Environment

Unhappy orangutan
June 03, 2013
The world's largest REDD+ project, which should save 119 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent over 30 years, has finally been given the go-ahead by the Indonesian government after spending three years in limbo. The project at the 64,000 hectare Rimba Raya Biodiversity Reserve in Borneo will generate carbon credits from preserving the carbon-rich tropical peat swamp and forest in the face of development pressure from palm oil plantations. Under the REDD+ scheme the credits can be purchased by companies seeking to reduce their emissions through the voluntary carbon market.
June 03, 2013
A plastic bag ban launched in China five years ago has cut consumption by at least 67 billion bags, saving an equivalent of 6 million tonn of oil, according to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
May 31, 2013
As any scuba diver will tell you, sharks swimming free in the oceans are much more interesting than the bits swimming in shark’s fin soup. Now a new global study shows the logical corollary: that in the long run sharks are going to be more valuable as a tourist attraction than as a soup ingredient.
Carbon pricing
May 31, 2013
From China to California, South Korea to Australia, new carbon pricing initiatives are emerging. Over 40 national and 20 sub-national jurisdictions have either implemented or are considering mechanisms that put a price on carbon, according to a new World Bank report. Mapping Carbon Pricing Initiatives - developments and prospects outlines key developments and prospects of existing and new emission trading schemes and carbon taxes around the world. The findings signal the importance that policy makers attach to putting a price on carbon to address climate change.
May 30, 2013
Scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in California say they have discovered and demonstrated a new technique to remove and store atmospheric carbon dioxide while generating hydrogen and producing alkalinity, which can be used to offset ocean acidification.
A hydro station on Nu River
May 30, 2013
A fresh look at the environmental impacts of dams on an ecologically diverse and partially protected river in China found that small dams can pose a greater threat to ecosystems and natural landscapes than large dams. Although large dams are generally considered more harmful than their smaller counterparts, the research team’s surveys of habitat loss and damage at several dam sites on the Nu River and its tributaries in Yunnan Province revealed that, watt-for-watt, the environmental harm from small dams was often greater – sometimes by several orders of magnitude – than from large dams.
May 29, 2013
The world could cut emissions by as much as 19.8 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2020, according to a technical paper published by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
May 29, 2013
Two firms holding concessions in the rapidly disappearing northern forests of Cambodia are amassing stockpiles of tens of thousands of luxury logs cut both within and outside their leases and trucking them to Vietnam, according to the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR).
May 27, 2013
China will see its energy demand peak between 2030 and 2035 on the back of expanding industrialization and urbanization, Zhong Ziran, chief engineer of the Ministry of Land and Resources, forecast on Saturday.
Buddha looking at China's coal
May 23, 2013
China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) is looking at an accelerated timetable under which the country’s greenhouse gases emission will peak, with an expert source suggesting this could be as soon as 2025. The Commission is also planning to implement a carbon emissions control system during China’s 13th 5-Year Plan period (2016-2020) that will, for the first time, set a target for the country’s total CO2 emissions. This is in addition to targets for carbon and energy intensity per unit of GDP, which are being applied under the current 5-year plan.
China's rising population of endangered species
May 23, 2013
The huge investment in new nature reserves is starting to pay dividends with the population of China's endangered animals, including giant pandas and Siberian tigers, on the rise thanks to billions of yuan in investment.
May 22, 2013
Most first-tier cities in China are barely suitable for living due to their poor ecological environment, despite rapid economic development and preferential regulations for investment, said a newly released report by a top Chinese think tank.
May 20, 2013
Hong Kong’s main source of water supply, Dongjian, was found to contain heavy metal concentration 60 percent higher than China’s water standard, Hong Kong newspaper Oriental Daily reported.
May 20, 2013
India’s biggest lender, The State Bank of India has announced a plan to work with Jain Irrigation Systems, Asia’s largest irrigation-equipment maker, to help farmers reduce water usage and increase productivity.
May 16, 2013
Coca-Cola Amatil Indonesia and beachwear brand Quiksilver have signed an agreement with Indonesian flag-carrier airline, Garuda, to co-operate on reducing rubbish along the coast of Bali.
May 16, 2013
Despite acknowledging that it will negatively impact rare fish and flora on the upper reaches of Dadu River in Sichuan province, China's environment ministry has approved the construction of the country's tallest hydroelectric dam
May 15, 2013
WWF has withdrawn from a controversial wetlands housing project being planned by Cheung Kong Holdings, one of Hong Kong’s biggest property developers. The NGO says it is no longer confident that plans for Fung Lok Wai project, which is located near the Mai Po Marshes – a critical sanctuary for migratory wetland birds – would meet conservation objectives.
Air Pacific's shark scandal
May 15, 2013
Air Pacific, Fiji’s international airline, has been accused of hypocrisy for backing shark conservation for public relations while flying shark fins to HK. Last year the airline sponsored “Happy Hearts Love Sharks”, a contest run by the Hong Kong Shark Foundation, which was aimed at encouraging newlyweds to set an example by not serving dishes containing shark fin during wedding banquets. The international trade in shark fin, centered in Hong Kong, is blamed for decimating shark populations.
May 14, 2013
In the face of mounting criticism, China has completed the first draft of a Soil Protection Law, but it is doubtful that it will be included in the State Council’s legislation plan until 2014 at the earliest.
Aircraft emissions look pretty sometimes
May 14, 2013
According to reports emanating from Montreal, ahead of a three-day symposium on Aviation and Climate Change being held by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the civil aviation industry is edging toward embracing a mandatory scheme for offsetting its greenhouse gas emissions. ICAO, a United Nations body, has been tasked with developing a global plan to manage aviation emissions in time for its triennial assembly in September.