Issue 28, October 2nd to October 9th, 2009

OPINION

Is China beating the US in clean tech? (MIT Technology Review, 10/9/2009) China could beat the United States in a race to deploy clean energy technology that can reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, said Frances Beinecke, leader of a leading environmental group, speaking this week at MIT.

China’s electric car revolution (Asia Times, 10/9/2009) With 17 of every 1,000 people in China owning a car in 2008, compared with a global average of 120 per 1,000 persons, the country is already the second-largest auto market in the world. It is expected to exceed the United States to become the largest auto market by 2030. While this astounding growth is great news for the auto industry, it is disastrous for the world's most populated country.

China’s green maverick (China Dialogue, 10/8/2009) Zhang Yue was born in 1960 in Changsha, Hunan province, in southern China. In 1988 he founded Broad Air Conditioning with 30,000 yuan in capital. The private company, of which he is now president, sells a non-electric central air-conditioning system. Broad sells its units to 60 countries, and leads the industrial market in China, Europe and the United States.
Opinion: Green finance vital lubricant in climate battle (CNN, 10/7/2009) One thing urgently important is "green finance." As a matter fact, "green finance" is one missing link between "knowing" and "doing" in the transition to green industry. All green industrial propositions cost money, and many green industry business models are more often than not untested or unconventional.

China can be smarter on reserving more resources (Reuters, 10/6/2009) China might have good environmental reasons to restrict the production of rare earth metals, but export quotas and duties are not the way to do it.

Is China, once climate scapegoat, now our “Sputnik”? (Treehugger, 10/5/2009) True, China is very serious about green tech. But having just returned to Beijing, I read Friedman's column and can't help but think of that old Chinese phrase: "paper tiger."

Development as China’s environmental solution (Telegraph, 10/2/2009) China has faced a continuous shift of challenges over the past 50 years: from poverty in the 1950s, ecological degradation in the 1970s, environmental pollution in the 1990s, to global warming in the new century.

PUBLIC SECTOR/NGOs

As the economy grows, so do garbage woes (AP, 10/8/2009) In less than five years, the Zhengzhou Comprehensive Waste Treatment Landfill has overwhelmed this otherwise pristine village of about 1,000 people. Peaches and cherries rot on trees, infested with insect life drawn by the smell. Fields lie unharvested, contaminated by toxic muck. Every day, another 100 or so tonnes of garbage arrive from nearby Zhengzhou, a provincial capital of eight million.

Global warming may worsen locust swarms (Nature News, 10/7/2009) Analysis of Chinese historical records stretching back for over a thousand years show that locust outbreaks are more likely to occur in warmer and drier weather, especially in the country's northern provinces, researchers say.

More than 5,000 endangered, rare trees found in SW China county (Xinhua, 10/6/2009) More than 5,000 dove trees have been discovered in Zhijin county of southwest China's Guizhou Province, local government sources said on Tuesday.

High blood pressure causes 20% of deaths in China, study says (Bloomberg, 10/6/2009) High blood pressure is the biggest preventable cause of early death in China, according to a study that calls on the nation’s health authorities to make fighting the condition their top priority.

Can green tech turn grey skies blue? (The Globe and Mail, 10/6/2009) The incredible growth of China's economy has extracted an incredible price: the dirtying of its soil, its water and its air, thanks to the rapid extraction and use of its resources, and the often backward means of doing so.

Chasing China’s wind power, with pure heart (Xinhua, 10/6/2009) To most people interested in the wind game in China, he bore a familiar face. He was a pioneer in the country's grid connected wind power development, a key inspirator of China's first Renewable Energy Law, and was widely recognized as the wind power person in China with frankness that earned him great respect industry wide.

Traditions fade as China settles nomads in towns (AP, 10/5/2009) Herding reindeer and hunting bears and boars in the forests on Siberia's fringe was Gu Gejun's life. Now his rifle has been confiscated, and the only reindeer he herds are in an urban tourist park.

Joint agreement necessary on climate change in Greater Mekong: WWF (Xinhua, 10/5/2009) A report released Monday by an international NGO called for Asia's first regional climate change adaptation agreement in the Greater Mekong region, which, as one of the regions with richest biological diversity on the earth, is already strongly affected by climate change.

Feed the beast (The Age, 10/3/2009) The people of Shanxi, a province famous in China for its deadly coalmines and toxic air, have had enough.

China hungry for more iron ore (Perth Now, 10/3/2009) China’s hunger for iron ore will continue for years to come as development spreads across its territory, says Goldman Sachs commodity analyst Paul Gray.

17,000 herdsmen on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau have access to safe water (People’s Daily, 10/2/2009) About 17,000 herdsmen in the Three-River Headwaters on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau have for the first time been accessible to safe tap water, a local official said Friday.

China reports 2 million rural households without electricity (Xinhua, 10/2/2009) China had about 2 million households without electric power and the average electric power consumption per capita per year stood at 300 kwh in 2008, according to the National Energy Administration (NEA).

New energy, renewable energy take 9% in China’s energy structure (Xinhua, 10/2/2009) New energy and renewable energy took nine percent in China's energy structure in 2008, while coal took 69 percent and oil and natural gas 22 percent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics of China.

CORPORATIONS

China’s solar footprint set to explode; creates investment opportunity, says GTM research (Nikkei Electronics Asia, 10/8/2009) Demand for solar panels inside China could explode over the next three years, presenting an opportunity for investors and select international partners, according to a report from GTM Research, the market research arm of Greentech Media.

Hong Kong golf course goes green with first solar carts fleet (Reuters, 10/7/2009) A golf course in Hong Kong, where air pollution is a huge concern, is displaying its green credentials with the world's first entire fleet of solar-powered golf carts.

Green lightening cases promising ray upon the Chinese lighting industry (Chinese Economic News Service, 10/7/2009) It seems that the global recession, despite putting the damper on many other sectors, has given continual impetus to makers of green lighting in China, with such lighting typically defined as ones that conserve energy and cause less pollution. Turning up the brightness on eco-friendly lighting at the trade show recently in Guangzhou, Messe Frankfurt, the show organizer, made green lighting the theme.

World’s leading coal-based PP project to begin trial production next year in NW China (Xinhua, 10/6/2009) A coal-based polypropylene (PP) production project in northwest China, believed to be the world's largest one, is to start trial operation next year, a company source said Tuesday.

China tycoon resurfaces in US with green car plan (AP, 10/5/2009) Yang Rong was once celebrated as a pioneering automobile entrepreneur who founded the first Chinese company to be listed on Wall Street.

Why lead supply has taken a battering in China (Commodity Online, 10/5/2009) Lead supply has taken a battering ever since zinc miners, who churn out much of the metal as a by-product, began to reduce or close down capacity, as early as 1H 2008. But the recent supply threats to Chinese refined lead supply (announced in late August) have sharply focused attention on what has been evident since April 2007 - that the global supply-demand balance for refined lead was tight, and that environmental worries posed a long-term threat to future output.

Joint center for clean-tech innovation planned in China (The National Business Review, 10/5/2009) Christchurch-based venture capital company, Milestone Capital, is negotiating a joint facility for clean technology innovation in China.

Sulfur scrubbing gets a boost as China cracks down on pollution (Investor’s Business Daily, 10/2/2009) Last year's Olympics in Beijing brought China to the verge of global embarrassment over its pollution problem. Only shutting down some of its factories temporarily stopped the city from choking the tourists and athletes.

China prudent over tapping combustible ice (Xinhua, 10/3/2009) China will put environmental concerns as top priority in tackling ways to exploit combustible ice, a kind of natural gas hydrate, in the permanent tundra in its northwest plateau region, said a combustible ice project leader.

GOVERNMENT

Trade, climate top US-China agenda (China Daily, 10/9/2009) Obama will be in Beijing and Shanghai between Nov 15 and 18. During the China leg, President Hu Jintao will likely urge his US counterpart to abandon trade protectionism, said Chinese experts yesterday. Obama is expected to push China to reach a bilateral climate change agreement.

China coastal city wins UN Habitat award (Xinhua, 10/9/209) The local government of an Eastern China coastal city won a United Nations Habitat award on Monday for well executed urban planning which has transformed the city into a green home with new housing and infrastructure.

China to start its 26th Antarctic expedition (Xinhua, 10/8/2009) A team of 251 members will leave on board the vessel Snow Dragon for China's 26th Antarctic exploration on Oct. 11, the State Oceanic Administration announced Wednesday.

Half of Liaoning’s bottled water ‘unhygienic’ (China Daily, 10/8/2009) Nearly half of all bottled water used in dispensers in Liaoning province fails to meet health standards, a study by the provincial quality safety bureau has found.

Climate a bigger challenge than recession, China says (Bloomberg, 10/7/2009) China, the world’s biggest polluter, said climate change is a challenge that it shares with the world and is a more formidable one than the global recession.

Energy efficiency ranks high in China’s plans; CO2 is seldom discussed (New York Times, 10/6/2009) From shuttering inefficient factories to investing in LED lighting, energy efficiency is serious business throughout China. But in boardroom after boardroom, the work seems almost completely divorced from the business of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Environmental poisoning shadows two “Ecological Models” in China (The Epoch Times, 10/6/2009) While serious pollution has been widespread in China, incidents of chemical poisoning in two communities have attracted particular attention. Both communities have been awarded the title of “ecological model” by the Chinese state after supposedly passing strict scrutiny on their environmental sustainability.

International energy agency sees gains in China (New York Times, 10/6/2009) Another reason for cautious optimism, the report said, is that China will be able to slow the growth of its emissions much faster than commonly assumed because of its rising investment in wind and nuclear energy and its newfound emphasis on energy efficiency.

Zambia seeks S. Africa, China loans for power project (Reuters, 10/5/2009) A southern African bank will provide a $60 million loan to Zambia, and China will give a further $420 million loan to fund a power project meant to plug a power deficit, state-run power utility Zesco said on Monday.

California to partner with China’s Jiangsu Province to advance climate policies (Xinhua, 10/2/2009) Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced on Friday that California and China's Jiangsu Province will form a partnership to cope with climate change.