Energy. Transport & Climate Change~
-
Wildlife seeking new homes amid urbanization and climate change
Shanghai residents recently spotted a bunch of curious dog-like animals hanging around their neighborhoods. The experts confirmed them as raccoon dogs, or “貉” (hé) in Chinese. Most Chinese have heard of the animal from the phrase “一丘之貉” (yī qiū zhī hé), which could be literally translated to “raccoon dogs of the same hill,” meaning “birds… Continue reading
-
China’s plan for the marine environment
In 2017, the 19th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party set the goal of creating a “Beautiful China” by 2035. Important to this is a special five-year plan (FYP) for the marine environment. There have been marine FYPs before, for fishing and the ocean economy, but this will be the first one dedicated to… Continue reading
-
China’s land use: 103 million hectares of farmland protected by “red line”
“The central government has attached great importance to the protection of farmland and we will implement the strictest policies to prevent farmland from being illegally used for other purposes” China’s Ministry of Natural Resources has released details of dozens of typical land-use supervision cases last year, underlining its firm resolve to protect the country’s farmland… Continue reading
-
China’s new energy vehicle industry turbocharged by low-carbon drive
“China 65,000 electric vehicle charging stations, 644 power swap stations, and 1.87 million charging piles had been built nationwide, covering 176 cities and more than 50,000 km of highways.” “Not only has China’s interim goal of 5 million EVs been met, but the country has cultivated the world’s largest plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) market. In… Continue reading
-
China’s first global carbon flux dataset produced through CO2 monitoring satellite
Chinese scientists recently created the country’s first global carbon flux dataset based on data collected by the country’s first carbon dioxide (CO2) monitoring satellite TanSat. The achievement means that China is capable of conducting the quantitative spatial monitoring of the global carbon budget and helping take an inventory of the carbon budgets around the world.… Continue reading
-
Major global environmental treaties US won’t ratify
Most of the world’s countries support these global agreements on conservation and pollution. China has ratified each of them. But the United States of America refuses to ratify (i.e. commit to) these international protocols. In one of his first acts after taking power US, President Biden signed an executive order to have the United States rejoin… Continue reading
-
CHINA’S NEW GUIDELINES ON ‘GREEN DEVELOPMENT’ – WHAT IT MEANS FOR THE BELT AND ROAD INITIATIVE
A recent (July 2021) joint document by China’s Ministry of Ecology & Environment and the Ministry of Commerce promises to bring environmental considerations much deeper into China’s overseas project planning The “Green development guidelines for overseas investment and cooperation”, issued jointly by the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE),… Continue reading
-
China crackdown stops illegal production of ozone-destroying chemicals.
Two recent research reports published in the prestigious scientific journal Nature confirm that atmospheric concentrations of the ozone-depleting chemical CFC-11 had once again dropped significantly. By late 2019, levels were falling by about 1% a year — the fastest on record, according to the reports — showing that the world was back on track to repairing the damage… Continue reading
-
Scientists confirm the 1987 global ban on ozone depleting chemicals saved the planet
And prevented a 50% rise in Greenhouse Gas levels If it weren’t for a global ban of ozone-destroying chemicals in the late 1980s, the ravages of climate change would have become far worse by the 2040s than is currently projected, according to a recent study published in the journal Nature. Fortunately, because of international action under… Continue reading
-
The Third Pole – China’s melting glacier
The Third Pole is a region in Central Asia with the world’s third-largest store of ice after Antarctica and Greenland that is roughly the size of the US states of Texas and New Mexico combined. Third Pole glaciers are one of the world’s largest freshwater sources, and vital to billions of people from Vietnam to… Continue reading
-
First-ever rain recorded on the summit of Greenland’s ice sheet
It has just rained at the summit of Greenland’s ice sheet for the first time in recorded history, in yet another worrying milestone in our ecological unravelling. Like much of the Northern Hemisphere, Greenland’s been experiencing a massive heatwave with temperatures at the glacier’s summit rising above freezing for the third time in less than a decade. On 14… Continue reading
-
West’s cumulative emissions of CO2 are 5 times those of China
A fact’s a fact … Cumulative CO2 emissions by Western countries are 5 times those of China China’s cumulative CO2 emissions = 220 billion tonnes (13% of world total cumulative emissions) West’s cumulative CO2 emissions = 1148 billion tonnes (70% of world total cumulative emissions) United States cumulative CO2 emissions = 400 billion tonnes (25% of world… Continue reading
-
The West produces double the CO2 of China per capita
A fact’s a fact … The West per capita produces double the CO2 of China Each Chinese citizen produces 6.86 tonnes of CO2 per year. Each citizen in the Western industrialized countries produces 12.1 tonnes per year on average. Canada, USA, & Australia are the worst at 15.59 t; 16.16 t; 16.88 t each ** The West… Continue reading
-
Nearly 500 Yangtze finless porpoises recorded in China’s Poyang lake
NANCHANG, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) — Nearly 500 Yangtze finless porpoises have been detected in Poyang Lake in east China’s Jiangxi Province, according to the results of a recent survey released by the provincial forestry department. The endangered species, known as the “giant panda of the water,” is a barometer of the ecological environment in the… Continue reading
-
The Earth System, the Anthropocene and global tipping points
“Treating ‘humans’ as a single, monolithic whole, ignores the fact that the Great Acceleration has, until very recently, been almost entirely been driven by a small fraction of the human population, those in developed countries.” “The most striking insight is that most of the population growth has been in the non-OECD world but the world’s… Continue reading
-
China is taking a significant step in tackling climate change
On August 9, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a special report. It emphasizes that without “immediate, rapid, and large-scale” reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, it will be impossible to contain global warming and avoid frequent and severe climate events in the coming decades. Many laments the enormous costs of achieving zero carbon… Continue reading
-
Digital farming takes hold in China
Modern Agriculture Platform (MAP) MAP Centers are a network and platform to guide and supply farmers through the process of modernizing their farms sustainably and connecting them to premium buyers – increasing the quality of their crops and their profitability. A key part is MAP beSide: A program that helps farmers grow very high quality,… Continue reading
-
Blue Hydrogen isn’t green energy: study
Manufacturing blue hydrogen emits 20 percent more carbon than burning natural gas or coal for heat Hydrogen – considered a clean source of energy – could lead to higher greenhouse gas emissions than coal, according to a new study by researchers at Cornell and Stanford Universities. The study examined the greenhouse-gas emissions generated by the… Continue reading
-
World’s largest solar powered green hydrogen plant begins operation in China
Operation of the world’s largest solar powered hydrogen plant began on 20 April 2021 in China. The project, owned by Baofeng Energy Group, uses a 200-MW solar power plant located in northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region to electrolyze water to make “green” hydrogen, which replaces coal. In May 2020 Chinese coal miner Baofeng Energy… Continue reading
-
A healthy eco-environment enhances social well-being: China white paper
China issued on Thursday 12 August 2021, a broad-ranging white paper titled Moderate Prosperity in All Respects:Another Milestone Achieved in China’s Human Rights. Part 8 of the white paper dealt with China’s environmental improvements. According to the white paper: The air has become cleaner. China’s CO2 emissions per 10,000 yuan of GDP in 2020 fell… Continue reading
-
‘Code Red’ for humanity: UN releases landmark climate report warning
The U.N. climate panel’s new report sounded a dire warning, saying the world is dangerously close to runaway warming – and that humans are “unequivocally” to blame. The landmark report on climate change was released on Monday by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the United Nations expert body for assessing the science related… Continue reading
-
Canada, not China, dominates energy and mining in the Amazon
Canadian companies have the greatest share of foreign investment in Amazon energy and mining projects while companies headquartered in China control scarcely 10% across the hydropower and extractives sectors, according to new data published by US think-tank the Inter-American Dialogue. China is the biggest foreign investor in renewable hydro–electricity power in the Amazon but Canadian companies have… Continue reading
-
BRI hydo projects: green development
Since the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was proposed in 2013, China has invested and constructed more than 80 hydropower projects globally across six continents. While helping different regions raise standards of living and stimulate their economies, these projects also demonstrate the concept of “green development” in their design, construction and operation procedures. In addition… Continue reading
-
Plant Conservation in China
Plants plays an essential role in maintaining the global environment and supporting human development. China has over 35,000 species of higher plants, about 10% of the world flora, which made it the 3rd largest plant species home in the world. China is also one of the four origin centers of cultivated plants in the world,… Continue reading
-
China sets world’s largest offshore wind converter station in place
The world’s largest offshore converter station has been installed at the Jiangsu Rudong offshore wind farm in China’s Yellow Sea. The 22,000-ton, 15-story steel giant house will provide electricity for 1.36 million households. The Three Gorges Rudong converter station is the first offshore ±400 kV wind power flexible DC transmission project in China. The station… Continue reading
-
China accomplishes over 84 % of 2021 afforestation plan in just 6 months
China has made a great progress in afforestation across the country in the first half of 2021, according to the National Forestry and Grassland Administration (NFGA), which said that China had expanded the country’s forest coverage by about 3 million hectares by the end of June, carrying out 84.3 percent of the country’s yearly afforestation… Continue reading
-
Corona virus rife in common US deer
One-third of white-tailed deer, a familiar sight on US lawns and golf courses, in the north-eastern United States have antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 — a sign that they have been infected with the virus. The findings, revealed by an analysis of samples collected after the pandemic began, represent the first detection of widespread exposure to the… Continue reading
-
Global investigation needed on West’s failure to contain Covid: Martin Jacques
The Australian government, as leading mouthpiece for the US, in April 2020 called for an “independent” international team to be sent to China to investigate the origins and causes of COVID-19. … The obvious absurdity was that during this period it became abundantly clear that the West had failed to deal with the virus and… Continue reading
-
Resolving human–bear conflict on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau
Herder Udruk and his family have been sleeping much more soundly since last winter, thanks to a new “bear-proof” home. Unlike traditional grassland dwellings, it has no windows on the ground floor. All the window and door frames are metal, not wood. The walls are reinforced with steel rods, and there is a metre-deep pit… Continue reading
-
Bubonic plague in chipmunks forces closure of top US nature sites
The US Forest Service has announced it had closed several popular hiking sites after discovering bubonic plague in the chipmunk population. The US agency announced this week that “based on positive plague tests” in the rodent population around hiking areas, it would close the well-trafficked Taylor Creek Visitor Center and nearby Kiva Beach through Friday.… Continue reading
-
Technologies facilitate biodiversity protection in China
In the Internet era, information technology has made possible the processing of massive data, and created wider and more convenient platforms for biodiversity conservation in China, including Chinese Virtual Herbarium, the Plant Photo Bank of China, and the National Animal Collection Resource Center. The emergence of these databases and digital programs in recent years is… Continue reading
-
China’s environmental inspections to target high energy projects
The central environmental inspection office will step up measures to curb the introduction of projects with high energy consumption and emissions, an environmental official said on 27 July 2021. The more stringent controls are part of China’s efforts to reach its climate targets and further improve air quality. China is aiming for peak carbon dioxide… Continue reading
-
Lower albedo drives glacier melting on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau: study
Chinese researchers have found that albedo **reduction was an important driver of glacier melting on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and its surrounding areas. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, known as “the water tower of Asia,” houses abundant glaciers vital to the regional water cycle and water resources in downstream areas. The glaciers have been shrinking in recent years,… Continue reading
-
VIDEO: Chinese company opens its first overseas wind farm project in Ethiopia to world
Dongfang Electric Corporation (DEC) held an online open house event at the Aysha Wind Farm Project in Ethiopia on July 12, showcasing the progress of the project and the company’s contribution to local development. It is the first wind power project in the Somali Region of the country and the first of its kind to… Continue reading
-
China imposes massive travel restrictions to combat Delta outbreak
Xinhua News, 4 August 2021 China has imposed massive travel restrictions, including temporary closure of airports and travel alerts for citizens to other places across the country, to contain the spread of the Delta variant of Covid-19. All 31 provincial-level regions in the Chinese mainland have urged citizens not to go to medium and high-risk… Continue reading
China Environment News 