China Environmental News Alert

NRDC has been working in China for over twelve years on such issues as energy efficiency, green buildings, clean energy technologies, environmental governance and public participation, and green supply chain issues. This China Environmental News Alert is a weekly compilation of news from around the world on China and the environment.

October 31, 2009 - November 6, 2009

China and the March to Copenhagen

China's climate red phone has two lines:  U.S. and developing world

With less than 5 weeks until the international climate talks in Copenhagen, China's complicated role as the de facto leader of developing nations and the world's largest emitter of carbon is being tested, as pressure for a bilateral agreement with the US increases.  While developing nations, such as India, continue to insist that developed countries adopt terms similar to the Kyoto Protocol, the US has articulated the need for a new international framework that requires all countries to develop carbon-mediating programs that can be measured, reported, and verified (MRV) by outside experts.  The world will continue to anxiously watch where China will fall in this debate, especially in light of Obama's upcoming visits to Shanghai and Beijing on November 16.

Treehugger (November 2, 2009) 

Bloggers put china's pollution on the map

Guo Baofeng, a Chinese blogger from Fujian province, has created an online China pollution map that allows viewers to mark locations with high levels of pollution or incidents of contamination.  The google map was opened for public participation last week, and the number of views has doubled to over 5000. This is not the first publicly available map of China's pollution; however, this "open access" format allowing the public to directly participate is rare, and several viewers have added links to relevant reports or news articles that disclose information about specific pollution incidents.

Wall Street Journal (November 2, 2009)

Mine waste blamed for pollution, health risks in north China county

500 km south of Beijing in Gaocun Village, iron ore tailings have blow throughout the village, destroying more than 20 hectares of cropland and causing erythema and respiratory problems in many villagers, especially children.  The tailings are discharged by two iron ore suppliers, which are owned and operated by China Minmetals Corporation, a major state-owned metals and minerals trader.  Since last year, over 30 Gaocun villagers have signed and sent petition letters to governmental departments, but the issue is yet to be resolved.

Xinhua (November 5, 2009)

Bar funds for China-backed wind farm, senator says

A contentious debate has erupted over the controversial joint venture project to build a 600-megawatt, 36,000 acre wind farm in Texas last week.  The U.S. Renewable Energy Group and Cielo Wind Power LP of Austin, TX, formed the venture with China's Shenyang Power Group, and the current plan stipulates that $450 million in US economic stimulus aid be used to build the farm, which will use wind turbines from Shenyang.   Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) was "furious" when he learned that US stimulus aid will be used for the project, especially given that a majority of the estimated 3,000 jobs to be created through the project will be in China, not the US. 

Bloomberg (November 6, 2009)

China seeks laws to protect polluted lakes:  state media

According to Chinese state media, China's thousands of lakes are drying up at a rate of about 20 per year, and almost 90 percent of China's lakes suffer from eutrophicationr-which is often linked to waste discharge-that causes excessive growth of aquatic plants, reducing oxygen and killing marine life.  At the 13th World Lake Conference in Wuhan earlier this week, one of China's top legislators insisted on establishing special lake protection regulations, eradicating outdated production methods, and implementing more rigorous supervision of industrial, agricultural, and household waste.

AFP (November 4, 2009)

Related Article from Shanghai Daily:  China's lakes shrink as drought crisis continues

China seeds clouds in wheat-growing areas to ease drought

Jets and rockets pumped silver iodide into the clouds in several Northern provinces and cities last weekend, in an attempt to induce rain and put an end to damaging sustained drought.  The cloud seeding brought as much as 40 mm of rain in Anhui province, but in Beijing sharp temperature falls resulted in additional snowfall of more than 16 million metric tons.

Reuters (November 1, 2009) 

China wind power likely to meet future energy demand

A recent study by environmental scientists from Harvard University and Tsinghua University has found that wind power has the potentiality to satisfy China's electrical energy requirements projected for 2030.  Currently wind energy only accounts for 0.4 percent of China's total electrical energy provision, but the Chinese marketplace for wind generation is rapidly gaining international prominence.  As China continues to consider paths to sustain its high-speed development, renewable energies and green technology become the most appealing possibilities.

Energy Business Daily (November 3, 2009)

China's "green drive" progressive, with more efforts needed

Holding to its goal of reducing energy intensity by 20 percent between 2005 and 2010, China has made enormous leaps forward in wind and solar power over the past few years.  One of the major obstacles that China has begun facing, however, is harmful individual behaviors unfriendly to the environment.  As the Chinese middle-class becomes increasingly affluent, China will need to incorporate environmental education into climate change policies, as well as continue to develop a low-carbon economy.

Xinhua (November 3, 2009) 

China to cut pesticide companies by 30% to reduce pollution

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology recently released a draft "Industrial Policy for Pesticide Industry," which stipulates that China's pesticide companies will be cut by 30% by 2015.  In addition, the Policy requires 50% of companies that produce pesticide ingredients to move to industrial areas in an effort to optimize industrial layout and reduce pollution, as well as requires all companies to decrease waste gas, waste water, and industrial residues by 30 percent by 2015.

Xinhua (November 3, 2009)

(CENA prepared by Stephen Leonelli)

See our bilingual (English and Chinese) blog dedicated to discussion of China's environmental law, policy and public participation at http://www.greenlaw.org.cn.