Energy. Transport & Climate Change~
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Gut bacteria make panda a chubby bamboo eater: Chinese zoologists’ find
It’s perhaps a sad story for those trying to lose weight. The giant panda stays a rotund figure despite being almost a vegetarian. Now, Chinese zoologists have found out why. The study published on Wednesday in the journal, Cell Reports, revealed that changes in the gut microbiota, the bacteria living in the gut, may play… Continue reading
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Wildfires to increase by 50% by 2100: warns UN Environment Programme
Due to climate change and changes in land use, wildfires are predicted to rise by up to 14 percent by 2030, 30 percent by 2050 and 50 percent by the end of the century, according to a report published on Wednesday by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and GRID-Arendal. The report, “Spreading like Wildfire: The… Continue reading
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China’s green transition: A feasible way of quitting coal
In September 2021 China announced that it would stop building coal-fired power projects abroad. The policy change could affect 44 plants costing a projected $50 billion across 20 countries in Asia, Africa, South America and Eastern Europe. Global Energy Monitor (GEM) estimates that the decision could prevent 8 billion tonnes of additional carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions over the lifetimes… Continue reading
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China leads on clean energy transition but still more needed
Shared by China-Environment-News.com on Facebook Dongshen News reports that China is the global leader in installed solar (39% of total) and wind (36%) capacity, but progress in clean energy transition is needed to meet targets Criteria for reducing energy consumption (13.5%) and CO2 emissions (18%) per unit of GDP by 2025 may be insufficient if economic growth accelerates,… Continue reading
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China rolls out independently built typhoon-resistant offshore wind turbine
Shared by China-Environment-News.com on Facebook The 13-megawatt typhoon-resistant offshore wind turbine independently developed by Dongfang Electric Corporation rolls off the production line in East China’s Fujian province on Feb 22, 2022. A 13-megawatt typhoon-resistant offshore wind turbine independently developed by Dongfang Electric Corporation rolled off the production line in East China’s Fujian province on Tuesday. The… Continue reading
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‘Seawater rice’ could feed 80 million Chinese
New salt-tolerant rice strains have been developed by Chinese scientists in the hope of ensuring food security that’s been threatened by rising sea levels. Test fields in Tianjin recorded a yield of 4.6 metric tons per acre last year, higher than the national average for production of standard rice varieties. Jinghai district in northern China… Continue reading
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To eradicate global poverty and cut global carbon emissions, rich nations must change their consumption patterns
Sometimes the aching injustice of human-caused climate change hits you square between the eyes. A new fact rears up that is potent, emotive and incontrovertible. That is how Carbon Brief introduced an article this week on the massive global inequality in Green House Gas emissions between people in rich and poor countries – an issue… Continue reading
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Argentina: world’s southern-most hydroelectric project on path of green progress
Argentina officially joined the global Belt and Road Initiative on 6 Feb 2022, but China has been providing bilateral support and investment for over 9 years before the historical BRI agreement. One such project is the Santa Cruz Hydroelectric Project, which consists of the two mega dams apart along the Santa Cruz River. China offered… Continue reading
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China and Papua New Guinea deepen Belt and Road cooperation
Papua New Guinea formally joined the Belt and Road Initiative in 2018, and was the second Pacific island nation to sign up to the initiative after East Timor. China has expressed its willingness to expand cooperation with Papua New Guinea in such fields as infrastructure, energy resources, agriculture, forestry and fishery, and welcomes more high-quality… Continue reading
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EU-China cooperation on environmental governance
Dimitri de Boer knows a lot about advancing environmental rule of law and rising to environmental challenges. As chief representative of the China office of NGO ClientEarth, he focuses on issues ranging from pollution control to biodiversity protection, climate change and a green post-pandemic economic recovery. Founded in 2008, ClientEarth is an environmental law charity… Continue reading
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New Zealand defies wrath of Anglosphere to sign major new trade deal with China
New Zealand – China Free Trade Agreement updated and ratified China and New Zealand have ratified an upgrade of their long-standing trade deal. The FTA was first signed with New Zealand in 2008 and it was the first such agreement between China and a Western country. Negotiations to upgrade it started in 2016. On 15 February 2022,… Continue reading
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Understanding China’s latest guidelines for greening the Belt and Road
The latest guidelines are another important milestone towards greening China’s overseas projects and investments. They are – to our knowledge – the most comprehensive document by any country regulator to guide environmental management of overseas projects by either public or private companies. This January, less than six months after publishing the “Green development guidelines for overseas investment… Continue reading
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Chinese group awarded $2.8bn first phase of Philippines’ Bicol rail scheme
The Philippines’ Department of Transportation (DOTr) has awarded a $2.8bn contract to a Chinese consortium to build the first phase of the 565km Bicol rail scheme on the country’s main island of Luzon. Philippine National Railways (PNR) is planning to build the link between Metro Manila and the southeastern tip of Luzon, with the first phase to… Continue reading
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Researchers trace large-scale understory biomass across China’s forests
BEIJING, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) — Chinese researchers have traced understory biomass and its allocation across China’s forests, according to a research article recently published in the journal Science of the Total Environment. Understory vegetation, generally consisting of the understory shrub layer, herbaceous layer and ground cover moss layer, is a significant component of any forest… Continue reading
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Along the Belt and Road: Breaking the Cycle of Underdevelopment in Latin America
By Carlos Martinez – Feb 10, 2022 The last few months have seen a significant expansion of the Belt and Road Initiative in Latin America and the Caribbean. Although this region of the world is not the most obvious fit for an undertaking that was originally modelled on the Silk Road – a network of… Continue reading
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ASEAN nations using Laos-China Railway for ‘green’, low-carbon freight
Business operators from Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar are now using the Laos-China Railway to import and export goods to and from China and beyond. Over 100,000 tonnes of cross-border goods have been shipped via the railway since it became operational in December, 2021. In early December 2021, Laos inaugurated the Boten-Vientiane railway, a 414-kilometer… Continue reading
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$117.5 billion China-Russia energy deal dumps US Dollar for the Euro
On 6 Feb 2022 China Environment reported about China and Russia announcing significant strengthening of cooperation between the two nations in the energy sector, with major long term oil and gas deals between the two nations being signed. The Chinese President said that China and Russia should strengthen joint innovations in major energy technologies, as a way… Continue reading
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Worst drought in 60 years hits China’s Guangdong province: influenced by climate change
Guangdong province receives plenty of rainfall, but rapid economic growth and climate change are nevertheless causing an emerging problem. In late December last year (2021) the Chinese news outlet Caixin reported that multiple major Guangdong cities had issued warnings to residents that they may face a water shortage as the southern province has been struck… Continue reading
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The Green Belt and Road Initiative
A China-led effort, greening of the Belt and Road Initiative involves development projects aligned with the 2030 UNSDG goals that also present climate action-positive investment opportunities. Since it was first proposed in 2013, China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has taken on many forms. A clear-eyed strategy to connect Asia with Africa and Europe via… Continue reading
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Reducing surface layer ozone pollution could significantly increase wheat yield in East Asia: study
BEIJING, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) — Chinese researchers have discovered that halving the ground level ozone pollution dose could increase wheat yields by more than 20 percent, the Science and Technology Daily reported Thursday. The climbing concentration of surface ozone pollution hinders crop growth and reduces yields, according to the report. The researchers from the Nanjing… Continue reading
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China plans regional caps to conserve water
The country’s per capita water resources are less than one-third of the global average. China plans to develop a stricter water conservation framework by introducing regional usage caps and water rights trading schemes amid depleting resources, according to the Ministry of Water Resources. In a notice Tuesday, the ministry said that specifying regional water availability caps would be high… Continue reading
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China set to further low-carbon push
New measures in pipeline to boost non-fossil energy’s role in promoting green transition China’s nonfossil energy will not only meet the country’s incremental energy demand but also replace fossil fuel stocks on a large scale by 2030, authorities said on Thursday. A statement jointly released by the National Energy Administration and the National Development and… Continue reading
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China is winning the battle against air pollution
National air pollution action plans devised by China have seen significant reductions in pollution levels and associated health risks. Air pollution levels in the main Chinese cities at the beginning of the 1980s were almost exactly at the level of London at the height of the Industrial Revolution in 1890. In response to London’s Great… Continue reading
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Striving for low-carbon agriculture: China’s story
The following article by agricultural scientists, Professors Pan Genxing and Cheng Kun, of the Institute of Resource, Ecosystem and Environment of Agriculture at Nanjing Agricultural University, China, is republished from China Dialogue. Based on the changes discussed in the following article, they are confident that green agriculture in China has a bright future, and calculate… Continue reading
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China to build thousands more ecological farms by 2025
BEIJING, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) — China plans to build more ecological farms in the coming years to advance modernization and green development in the agricultural sector, said a guideline published Wednesday by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. China aims to build 1,000 national ecological farms and 10,000 local ones nationwide by 2025. They… Continue reading
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China’s top economic planner issues notice on urban environmental infrastructure construction
China will promote further construction of urban environmental infrastructure to support green development. China will establish a comprehensive, efficient, intelligent, green and safe modern environmental infrastructure system by 2030, according to guidelines issued by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and three other government bodies. By 2025, they said China would build an environmental… Continue reading
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The New Vision for Belt and Road
With over 150 countries and international organizations participating in the Belt and Road, the initiative will be built into a more open and innovative one. Compared with nine years ago, when the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was first proposed, the current international landscape has greatly changed with both favorable and unfavorable factors popping up for cooperation… Continue reading
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China’s response to climate change encourages others
Climate change is a real challenge facing all nations alike now. The temperature is rising in cities and various adverse effects including untimely rainfall, heatwaves, droughts, storms, floods, wildfires, and crop failures are being observed across the world. It is really distressing that during the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the United… Continue reading
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China leads world investment in low-carbon energy transition
More than 130 countries have set or are considering a goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. Achieving net-zero on a global scale, however, requires $125 trillion in climate investment by 2050, according to research commissioned by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). While that level of investment hasn’t been achieved yet, it’s ramping up.… Continue reading
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China’s push to green consumption
From farmhouse upgrades to electric vehicle sales blitzes in the countryside, the world’s second-largest economy wants its rural consumers to start spending green. A shift has been rippling through China’s enormous middle class in recent years, moving it towards responsible consumerism. Keen to encourage this momentum, the Chinese central government has decided that it will vigorously… Continue reading
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China maps five-year plan for transportation development
China outlined a modern comprehensive transportation system over the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) period in a circular recently issued. According to the circular, by 2025, China will have generally realized integrated transportation development, achieved breakthroughs in pursuing intelligent and green transportation, and made prominent improvements in overall capability, service quality and efficiency of the transportation… Continue reading
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China and Argentina sign nuclear power project deal
Nucleoeléctrica Argentina and China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) have signed an engineering, procurement and construction contract for the development of the Atucha 3 nuclear power plant. World Nuclear News, 2 Feb 2022 reports: “The nuclear power plant, to be sited near Lima, about 100 kilometres north west of Argentina’s capital, Buenos Aires, will use China’s… Continue reading
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China and Russia sign new deals on energy cooperation
China and Russia announced a significant strengthening of cooperation in energy sector, with major oil and gas corporations from two nations signing new deals this week. While China is massively expanding its renewable energy capacity to meet its 2030 and 2060 climate goals, natural gas is likely to remain a significant energy transition fuel for China.… Continue reading
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China explores involving communities in mangrove restoration
China’s management of mangroves is shifting from planting areas of trees to restoration and protection of ecosystems – how can livelihoods be ensured while protecting mangroves? What role can local communities play in managing mangrove restoration? The following article from republished from China Dialogue (February 2, 2022) discusses the challenges. The world’s mangroves have been… Continue reading
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Sinopec Completes First Megaton Scale Carbon Capture Project in China
China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) has completed the construction of the first megaton carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) project in China, the Qilu-Shengli Oilfield CCUS on January 29. This will reduce carbon emission by 1 million tons per year, the equivalent of planting nearly 9 million trees and shutting down 600,000 economy cars.… Continue reading
China Environment News 