Issue 24, September 3rd to September 10th, 2009

OPINION

Understanding the energy challenge (China Dialogue, 9/10/2009) China needs low-carbon development to ensure its energy security. In this effort, writes Lin Boqiang, the country could become a model for other developing nations.

China and US should unwind environmental imbalance (Telegraph, 9/8/2009) The

G20 world leaders meeting in Pittsburgh on September 24 probably won’t do much about either. But they could at least start to recognize that that the only fair solution involves joint effort.

China: What makes a good dam? (IPS Europe, 9/8/2009) The Chinese government needs to engage local communities in harnessing its vast water and hydropower resources and pursuing sustainable development, says environmental advocate Yu Xiaogang, recipient of the 2009 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Participatory Social Impact Assessment for Watershed Management.

A national team for the climate (China Dialogue, 9/7/2009) How could China – and other developing nations – consolidate a response to the climate-change crisis? Qiu Dengke interviews Li Lailai, of the Stockholm Environment Institute.

PUBLIC SECTOR/NGOs

Water pollution, scarcity top China’s environmental challenges, says survey (CSRwire, 9/10/2009) Contamination of China's fresh water resources from industrial pollution and inadequate sewage treatment is seen by Chinese residents as the nation's most critical environmental priority, according to a new public opinion survey. The survey by Circle of Blue, an American multi-media news and science organization, and GlobeScan, a global public opinion polling firm, also found that people are hungry for more information.

Green tea promotes weight loss, new research finds (Medical News Today, 9/10/2009) New research from China has found that regular consumption of green tea - which is rich in naturally-occurring tea actives called catechins - can significantly and positively effect body composition in moderately overweight individuals.

China losing global labor advantage (China Daily, 9/10/2009) China is losing its edge in the worldwide labor market as it will suffer a shortage of laborers due to the family planning policy, a think-tank said yesterday in a report.

Don’t eat kangaroos, Steven Irwin’s dad urges China (AFP, 9/9/2009) The father of late Australian conservationist Steve Irwin urged China on Wednesday not to start importing kangaroo meat, warning it could wipe out huge stocks of the animal.

Chinese researchers to conquer world’s fourth largest desert (Xinhua, 9/10/2009) Chinese researchers plan to traverse northwest China's Badain Jaran Desert, the world's fourth largest, later this month, said a leader of the expedition team Thursday.

Pollution in China affecting rainfall (VOA News, 9/8/2009) Pollution in China appears to be decreasing the amount of light rainfall the country receives, according to a new study. That's important because light rain is the kind that helps sustain crops. VOA's Steve Baragona has more.

CORPORATIONS

Optimism over China’s green technology market (Wall Street Journal, 9/10/2009) A group of Western companies says it can foresee a $500 billion to $1 trillion market annually for clean technology in China, according to a report published Thursday meant to highlight how a big new industry might develop in the world's most populous nation.

Zhangzidao: New standards in oceanic aquaculture (China Daily, 9/9/2009) If it passes a European Union (EU) inspection now underway, Dalian's Zhangzidao Fishery Group will become the first producer of scallops permitted to ship the mollusks to the EU after their import from China was banned in 1997.

Shell, China Shenhua clean coal plan: company (AFP, 9/9/2009) Anglo-Dutch oil group Shell said it has signed an agreement with a unit of China's largest coal company Shenhua Group to jointly develop clean coal technology.

Frost and Sullivan sees investment opportunities in China Wind Power Industry (PRNewswire, 9/10/2009) Frost & Sullivan sees the global wind power industry demonstrates a sustained and rapid growth trend in general, with the fast-growing area moving from Europe to Asia and North America in recent years. In 2008, an approximately 27,260MW of installed capacity was added to the world's wind power, which was 29% larger than that of the previous year.

China’s environment and coal (iStockAnalyst, 9/10/2009) China has an environmental problem which the government has been aware of for years. Polluters have been able to dump massive amounts of toxic wastes into China's air and water for many years with no repercussions because the mandate from Beijing was for economic growth at all costs.

U.S. soybean growers aiming to tap rural China’s feed market (Bloomberg, 9/9/2009) Soybean growers in the U.S., the world’s biggest supplier, aim to increase livestock feed sales to small landowners in rural China to help boost exports, the United Soybean Board said.

First Solar to team with Ordos City on major solar power plant in China desert (Business Wire, 9/8/2009) First Solar today announced a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Chinese government to build a 2 gigawatt solar power plant in Ordos City, Inner Mongolia, China.

105 sickened in chemical plant gas leak (Xinhua, 9/8/2009) At least 105 people were sickened in a chemical plant gas leak in Gansu Province Monday, doctors said Tuesday.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Wins Food Safety Innovation Award for its Melamine Detection Program in China (Business Wire, 9/8/2009) Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO), the world leader in serving science, today announced that it has received a Ringier Technology Innovation Award for its role in helping Chinese laboratories quickly develop melamine detection capabilities following the discovery of melamine-tainted milk and infant formula in China. The award was presented by Ringier Trade Publishing, which publishes China's leading food industry magazine, Food Manufacturing Journal.

China Energy Recovery wins an EPE contract for a new sulfuric acid plant (PRNewswire Asia, 9/8/2009) China Energy Recovery, Inc., a leader in the waste heat energy recovery sector of the industrial energy efficiency industry, today announced that the company has won a new EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) contract to construct a sulfuric acid plant with built-in waste heat recovery system for Tianjin Qinfa Chemical("Qinfa"), a subsidiary of Tianjin Bohai Chemical Group, a leading chemical producer and one of the 200 Largest Companies in China.

35 die in coal mine blast in central China (Press TV, 9/8/2009) A suspected gas explosion at a coal mine in China has reportedly left at least 35 miners dead and some 44 others trapped underground in the central province of Henan.

China emerges as top nonferrous metal recycler (The China Perspective, 9/7/2009) China's nonferrous metal recycling sector has become the world's largest after the country recycled 2 million tons of copper and 3 million tons of aluminum in 2008, according to an international forum on the issue held Sunday in Jiangxi province.

ADB supports clean waste to energy project in China (Asian Development Bank, 9/7/2009) The Asian Development Bank (ADB) today signed an agreement to lend up to $200 million to China Everbright International Limited to develop waste-to-energy plants in secondary cities across the People’s Republic of China (PRC). It will mark ADB’s first private-sector municipal solid waste management project.

Longwei Petroleum expects higher margins with China’s latest fuel price increase (PRNewswire-Asia, 9/8/2009) Longwei Petroleum Investment Holding Ltd. (OTC Bulletin Board: LPIH), a leading oil and fuel wholesaler and distributor operating in Shanxi Province, China, today announced that it expects to see an increase in gross profit of 4 to 5 percent on sales of its current fuel inventories as a result of the latest Chinese government mandate to raise the benchmark retail price of diesel oil and gasoline by 0.22 RMB and 0.26 RMB per liter, respectively.

BYD-backed BYD seeks China funds for hybrid sales (Bloomberg, 9/7/2009) BYD Co., the Chinese automaker backed by billionaire Warren Buffett, is seeking government support for hybrid sales after selling 31 F3DM plug-ins nationwide in the first seven months of the year.

Lead surges in ‘panic buying’ as China vows industry cleanup (Bloomberg, 9/4/2009) Lead, the best performer on the London Metal Exchange this year, surged to the highest price in almost 16 months as China vowed to shut substandard smelters after thousands of children were poisoned.

China’s Henan lead plants may reopen in October (Reuters, 9/4/2009) Closed lead smelters in Jiyuan city in Henan province may be allowed to reopen after early October, at the earliest, if they meet new rules to be finalized by Beijing, an environment chief said on Friday.

China to increase natural gas usage for electric power production (Examiner.com, 9/4/2009) It was reported that PetroChina Co. Ltd. has formed an agreement with Huaneng Power to supply natural gas for new electric power production. This will help China minimize the problems it is having with increasing electric production from coal fired power plants.

Costa Rica’s watchdog approves China oil contract (Channel News Asia, 9/4/2009) Costa Rica's legal watchdog on Thursday cleared a billion-dollar contract the government signed with China to jointly build an oil refinery after it was held up in legal wrangling for months.

Clean coal in China said to face ‘staggering’ costs (Bloomberg, 9/4/2009) Western governments pushing China to use clean-coal technology may need to lower their expectations for the world’s largest producer of greenhouse gases.

GOVERNMENT

Britain says China trade boosts UK low carbon plan (Reuters, 9/10/2009) Britain and China have agreed trade and investment deals worth $500 million, including help for UK low carbon products and services, the British government said on Thursday.

China to enhance ecological environmental compensation mechanism (ChinaCSR, 9/10/2009) Du Ying, the deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission of China, disclosed at a recent seminar that China will enhance the pilot program for the ecological environment compensation mechanism, in selected regions.

China strengthens pollution check ahead of National Day (Xinhua, 9/10/2009) From drinking water to mine tailings, China is reinforcing environmental checks around the capital to prevent potential pollution in the run up to the National Day celebrations on Oct. 1 when a huge gathering will be held in Tian'anmen Square.

Life support for organ transplants in China (Caijing, 9/9/2009) It's no secret that millions of people in China desperately need liver and kidney transplants. But it took a brutal murder for many to realize how bloody the transplant business can be – and the benefits of a new and hopefully fair system for organ donations.

With pipelines, China’s footprint in Burma expands (IPS, 9/8/2009) If military-ruled Burma needed a stark symbol of China’s growing dominance in the country, then it would be poised to get one soon. The Asian giant is about to start building two pipelines – for gas and oil – that will span the breadth of the Southeast Asian nation.

China says swine flue situation ‘grim,’ France cases explode (AFP, 9/8/2009) China said Tuesday the country was facing a "grim" situation in its efforts to stave off fresh outbreaks of swine flu, as monitors in France said the number of cases there was much higher than claimed.

China denies links to elephant poaching in Kenya (EcoWorldly, 9/8/2009) Recently, an increasing series of unfortunate events have suggested that Chinese workers in Kenya could be linked to a rise in elephant killings near these work sites. But according to an article in China Daily, there is no connection.

China: National Emission Standard V on the anvil (AutomotiveWorld.com, 9/8/2009) An official at China's Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) says the Ministry is setting up National Emission Standard V on new cars, and gasoline and diesel fuels.

China to levy pollution tax on vehicles (China Daily, 9/7/2009) China might levy pollution tax on vehicles, Ren Hongyan, director of the Department of Pollution Control of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, said during a discussion on “Energy saving and traditional energy automobiles” at the 2009 International Forum on Chinese Automotive Industry Development held over the weekend in Tianjin, according to China Economic Net (www.ce.cn).

China puts 1 trillion yuan in ecological conservation (Xinhua, 9/6/2009) China has spent nearly 1 trillion yuan (146 billion U.S. dollars) on ecological conservation and environmental protection over the past decade, a senior official told an international seminar on ecological compensation held Sunday in northwest China.

China starts developing new rockets for space mission (China Daily, 9/6/2009) China has started developing the Long March 6 carrier rockets for its space programs, the China National Space Administration announced on its official website.

Beijing says new measures needed to fight lead poisoning (Wall Street Journal, 9/4/2009) China's environment minister called for new measures to deal with heavy-metal poisoning, following a recent spate of incidents involving mass lead poisoning of children living near lead smelters.

Local governments keep Chinese public in the dark about pollution (Guardian, 9/4/2009) Polluters in China are operating in a "black box" of secrecy, the Ministry of Environmental Protection has warned amid a rash of violent protests related to industrial poisoning.

Banned additives found in bread (Shanghai Daily, 9/4/2009) Quality watchdogs in Guangzhou city have found bread laced with banned additives which may lead to cancer, Guangzhou Daily reported today.



Shortage of rare earths used in hybrids, TVs may loom in China (Bloomberg, 9/3/2009) China said supplies of dysprosium and terbium, minerals needed to make hybrid cars and televisions, may be inadequate for its own needs, adding to concerns that the largest producer of rare earths may further cut exports.