie, freshwater wetlands, and alpine
scrub and screen communities. 

    The biodiversity hotspots are 34 regions worldwide
where 75 percent of the planet's most threatened mammals,
birds, and amphibians survive within habitat covering just
2.3 percent of the Earth's surface (roughly equivalent to
the combined areas of the five largest U.S. states). This
habitat originally covered 15.7 percent of the Earth's
surface, an area equivalent in size to Russia and Australia
combined. New hotspot analysis shows that an estimated 50
percent of all vascular plants and 42 percent of
terrestrial vertebrates exist only in these 34 hotspots.

    Conservation International (CI) applies innovations in
science, economics, policy and community participation to
protect the Earth's richest regions of plant and animal
diversity in the biodiversity hotspots, high-biodiversity
wilderness areas and key marine ecosystems. With
headquarters in Washington, D.C., CI works in more than 40
countries on four continents. For more information about
CI, visit http://www.conservation.org .

    United Technologies is a Fortune Global 500 company
(120th in 2005) based in Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.A.,
that provides a broad range of high technology products and
support services to the building systems and aerospace
industries worldwide. UTC businesses include Otis Elevator,
Carrier heating and cooling, UTC Fire & Security, and
UTC Power, Pratt & Whitney aircraft engines, Hamilton
Sundstrand aerospace systems and Sikorsky helicopters. 

    For several years, UTC and its business units have
supported China's efforts to promote sustainable
development. In March of this year, UTC and China's
Ministry of Construction signed a memorandum of
understanding to work together to promote sustainable
development of Chinese buildings and cities. UTC's Otis
unit is the first elevator company to receive a Green
Product Award from the China Environmental Protection
Foundation. UTC's Carrier unit has sponsored the China
Ozone Layer Protection Awards Program, hosted by the State
Environmental Protection Administration, which recognizes
outstanding contributions by Chinese individuals and
organizations to ozone layer protection.

    Earlier this year, UTC was selected for the second time
as one of 100 companies named to the Global Climate 100
Index of businesses that demonstrate leadership in
providing solutions to climate change. It was also named to
the prestigious Dow Jones Sustainability World Indexes,
which recognize the top 10 percent of companies from more
than 60 industries and 24 countries that are leaders in the
area of corporate sustainability. UTC has been chosen every
year since the indexes began in 1999. Further information
about UTC is available at http://www.utc.com .

    For more information, please contact:

     Yukui Wang
     United Technologies Corp.
     Tel:   [phone] 
     Fax:   [phone]   
     Email: [e-mail]

SOURCE  United Technologies Corp. (UTC)