Issue 26, September 18th to September 24th, 2009

OPINION

Is China really beating the US in Cleantech? (Triplepundit, 9/24/2009) Grist recently served up a post by Terry Tamminen, titled “China’s Rear View Mirror: China is leaving the U.S. in the dust as it surges ahead on clean energy.”

Is China now the climate change good guy? (Time, 9/24/2009) The U.S. entered this week's round of climate negotiations as the global bad guy, a holdover from eight years of barely veiled contempt for the process from former President George W. Bush's Administration. But China wasn't far behind. The world's biggest country is now its biggest carbon emitter, and its sheer rate of economic expansion — fueled chiefly by polluting coal — ensures China won't lose that spot anytime soon.

“Climate Week” and my talks with China’s top negotiator (NRDC – Switchboard, 9/21/2009) Climate Week has begun, and as foreign dignitaries descend on the United Nations and the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting, I think most of the world's nations will be singing a shared refrain: it is time for the United States to take action on global warming. That is the message I heard two weeks ago when I met China's top climate negotiator, Minister Xie Zhenhua, in Beijing. Our conversation was an informative, cordial follow-up to a meeting we had in Washington in the spring.

PUBLIC SECTOR/NGOs

Beijing unveils its first noise map (ChinaCSR, 9/24/2009) Beijing has published a map of traffic noise, which is said to be the first of its kind for the city. Plotted by the Beijing Municipal institute of Labor Protection under the Beijing Academy of Science and Technology, the map enables people to see how the different urban districts of Beijing are affected by noise pollution.

Trail of death leads doctors to nanoparticles (Caijing, 9/24/2009) The deaths of two women who worked with few safety precautions at a Beijing paint shop have contributed to an international controversy over the suspected labor health hazards of ultra-fine nanoparticles.

Anti-panda tirade of bat fan slammed (China Daily, 9/24/2009) Who doesn’t love pandas? Apparently, BBC wildlife expert and bat fanatic Chris Packham, that's who. "I reckon we should pull the plug," Packham told Radio Times magazine in London on Monday.

“Walking commuters” become a growing trend in Chongqing (CCTV, 9/24/2009) September 22 was China's "Car-free Day." At 7:50 am on September 22, Lin Yuan, who lives in Sanxia Square, Shapingba District, left her house as she always does, and walked over 40 minutes to an office building located at Fengtian Road. The number of "walking commuters," like Lin, who go to work not by squeezing into packed buses and by driving cars, but by walking every day, is growing in Chongqing Municipality.

Giant pandas hit by Chinese quake to return home in 2012 (RIA Novosti, 9/23/2009) Sixty giant pandas relocated from China's southwestern Sichuan province after a devastating earthquake in May 2008 are to return to their home in 2012, Xinhua reported on Wednesday.

Bhutan quake affects 3k people, damages houses in Tibet (China Daily, 9/22/2009) More than 3,000 people in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous region were affected by a strong earthquake that jolted neighboring Bhutan Monday afternoon.

Expert: Tibet promising in saline lake development (Xinhua, 9/22/2009) The northern areas of Tibet are dotted with saline lakes, and the grade of mineral resources is higher than that in Qinghai Province, said a leading expert in the research on saline in China on Tuesday.

China emerges as the ying and the yang of the global warming problem (New York Times, 9/21/2009) Staring up at the dazzling, $32 million screen of light-emitting diodes suspended above one of this city's luxury shopping malls, it's hard to see China as a struggling "developing" country.

Expert: State grid unable to wind power on large scale (Caijing, 9/21/2009) The intermittent nature of wind power output and technical obstacles are preventing the state grid from using wind power on a large scale, a senior engineer from the State Grid Corp. of China said recently.

Legal struggles for a cleaner environment (Caijing, 9/18/2009) A court in southern China needed only 34 days to settle a 15-year-old environmental predicament at a nature reserve. But much more time may be needed to overcome obstacles to environmental law in China that surfaced during the recent fight to protect Baihua Lake in Guizhou Province.

A old man voluntarily cleans river channels for 15 years (CCTV, 9/18/2009)

Every day, residents in Huangli Town of Wujin District, Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province can see an old man poling a boat to clean floating garbage in Beihuang River, Jinhuang River and Chenghuang River, no matter how hot or how cold it is.

CORPORATIONS

US-China public-private partnership to green the supply chain (PRNewswire, 9/24/2009) The Institute for Sustainable Communities and its partners joined President Bill Clinton on stage at the Clinton Global Initiative today to announce a $2.3-million commitment to boost Chinese factories' compliance with environment, health and safety (EHS) policies and achieve significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

Rare earths are vital, and China owns them all (MarketWatch, 9/24/2009) Rare earths may not be on most investors' radars, but they are certainly in almost any high-tech item they use -- and in the world of rare earths, China is king.

BASF, Sinopect said to start $1.4 billion China plant expansion (Bloomberg, 9/24/2009) BASF AG and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. will start expanding their petrochemical venture in eastern China next week at a cost of $1.4 billion to meet recovering demand, two company officials said.

China, Bluenext form standard to build CO2 market (Reuters, 9/23/2009) A French emissions exchange and a Chinese group are forming a carbon market standard for China, marking a step toward a voluntary system to limit greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and forestry in the world's top emitter.

Duke Energy and China-based ENN group sign clean energy technology agreement (PRNewswire, 9/23/2009) Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) and ENN Group today announced an agreement to accelerate the development of low-carbon and clean energy technologies. The announcement was made at the Clinton Global Initiative's annual meeting.

China Armco completes contract to supply iron ore (Steel Guru, 9/23/2009) China Armco Metals Inc a distributor of imported metal ore with plans to launch a new state of the art scrap metal recycling facility in China, today announced that Armco Metawise Ltd has completed delivery of iron ore to a China based steel company pursuant to a contract that will generate sales of approximately USD 15.98 million in the Q3 of 2009.

China told Woomera off limits (The Sydney Morning Herald, 9/23/2009) China's plans to invest in Australian resources have been dealt another blow, after the Defence Department said it would not support a planned prospecting joint venture in a sensitive military area.

China selling petrol to Iran, report says (AFP, 9/23/2009) China is potentially undermining US-led efforts aimed at curbing Iran's nuclear ambitions by supplying the Middle Eastern state with petrol, a report said Wednesday.

China Energy Recovery wins $5.05 million contract from Hubei Sanning Chemical (PRNewswire, 9/23/2009) China Energy Recovery, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: CGYV) (ISIN: US16943V2060; "CER"), a leader in the waste heat energy recovery sector of the industrial energy efficiency industry, today announced that the company won an RMB 34.5 million (US$5.05 million) Engineering, Procurement and Construction ("EPC") contract for a heat recovery system for Hubei Sanning Chemical ("Sanning"), a fertilizer and coal chemical subsidiary of Jincheng Coal Group, a top-10 coal producer and one of the 200 Largest Companies in China.

Yanda International Health City – world-class healthcare in China (PRNewswire, 9/22/2009) The Yanda International Health City is set to be unveiled in January, 2010. The environmentally friendly complex will include facilities offering state-of-the-art care for seniors, a hospital staffed by international healthcare workers as well as medical research and training facilities. It will also include an international conference center.

Investing into “Green” China (TransWorldNews, 9/21/2009) In the race toward a green-powered future, there is one entrant that is surprisingly among the leaders – China. China has conquered a third of the world market for solar cells. China is also racing along a course to build 100 gigawatts of wind turbines by 2020, doubling again the global capacity for wind power, across vast stretches of Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang.

China Guangdong plans overseas Nuclear Plant, Morning Post says (Bloomberg, 9/21/2009) China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding plans to build and partly finance the country’s first overseas nuclear reactor, the South China Morning Post said today, citing an official at one of the company’s units.

Four dead in northwest China coalmine gas poisoning – agency (RIA Novosti, 9/20/2009) Carbon monoxide poisoning has left at least four people dead in a coalmine in the Gansu province in northwest China, the official news agency Xinhua reported on Sunday.

Car sales spike in Beijing (AFP, 9/18/2009) Sales of new cars in Beijing have spiked to about 2,000 a day, a trend that will put up to four million vehicles on the streets of China's capital by year's end, state media said Friday.

Tainted herbal injection recalled (Caijing, 9/18/2009) China's health ministry and its drug watchdog, State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA), have mandated the suspension of sales and use of an herbal drug injection produced by Duoduo Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (Duoduo) based in Heilongjiang Province on Sept. 17. The two government agencies are currently conducting an investigation, but declined to tell Caijing where the incident broke out and whether there were any related deaths.

China’s Huludao Zinc expands copper smelting capacity (Reuters, 9/18/2009) Huludao Zinc (000751.SZ), the second-biggest zinc smelter by capacity in China, said on Friday it is doubling copper smelting capacity by late next year, a move which could raise its demand for copper concentrate imports.

GOVERNMENT

China on the move: Coal industry produces clean energy (CCTV, 9/24/2009) Global warming is demanding countries strike a balance between development and the environment. As the search for clean energy goes on, China is making good on its commitment to cutting emissions. Our reporter Wang Mangmang finds out how it's being done in the country's mining center of Shanxi.

Rivers need to be cleaned up (China Daily, 9/24/2009) China is still faced with severe river and lake pollution as the water quality in 30 percent of the country's major river sections is below par, officials at the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) said yesterday.

China launches climate project with Britain, Switzerland: government (AFP, 9/24/2009) China has launched with Britain and Switzerland a project aimed at finding ways for the Asian giant to tackle climate change and mitigate its effects, officials said Thursday.

China sets up system to recall defective agricultural machines (Xinhua, 9/24/2009) Producers of machines used in agriculture shall recall defective products, said a regulation published by the State Council Thursday.

Interpreting Chinese President Hu’s ‘Green’ UN speech (Wall Street Journal, 9/24/2009) Investors looking for clear messages for investment decisions find it hard when it comes to China, whose political and business leaders are prone to speak with great subtlety and ambiguity. Here Deal Journal inaugurates a regular feature to help American deal makers better understand when China speaks.

Kicking the coal habit – Another reason why China will adopt a carbon intensity reduction target (NRDC – Switchboard, 9/24/2009) It is important to note, however, that in addition to advancing the global climate negotiations, China has other strong reasons of its own to adopt a carbon intensity reduction target. And it has already begun to make progress in decarbonizing its economy.

Obama, Hu pledge environmental action (New American, 9/24/2009) As the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference looms nearer, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is stepping up the pressure for drastic action in Copenhagen, and the United States and China appear poised to help lead the way.

Guangzhou revamped as new sustainable super city (Inhabitat, 9/24/2009) It’s an exciting time right now for Asia, which is expanding so quickly that whole cities are being designed, and existing cities have to be redesigned to accommodate all of this new development! Guangzhou, China’s 3rd largest city, is now joining the ranks of these forward-looking cities, and is getting a revamp to allow for more growth and at the same time make it more livable and sustainable.

Mexican energy official: Great co-op opportunities with China (Xinhua, 9/24/2009) Energy officials from China and Mexico had much to discuss and learn from each other, Dr. Aldo Flores Quiroga, Mexico's deputy energy secretary for international affairs, told Xinhua in an interview Wednesday.

China’s largest cloud seeding assault aims to stop rain on the national parade (Guardian, 9/23/2009) Cloud-seeding aircraft to intercept rainclouds that threaten to cast shadow over communist party's 60th celebrations in Beijing.

Green Building: A critical climate solution spreads across China (NRDC – Switchboard, 9/23/2009) This week, as people from all over the world assemble at the United Nations for Climate Week, I am reminded of another international gathering spot I went to just 10 days ago--Beijing's Olympic Village.

Anger as China limits EU pork imports over flu fears (Channel News Asia, 9/23/2009) The European Union's health chief said Wednesday that China had slapped restrictions on pork imports from four member states over A(H1N1) flu concerns -- a move she slammed as protectionist.

Tiger protection plan in India “failing”; China ambivalent about tiger poaching (EcoWorldly, 9/23/2009) Wildlife experts warn that India’s tiger protection plans appear to be failing - and a recent meeting reveals that China is not interested in curtailing its demand for endangered tiger parts.

Hong Kong launches first “car-free day” (NTDT, 9/22/2009) Hong Kong's Chief-Executive Donald Tsang showed his support for the city's first "Car-free Day". A Greenpeace activist presented Tsang with a medal to mark the occasion.

China climate czar sees carbon targets “soon” (Reuters, 9/22/2009) China expects soon to be able to announce targets for planned cuts in "carbon intensity," the amount of carbon dioxide produced for each dollar of economic output, over the decade to 2020, a senior Chinese official said on Tuesday.

India, China should invest in green technology: Bundchen (Hindustan Times, 9/21/2009) Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen, who has been named the goodwill ambassador of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) for climate change, has asked developing countries including China and India to invest in green technologies.

China’s strategic reserves capacity to double by 2011 (Oil and Gas Journal, 9/21/2009) China's strategic petroleum reserves capacity will have doubled by 2011-12. This rapid expansion of Chinese petroleum storage capability, coupled with robust growth in oil demand, will only see China's demand for imports—particularly of crude oil—grow. Such growth will create potential difficulties for China, Asia, and the world at large.

China submits new energy plan to Cabinet before Copenhagen (Bloomberg, 9/21/2009) China submitted a plan to develop alternative forms of energy such as wind and nuclear to the Cabinet for approval and may announce the proposal before the Copenhagen climate talks, said a government researcher.

China shifts forest duties to consumers of furniture (Inner City Press, 9/21/2009) As the UN Environment Program called China an environmental leader Monday for planting 2.6 billion trees, questions arose about the destruction of forests by China and other countries praised by UNEP. Inner City Press asked China's Minster of State Forestry Administration Jia Zhibang how the planting compared to the effects on forest of, for example, China's rubber plantations or Laos, or its export of old growth forest from the Congo.