The establishment of an “environmental super ministry” and the introduction of very aggressive emissions targets, particularly for the building industry, were mooted today as a way of getting Hong Kong’s small business community more engaged in helping combat climate change.
The suggestions came amid growing discontent among environmental experts over the performance the government of one of China’s most modern and wealthiest cities has shown towards environmental stewardship, and as Hong Kong prepares to appoint a new Chief Executive to lead it through the next five years.
The Sino-Singaporean Eco-City in north China's port city of Tianjin will get another 16 billion yuan (USD2.54 billion) this year to speed up construction of the massive green city, one of the largest in the world, according to Xinhua.
Bangladesh's state-owned Infrastructure Development Company Ltd (IDCOL) has announced a plan to install one million domestic solar systems this year. They will primarily be in in the rural areas where grid electricity is not economically feasible or hard to reach, said a Xinhua report.
The company estimates that each solar home system saves at least USD61.80 dollars worth of kerosene every year and reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 375 kilograms annually.
A former Panasonic manufacturing site 50 kilometres west of Tokyo is being used to develop Japan's first sustainable town, according to a Fairfax report.
Tesco Lotus, the Thai subsidiary of Tesco plc, has opened what it claims is Asia's first zero-carbon hypermarket in Bang Pra. The opening of the new store is a significant milestone in Tesco Lotus' plan to reduce carbon emission 50 percent below it 2006 baseline by 2020. At a corporate level Tesco aims to be a zero-carbon business by 2050.
Talks between Philippines' President Benigno S. Aquino III and South Korea's President Lee Myung-bak in Manila, look set to boost clean business.
The two agreed on developing cooperation strategies to make the best of Korea’s development assistance to the Southeast Asian state and deepen ties
More than 95 percent of new buildings that go up every year are "energy-guzzling," a senior government planner has said, urging the country to promote energy-efficient construction projects.
Asian Development Bank (ADB) president Haruhiko Kuroda, has called on Asian cities need to make the effort to become liveable, competitive, inclusive and environmentally sustainable cities.
Officials in South Korea’s third-largest city plan to use Cisco’s Smart+Connected Communities program to create blueprints for more technologically advanced and networked neighborhoods in the Ju An 2 and 4 Dong areas of Incheon
Spaghetti Junction is the best description of Hong Kong government policymaking and Chief Executive Donald Tsang's latest (and last) Policy Address is a classic example.
At the start of his speech, the Chief Executive quoted his 2007 election manifesto: "I envisioned generating economic development through infrastructure development. At the same time, we must balance development needs with environmental protection and conservation to create a better living environment".
3M has developed a see-through film that turns ordinary windows into solar panels. The film is arrayed in narrow, translucent green strips with clear gaps between and then glued to windows in large patches. A square meter of the film can generate roughly enough electricity to charge a smartphone under peak sunlight, but still allows for high visibility.
Realforce Power, a China-based cell, module and integrated system provider, has completed work on a PV array on the roof of a technology institute in Shandong province.
They may not be as sexy solar PV or wind turbines but green building in cities is becoming a lot more mainstream. Since last week's International Green Building Conference in Singapore China has floated a policy on green buildings but the host nation remains the most resolute in embracing green building technology.
Thailand’s Siam Cement Group has topped Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) building material and fixture sector for the first time, convincing the conglomerate’s management that it is on the right business course, according to a report in the Nation newspaper.
Sustainability services company Nalco has helped the 583-room Marriott Renaissance Mumbai drastically reduce water use in its cooling systems, which has also resulted in less energy use and waste-water discharge.
Tune Hotels, the pioneering “limited services” hotel chain owned by Tune Group, a private investment firm headed by AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes, has signed of a Memorandum of Collaboration with General Electric (GE) to pursue sustainable development opportunities.
Bangladesh, which emits relatively fewer polluting gases but is projected to be highly vulnerable to global warming, has embarked on a drive to introduce environment-friendly brick-making technology to curb gaseous emissions.
This report by the World Bank spells out what the world would be like if it warmed by 4 degrees Celsius, which is what scientists are nearly unanimously predicting by the end of the century, without serious policy changes.
Companies in Asia reveal expectations that regulations that could lead to rising costs for reporting and reducing GHG emissions will also be the main sources of climate-related business opportunities.
.png "The Climate Group logo"){kind=logo}
