China Environ Prot (EP) Industry, Technology, Solid Waste Mgt, Liquid Treat: News & Discussions

[JSCh]

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In order to protect these birds. China is currently building a world first high speed rail tube with sealed noise and light pollution prevention.

 

[JSCh]

Saihanba Forest Farm nominated for 2017 Champions of the Earth
CGTN
2017-12-04 14:36 GMT+8
Updated 2017-12-04 15:05 GMT+8

A group of Chinese forest guards working to protect Saihanba Forest in north China’s Hebei Province has set out to the Kenyan capital Nairobi for the third UN Environment Assembly, after Saihanba Forest Farm was nominated for the 2017 Champions of the Earth awards.

The world’s highest-level decision-making body on the environment is gathering from December 4 to 6 in the African country to discuss the overarching problem of pollution, which has posed severe menace to the earth, its resources and human health.

CGTN Photo

Outstanding organizations and individuals who have contributed greatly to environmental protection or have impacted the environment in a positive way are given the awards annually.

Saihanba Forest

Saihanba Forest stretches along the borders of Hebei Province and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. It was a royal hunting ground over 300 years ago, and during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912), the emperors hunted there almost every year.

Saihanba Forest before trees were planted. /Photographer Huai Fengming

After the Qing Dynasty collapsed, the area was turned into a wasteland due to deforestation, wildfires and years of wars. Starting 1962, China began to restore the vegetation of the area, and over the past 55 years, three generations of forest guards have worked on its preservation.

The forestry workers have overcome extreme weather and living conditions over the years. The highest temperature in the area is around 33 degrees Celsius, while the lowest is around -43 degrees Celsius. Some areas are covered in snow for seven months a year, and others are affected by gale and sandstorm.

Tourists visit the Qixing Lake Scenic Area of Saihanba National Forest Park. /Xinhua Photo‍

After years of hard work, Saihanba Forest now enjoys an area of 94,000 hectares, and at least 73,000 hectares are covered with thick forestry. There are over 600 kinds of vascular plants, belonging to 312 genera and 81 families. The forest coverage rate is nearly 80 percent.

Tourism developed in the area in the past years, and a wetland park of 1,000,000 square meters has been established. The park is paved with 5,000 meters of boardwalks and has eight attractions.

Annually, over 500,000 tourists visit the area, bringing in 40 million yuan (six million US dollars).

Saihanba Forest. /Xinhua Photo

The Champions of the Earth awards have been awarded to people in different categories of political leadership, grassroots action, scientific innovation, or entrepreneurial vision since 2005.

This year, the three-day event will feature sidebar events to fight pollution in various forms.

The UN Environment vowed that "a number of tangible commitments to end the pollution of our air, land, waterways, oceans and safely manage chemicals and waste" would be delivered.

https://twitter.com/x/status/938111907143155712

 

[JSCh]

China bags half of UN top environmental awards
Source: Xinhua | 2017-12-06 15:10:26 | Editor: huaxia

A staff member explains manipulation of a Mobike in Shah Alam of the Selangor State, Malaysia, on Spet. 6, 2017. (Xinhua/Chong Voon Chung)

NAIROBI, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- China's Saihanba afforestation community on Tuesday scooped a prestigious UN environmental award for its outstanding contribution to restoration of degraded landscapes, amid the national efforts to advance ecological civilization.

The announcement about Saihanba afforestation community emerging among top winners of the annual UN Champions of the Earth Award was made in Nairobi during the ongoing third edition of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA3).

Altogether, China bagged three of the six prizes presented to pioneers in environmental conservation during this year's Champions of the Earth Award.

File photo shows the Saihanba forest in Weichang Manchu and Mongolian Autonomous County in Chengde City, north China's Hebei Province. Saihanba was a piece of barren land 55 years ago, but decades of afforestation efforts have turned it into an important ecological shield for Beijing and Tianjin. (Xinhua/Wang Long)

Erik Solheim, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), hailed Saihanba community for pioneering innovative but cost effective grassroots led initiatives to reclaim degraded landscapes.

"The Saihanba afforestation community has transformed degraded land into lush green paradise-- part of a new Great Wall of vegetation that will play a part in helping protect millions from air pollution and preserving precious water supplies," Solheim remarked.

He added that the Chinese conservation group has inspired the global community to start a new conversation on effective measures to adopt in order to restore the health of vital ecosystems.

"The work is proof that environmental degradation can be reversed, and that this is an investment worth making," Solheim remarked, adding that grassroots initiatives have often proved to have profound impact on environmental conservation globally.

The Saihanba region that covers about 93,000 hectares in north China's Hebei Province almost became a waste land in the 1950s due to rampant felling of trees which made it possible for wind to blow sand into Beijing and adjacent regions.

Hundreds of foresters in 1962 embarked on tree planting in Saihanba given the heavy price they were paying due to rapid desertification.

Three generation of foresters from Saihanba have managed to increase the forest cover from 11.4 percent to 80 percent while the reclaimed landscape currently supplies some 137 million cubic meters of clean water to Beijing.

At the same time, the restored forest has stimulated growth of green sectors of the economy that generate an estimated 15.1 million U.S. dollars in 2016.

Liu Haiying, head of Saihanba Forest Farm said that restoring degraded forests has capacity to unleash huge ecological, social and monetary benefits.

"I believe that as long as we continue to promote ecological civilization, generation after generation, China can create more green miracles like Saihanba and achieve harmony between humans and nature," said Liu.

In addition to Saihanba, which won in the category of "Inspiration and Action," Chinese bike-sharing company Mobike, which has revolutionized urban mobility, and Wang Wenbiao, Chairman of Elion Resources Group that is credited with transforming deserts into oasis, also reaped the coveted environmental award.

They were awarded in the categories of "Entrepreneurial Vision" and "Lifetime Achievement Award" respectively.

Other famous names who received UN's top environmental honor includes the President of Chile Michelle Bachelet.

 

[JSCh]

UN lauds Beijing airport's strides in green transformation
Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-06 21:28:34|Editor: liuxin



NAIROBI, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- China's Beijing Capital International Airport has made huge strides in reducing its carbon footprint thanks to robust uptake of clean energy and transport systems, the UN Environment said in a new report released on Wednesday.

The Assessment Report on Beijing Capital International Airport launched in Nairobi during the third edition of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA3) says China's largest airport managed to cut carbon emissions by 16 percent between 2014 to 2016 by reducing consumption of fossil fuels to power its key operations.

The report reveals that use of gasoline or diesel vehicles in the airport reduced by 45 and 49 percent between 2010 and 2016 respectively.

At the same time, the airport's per capita water consumption declined from 23.75 liters in 2012 to 21.24 liters in 2015 which translated into a 10 percent reduction.

"Beijing Capital International Airport has shown strong commitment towards sustainability, balancing growth in air, cargo and passenger traffic with enhanced environmental performance," said Steven Stone, chief of UN Environment's Economics and Trade Branch.

Stone noted that electric vehicles, energy saving lighting and sustainable water consumption systems have reduced carbon emissions and air pollution in China's capital.

Beijing Capital International Airport which is the largest in China handled an estimated 90 million passengers in 2016 and is a major source of jobs in the metropolis.

Zhang Wei, Vice President of Beijing Capital International Airport, said it has set a precedent in green aviation.

"We have made some improvements in the past years, including energy and resources efficiency and pollution reduction. This assessment report is just a start for our green airport journey," Zhang said.

 

[samsara]

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In order to protect these birds. China is currently building a world first high speed rail tube with sealed noise and light pollution prevention.

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Very interesting high-speed rail tube! Where is the location of this section?

Interestingly, I cannot find any info on English site about this rail tube, please more info if you have it

//EDIT: Thanks @JSCh for the additional info.

Btw, to ALL, please see also this thread:

"Saihanba Forest Farm nominated for 2017 Champions of the Earth" started by our friend, @onebyone a diligent poster at PDF
https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/saih...nated-for-2017-champions-of-the-earth.532264/

Lots of interesting info on Saihanba National Forest Park
。。。

 

[JSCh]

Very interesting high-speed rail tube! Where is the location of this section?

Interestingly, I cannot find any info on English site about this rail tube, please more info if you have it

Birds' Paradise - Wikipedia

Birds' Paradise is located in Tianma Village, Xinhui District, Jiangmen, Guangdong Province, China.[1] It is a unique tourist attraction which is known for its beautiful natural environment and rich bird life. The main body of Birds' Paradise is a small island with a thick banyan tree

Shenzhen–Maoming high-speed railway - Wikipedia

 

[JSCh]

China well on track with air quality goals
By Zheng Jinran | China Daily | Updated: 2017-12-11 07:48

People stroll in Beihai Park on a clear day in Beijing. [Photo/VCG] ​

China has confidence in reaching its ambitious air pollution reduction goals as scheduled, based on data for the first 11 months, the environmental protection minister said on Sunday, crediting the scientific and comprehensive efforts taken in the past years.

The five major goals set by the national Action Plan Against Air Pollution in 2013 are likely to be achieved by the end of 2017, with a huge improvement in air quality in China, said Environmental Protection Minister Li Ganjie at the annual meeting of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development on Sunday in Beijing.

The council is a high-level international advisory body to gather foreign experts to promote China's sustainable development.

In the first 11 months, Beijing has seen the average PM2.5 concentration lowered to 58 micrograms per cubic meter, reduced by 35.6 percent from the same period in 2013, according to the Beijing Environmental Bureau.

Beijing has seen many blue days in December, with air quality staying at the good level, "and based on the data, we may see the annual average level of PM2.5 in Beijing lowering to around 60, maybe at 61 or 62," the minister said, adding that it's better than forecast.

He added that the reduction goal for Beijing－lowering PM2.5 level to 60－was considered more difficult compared with other goals, which worried him before.

Beijing is likely to attain its goal, so China has confidence it will reach the five major goals as scheduled, Li said.

The other four goals would be easily in reach if the good air quality level continues for the remaining days of the year.

In the first 11 months, the average concentration of PM10 in 338 cities nationwide was 20.4 percent less than the same period of 2013, and the goal in the action plan was 10 percent, Li said.

In addition, the average PM2.5 concentration in the first 11 months in three major industrial zones－the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, the Yangtze River and the Pearl River Delta－has been at least 25.6 percent lower, easily exceeding the goal of at least 15 percent, the minister said.

The huge improvement in air quality was achieved based on the multiple measures including strengthened enforcement, scientific efforts, effective measures to reduce industrial emissions, vehicle exhausts, coal consumption, and other efforts in improving the economy, the minister said.

"The effective practices adopted in the past five years will continue to guide the air pollution control efforts in future," Li added.

China's effective environmental protection efforts, particularly in air pollution control, received praise from many foreign experts in environment from governments and international organizations who participated in the annual meeting.

Diane Regas, executive director of Environmental Defense Fund, a US non-profit organization, was amazed to see China fulfilling its commitment and was confident about further improvements based on the measures.

UN Environment said China has set an example for the rest of the world of sustainable development through green industrial policies, especially in areas of electric transportation, solar energy and the "sharing economy".

 

[JSCh]

Researchers capture oldest ice core ever drilled outside the polar regions
The 1,000+ feet of ice may contain more than half a million years of climate history

By: Pam Frost Gorder
Published on

This short film provides an overview of the autumn 2015 expedition to the Guliya Glacier in
Tibet to drill ice cores which could yield some of the oldest ice on the planet. The film was
created by BPCRC media specialist Pam Theodotou using field footage collected by
expedition member Giuliano Bertagna.​

New Orleans—The oldest ice core ever drilled outside the polar regions may contain ice that formed during the Stone Age—more than 600,000 years ago, long before modern humans appeared.

Researchers from the United States and China are now studying the core—nearly as long as the Empire State Building is tall—to assemble one of the longest-ever records of Earth’s climate history.

What they’ve found so far provides dramatic evidence of a recent and rapid temperature rise at some of the highest, coldest mountain peaks in the world.

At the American Geophysical Union meeting on Thursday, Dec. 14, they report that there has been a persistent increase in both temperature and precipitation in Tibet’s Kunlun Mountains over the last few centuries. The change is most noticeable on the Guliya Ice Cap, where they drilled the latest ice core. In this region, the average temperature has risen 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) in the last 50 years and the average precipitation has risen by 2.1 inches per year over the past 25 years.

Lonnie Thompson, Distinguished University Professor in the School of Earth Sciences at The Ohio State University and co-leader of the international research team, said that the new data lend support to computer models of projected climate changes.

“The ice cores actually demonstrate that warming is happening, and is already having detrimental effects on Earth’s freshwater ice stores,” Thompson said.

Lonnie Thompson cuts an ice core retrieved from the Guliya Ice Cap in the Kunlun Mountains in Tibet in 2015. Photo by Giuliano Bertagna, courtesy of the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center.

Earth’s largest supply of freshwater ice outside of the Arctic and Antarctica resides in Tibet—a place that was off limits to American glaciologists until 20 years ago, when Ohio State’s Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center (BPCRC) began a collaboration with China’s Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research. There, glaciologist Yao Tandong secured funding for a series of joint expeditions from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

“The water issues created by melting ice on the Third Pole, along with that from the Arctic and Antarctica, have been recognized as important contributors to the rise in global sea level. Continued warming in these regions will result in even more ice melt with the likelihood of catastrophic environmental consequences,” Yao noted.

The name “Third Pole” refers to high mountain glaciers located on the Tibetan Plateau and in the Himalaya, in the Andes in South America, on Kilimanjaro in Africa, and in Papua, Indonesia—all of which have been studied by the Ohio State research team.

Of particular interest to the researchers is a projection from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that future temperatures on the planet will rise faster at high altitudes than they will at sea level. The warming at sea level is expected to reach 3 degrees Celsius by the year 2100, and possibly double that, or 6 degrees Celsius, at the highest mountain peaks in the low latitudes.

“The stable isotopic records that we’ve obtained from five ice cores drilled across the Third Pole document climate changes over the last 1,000 years, and contribute to a growing body of evidence that environmental conditions on the Third Pole, along with the rest of the world, have changed significantly in the last century,” Thompson said. “Generally, the higher the elevation, the greater the rate of warming that’s taking place.”

Around the world, hundreds of millions of people depend on high-altitude glaciers for their water supply. The Guliya Ice Cap is one of many Tibetan Plateau ice caches that provide fresh water to Central, South, and Southeast Asia.

“There are over 46,000 mountain glaciers in that part of the world, and they are the water source for major rivers,” Thompson said.

In September and October of 2015, the team ventured to Guliya and drilled through the ice cap until they hit bedrock. They recovered five ice cores, one of which is more than 1,000 feet long.

The cores are composed of compressed layers of snow and ice that settled on the western Kunlun Mountains year after year. In each layer, the ice captured chemicals from the air and precipitation during wet and dry seasons. Today, researchers analyze the chemistry of the different layers to measure historical changes in climate.

Based on dating of radioactive elements measured by scientists at the Swiss research center ETH Zurich, the ice at the base of the core may be at least 600,000 years old.

The oldest ice core drilled in the Northern Hemisphere was found in Greenland in 2004 by the North Greenland Ice Core Project and was dated to roughly 120,000 years, while the oldest continuous ice core record recovered on Earth to date is from Antarctica, and extends back 800,000.

Over the next few months, the American and Chinese research teams will analyze the chemistry of the core in detail. They will look for evidence of temperature changes caused by ocean circulation patterns in both the North Atlantic and tropical Pacific Oceans, which drive precipitation in Tibet as well as the Indian monsoons. For instance, one important driver of global temperatures, El Niño, leaves its chemical mark in the snow that falls on tropical glaciers.

Ultimately, researchers hope the work will reveal the linkages that exist between ice loss in tropical mountain glaciers and climate processes elsewhere on the planet. Thompson, Yao, and German ecologist Volker Mosbrugger are co-chairing a Third Pole Environment Program to focus on basic science and policy-relevant issues.

“The more we study the different components of the environment of the Third Pole, the better we understand climate change and its linkages among Earth’s three polar regions,” Yao said.

Collaborators on the project include Ellen Mosley-Thompson, Distinguished University Professor of Geography at Ohio State and Director of BPCRC; Mary E. Davis, Emilie Beaudon, Stacy E. Porter, Ping-Nan Lin, M. Roxana Sierra-Hernández and Donald V. Kenny, all of Ohio State; Guangjian Wu and Baiqing Xu of the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research; and Ninglian Wang of Northwest University and Keqin Duan of Shaanxi Normal University, both in Xian, China.

Funding for the Guliya project was provided by a grant from the National Science Foundation’s Paleo Perspectives on Climate Change Program, the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Frontier Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.



Researchers capture oldest ice core ever drilled outside the polar regions | The Ohio State University

 

[JSCh]

China pledges national carbon trading system
By Fu Jing in Paris | China Daily | Updated: 2017-12-14 07:26

China will launch its national carbon trading system "in coming days", said Vice-Premier Ma Kai in Paris on Tuesday, as French President Emmanuel Macron urged countries to put their climate solutions on the table.

Ma said China will set up its national carbon market but a phase-by-phase approach will be introduced, while the pilot markets have already been put into operation in some provinces and municipalities.

"I am announcing that China will be launching the national carbon trading system in the coming days ... to encourage businesses to reduce greenhouse gases by using market incentives," Ma told the One Planet Summit, which was attended by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and more than 50 global leaders.

Ma's announcement won loud applause while Macron warned that the world is facing the threat of "losing the battle" against climate change after US President Donald Trump announced withdrawal from the Paris agreement.

However, he said the opportunity still existed if every country aimed to transform their pledges into real action.

Ma said China will honor its commitments made two years ago when nearly 200 countries signed the Paris Climate Change Agreement by transforming his country through green and low-carbon development.

Ma said China will also strengthen South-South cooperation, while urging rich countries to do more to help poor countries in climate adaptation and mitigation.

Insiders said Ma's announcement has showcased China's lasting stances of fulfilling its international commitments while introducing market-oriented carbon schemes at home.

"Vice-premier Ma's announcement has once again showcased China's strong determination and impressive actions, which not only aims to fulfill its Paris climate commitment," said Zhang Jianyu, chief representative in China of the Environmental Defense Fund of the United States.

"This has also shown that President Xi Jinping's call for China to be the 'torchbearer'in the global fight against climate change is put into another action."

Che Wei, vice-president of Danfoss China, a leading Danish group in the heating and cooling sectors, said China has set an example on green investment. "Energy efficiency is the most cost-effective way to decarbonize our economy on a sustainable path. We call on governments across the world to take stronger actions."

The US government did not send high-profile officials, but businesses, former politicians and leaders from several states pledged that the US will be on the track in the climate fight.

Former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said US states and cities have a lot of power in climate decision-making. "Donald Trump did not pull the United States out of the Paris agreement. Donald Trump pulled Donald Trump out of the Paris agreement."

 

[JSCh]

China launches nationwide carbon trading system
Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-19 22:11:49|Editor: pengying



BEIJING, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- China unveiled a nationwide carbon emission trading system on Tuesday in a step toward establishing a national carbon market that will rank as the world's biggest.

The trading system will first go into operation in the power generation industry, according to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the country's top economic planner.

Under the scheme, enterprises are assigned emission quotas and those producing more than their share of emissions are allowed to buy unused quotas on the market from those that cause less pollution.

Since 2013, China has tested carbon trading in seven pilot cities, including Beijing. Now the practice will be expanded nationwide.

The power generation industry was chosen as the first sector to implement the trading system as it is the best prepared and has the most complete data on emissions among all industries, said Zhang Yong, deputy head of the NDRC, at a press conference.

With more than 1,700 power-generating firms included in the system and their emissions exceeding 3 billion tonnes in total, the national carbon market, even in its first phase, will be bigger than any other market in the world, including the European Union market, Zhang told reporters.

"We will consider including other energy- and emission-intensive industries," said Li Gao, an NDRC official, who noted that the threshold for carbon trading may be reduced further.

Currently only companies with emissions equivalent to 26,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide or more can be involved in the trading system, according to Li.

He said carbon trading in the seven pilot cities saw transaction value reach 4.6 billion yuan (696.8 million U.S. dollars) as of November, with traded emission quotas exceeding 200 million tonnes.

China aims to cut carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by 60 percent to 65 percent from the 2005 level by 2030. This measure fell 6.6 percent last year, surpassing the country's goal of a 3.9-percent reduction, and dropped around 4 percent in the first three quarters.

 

[TaiShang]

Dec 20, 2017

China Unveils Roadmap for World's Largest Carbon-Trading Market

By Qin Ziyi and Han Wei

China’s power plants release about 3.5 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide every year — about 40% of the country’s annual greenhouse-gas emissions. Photo: Visual China

China is moving closer to launching the world’s biggest carbon-trading market.

The nationwide expansion of a “cap and trade” system from a pilot program comes as China ramps up its battle against air pollution. It’s unclear when the trading in the power sector will actually begin. But when it does, China will overtake the European Union in operating the largest market in terms of the total amount of carbon traded.

The National Development and Reform Commission — the country’s top economic planner — on Tuesday laid out a detailed roadmap to build a nationwide carbon-trading system. Initially it will cover 1,700 power plants, but will be expanded to more industries, the commission said. It delivers on a pledge by President Xi Jinping to get a carbon-trading system rolling in 2017.

Cap-and-trade uses market incentives to try to reduce overall carbon emissions. The government will set an overall cap for releases and tell companies their pollution allowance. Those who pollute less can sell their leftover quota to big polluters.

Power plants that discharge more than 26,000 tons of carbon annually will qualify to be in the trading system, the NDRC said. It means the cap-and-trade market will cover almost all of the country’s power generators, dealing with more than 3 billion metric tons of carbon-dioxide emissions per year.

A report by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), a non-profit environmental-protection organization based in the U.S., estimates that China’s power sector releases about 3.5 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide every year — about 40% of the country’s annual greenhouse-gas emissions.

That would make China the world’s largest carbon market, overtaking the European Union, whose annual cap-and-trade transactions are valued at around 14 billion euros ($16.5 billion).

If the Chinese government expands carbon trading to industries like cement and aluminum, the country’s total carbon trade may exceed 5 billion metric tons by 2020, according to the EDF. That would be almost as much as the entire world’s carbon trade in 2015, when it totaled 6 billion metric tons.

China tests carbon trading

In 1997, nearly 200 countries and areas of the world came together in the Kyoto Protocol to agree on the need to reduce greenhouse gases tied to human activities, such as electricity generation, transportation and agriculture. The idea of emission trading was written into the protocol.

The European Union broke ground in 2005 as the first of the international treaty’s parties to roll out a carbon market. Several other countries and areas followed, including New Zealand, South Korea and the U.S. state of California.

Since 2013, China has run pilot carbon-trading programs in seven regions, including Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai, covering 3,000 companies. As of September, cap-and-trade transactions in the pilot program reached a total of 4.5 billion yuan ($680 million).

The Paris summit on climate change was held in 2015. Shortly before, in a meeting with then-U.S. President Barack Obama, President Xi promised to roll out a nationwide carbon market in China by 2017, as part of the two countries’ commitment to cooperate in the battle against global warming.

Under an initial plan by the NDRC last year, the carbon-trading market would have begun with eight industries, including power, petrochemical, steel and aviation. Any company that consumed more than 10,000 tons of coal in a year between 2013 and 2015 would have been required to participate in the program.

The new plan is more targeted, zeroing in solely at first on the power industry. Zhang Yong, an NDRC vice chairman, said the power sector is the most obvious choice to start with because it holds comprehensive emission data and is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases.

“We want to start from the power industry and put in place the structures and supportive mechanisms necessary for the operation of the system,” before fully launching the trading, Zhang said.

The NDRC aims to build carbon-emission data collection, registration and trading systems for the market. Shanghai, Eastern China’s financial hub, and the central province of Hubei will kick off the work on the construction of the national emission permit-registration and trading system.

It is unclear when the trading will start and how the emission allowances will be allocated. The NDRC said the quota allocated to the power industry will use a reference-line method and look to companies’ historical emission-reduction records for reference. Companies that have better management and lower emissions will be given higher emissions quotas.

“For companies that meet the emissions target, the more they produce, the more they benefit from the quota. While those can’t meet the targets will be burdened to buy the quota,” said Jiang Zhaoli, deputy director of the climate-change division at the NDRC.

How will carbon prices be set?

After the national market is fully functional, companies qualified to be in the national system will no longer trade in regional markets. Smaller emitters will remain at the local platforms, according to Li Gao, director of the climate-change department at the NDRC. Li said the threshold of carbon trading will be lowered in the future to expand the coverage of the market.

Li said the carbon-trading price will be fully decided by the market, reflecting the demands of the quota and costs of emission reduction.

That means accurate and transparent pollution and emission data will be crucial for the carbon-price setting, said Chen Bo, a financial and environmental policy expert at the Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing.

“The quality of the data is most important because any uncertainty may lead to price fluctuation,” Chen said.

Environmental activists have called for better disclosure of pollution information.

Ma Jun, director of non-profit Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs (IPE), said that as China nears the rollout of a national carbon market, it should speed up public access of data on greenhouse-gas emissions, as promised last year by the State Council — China’s cabinet — in a key emission-reduction policy for the 2016-2020.

Liu Shuang, a director at Energy Foundation China, said the carbon price will be affected by government intervention in power supplies and prices setting. For instance, some power plants were told by the government to halt operations due to a shortage of gas to heat homes. Therefore, she said, China will need to coordinate energy and environmental reforms with the carbon-trading system in order for the system to work.

https://www.caixinglobal.com/2017-1...-largest-carbon-trading-market-101187161.html

 

[TaiShang]

North China's largest freshwater lake expands
Xinhua, December 26, 2017

The surface area of Hulun Lake, the largest freshwater lake in north China, has expanded over the past five years due to strengthened protection efforts, local authorities said Monday.

The surface area of the lake in Hulun Buir City, Inner Mongolia Region, has reached 2,038 square kilometers, an increase of 288 square kilometers from 2012, data from the regional department of forestry showed.

The lake's water level has also increased by three meters and its wetland area has increased by around 300 square kilometers, the data showed.

Hulun Lake plays an important role in the ecological security of the grasslands in north China. But years of drought and excessive human activity since 2002 have led to shrinking of the lake and surrounding wetlands and a decline in the wildlife population.

To better protect Hulun Lake, Inner Mongolia has intensified a series of measures in recent years, such as diverting water to the lake from nearby rivers, introducing a five-year fishing moratorium to help rehabilitate dwindling aquatic resources, and banning grazing on surrounding grasslands.

Six new types of birds have been seen flying over the lake since 2013, including the state-protected white stork and eagle-owl.

The lake, located on the Hulun Buir Grassland, is one of the largest freshwater lakes in the country and was included on the list of internationally important wetlands in 2001.

http://www.china.org.cn/china/2017-12/26/content_50164416.htm

 

[JSCh]

A family lost their daughter and son to breed endangered cranes
CGTN
2017-12-26 14:13 GMT+8

Every year red-crowned cranes, an endangered bird, migrate to the wetlands of Yancheng National Rare Bird Reserve in Yancheng City in east China’s Jiangsu Province in December. The reserve, a haven for the rare birds, also has a graveyard of China’s first environmental martyr Xu Xiujuan, who is also known as the “red-crowned crane girl.”

Red-crowned cranes at Yancheng National Rare Bird Reserve. /VCG Photo

In 1986, a 23-year-old Xu Xiujuan from northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province traveled to Yancheng with three red-crowned crane eggs. She helped establish a natural reserve and participated in the artificial hatching experiment of the cranes.

For Xu protecting red-crowned crane was a family profession. Her parents also worked as protection workers and contributed in building Zhalong National Nature Reserve in Heilongjiang Province, the world's largest captive breeding center for red-crowned cranes.

Xu became passionate about bird breeding and wildlife protection. With her hard work, the Yancheng natural reserve saw its first successful artificial hatching, which was branded “a miracle born from love” by domestic and international wildlife experts.

File photo of Xu Xiujuan with a red-crowned crane. /Xinhua Photo

“I’m willing to sacrifice everything for the career I’m passionate about, including my life,” Xu wrote at the back of one of her old photos.

The simple message, however, ended up predicting the young woman’s destiny.

On September 16, 1987, one of the rare birds that she raised went missing. Xu spent long hours swimming in the swamp to find the lost bird but drowned out of exhaustion.

File photo of the cranes hatched by Xu. /Xinhua Photo

Her sacrifice moved many, and a song was written to commemorate Xu’s death. The song read:

"Walking past the reed and rivers, have you ever heard of a girl who left behind a song? For what the clouds shed tears in silence. For what the wind keeps whispering. A line of red-crowned cranes fly by ever so gently."

Xu was recognized as China’s first martyr in the field of environmental protection.

Ten years after the death of Xiujuan, her brother Xu Jianfeng was persuaded by his parents to give up his urban job and return to their hometown at Zhalong National Nature Reserve to become a red-crowned crane protector.

Jianfeng also became a dedicated guardian for the birds. He spent around 18 years raising and protecting the rare birds. However, destiny had a different plan. Jianfeng met with the same fate as his sister.

File photo of Xu Jianfeng checking a red-crowned crane. /VCG Photo

In the spring of 2014, Jianfeng went for a routine check to inspect cranes’ nests. On the way, he lost control of his motorbike and crashed into a swamp. The 47-year-old crane protector died on April 19, 2014.

2017 marks the 30th anniversary of Xiujuan's death.

Xu Xiujuan's parents and her niece Xu Zhuo (L) looking at an old photo of Xiujuan. /Xinhua Photo

On Saturday, Xinhua reported that after the second generation of crane guardians passed away, the family’s third generation Xu Zhuo, niece of Xiujuan and daughter of Jianfeng, has taken over the job to continue protecting rare birds at Zhalong National Nature Reserve.

The third generation of crane guardian Xu Zhuo at Zhalong National Nature Reserve with red-crowned cranes. /Xinhua Photo

“I have to pass on the tradition,” Xu Zhuo said. “In that way, we could still be together.”

In the 1970s when Xu’s first generation started the wildlife protection career, the number of red-crowned cranes living at Zhalong National Nature Reserve was below 150. The number has now reached over 400, accounting for one-fourth of the rare species' global population.

 

[JSCh]

Chinese, overseas research institutes to jointly monitor ecosystem in central Asia
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-03 16:02:05|Editor: Xiang Bo



URUMQI, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- A memorandum has been signed by the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography and 22 overseas scientific research institutes, launching joint research projects on the ecosystem in central Asia.

Over the next five years, the institutes will focus on the region's glaciers, water resources, flora and fauna, as well as agriculture, in the context of global climate change.

The memorandum is the second phase of a program launched between China and four central Asia countries in 2012 to study climate change in the region.

In the first phase as of 2017, the Xinjiang ecology research institute and several organizations from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan carried out cooperation in global climate, bio-diversity and geologic disasters.

In the second phase, research organizations from the United States, Belgium and Austria, as well as China's Hong Kong, will participate in joint research, which will focus on water resources and agricultural and environmental sustainable development in Belt and Road countries.

Bordering central Asia, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region accounts for about 70 percent of international scientific and technological cooperation between China and countries in the region.

 

[TaiShang]

China starts collecting environment tax
Xinhua, January 2, 2018

China started collecting an environment tax on Monday to better protect the environment and cut pollutant discharge, as the country's Environmental Protection Tax Law took effect on Jan. 1, 2018.


The introduction of the tax called an end to the "pollutant discharge fee" which China had been collecting for nearly 40 years.


This is China's first tax clearly designed for environmental protection, which will help establish a "green" financial and taxation system and promote pollution control and treatment of pollutants, said Wang Jinnan, head of the Chinese Academy For Environmental Planning under the Ministry of Environmental Protection.


China had collected a "pollutant discharge fee" since 1979. However, some local governments exploited loopholes and exempted enterprises that were otherwise big contributors to fiscal revenue. For years, regulators had suggested replacing the fee system with a law.


Under the Environmental Protection Tax Law, which targets enterprises and public institutions that discharge listed pollutants directly into the environment, companies will pay taxes for producing noise, air and water pollutants as well as solid waste.


On tax rates, the central authorities will set upper limits and allow local governments to determine the rates on their own.


Individuals do not need to pay the tax as it is applicable only to enterprises, public institutions and other business operators.


The central government will allot revenue from the environmental protection tax to local governments to motivate participation in the fight against pollution.


Up to 50 billion yuan (about 7.68 billion U.S. dollars) could be collected annually from the new tax, according to estimates from analysts.


Tackling pollution has been listed as one of the "three tough battles" that China aims to win in the next three years, according to the Central Economic Work Conference in December.


From January to November, China investigated over 35,600 violations of environmental protection laws and regulations, up more than 102 percent year on year.

http://www.china.org.cn/china/2018-01/02/content_50183347.htm