Asia Environmental News: 24 Oct 08

• Japan launches voluntary CO2 market (Reuters) – Japan recently launched a voluntary carbon market based on companies setting voluntary emission cuts.
• Hong Kong night light pollution under the spotlight (Reuters) – Environmentalists are critical of the unnecessary and wasteful practice of keeping neon signs and buildings brightly lit all night.
• New book on how Singapore achieved environmental and water sustainability (Straits Times via Wildsingapore) – A new book, Clean, Green And Blue, published by the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies gives a detailed look at how Singapore achieved environmental and water sustainability in 40 years.
• China report warns of greenhouse gas leap (Reuters) – Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and other state institutes have concluded that China’s greenhouse gas emission could double or more in two decades.
• Recycling food waste into biogas in Singapore (Business Times via Wildsingapore) - IUT Global Pte Ltd is a Singapore-based company that operates a bio-methanisation plant to convert food waste into biogas and compost.
• Beijing offers cash to curb capital’s pollution (Reuters) – The Beijing government will give companies who stop highly polluting production up to 2.3 million yuan, to stimulate the replacement of high-pollution industries and clear the capital’s poor air.

China will clean up air pollution before Beijing 2008 Olympic Games

It’s barely a month to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and all eyes are on whether the Chinese authorities can clear the air pollution in time for the Games. A recent check by The Sunday Times showed that air pollution around the Olympic stadium in Beijing, the Bird’s Nest, is more than five times worse than the safe standards set by the World Health Organisation.

The Chinese officials are working on the situation and trying to cut air pollution by closing polluting factories, restricting cars on the road and limiting construction activities. This is reported in the Reuters news below.

In general, the Chinese people hate to “lose face”, especially on big occasions and where foreigners are involved. And they definitely would not want to “lose face” during the Beijing Olympic Games, the biggest sporting show on earth watched by millions of foreigners and staged on home ground. So the Chinese authorities would do their best to clean up the air pollution before the Games in order not to “lose face”.

We are confident that they will do a good job and do not worry about the air pollution affecting athletes during the Games. What we worry about is what happens after the Games. Will it be business as usual with pollution continuing after factories, cars and construction resume activities? Or will the Chinese authorities use the experience from their earlier green efforts and ride on the momentum to clean up Beijing for good?