Environment

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).

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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

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.