Issue 13, June 12th to June 19th, 2009

OPINION

Tough challenges for China, Part 1 and 2 (China Dialogue, 6/19/2009) Despite the economic outlook, China should not abandon its commitments to save energy and reduce emissions, argues Pan Jiahua, in the second half of a two-part article.

China unfairly seen as eco-villain (BBC, 6/16/2009) China's rapid economic expansion in recent years has been matched by its increasingly voracious appetite for energy and natural resources, says William Bleisch. But, as he explains in this week's Green Room, the nation has sometimes been unfairly portrayed as the world's biggest environmental villain.

Accounting for China’s carbon (China Dialogue, 6/16/2009) Developing a system to quantify energy use and greenhouse-gas emissions will help China meets its ambitious targets, write Lucia Green-Weiskel and Robyn Camp. Plus: Isabel Hilton discusses a proposal for a new standard for carbon disclosure.

Interview: Prospect broad for energy, environment, cooperation between China, Japan (Xinhua, 6/14/2009) China and Japan have a broad prospect for energy and environment cooperation, an expert on Japanese issues told Xinhua in an interview on Saturday.

PUBLIC SECTOR/NGOs

Farmers harness power of the sun (Shanghai Daily, 6/17/2009) Ma is just one example of poor Chinese farmers who benefit from the Clean Development Mechanism, a global initiative to reduce greenhouse gases.

Chinese scientists: Briquettes better than coal chunks (Environmental Protection, 6/19/2009) Scientists in China are recommending that the government consider phasing out the direct burning of traditional chunks of coal in millions of households.

Climate change hits China’s ‘poor hardest’ (AFP, 6/17/2009) Climate change hits China's poor the hardest and also forces some of those lifted out of hardship back into it, activist groups Greenpeace and Oxfam said Wednesday.

Young ‘green film’ maker to keep her efforts pristine (China Daily, 6/15/2009) With a high forehead, bright eyes and angular chin, Hong Mingcan looks like many other young Chinese women, but she is distinctive in another way - as an independent-minded proponent of "green" films.
Geothermal energy in Beijing (The Green Leap Forward, 6/15/2009) Today, we welcome for a guest post (and video…eco-rapping included!) Sustainable John of China’s Green Beat, which is back after a seven month hiatus with this excellent expose on geothermal energy in the Middle Kingdom’s capital.

Tiny mites breach Great Wall (The Straits Times, 6/15/2009) THE city wall that has defended the ancient Chinese capital of Xi'an for 1,400 years is being breached from the inside by tiny mites, state media reported on Monday.

CORPORATIONS

Paper has hit bottom; recovery looks good (Shanghai Daily, 6/19/2009) China’s paper industry is recovering on the back of demand from domestic consumers and the industrial sector, said an economist at a government think tank yesterday.

MEP clears decks for APP arm float (China Daily, 6/19/2009) China's environmental watchdog has finally cleared the way for paper giant APP's subsidiary, Gold East Paper, to list on the stock market. The move comes just months after several environmental organizations criticized the company for lax pollution standards.

For want of a hummer of green tunes (China Daily, 6/19/2009) When a Chinese company acquires a Western counterpart, there is a shared sense of pride here. Our hearts swelled when Lenovo took over IBM's PC division four years ago. But we felt slighted when CNOOC's bid to take over California-based Unocal fell through because of political resistance. More recently, we felt cheated when Rio Tinto scrapped a deal with Chinalco.

Companies flout pollution laws (China Daily, 6/19/2009) Major State-owned enterprises (SOEs) ignored energy saving and pollution regulations, said a report published by National Audit Office (NAO) yesterday.

China’s environmental industry will maintain 15 percent annual growth rate (People’s Daily, 6/19/2009) China will continue to expand the scale of investment in pollution control and ecological environment construction in the second half of the "11th Five-Year-Plan," said Wu Xiaoqing, vice minister of the Environmental Protection Ministry of China in his opening speech at the 3rd Sino-German Environment Forum held on June 18 in Foshan, Guangdong Province.

Ecology and economy cross swords at Shangri-La (International Construction Review, 6/19/2009) The ministry suspended approval on 11th June of the project along the Jinsha river in Yunnan province, upstream of the Yangtze River, because it said two large, state-owned utilities, Huadian Power and Huaneng Power, had begun blocking the middle reaches of the river in January before they had received approval from central government.

Site of China’s largest joint-venture oil/chemical project yet to be determined (Xinhua, 6/19/2009) Kuwait, which has decided to launch a large oil processing and chemical joint venture with China, has not yet determined where to locate the project, a local government official of southern Guangdong Province told Xinhua Friday.

Bank of China to invest in Nigeria power sector (Financial Standard, 6/19/2009) The Federal Government has opened talks with Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) for injection of capital into Nigeria’s power sector in a bid to boost Nigeria’s chances of meeting its target of generating 6000 megawatts of electricity.

China Beijing Environment Exchange, BlueNext sign pact on carbon trade (Xinhua, 6/18/2009) The China Beijing Environmental Exchange (CBEE) signed a deal Thursday with BlueNext to build a platform for carbon credit trade.

2 power plants halted over eco-concerns (Xinhua, 6/18/2009) China Huaneng Group (CHNG), the nation's largest power producer, halted two projects Wednesday after they failed to pass all environmental impact assessments, the company said.

Retail markets in China face punishment over substandard plastic (ChinaCSR, 6/18/2009) The State Administration for Industry and Commerce has issued an emergent circular which says that retailing markets shall be held responsible when retailers in the markets provide substandard plastic bags or plastic bags free of charge.

Water shortage problems caused by new plants in Shanghai (Shanghai Daily, 6/16/2009) A new water plant came into service yesterday which will help ease problems of shortages mainly in Minhang District over the summer peak period.

China Sunergy partners with Italian solar manufacturer (Cleantech Group, 6/15/2009) The Nanjing, China-based solar cell manufacturer entered into a six-year 53-megawatt sales framework agreement, including 3 MW to be delivered this year, with Renergies Italia, a solar module manufacturer based in Urbisaglia, Italy.

GOVERNMENT

After Olympics, China still worried about clean air for Beijing (Natural Resources Defense Council, 6/19/2009) Air quality of Beijing was a focal point both before and during the Olympic Games. After the Olympics, the topic faded out of the media, but Beijing is still working hard to keep the sky blue. According to the Beijing Environment Protection Bureau, from January 1, 2009 to June 9, 2009, 81 percent of the days achieved an air quality of Grade II or better.

Make ‘green industries’ new growth engine (China Daily, 6/19/2009) Vice Premier Li Keqiang said Thursday that energy-saving, environmentally-friendly industries should be made a new growth engine for China's economy.

Tibet to spend US $5.5 million to protect wetlands (Xinhua, 6/18/2009) Southwestern China's Tibet Autonomous Region will begin a project to conserve and resurrect four wetlands in the Ngari area in the second half of this year, the regional environmental protection administration said Thursday.

China aims to stop Tibet desertification by 2010 (AFP, 6/18/2009) Authorities in China aim to halt the spread of the desert in Tibet by next year, hoping to stem the effects of years of mining, tree-felling and overgrazing, state media said.

More than 10 mln fish fry freed into rivers and lakes of Suzhou (Xinhua, 6/18/2009) The pupils release fish fry into the water by the Chunshen Lake in Suzhou City of east China's Jiangsu Province, June 18, 2009. More than 10 million fish fry were released into the rivers and lakes within the city area of Suzhou on Thursday to improve the city's ecological environment

Urban communities in China contribute to national green efforts (Channel NewsAsia, 6/17/2009) China is currently working to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and address climate change. Apart from national efforts, urban communities are also playing their part to ensure a cleaner and greener environment.

Beijing to run 1000 new energy vehicles in ’09 (Gasgoo, 6/17/2009) Beijing city announced yesterday that it will put 1,000 new energy vehicles on trial run this year in the public transportation and sanitation sectors, xinhuanet.com reported.

Energy-saving lamps for low-income households in Shanghai (ChinaCSR, 6/17/2009) Shanghai Municipal Government plans to offer 540,000 energy saving lamps to low-income families in the city.

China to accelerate resource tax reform (People’s Daily, 6/17/2009) China will advance the implementation of resources tax reform as early as possible, while also improving the personal income tax system and studying the possibilities of a levy on environmental tax and property tax, Wang Jun, Vice Minister of Finance, noted on June 11.

Officials shun cars to save energy (China Daily, 6/17/2009) Wang Yiyang is an advocate of saving energy. But the deputy director of the Guangdong provincial government development and research center was unable to leave his car parked Tuesday during a day-long campaign to encourage government officials to travel by public transportation.

China drafts law to protect animals: state media (AFP, 6/16/2009) China is drafting its first law to protect animals from abuse, which could see serious violators end up in jail, state media reported.

Free gifts for locals who separate their trash in Shanghai (Shanghai Daily, 6/16/2009) Locals will be given gifts by the Shanghai environmental authorities for separating their waste to make it easier to recycle, in a citywide scheme to promote greener lifestyles.

China releases 13 mln fish fries into Bohai Sea (Xinhua, 6/16/2009) The Ministry of Agriculture and local governments released 13 million fries of major fish species Tuesday into the Bohai Sea to preserve fishing resources.

Prospect broad for Sino-Japan energy, environment cooperation (Xinhua, 6/15/2009) China and Japan have a broad prospect for energy and environment cooperation, an expert on Japanese issues told Xinhua in an interview on Saturday.

Products made by military department appear in energy saving exhibition (Xinhua, 6/14/2009) Nearly 20 products made by the General Logistics Department of the People's Liberation Army appeared on the Beijing International Energy Saving and Environmental Protection Exhibition.

China’s first bioenergy research center inaugurated in Nanning (Xinhua, 6/14/2009) China's first bioenergy research center was inaugurated Sunday in Nanning, the capital city of southern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, amid government's plans of new energy development to combat global energy crisis.

China stops 2 hydropower dams; cites environment (AP, 6/12/2009) China's environment ministry has suspended construction of two ambitious hydropower dams in the upper Yangtze River region, saying the projects were illegal because they were started without necessary environmental assessments.

Senate Foreign Relations Hearing: China will not accept caps, but must be pushed to MRV (The Green Leap Forward, 6/12/2009) Last Thursday (June 4), the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations conducted a hearing with the self-explanatory title of “Challenges and Opportunities for U.S.-China Cooperation in Climate Change.” An all-star trio of China hands provided testimony: Kenneth Lieberthal of University of Michigan and visiting fellow at Brookings Institution, Elizabeth Economy of Council on Foreign Relations and Bill Chandler of the Carnegie Endowment of International Peace.