Chinese car and battery maker BYD said on Tuesday that its net profit in 2011 fell by 44 percent from a year earlier due to fierce competition in the world's largest auto market and a sharp fall in photovoltaic product prices.
Beijing is not the only the only Asian capital being spurred into action to combat deadly air pollution. The municipal government in Delhi, in conjunction with various NGOs, academics and federal government agencies, has drawn up a checklist of actions that need to be undertaken across various sectors, including power and transport, to improve air quality.
While the Delhi government does no have the same authoritarian ability to act as its Beijing counterpart, act it must. A recently published study found that, on average, India now has the world’s most toxic air, and Delhi has the worst overall air quality among the country’s major cities
China's industrial authority said Tuesday that it will introduce trials for methanol-fueled cars in three provincial level regions starting this month.
China Petrochemical Corp, or Sinopec Group, announced yesterday that it had successfully produced China’s first jet biofuel at its chemical plant in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province
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.
A joint declaration was signed in Moscow yesterday by representatives of 23 countries that oppose the European Union's inclusion of civil aviation in its greenhouse gas emissions cap and trade regime, the European Trading Scheme.
Wanxiang America, the US subsidiary of the Chinese conglomerate Wanxiang Group Corp, announced yesterday that it is planning to invest USD100 million in a US electric vehicle venture.
India and China joined forces on Tuesday in saying they firmly rejected the EU's "unilateral" decision to impose a carbon tax on air travel, the Associated Press reports.
Big cities in China are on the brink of a major shortfall in resources and infrastructure capacity to cope with their rapidly growing populations, a problem termed "urban diseases," a new report has warned.
Europe is willing to discuss its new carbon emissions tax for airlines with disgruntled governments but has no plans to scrap the levy, a top EU official said Monday according to The Associated Press.
China's railway project builders have been told to reappraise and renew their environmental approvals to account for major design modifications designed to speed up trains, Xinhua reported today.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has told the country’s airlines that they may not pay a charge on carbon emissions imposed by the Europe Union (EU), and not to increase passenger fares or freight rates to allow for the EU charge without government permission.
The CAAC said in a statement that it had been authorized to issue the ban by the State Council, China's Cabinet.
The EU scheme, implemented from 1 January, levies a charge on flights that originate or terminate in any of the EU’s 27 member countries. It is estimated that around 4,000 airlines have been told by the EU to pay for their carbon emissions.
Indian airlines and airports have been asked to record their annual carbon emissions in what would be a first step towards creating a national inventory that could be used to reduce the aviation sector's CO2 output, reports the Times of India.
The Directorate
China's largest electric vehicle (EV) charging and battery swapping station has been put into operation in Beijing, sources with the city's power supply authorities said yesterday.
Toyota has developed a way to make hybrid and electric vehicles without the use of rare earth metals, which China has a near-monopoly, according to Kyodo News. The world’s top producer of hybrid cars, such as the Prius, could bring the technology to market in two years if rare earth prices do not come down.
Rare earth metals like neodymium and dysprosium are used in the powerful magnets in motors that power hybrid and electric cars, and demand is expected to surge as more of the environmentally friendly cars hit the market.
Asia Pacific dominates the global market for electric motorcycles and scooters, according to a new report. Last year Asia bought nearly 17 million e-motorcycles against a paltry 300,000 for the rest of the world, said Pike Research.
While most regions are in their early states, Pike says that “one region stands out as an established market: China, where the market is highly fragmented with a large number of small manufacturers”.
India's Magnetar Venture Pvt Ltd plans to launch a USD100 million fund focused on clean technologies by March to funnel growth capital into budding enterprises, a senior official at the venture fund told Reuters.
National airline Garuda Indonesia said that it was not willing to pay the European Union’s emission trading scheme (ETS), which charges airlines for greenhouse gases produced by their jets flying to and from the EU, a senior official said.
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.
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