Issue 29, October 16 - October 23rd, 2009

OPINION

Climate policy by trade war? (Engineering News, 10/23/2009) Will climate policy in future be conducted through trade measures? A worrying scenario is that the current approach – negotiating climate change multilaterally, through the United Nations (UN) – could be replaced by domestic action and border adjustments.

Does China need an animal protection law? (Beijing Review, 10/22/2009) On September 18, a number of Chinese law experts announced that they had drafted an animal protection act. China currently lacks a comprehensive basic law on animal protection. The underdeveloped legal system is thus unable to put all animals under effective protection. Thus, scholars suggested drafting China's first law on the protection of animal welfare, so as to cope with problems such as animal abuse and desertion in accordance with laws. The law is expected to make animal owners more responsible and thus cut the government's expense in this regard, prevent livestock breeding pollution and encourage the virtue of caring for animals.

Against tiger farming (China Dialogue, 10/21/2009) Ancient Chinese tradition and modern scientific thinking both respect the tiger’s role in protecting wild nature. Farming the big cat, writes poet Ruth Padel, ruins China's reputation abroad.

China’s vulnerability (BBC, 10/19/2009) Roger Harrabin examines the difficulties faced by China as it puts together a negotiating position for the Copenhagen climate conference.

Carbon Capture is “essential” for developing world, and still a pipe dream (Tree Hugger, 10/19/2009) Here's a climate conundrum. Last week, the International Energy Agency said in a report (pdf) that to avoid climate catastrophe, 2,000 carbon capture and sequestration (CSS, or sometimes "clean coal") plants need to be built in developing countries by 2050.

Here comes the (Chinese) Sun: How Chinese innovation is going to revolutionize solar power for the rest of the world (GOOD, 10/18/2009) Residents of the city of Rizhao claim to be the first Chinese to greet the sun each day as it rises from the Yellow Sea. In fact, the city’s name is a condensed form of the Chinese phrase ri qu shien zhao, which literally means “first to get sunshine.” They also make some of the best use of the more than 100 kilowatt-hours of power the sun pours down on each square meter of Earth over the course of a sunny day.

PUBLIC SECTOR/NGOs

China ignoring tiger trade: campaign group (AFP, 10/22/2009) China is turning a blind eye to the thriving illegal trade in tiger parts, a campaign group said Thursday following an undercover investigation in western China and Tibet.

Decline in Burmese timber smuggling across Chinese border, figures show (The Guardian, 10/22/2009) Improved Chinese border controls have dramatically slowed imports of illegally logged wood from Burma, but smuggling continues to pose a threat to one of the world's last virgin forests, according to a new report by Global Witness.

Chinese town’s response to poisonous lead factory: Move the town (Treehugger, 10/20/2009) Increasingly, concern over environmental health in cities and towns across China has led to angry public protests that have halted construction on or closed a number of factories. But after outrage over lead poisoning in a town in central China, authorities aren't turning off the smelters at fault. They're moving the whole town.

Report: Myanmar timber still smuggled to China (AP, 10/20/2009) There has been a sharp decline in timber illegally imported into China from Myanmar, but smugglers are still supplying Chinese companies that export the wood to Europe, America and throughout the world, an environmental watchdog agency said Wednesday.

Drought continues in central, southern China (Xinhua, 10/20/2009) Drought continued in central and southern Chinese provinces this week, with dozens of ships stranded in shallow rivers and crop harvests almost halved.

Speech at the 5th Asia Pacific Conference on Reproductive and Sexual Health and Rights by Zhao Baige, Vice Minister of the National Population and Family Planning Commission of China (Department of International Cooperation, 10/18/2009) Today we are gathering here to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the International Conference for Population and Development (ICPD). It is a great honor for me to have this opportunity to share with you China’s practice in line with the ICPD.

Report finds ample room for Joint U.S.-China CO2 storage efforts (New York Times, 10/16/2009) China could become a world leader in the development and deployment of technology to capture carbon dioxide and store it underground, the Natural Resources Defense Council finds in a sweeping new report (pdf) out today.

CORPORATIONS

ADB to fund eco-tourism in China’s bio-diverse mountainous region (Xinhua, 10/23/2009) The Asian Development Bank (ADB) Friday said it is helping China set up botanical gardens, wild-life parks and a giant panda center in the northwestern Qinling Mountains to protect the region's biological diversity.

Peabody set to tap Asian demand for coal (The Australian Business, 10/22/2009) US coal giant Peabody Energy plans to double its Queensland and NSW coal exports in the next five years, as it looks to tapgrowing demand from Chinese and Indian steel mills and power stations.

China Europa 2009: The essential event where China and Europe talk green business together (PR Newswire, 10/21/2009) China Europa is an exhibition and business convention which aims to foster trade relations between China and Europe. This year's China Europa, which runs from 8th to 10th December, is themed around Sustainable Urban Development, and offers a platform for local authorities, businesses and experts from China and Europe working in this field to meet and do business.

Harrabin’s Notes: Green tower (BBC, 10/21/2009) BBC environment analyst Roger Harrabin reports on the tower block under construction in China which could lead the way in green building technology.

From China: Entrepreneurs, conservation, and the future of the world (Mother Nature Network, 10/22/2009) Who’s going to lead the way for conservation in China? Local grassroots groups? International NGOs? The government? Here’s another thought: What about Chinese capitalists?

Research and Markets: Analyzing China’s copper industry (Business Wire, 10/22/2009) Aruvians Research's report on Analyzing China's Copper Industry initiates with an understanding of the global copper industry delving theoretically into the basic characteristics of copper, exploration of copper, mining of copper and also the technologies involved in copper production. The report then further elaborates on the uses of copper which have led to the development of a global industry structure which are further explained in the form of various markets of copper.

Research and Markets: Automotive- China industry guide – an essential resource for top level data and analysis (Reuters, 10/20/2009) The Automotive: China Industry Guide is an essential resource for top-level data and analysis covering the China Automotive industry. It includes detailed data on market size and segmentation, textual analysis of the key trends and competitive landscape, and profiles of the leading companies. This incisive report provides expert analysis with distinct chapters for Light trucks, Medium & Heavy Trucks, Motorcycles and New Cars.

Leased electrical cells power new bus (China Daily, 10/19/2009) With a growing public awareness of environmental protection, electric vehicles are trendy. Yet the high cost of their crucial power cell is still a drag on industry growth.

China Oil and Gas report Q4 2009 (Business Wire, 10/18/2009) This China Oil and Gas Report provides industry professionals and strategists, corporate analysts, oil and gas associations, government departments and regulatory bodies with independent forecasts and competitive intelligence on China's oil and gas industry.

Chinese company is near first deal to buy stake in oil drilling leases in Gulf of Mexico (New York Times, 10/16/2009) Trying to acquire a foothold in the American oil patch, a Chinese company is closing in on a deal to buy stakes in a few drilling leases in the Gulf of Mexico from a Norwegian company, an executive close to the talks said.

GOVERNMENT

China to take due responsibilities in climate issue (Xinhua, 10/23/2009) China supports the development of a low-carbon economy, and will not shrug off its due responsibilities in countering global climate change, an environment expert with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) said Thursday.

India, China sign 5 year pact to tackle climate change (Business Standard, 10/22/2009) India and China today signed a five-year agreement to jointly fight climate change and negotiate international climate deals. The two countries also set up a Joint Working Group (JWG) that will hold annual meetings alternately in China and India to discuss respective domestic policies and measures and implementation of related cooperative projects.

Harrabin’s Notes: Scooting green (BBC, 10/22/2009) Battery-powered motor scooters are popping up in cities right across China. But in Guilin, they have been given an extra boost by the decision of the local authority to stop issuing licenses for conventional motorbikes, which were sullying the city's green reputation with their pollution and noise.

Nigeria hopes peace can bring big China deals (CNN, 10/21/2009) Nigeria has set its sights on making multibillion-dollar oil deals with China amid peace moves with militants.

China becomes a player in Afghanistan’s future (NPR, 10/21/2009) In search of a solution to Afghanistan's problems, the United States is seeking help from several of Afghanistan's neighbors, including China, which has become the largest commercial investor in Afghanistan.

China plans emergency oil-storage tanks in NE (The China Post, 10/21/2009) China, the world's second-largest energy consumer, is planning to build emergency oil-storage tanks in the country's northeast to help bolster fuel-supply security, potentially helping to spur future imports.

Italy: Police seizes three containers of China-bound waste (AKI, 10/20/2009) Three containers with at least 63 tonnes of special waste bound for China were seized by Italy's custom authorities and tax police on Tuesday in the southeastern port city of Taranto, located in the region of Puglia.

No Chinese dam over Brahmaputa – PM assures Arunachal (Thaindian News, 10/20/2009) “The prime minister assured us that there was no dam being constructed over the Brahmaputra by China. In fact, Beijing had formally communicated this to the Indian government,” Khandu told IANS on telephone from New Delhi.

China builds quake monitoring station at Everest (AP, 10/20/2009) Chinese scientists have begun operating an earthquake monitoring station at the foot of Mount Everest in a bid to learn more about the world's highest peak, an official said Monday.

China targets 40 percent rise in refining by 2015 (Alibaba, 10/20/2009) Chinese authorities have quietly endorsed new plans to increase domestic refining capacity by 40 percent by 2015, focusing on the expansion of existing sites rather than building new plants, industry sources said on Tuesday.

Beijing goes after US-made nylon (New York Times, 10/19/2009) The Chinese Ministry of Commerce issued a preliminary ruling Monday that imposed a 36 percent tariff on American-made Nylon 6, a synthetic filament that ends up in a wide array of products, including toothbrushes, auto parts, socks and the handles of Glock handguns. Nylon 6 from Taiwan and Russia would also be taxed, but at much lower rates.

China urges metals firms to build plants abroad (Reuters, 10/19/2009) Chinese producers of steel and non-ferrous metals should build plants overseas, a senior government official at China's top planning body, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), said on Monday.

China may stumble in race with rivals for African oil (Bloomberg, 10/19/2009) China’s plans to buy into oil fields in Africa may suffer a third setback in as many months if Exxon Mobil Corp. succeeds in snapping up drilling rights in Ghana, one of the continent’s newest oil nations.

Tibet: Huge methane reservoir discovered under ice (Asia News/Agencies, 10/17/2009) In the tundra of Tibet “the secret to energy independence for China is hidden, opening up the road to environmentally sustainable development without oil." This was declared yesterday a representative of the Chinese Ministry for Land and Resources, who explained: "Under the ice of Tibet and Qinghai our geologists have found the largest underground reservoir of methane hydrates”.

China’s challenge: Enforcing its environmental laws (The Epoch Times, 10/16/2009) China’s communist leaders know that they have to do something about China’s deplorable environment because it is limiting opportunities for economic growth, causing mounting health problems, and it “has become one of the leading sources of social unrest throughout the country,” said Elizabeth Economy, C.V. Starr senior fellow and director for Asia Studies, Council on Foreign Relations.