Environmental China, January 28nd to February 5th, Issue 45

OPINION

China and green GDP (The Energy Collective, 2/3/2010) Back in the mid-2000s China began to experiment with the notion of Green GDP as a new way of accounting for its growth in an environmental context. This was touched on in a previous blog post, but I thought a more in depth look into exactly what Green GDP showed and why it failed would provide some insight.

Chinese cities growing fast (The China Business Network, 2/3/2010) Head of Tishman Speyer China Ryan Botjer experiences first hand China's rapidly expanding cities. His company is a major business real estate company and has enjoyed much success especially in the growing 2nd and 3rd tier Chinese cities. He warns, though, that the cities can grow only as fast as the infrastructure can keep up.

China, U.S., and Europe race for the smart grid (Mother Nature Network, 2/1/2010) Are American electric utilities lagging behind China in the race to fund and build the construction of a smart energy grid?

PUBLIC SECTOR/NGOs

The revival of bicycles in Beijing (Xinhua, 1/28/2010) Commuting in China's big cities is a daunting experience. The phrase "rush hour" takes on a whole new meaning, and an ominous one, in a city like Beijing which has 20 million residents and 4 million private cars. Congestion and pollution are serious problems.

CORPORATIONS

FIFA goes green with solar-powered sponsor (EcoSeed, 2/4/2010) This year’s FIFA World Cup is brought to you by… solar panels? This is certainly the case this year, as Yingli Green (NYSE:YGE ) becomes the first renewable energy company in history to sponsor the prestigious football tournament. The announcement was made at the 2010 FIFA World Cup press conference held in Beijing, during which Miao Liansheng, Yingli Green chief executive, spoke and video messages from FIFA headquarters in Zurich were aired.

Future of China’s tiger farms in the balance (IPS, 1/30/2010) The road to the world’s first tiger summit in Vladivostok later this year will have to be paved with answers about the future of tiger farms in China and other East Asian countries, said conservationists.

China leading global race to make clean energy (New York Times, 1/30/2010) China vaulted past competitors in Denmark, Germany, Spain and the United States last year to become the world’s largest maker of wind turbines, and is poised to expand even further this year.

GOVERNMENT

Nanning wins top environmental prize (China Daily, 2/4/2010) Nanning has won a top Chinese environmental prize after it received the Habitat Scroll of Honor Award from UN-Habitat in 2007, another reward for its relentless efforts to protect its environment.

China strives for first ‘green’ Expo (AFP, 2/4/2010) China, the world's number one emitter of greenhouse gases, aims to hold the first "green" World Expo in Shanghai, as the sprawling metropolis tries to shed its polluted past and become eco-friendly.

China may scrap plan for mills to match ArcelorMittal (BusinessWeek, 2/4/2010) China, the world’s largest steel producer, may pull back from encouraging steelmakers to get as large as global leader ArcelorMittal, as it directs mills to focus on improving product quality, a government adviser said.

China’s labor edge overpowers Obama’s ‘Green’ jobs initiatives (Bloomberg, 2/4/2010) President Barack Obama is spending $2.1 million to help Suntech Power Holdings Co. build a solar- panel plant in Arizona. It will hire 70 Americans to assemble components made by Suntech’s 11,000 Chinese workers.

3,391 officials indicted in China for environment-related duty dereliction (Xinhua, 1/29/2010) China's procuratorate authorities had prosecuted 3,391 public officials from April 2008 to last November for dereliction of duty in cases that caused damage to the natural environment and waste of energy resources.