(January 29, 2007) A group of academics has called for more power to be given to the State Environmental Protection Administration (Sepa) and for the creation of a new energy ministry, as the mainland tries to tackle the consequences of rapid development.
At the centre of China’s environmental storm: Interview with ‘Hurricane Pan’
(January 23, 2007) The second-in-command at China’s state environmental agency talks frankly about SEPA’s latest bid to rein in ‘special interest groups’ and local officials behind the frenzied expansion of polluting and energy-intensive industries.
China and India warned their water is running out
(January 23, 2007) The world is running out of water and needs a radical plan to tackle shortages that threaten humanity’s ability to feed itself, according to Jeffrey Sachs, director of the UN’s Millennium Project.
China’s environment watchdog to deny power project approvals in bid to gain compliance
(January 11, 2007) Shanghai: China’s environmental protection agency says it won’t approve new power plant projects by four major utilities until the companies bring current projects into compliance with safeguards.
China watchdog to deny power project OKs
(January 11, 2007) Shanghai: China’s environmental protection agency says it won’t approve new power plant projects by four major utilities until the companies bring current projects into compliance with safeguards.
China’s Rural Residents See Hope for Safe Drinking Water
(January 9, 2007) Nearly 312 million rural Chinese residents have no access to safe drinking water, facing problems of shortage as well as severe contamination.
SEPA: hear petitions or face penalties
(December 26, 2006) Beijing: China’s environmental watchdog will help handle from now on environmental petitions to avoid being involved in court litigation again.
Overpopulated Beijing facing water crisis
(December 12, 2006) The authorized government portal site to China, http://www.china.org.cn reports that “the water shortage in China’s capital is set to reach crisis point in 2010, when the population is expected to top 17 million — at least three million more than its resources can feed.” The article goes on to say that “the ceiling on Beijing’s population, set by the central government in 2004, is 18 million in 2020….One approach to cap the city’s population is [sic] relocate some people.”
Beijing reservoir unfit even for irrigation – report
(November 29, 2006) Water from a reservoir that serves as Beijing’s fourth-biggest source of drinking water is unfit even for irrigation, state media reported on Tuesday, underlining the gravity of China’s water pollution problem.
China water official denies plan to dam India river
(November 22, 2006) Beijing: China’s top water official has dismissed claims that Beijing plans to divert a river that flows from Tibet into India to quench China’s needs, a proposal that added to tensions between the two parched Asian giants.
Millions live in fear that China aims to steal their river
(November 20, 2006) China is considering damming the Brahmaputra, which begins as the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet before cascading down through northeast India and Bangladesh to the Bay of Bengal.
China’s water pricing urged to hold water
(November 18, 2006) Whisky is for drinking, water is for fighting over, as Mark Twain observed. It is true. Having found itself more often on the losing side of the battle to provide sufficient clean water to the vast and arid northern region, Chinese government resorts to market-driven water pricing to cure its water shortage headache.
Chinese prefecture cancels dam project on sacred Tibetan lake
(November 14, 2006) A controversial dam project on a sacred lake in eastern Tibet has been scrapped by the Chinese authorities following concerns expressed by local Tibetans and Chinese environmentalists.
Pollution threatens Beijing’s future drinking water source
(November 9, 2006) Pollution is threatening Beijing’s future source of drinking water as factory discharges and untreated sewage seep into a reservoir planned for the capital’s use by 2010, water experts said.
Environmental NGOs called on to play a bigger role
(October 29, 2006) China’s environmental NGOs have been called upon to play a bigger role in promoting and supervising environmental protection, now an important part of China’s social and economic construction.
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