Martins gesammelte China-Nachrichten Nr. 48/2006

Umwelt ¨C Gesundheit ¨C Energie ¨C Verkehr ¨C Nachhaltige Entwicklung
und einige meiner persönlichen Highlights ...
Woche 48, 2006 (25.11.-01.12.2006)

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HIGHLIGHTS of the WEEK:
    NBI says 45 tons of coins brought to China this year.
    No strings attached: Chinese levitate spiders, beetles.

CLIMATE CHANGE / EMISSIONS / PUBLIC TRANSPORT:
    Law in HK to Cut Smog-forming Pollutants.
    China Plans to Cut Back on Small-Scale Power Plants.
    China pumps US$119bln into transport.
    Banks Buy Over 200 Million Euro Chinese Carbon Credits.
    Five-year Plan Targets Air Pollution.

ENERGY:
    Feedstock a Worry for any Chinese Biodiesel Growth.
    China's crude oil imports down 20 percent month-on-month in October.
    China Enshrines Energy Conservation Fund in Law.
    China's basic energy law to be outlined.
    China to Provide Subsidies to Bio-energy Sector.
    Reports: CNPC to Ink US$7 Mln Russian Deal.
    China's Power Generation Capacity Reaches 580 mln kw.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION / ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING:
    China Launches World's Biggest Agricultural Census.

FOOD SAFETY / HEALTH / NUTRITION:
    Overweight and Hypertension Hit China.

NATURE CONSERVATION / BIODIVERSITY / ANIMAL PROTECTION:
    Kein UNO-Verbot der Grundschleppnetzfischerei.
    Eating Endangered Alligator Tests the Ethics of Conservation.

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH:
    Gesundheitsgefährdung und Ausbeutung in Handy-Fabriken.

RADIATION:
    Beijing to move polluting radio, TV masts from downtown.

WASTE MANAGEMENT / CIRCULAR ECONOMY / RAW MATERIALS:
    China moves to slash outdated iron, steel production.
    Over-production Risk in Coal Industry Warned.

WATER MANAGEMENT / WATER POLLUTION / ECOLOGY / FORESTRY:
    Beijing Reservoir Unfit Even For Irrigation - Report.

*******

HIGHLIGHTS of the WEEK:

NBI says 45 tons of coins brought to China this year.

By KATRICE R. JALBUENA. A syndicate may have already smuggled 45 tons of Philippine P1 coins into the People¡¯s Republic of China this year alone, said the National Bureau of Investigation. ... the suspects made the round of the banks to change bills into P1 coins. They flatten the coins using a special machine press before selling it to the syndicate for P300 a kilo, which then smuggle them out of the country. It was learned that in China, the coins are melted to extract their nickel component. The metal, sold for the equivalent of P1,000 a kilo, is used in the manufacture of computer parts and mobile phones. ... smugglers are interested in the 1995 to 2003 series, which have a higher metal content. ...

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=57480, accessed 27.11.2006, 061127_manilatimes_nickel_Kleingeld.pdf

No strings attached: Chinese levitate spiders, beetles.

In the past researchers at Northwestern Polytechnical University in Xi'an, China have used ultrasound to levitate drops of iridium and mercury, recently they have turned to live subjects and lifted insects and fish ... Xie and his colleagues utilized an ultrasound emitter and reflector to generate a sound pressure field between them. The emitter produced roughly 20-millimeter-wavelength sounds, meaning it could in theory levitate objects half that wavelength or less. After the investigators got the ultrasound field working, they used tweezers to carefully place animals between the emitter and reflector. The scientists found they could float ants, beetles, spiders, ladybugs, bees, tadpoles and fish up to a little more than a third of an inch long in midair. When they levitated the fish and tadpole, the researchers used a syringe to squirt water into the ultrasound field every minute. ... The ant and ladybug appeared to suffer no ill effects following 30 minutes of levitation. The fish, according to the report, did not fare as well because of an inadequate water supply. ...

Also, wenn DAS nicht wahrer Sarkasmus ist...

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-11/30/content_5413936.htm, accessed 04.12.2006, 061130_xinhuanet_schalldruckfeld.pdf

CLIMATE CHANGE / EMISSIONS / PUBLIC TRANSPORT:

Law in HK to Cut Smog-forming Pollutants.

The government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) gazetted Friday a new legislation to control the emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), a major category of pollutants responsible for smog that reduces Hong Kong's visibility. The new legislation, the Air Pollution Control (Volatile Organic Compounds) Regulation, bans the import and local manufacture of products whose VOC content exceeds the prescribed limits. Products that will come under the regulation include architectural paints, printing inks, and six types of consumer goods, namely, hairsprays, air fresheners, insecticides, insect repellents, floor wax strippers and multi-purpose lubricants. The regulation also requires emission reduction devices to be installed on certain printing machines. ...

http://china.org.cn/english/China/190176.htm, accessed 26.11.2006, 061125_chinaorgcn_hongkong_VOC.pdf

China Plans to Cut Back on Small-Scale Power Plants.

... The energy policy-setting National Development and Reform Commission has drawn up a set of proposals for scaling up the size of the country's coal-burning stations, the China Securities Journal said, citing senior officials.
They aim to address pollution, pricing and power management among other issues, and promote clean, efficient and renewable energy -- mostly by copying on a national scale policies already piloted in Guangdong and Henan provinces. ...

https://freemailng6502.web.de/jump.htm?goto=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eplanetark%2Ecom%2Fdailynewsstory%2Ecfm%2Fnewsid%2F39242%2Fstory%2Ehtm, accessed 30.11.2006, 061130_planetark_kohle.pdf

China pumps US$119bln into transport.

China's fixed-assets investments in the transport sector are scheduled to reach 938.4 billion yuan (119 billion U.S. dollars) this year, a growth of 18.4 percent year-on-year. ... the transport sector invested 612.4 billion yuan (78 billion U.S. dollars) in fixed assets in the first three quarters of this year, up 25.96 percent over a year earlier. Of the total, 124.2 billion yuan (16 billion U.S. dollars ) went to railway construction and upgrading, up 100 percent, 418.3 billion yuan (53 billion U.S. dollars) went to highway projects, up 12.7 percent, and 43.9 billion yuan to coastal harbor construction, up 37.4 percent.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2006-11/26/content_742872.htm, accessed 27.11.2006, 061126_chinadaily_verkehr.pdf

Banks Buy Over 200 Million Euro Chinese Carbon Credits.

Banks including Lehman, Fortis and BNP Paribas have bought carbon credits from a Chinese mining company in a deal that a buyer source said was worth over 200 million euros ($263 million)....

http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/39268/story.htm, accessed 03.12.2006, 061201_planetark_CO2_handel.pdf

Five-year Plan Targets Air Pollution.

Beijing is mapping out strategies to reduce the amount of air pollution in the capital city over the next five years in its 11th five-year (2005-10) environmental protection plan. ... According to the China Environmental Monitoring Center's air-quality index, the amount of pollution in the air last Tuesday hit its worst level, scoring a "hazardous" rating for the 24-hour period ending at noon. ... For example, sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions are to be cut by 20 percent of their level last year by 2010, according to the plan. To reach this target, Beijing will rely more on clean energy like electricity or natural gas, and gradually give up the use of coal. In central Beijing, coal combustion boilers with a capacity of less than 20 tons are to be powered by clean energy sources within the coming year. And by 2008, the five major coal-fired power plants in Beijing are to have installed equipment to remove dust, sulphur and nitrogen from their emissions. Beijing will also impose stricter exhaust standards on automobiles and speed up the retirement of old and inefficient buses and cars. Studies have shown that auto exhaust is a leading cause of pollution in Beijing. Automobiles pump out 80 percent of the carbon monoxide in the city's skies, 75 percent of hydrocarbon, 68 percent of nitrogen oxide and 50 percent of the other fine particles.

http://english.sepa.gov.cn/zwxx/hjyw/200612/t20061201_96863.htm, accessed 04.12.2006, 061201_sepa_luft_beijing.pdf

ENERGY:

Feedstock a Worry for any Chinese Biodiesel Growth.

China, the world's number two oil importer, plans to start using biodiesel in cars next year in an attempt to cut its dependence on imported oil, industry officials said on Wednesday. So far, China has not introduced biodiesel, made in the most part from vegetable oils, though it is already the world's number three ethanol fuel producer and is expanding its use to more cities and provinces. The officials, gathered for a biodiesel conference in Beijing, said China would introduce rules to blend conventional fuel with 5 percent biodiesel, a renewable energy known to burn cleaner. It was not immediately clear in which cities or provinces it would be launched. ... many foreign and private investors were already building biodiesel plants in China. They would add up to annual capacity as much as 3 million tonnes, compared with only 100,000 tonnes at present, he said. Sinopec is also planning to build a 50,000-tonnes-a-year biodiesel plant, possibly in the northwest region of Xinjiang, which would use cottonseed as feedstock, Zhang said. Xinjiang is the country's largest cotton growing area with annual cotton output of nearly 2 million tonnes. Zhang said the new capacity would use cottonseed, rapeseed as well as oil-bearing trees as feedstock. The industry officials said the biggest worry was getting enough feedstock for biodiesel as China has already a shortage in vegetable oils, importing large quantities of soybeans, soyoil and palm oil each year. ...

http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/39249/story.htm, accessed 30.11.2006, 061130_planetark_biodiesel.pdf

China's crude oil imports down 20 percent month-on-month in October.

China's imports of crude oil dropped by 3.8 percent from a year ago to 10.82 million tons in October, according to statistics supplied by the General Administration of Customs. The decline came after monthly imports hit a record high of 13.46 million tons in September, with a month-on-month drop of nearly 20 percent. According to statistics, China imported 120.07 million tons of crude oil in the first ten months, up 14.1 percent on the same period last year. Crude oil imports cost China over 56 billion US dollars, up 43.8 percent on the January-October period of last year. Niu Li, an analyst with the State Information Center, said that higher stocks after the sharp rise of imports in September led to the October decline. Expectations of a further drop in the international oil price may be another factor contributing to less imports ... Customs authorities said China imported 31.86 million tons of refined oil products in the first ten months, up 24 percent from a year ago. China's exports of crude oil dropped 12.5 percent to 5.09 million tons in the first ten months and exports of refined oil were down 17.6 percent to 9.99 million tons. China's output of crude oil reached 153.38 million tons in the first ten months of this year, 1.5 percent up on the same period of last year, according to statistics issued by the Economic Operation Bureau of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). Output of gasoline and diesel oil went up by 3.3 percent and 5.2 percent in the ten-month period.

http://english.people.com.cn//200611/29/eng20061129_326439.html, accessed 03.12.2006, 061129_peoplesdaily_oel.pdf

China Enshrines Energy Conservation Fund in Law.

China's legislature is planning to include a special governmental energy conservation fund in the new draft of the Energy Conservation Law. Li Mingzhi, an official with the Financial and Economic Committee of the National People's Congress who is in charge of drafting the amendment, said at a forum that the money will be used to fund energy conservation technology research, education and training and also for major energy conservation projects. Yang Fuqiang, Vice President and Chief Representative of the Energy Foundation, said that a commercial fund -- more efficient in collecting corporate contributions -- should also be established. The Energy Conservation Law took effect in 1998. To push energy conservation, China began amending the law in March of this year. The fourth draft of the law is under discussion, said Li. The draft will cover energy conservation evaluation and examination system, standards and certification as well as the management of major energy consuming enterprises. Firms that cannot abide by the new energy efficiency standards will be punished. The original law focused on energy conservation in industrial sectors, but the amendment will extend to sectors such as transport, construction and public institutions, said Li. Measures in favor of public transport are included. China has set a goal of cutting energy consumption by four percent this year and 20 percent for the period 2006-2010. However, instead of going down, energy consumption per 10,000 yuan of gross domestic product (GDP) in fact increased 0.8 percent in the first half year as GDP rose 10.9 percent year on year.

http://english.sepa.gov.cn/zwxx/hjyw/200612/t20061201_96864.htm, accessed 04.12.2006, 061201_sepa_energiegesetz.pdf

China's basic energy law to be outlined.

The first draft of China's first energy law, which will shape the country's future energy policies, will be outlined before the end of the year, according to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). Energy experts have called for the law, which needs two years to be passed by the legislature, to define clearly the regulations for foreign acquisitions and to set up an authoritative body through which all energy projects have to be approved. Experts also suggest that the responsibilities of the central government and the local governments regarding the approval of energy projects should be stipulated, along with specific regulations on environmental and safety measures. Meanwhile, the draft of the recyclable economy law has been completed and will be submitted to the legislature next year, according to a recent forum on a recyclable economy. ... As the second largest energy producer and consumer in the world after the United States, China now has four specific energy laws, covering the coal industry, electric power, energy conservation and renewable energy. However, the country has yet to draw up legislation on petroleum and natural gas.

http://english.sepa.gov.cn/zwxx/hjyw/200611/t20061127_96581.htm, accessed 04.12.2006, 061127_sepa_energiegesetz.pdf

China to Provide Subsidies to Bio-energy Sector.

The Chinese government has issued a package of policies, including risk reserves, subsidies and tax breaks, to encourage the development of the bio-energy and bio-chemical industries, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said ... [30.11.206]. Under the new policies, enterprises should set up risk reserves, which will be used to offset their losses when the oil price is low. When the oil price is low for a sustained period, a government subsidy regime will be triggered to cover the losses of enterprises. The new policies were jointly issued by the NDRC, the ministries of finance and agriculture, the State Administration of Taxation, the State Forestry Administration. The government will also provide subsidies to developers of raw material supply bases for the bio-energy and bio-chemical industries, particularly those using non-arable land. Subsidies will also be available to model projects with significant technical innovations. ... The country produced 1.02 million tons of bio-ethanol from corn and other raw materials in 2005. The ethanol is added to petrol at a ratio of 1:10 for use in automobiles.
The government estimates that by 2010, ethanol-mix petrol will account for half of China's petrol consumption. Large firms, such as the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and the China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corp (COFCO), have announced ambitious plans for bio-energy investments. CNPC has signed an agreement with the government of Sichuan Province in southwest China to develop facilities to produce 600,000 tons of automotive-grade ethanol from sweet potatoes each year and 100,000 tons bio-diesel made from the seeds of the jatropha curcas tree. COFCO said in October it would invest one billion yuan (US$126 million) to build a major ethanol plant in Guangxi region, also in southwest China. The plant, with a capacity of 400,000 tons, will lift 1.1 million farmers out of poverty by growing cassava as the raw material for the plant ...

http://china.org.cn/english/BAT/190786.htm, accessed 04.12.2006, 061201_chinaorgcn_biokraftstoff.pdf

Reports: CNPC to Ink US$7 Mln Russian Deal.

... According to yesterday's China Business News, the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) has hammered out a preliminary agreement with its Russian counterpart South Ural Oil Group to establish its second joint venture in Russia. It's likely the final contract will be inked later this year or in early 2007, the report said. If sealed, the deal will result in a CNPC investment ranging from US$7 million to US$7.5 million, according to Russian media. That's not a huge investment but is in line with Russian energy laws and regulations which state that only by cooperating with local partners can foreign oil companies extract natural resources in the country. ...

http://china.org.cn/english/BAT/190785.htm, accessed 04.12.2006, 061201_chinaorgcn_erdoel_russland.pdf

China's Power Generation Capacity Reaches 580 mln kw.

China's installed power generation capacity rose 18.4 percent year-on-year to reach 580 million kw at the end of October, said an official with the State Grid Corporation of China. ... China's power supply shortages would ease this year. Statistics show that China produced 2,011 billion kwhs of electricity in the first three quarters, up 12.9 percent from the same period last year. More generators producing 75 million kw will go into operation next year. Investment in grid construction will be about 200 billion yuan (around US$25.47 billion) this year and next, according to the government plan of power supply. The China Electricity Council (CEC) announced that China's power generation capacity will exceed 600 million kw by the end of this year.

http://china.org.cn/english/BAT/190504.htm, accessed 04.12.2006, 061129_chinaorgcn_strom.pdf

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION / ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING:

China Launches World's Biggest Agricultural Census.

China launched a month-long promotion campaign Saturday for its second agricultural census ... The national investigation will last from January 1 next year to the end of April, covering more than 200 million rural households and employing over 7 million investigators. Information will be collected mainly through on-the-spot inquiries about agricultural production, employment, migration, environmental conditions, use of land, fixed-asset investment and quality of life in rural areas. ... China carried out the first agricultural census in 1996. Since then, the Chinese government has adopted a series of policies to protect farmer's interests, including abolishing agricultural taxes, providing subsidies and setting a minimum price for grain and a maximum price for fertilizers. Official data show the per capita cash income of Chinese farmers in the first nine months of the year reached 2,762 yuan (US$345), up 11.4 percent year on year.

http://china.org.cn/english/news/190241.htm, accessed 04.12.2006, 061126_chinaorgcn_LW_Zensus.pdf

FOOD SAFETY / HEALTH / NUTRITION:

Overweight and Hypertension Hit China.

Henk Bekedam, WHO's Beijing representative, claimed on last Wednesday that 23% of Chinese citizens are overweight, and the government has had to implement effective measures aiming to keep people slim. On the speech made during a seminar on obesity in Beijing, Dr. Bekedam also revealed that more than 33% of Chinese adults suffer from hypertensions, more than 42 million people will suffer from diabetes in 2030, and there are still 320 million smokers in China. ... several factors make Chinese people overweight, like unhealthy diet habit, high cholesterol taking and excessive drinking and smoking. A survey shows that the mortality of cardiovascular diseases aged between 35 to 64 is 22% in China, compared to 12% in the USA. ...

http://china.org.cn/english/health/190385.htm, accessed 04.12.2006, 061128_chinaorgcn_uebergewicht.pdf

NATURE CONSERVATION / BIODIVERSITY / ANIMAL PROTECTION:

Kein UNO-Verbot der Grundschleppnetzfischerei.

Mit ihrem Nein haben vier Fischereistaaten ein geplantes UNO-Verbot der Grundschleppnetzfischerei verhindert. Russland, Island, China und S¨¹dkorea stimmten nach wochenlangen Beratungen in New York gegen einen Resolutionsentwurf, der den unkontrollierten Fischfang mit Netzen am Meeresboden untersagen sollte. Laut einem Bericht der US-Akademie der Wissenschaften aus dem Jahr 2002 werden durch Grundschleppnetzfischerei zahlreiche Lebewesen auf dem Meeresgrund vernichtet. Unterst¨¹tzt hatten ein Moratorium unter anderem die USA, Grossbritannien, Norwegen, Australien und Neuseeland. Da sich der zuständige UNO-Ausschuss nicht einstimmig f¨¹r den Entwurf aussprach, wird das Dokument vermutlich nicht an die Vollversammlung weitergeleitet. Mehr als 60 Umweltschutzgruppen hatten sich zwei Jahre lang um ein Verbot unkontrollierter Grundschleppnetzfischerei bem¨¹ht. Schätzungsweise 200 bis 300 Fischereifahrzeuge aus elf Ländern betreiben Grundschleppnetzfischerei.

http://www.baz.ch/news/index.cfm?ObjectID=1E859083-1422-0CEF-703F6387F306A236&, Zugriff 27.11.2006, 061125_baz_fischerei.pdf

Eating Endangered Alligator Tests the Ethics of Conservation.

... The Huifu Fine-food Restaurant, in Huangshan City, started serving Chinese alligator meat on Monday with the approval of the State Forestry Administration (SFA). An official with the SFA would only say that Chinese alligators can be used for commercial purposes even though they are listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. The alligator meat comes from a breeding center that has apparently become too successful. While experts estimate there are only 150 Chinese alligators in the wild, the center has raised 10,000 of them. It started breeding the reptiles in 1979 with a stock of just 200. More than 1,500 are hatched at the center each year. The manager of the restaurant said he signed an agreement with the Xuancheng Chinese Alligator Breeding and Research Center to provide 200 kilograms of alligator meat a year. A source with the center said they¡¯ve also made belts and shoes from the hides of the alligators. ... "The number of Chinese alligators in captivity has surpassed 10,000 but the number is far from enough to allow their slaughter," said Lu Shunqing, an amphibian reptile expert with the Huangshan College based in Anhui Province. ... With 1,500 reptiles hatched each year their number has surpassed the mark set for endangered species, said a source with the breeding center ...

http://china.org.cn/english/environment/190847.htm, accessed 04.12.2006, 061201_chinaorgcn_alligatoren.pdf

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH:

Gesundheitsgefährdung und Ausbeutung in Handy-Fabriken.

Von Daniel AJ Sokolov. Erbärmliche Zustände in asiatischen Handy-Fabriken deckt die niederländische Organisation SOMO (centre for research on multinational corporations) auf. Bei Inspektionen vor Ort haben die Experten der Nichtregierungsorganisation verschiedene Missstände festgestellt. In manchen Fertigungsstätten sind die Arbeiter ohne entsprechenden Schutz hochgiftigen Substanzen ausgesetzt; anderswo werden die Mitarbeiter weit unter dem Mindestlohn bezahlt oder zu rechtswidrig vielen Überstunden gezwungen. Die Unterdr¨¹ckung von Gewerkschaften und herabw¨¹rdigende Behandlung vervollständigen das Bild. SOMO erstellt derzeit einen Bericht, der die offizielle Politik (CSR) der f¨¹nf größten Handyhersteller Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, Sony Ericsson und LG mit den tatsächlichen Arbeitsbedingungen in Fabriken in China, Indien, Thailand sowie auf den Philippinen vergleicht. Das Ergebnis fällt verheerend aus. ...

http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/81650, Zugriff 03.12.2006, 061128_heiseonline_handyfabriken.pdf

RADIATION:

Beijing to move polluting radio, TV masts from downtown.

... Two China National Radio towers and a Beijing Radio mast in Chaoyang District, as well as a backup China Central TV tower in Yuetan Park, will all be moved, said Du Shaozhong, deputy director of the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau. "Electromagnetic radiation from the four towers is within limits, but they represent too high an electromagnetic radiation risk for densely-populated nearby residential areas," said Du. ... In the next five years, Beijing will impose strict environmental protection requirements on the location of new electromagnetic radiation facilities ... The capital would also deal with other polluting emission masts, relocating them as necessary ... A radioactive waste storehouse in the suburbs of Beijing will soon be completed and commissioned ...

http://english.sepa.gov.cn/zwxx/hjyw/200611/t20061130_96770.htm, accessed 04.12.2006, 061130_sepa_elektromagnetische_Strahlung.pdf

WASTE MANAGEMENT / CIRCULAR ECONOMY / RAW MATERIALS:

China moves to slash outdated iron, steel production.

... Under the National Development and Reform Commission's (NDRC) restructuring plan for the steel industry, China will scale back iron and steel production by about 100 million tons in the next five years to eliminate redundant production. The first group of 26 firms in north China's Hebei Province will cut iron production by 3.98 million tons and steel production by 3.73 million tons. ... Hebei's crude steel output will reach 90 million tons in 2006, 21 percent of the national total. The NDRC has criticized Hebei's irrational approval of investment in a raft of low-quality projects, describing them as a "blight" on the province. According to NDRC figures, Hebei has 88 steel makers whose production capacity is only 839,000 tons on average. It also has the worst water shortages in China and local steel makers -- with their huge consumption of water -- are being blamed for this situation. The province has been ordered to cut iron production by 45 percent and steel production by 27 percent in this round of industrial restructuring. According to statistics from the the State Information Center, China's crude steel output totaled 36.162 million tons in September, a rise of 18.5 percent year on year and up 2 percent on August. The China Iron and Steel Association believes that supply and demand in the domestic steel market will be balanced next year, thanks to the government's step-by-step production cuts and buoyant demand for domestic steel.

http://english.people.com.cn//200611/30/eng20061130_326861.html, accessed 03.12.2006, 061130_peoplesdaily_stahl.pdf

Over-production Risk in Coal Industry Warned.

With a yearly production of three billion tons, China's coal industry will face serious over-production problems in future, warned Pu Hongjiu, vice president of the China National Coal Association (CNCA) ... China's coal demand is expected to reach only 2.5 billion tons in 2010, much lower than the current output ... CNCA statistics show the industry realized fix asset investments of 300.5 billion yuan in the 10th Five-year Plan period (2001-2005), 55.5 billion yuan more than in the previous 40years. Coal demand in the power generation industry is expected to see a moderate increase in 2007, and the country's total coal demand next year will increase just 150 million tons ... Meanwhile, the government had cancelled tax rebates and levied a tariff on exports, which discouraged exports, increased domestic supply and worsened the overproduction problem ... Figures show in the first ten months, China exported 52.5 million tons of coal, 13.6 percent down from the same period last year, and imports reached 23.4 million tons, up 42 percent. CNCA statistics show China's coal output was 1.37 billion tons in 1996, and the figure soared to 2.15 billion tons in 2005.

http://china.org.cn/english/China/190549.htm, accessed 04.12.2006, 061129_chinaorgcn_kohle.pdf

WATER MANAGEMENT / WATER POLLUTION / ECOLOGY / FORESTRY:

Beijing Reservoir Unfit Even For Irrigation - Report.

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. The official Xinhua news agency cited a report by the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau as saying that water in the Guanting reservoir fell short of standards for level five on the country's scale of water quality. ...

http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/39201/story.htm, accessed 03.12.2006, 061129_peoplesdaily_TW_beijing.pdf


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erstellt 05.12.2006 14:03                Übersicht / Overview