According to a statement from the White House, US President Barack Obama and his new Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, agreed during their weekend summit to co-operate in fighting climate change by cutting the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). HFCs were developed as a replacement for chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) – for use primarily as coolants and propellants – after the later were found to be destroying the Earth’s ozone layer. While CFCs have been phased out under the 1987 Montreal Protocol, the greenhouse gas qualities of HFCs have been raising alarms since they have a global warming potential 11,700 times higher than of CO2.

China's State of the Environment Report for 2012 suggests that the overall quality of the country’s environment, while not at all good, is at least stable. The condition of underground water sources and rising levels of rural pollution, however, are now major concerns. The new report, released by the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP), is based on data collected from 5,000 monitoring stations in nearly 200 cities across the country. It says air quality in China’s cities remained "generally stable" last year, with emissions of sulphur dioxide - mainly from burning coal - falling 4.52 percent to 21.18 million tonnes.

The international aviation industry has agreed to global curbs on its greenhouse gas emissions at the annual general meeting of the International Air Transport Association (IATA). While this is the first time the industry body has given its formal backing to emission controls, the resolution passed by members fell well short of the measures to combat climate change that green campaigners had demanded. IATA is calling on world governments to agree measures to manage carbon dioxide from air travel, which would come into force from 2020.

Ahead of World Environment Day, high-level representatives from 10 countries have come together to establish a global “Renewables Club”, with the goal of scaling up the deployment of renewable energy worldwide. The Club is the brainchild of Germany’s environment minister, Peter Altmaier. Its founding members are China, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Morocco, South Africa, Tonga, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, together with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

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.

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.

In a surprising diversification move Coal India – the giant state-controlled mining company – has decided to set up solar power projects across the country. The reason for the world’s largest non-renewable energy producer venturing into the renewable sector, is a growing realization that India’s coal reserves are not going to last for long, the company told prospective bidders for solar power equipment contracts.

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.

A good deal of secrecy is still prevalent in how natural resources are managed by countries in the Asia Pacific region, according to the Resource Governance Index released by the Revenue Watch Institute. The Index measures transparency and accountability in the oil, gas and mining industries in 58 countries worldwide, including 12 in Asia-Pacific where these industries play an important role. While none of the Apac dozen made it into the top “Satisfactory” segment, India, Timor-Leste and Indonesia made up the top three in the “Partial” segment.