China Environmental Law

ChinaStakes.com carried an article on Monday which reported on some tentative steps to permit local governments to issue bonds in China. 
Local government revenues in China are in dire straights.  The article does a good job of explaining how this came to pass, but the bottom line is that
In recent years, local governments’ revenues have become increasingly [...]

[Read more →]

There were several noteworthy environmental stories over the weekend.  Here’s a quick look:
Equator Principles
China’s Industrial Bank has announced that it will become the first Chinese bank to adopt the Equator Principles (EPs).  The EPs require that signatory banks “take into account environmental and social issues when financing development projects.” 
According to the EPs Preamble
negative impacts on project-affected [...]

[Read more →]

If you want further information about China CO2 emissions you can purchase a copy of China’s Energy Report 2008 prepared by researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

According to NewScientistEnvironment (CELB is much too cheap to spring for the $48 purchase price)
The report, China Energy Report 2008, says that, by 2020, China’s burning of fossil fuels [...]

[Read more →]

Following up on yesterday’s post, I’ve compiled a few more sources that articulate China’s post-Kyoto climate change negotiation stance.
The most authoritative articulation of China’s position is probably found in its latest submission to the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action under the [United Nations Framework] Convention [on Climate Change] (AWG-LCA).  Filed on September [...]

[Read more →]

The State Council Information Office issued a white paper today entitled China’s Policies and Actions for Addressing Climate Change.  In the words of the press release the paper
describes that China actively participates in worldwide efforts to address climate change, earnestly observes the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol, and plays a [...]

[Read more →]

There is a promising new addition to the China environment blog space: Greenlaw.  It is a “joint service of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) China Project and the China Environmental Culture Promotion Association (CECPA).”  It focuses primarily on environmental protection and public participation, but covers broader topics from time-to-time.  It launched a new format on [...]

[Read more →]

The Hubei vanadium smelters continue to drive news coverage in China.  The facts as to how many smelters were shut down and how many continue to operate (illegally) change slightly with each story so its difficult to know exactly what’s going on. 
It appears, however, that my original conclusions that at least some local governmental departments [...]

[Read more →]

The Pearl River stretch which flows through Guangzhou has been polluted by “dirty and disgusting black water from an upper river branch,” reports the Yangcheng Evening News. 
No hyperbole here; that river is running black:

This problem has occurred on several occasions over the last two years, but “there are still no convincing explanations as to how [...]

[Read more →]

For those of you who may have sunk millions of dollars on Beijing gasoline arbitrage schemes based on the price figures we originally reported in Kudos to Beijing: Gasoline & Diesel Prices Increased, we apologize, but, of course, can assume no liability for your losses in such a foolish venture.  If you’re interested we’ve update [...]

[Read more →]

China loves the plan and the percentage. It embraces “scientific development” and numerical goal-driven government. And yet numbers in China are frequently untethered from the reality they are supposed to represent. Subordinates have generally felt free to tell their superiors what they think the superior wants to hear because of the lack of an effective [...]

[Read more →]