China Environmental Law

Caijing Magazine this week explores pricing policies in China’s electric power industry. It’s not a pretty picture. The subtitle sums up the conclusions: “Market reform of China’s power sector began in 2002, but achievements have been limited and goals remain unmet.” Here are the details:
Pricing is at the center of China’s power industry reform. But in [...]

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No one is expecting any monumental news out of the fourth China-US Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED) which starts today in Annapolis, Maryland. I suspect that reactions to the performance of Wang Qishan, vice premier of China’s State Council and the new point man for the SED process, will generate the most press coverage. We are promised an [...]

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While the rest of the world was wringing its hands about China surpassing (this time they really mean it apparently) the US to become the global leader in GHG emissions, I spent all day yesterday celebrating the kick-off of China’s 18th annual publicity week on energy saving. What a party! If it wasn’t standing in line for [...]

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No word yet from the Forestry Public Security Bureau on the results of their widely-publicized Thursday inspection of the wildlife parks accused of selling illegal tiger bone wine by the UK-based Environmental Investigation Agency (see Tiger Wine).
A couple of intrepid reporters from China Youth Daily (CYD), however, disguised themselves as “tourists” and visited the parks [...]

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Work demands have me tied up again . Fortunately, there is never a lack of articles on China’s environment, and I will recommend four today:
From China Dialogue comes “The countryside is being forgotten” by Gaoming Jiang, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Botany, vice secretary-general of the UNESCO China-MAB (Man and [...]

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Recent undercover work of the UK-based Environmental Investigation Agency (UKEIA) discovered that
Animal parks in China are turning tiger bones in an alcoholic “health tonic” and defying international laws aimed at protecting one of the world’s most endangered species, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal.
[Do quality papers in England still use that "can reveal" locution? Guess so] [...]

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Apologies but I am swamped today, so let me provide you links to two recent articles that sound alarms as to the stresses greater meat consumption in China could place on the world environment. The first is an article from The Guardian “More wealth, more meat. How China’s rise spells trouble” that revolves around a migrant [...]

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China’s afforestation effort are bearing fruit.  Recently released figures show that
The country’s forest coverage has risen to 18.21 percent of the land area, from 8.6 percent in the early 1950s, the official said at a forum on desert control and ecological civilization in Bijie of Guizhou Province in southwest China.
Nationwide forest restoration efforts have helped fuel the [...]

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The CELB offices are closed today in honor of duan wu jie, or the Dragon Boat Festival. Read more about it here and here.   

Since Qu Yuan started it all, I’ll leave you with a bit of his poetry, in a slightly overwrought English translation:
Li Sao (The Lament)
A prince am I of ancestry renowned,
Illustrious name my royal [...]

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Qiqihar City, Heilongjiang Province is making news again.  Shanghai Daily reports that on Thursday (June 5)
Toxic gas leaked out when two workers were cutting two wasted iron bottles at Guangyu junkyard in Qiqihar at 10 am yesterday, leaving three dead and 15 injured, an official of the local government said.
One seriously poisoned is currently receiving [...]

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