Published in the journal Sustainable Cities and Society in March this year, researchers from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) applied coatings containing additives that reflect solar heat to rooftops, walls and pavements in Singapore's industrial estates. In a warming world, paint could be a key tool in making cities more comfortable for work and play. How cool paint can help reduce heat in cities? After they applied cold paint to one area of the city, they compared the temperature and comfort levels to adjacent unpainted areas. The researchers measured air flow, surface and air temperature, humidity and radiation over two months and found that the coated areas released 30% less heat from the building surface. This results in temperatures dropping as low as 2 degrees during the hottest times of the day. The coating contains additives that reflect the sun's heat, successfully reducing surface heat absorption and dissipation. Roofs with a cold paint coating reflect more sunlight during the hottest times of the day on a sunny day than conventional roofs. 50%, absorbs less heat than 40%, lowering the temperature in the area by about 1.5 degrees, making it more comfortable for pedestrians. Minimally invasive solutions for urban cooling The findings could prove invaluable to cities looking for quick, cheap ways to combat the damaging and worsening effects of heat waves. "This is a minimal-impact solution to urban cooling, with immediate results compared to others that often require massive urban redevelopment to deploy," said Kiran Kumar Donthu. and

In the past, sending used clothes to the third world was an act of charity, but now it has become an environmental and social issue. France, Sweden and Denmark proposed a ban on the export of second-hand clothes from the EU, which was discussed at the EU Environment Council on March 25. The African Secondhand Clothes Organization said the ban would affect the livelihoods of millions of people and tried its best to lobby EU countries not to support the proposal. With the rise of fast fashion, the speed of throwing away clothes is also accelerating. Where do the discarded clothes go? According to an analysis by the European Environment Agency (EEA) in 2023, the EU's waste textile exports have tripled in 20 years, reaching 1.7 million tons in 2019, of which 46% was sold to Africa and 41% was sold to Asia. Some second-hand clothes are resold, some are downgraded to industrial rags or stuffing, and some end up in open landfills or discarded. On the 25th, the European Union Environmental Council met. France, Denmark and Sweden jointly proposed to use the Basel Convention to control the import and export of second-hand clothes and require the consent of the importing country before export. The Basel Convention is a United Nations convention that regulates the transnational transfer of hazardous wastes, specifically targeting the transfer of waste by advanced countries to the third world. The French Ministry of Environment pointed out that "Africa should not become a dumping ground for fast fashion." "Reuters" reported that Soren Jacobsen, Denmark's deputy permanent representative to the EU, pointed out at the meeting that exporting textile waste to developing countries will harm the local environment, society and health, and the EU should stop this behavior . The French representative also said that the ban will help improve the EU itself

A research team from the School of Engineering at Shinshu University in Japan recently successfully extracted mycelium from the "Fuiting body" (Fuiting body), the sexual sporulation structure of the mushroom, without destroying the micro-hyphal structure of the mushroom. Mycelium) fiber is expected to have the opportunity to be transformed into sustainable raw materials for leather and packaging materials. The Japanese research team extracted mycelial fibers from the fungi of the genus Enoki and the inedible mushrooms of the genus Ganoderma. According to the US news website ScienceDaily, Shinshu University reported the experimental results on October 21, 2023 as "Preparation of Mycelium Pulp from Mushroom Fruiting Bodies". The research name was published in the "American Chemical Society Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering" (ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering), which details how to maintain the structure of mushrooms intact and easily obtain mycelium fibers. The online science news media "EurekAlert!" explained that the fruiting body is the multi-cell spore structure of mushrooms. The size, shape and color of the fruiting bodies of different types of fungi usually vary. They are generally found in soil, rotten wood, trees, etc. The large umbrella-shaped fungal objects seen in the substrate are the fruiting bodies of mushrooms. And Shinshu University is in Mushrooms

"Story Wear", a zero-waste fashion brand that creates new life for recycled jeans, and "Tomorrow Productions", an art planning team of Zhongtai Group that has injected vitality into idle spaces in many cities, jointly launched the "Recreating Stories" special exhibition , interpreting the life of old objects from an artistic perspective, and inviting two Taiwanese contemporary artists Yao Ruizhong and Liu Wenxuan to create works, which will be exhibited in the curatorial space on the 3rd floor of "NOKE Zhongtaile Life" in Dazhi Department Store until April 7. The sustainable and "faux" zero-waste exhibition explains the pollution problem of the fashion industry. "The fashion industry is the second largest source of pollution in the world." This is a fact that Story Wear has repeatedly emphasized since its inception. In his speech, founder Chen Guanbai said that the manufacturing process of a piece of clothing involves issues such as ocean pollution, land destruction, labor human rights, etc. This exhibition hopes to convey this message in a not boring but equally straightforward way. On the day of the opening press conference, artist Feng Xiaoyue sang live. In his speech, Feng Xiaoyue mentioned that when he was a child, he and his family had the experience of picking up clothes from used clothes factories. On this day, he also wore a handmade denim lapel jacket designed by Story Wear for the exhibition, calling on the public to pay attention to possible defects in fabrics. Chemical contamination problem. The jacket worn by Feng Xiaoyue is made of laser-jet denim spliced jeans. The raw materials are all from recycled fabrics or factory leftovers. It is completely handmade with 100%. There is a product "ID card" on the inside of the jacket, recording the identity of the maker and the production process. , try our best to be open and transparent. Artist Feng Xiaoyue

The Ministry of Environment expects to implement the draft carbon trading regulations of the domestic carbon rights trading mechanism in the first half of the year. At a public hearing and research meeting held on the 8th, the industry believed that the 5% handling fee charged by the Ministry of Environment for each transaction was too high. The Climate Agency stated that the carbon trading fee is an unusual fee, which reflects the industry's carbon reduction responsibility and cannot be compared to financial products. In order to avoid speculation, the draft does not allow the resale of carbon rights, and each carbon right can only be traded once. Carbon trading fee 5% industry thinks it is too high. Climate Agency: Non-general fees The Ministry of Environment will launch the draft "Greenhouse Gas Reduction Credit Trading Auction and Transfer Management Measures" (referred to as the Carbon Trading Measures) in December 2023, on the 8th Organize public hearings and research chambers, and invite government agencies, civil society and industry representatives to discuss. Huang Weiming, deputy director of the Climate Agency, said the measures will be implemented in the first half of this year. The draft stipulates that domestic carbon rights have three methods: pricing transactions, agreement transactions, and auctions. Regardless of the transaction method, the Ministry of Environment will charge a handling fee of 5% to the buyer. A representative of China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation pointed out that general securities transaction fees are usually below 1%, and the handling fee for carbon trading is too high; the Iron and Steel Association believes that "agreed transactions" do not use the carbon trading platform at all, and charging a handling fee of 5% is unreasonable . Huang Weiming, deputy director of the Climate Agency, said that carbon trading fees are not general fees or platform service fees and should not be understood from the perspective of financial products. When interviewed, Huang Weiming added that the purchase of carbon rights by businesses to offset emissions does not actually fulfill the obligation to reduce emissions. Foreign countries usually use handling fees to impose additional responsibilities on businesses and inject national carbon reduction funds; through the carbon trading system

The Energy Administration of the Ministry of Economic Affairs officially announced the renewable energy wholesale purchase rates for this year (2024) on the 5th. Most renewable energy rates were the same as last year or increased slightly. Only the solar photovoltaic category rates were revised downward. In addition, the Energy Administration specially added A minimum rooftop photovoltaic pitch of less than 10 watts is required to encourage the development of micro-rooftop photovoltaics. This year's renewable energy wholesale purchase rates, compared with last year, only the solar photovoltaic category has decreased slightly overall, while most of the other renewable energy categories have remained the same, while geothermal and biomass power generation have increased slightly. The first-phase wholesale purchase rate of solar photovoltaics ranges from 3.7635 to 5.7848 yuan per kilowatt hour, and the second-phase wholesale purchase rate ranges from 3.7236 to 5.7055 yuan per kilowatt hour. Among them, in order to encourage citizen power plants and micro, small and medium-sized households to install solar photovoltaics on their rooftops, the Energy Administration subdivided rooftop solar photovoltaics below 100 watts into four levels, namely below 10 watts, 10~20 watts, 20 ~ 50 watts, 50 ~ 100 watts. Based on the average household roof size of about 30 square meters, the most suitable installation capacity is 10 watts. Zheng Taijun, a researcher at the Earth Citizen Foundation, said that although the rate for the newly added micro-roof photovoltaic level is still not high enough, clearly demarcating the level is an incentive to attract more small-scale residential construction, and wholesale purchase subsidies are also available. More able to convince builders. Zheng Taijun called for the mandatory area threshold of the rooftop photovoltaic law to be revised to 90 square meters (converted to about 15 kilowatts) in conjunction with the wholesale purchase level, and citizen energy education should be strengthened simultaneously to further popularize rooftop photovoltaics. To encourage public

I feel helpless when I am stuck in a traffic jam. I wish my car could fly? The aircraft in science fiction movies are about to come true. Germany's Volocopter has overcome all difficulties and plans to launch an air taxi during the Paris Olympics in July. The new generation prototypes of South Korea's Hyundai Group and Airbus were unveiled at the beginning of this year. The dream of air taxis is not far away, but what consumers want to ask is, how much does a ride cost? Airbus prototype debuts for the first time Electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL) are on the rise, with aircraft manufacturers, car manufacturers and startups investing in them. The eVTOL "CityAirbus NextGen" prototype developed by Airbus made its debut yesterday (7th) and announced its test flight this year. Airbus' CityAirbus NextGen debuts in March 2024. Airbus launches CityAirbus in 2019. The new generation of CityAirbus is an all-electric aircraft that can carry 4 people, has a range of 80 kilometers, and a flight speed of 120 kilometers per hour. It emphasizes low noise and is an eVTOL designed specifically for the transportation needs of big cities. The Associated Press reported that Eve Air Mobility, a subsidiary of Embraer, the world's third largest aircraft manufacturer, is also developing eVTOL, which is expected to be launched in 2026 and will be able to carry 4 to 6 passengers. Boeing, a major aircraft manufacturer, completed the test flight of the "PAV" prototype in 2019, but the plan was interrupted. 2023 wave

The first trial application for the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is due at the end of February 2024. According to the Financial Times, the European Commission provided statistics on the first application. The number of reports of carbon-intensive products from China is far more than twice that of other countries. Taiwan is also among the top 5, slightly surpassing India. Why? CBAM has been on trial in October 2023, and the first carbon data was originally scheduled to be due in January 2024. Later, the EU said that it was delayed by 30 days due to technical problems and was completed at the end of last month. However, since it was the first time to declare, it was also found that there were problems such as difficulty in logging into the system and a generally low declaration completion rate. Subsequent adjustments by the CBAM enforcement agency were yet to be made. CBAM is on the road, and EU importers have made their first declarations with products in the fourth quarter of 2023. According to the declaration information obtained by the Financial Times during an interview with the European Commission, the number of carbon-intensive products from Taiwan ranks among the top five, slightly surpassing India and the EU. Of the total 13,000 reports submitted by local manufacturers, more than 5,000 entries showed that they were from Taiwan. Unsurprisingly, China ranks first in exports of high-carbon-intensive products, with about 25,000 exports; closely followed by the United States, with about 10,000 exports, more than half less than China; followed by the United Kingdom, Turkey, Taiwan and India, all The number of declarations ranges from 5,000 to 10,000; the number of declarations from South Korea and Japan is far less than 5,000. Looking at the six major industries managed by CBAM and the export output value of each country to the EU, China also ranks first, followed by Turkey, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, India and South Korea, said KPMG Managing Director

New Zealand company CarbonScape converts discarded wood chips into synthetic graphite that can be used in electric vehicle batteries. The material is manufactured in the EU and the United States, reducing dependence on Chinese graphite supplies. The company makes "biographite" by heating forestry byproducts using a process called thermocatalytic graphitization, which produces charcoal that can be catalyzed and purified into battery anode-quality graphite. The startup says its graphite alternative is a more sustainable option that could help Europe reduce its reliance on Chinese lithium-ion batteries. What is biographite and why is it important? Currently, the key graphite for making electric vehicle batteries comes from mined natural graphite or synthetic graphite extracted from petroleum products. According to CEO Ivan Williams, CarbonScape’s biographite is kinder to the earth. “The production of ‘traditional’ synthetic graphite uses fossil fuel-based feedstocks, such as coal tar pitch and petroleum coke, and fossil fuel-driven processes,” the CEO said. “As a result, 35 tons of CO2e are emitted for every ton of graphite produced. "Naturally mined graphite causes serious damage to communities, animals and the environment, and the extraction and production processes required to extract 1 ton of anode-grade graphite from this raw material leaves a carbon footprint of 15 tons. Instead, biographite is made from forestry by-products such as wood chips. “Utilizing these widely available sustainable feedstocks enables our products to capture carbon that would otherwise be

The 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France will officially kick off on July 26. In order to reduce the carbon footprint of the world's largest sports event, nearly 11,000 seats in two competition venues, including water sports, will be filled from trash cans. Made of recycled plastic to promote and practice the environmentally friendly concept of sustainable use. In order to reduce the carbon footprint of the Paris Olympic Games, a French start-up company established in 2018 worked with an environmentally friendly construction and recycling company to turn 100 tons of recycled waste plastic into 11,000 spectators We hope to make the 2024 Paris Olympics synonymous with Green Olympics. Benjamin Saint-Mard, commercial director of the French startup company, explained, “We have more than 50 cooperative recycling manufacturers who come to recycle plastics, collect recycling waste wrapped in yellow recycling bins, and then classify them into different types of plastics. "We get plastics in various forms, especially those that will be incinerated or buried, as our raw materials." These recycled plastics will be cleaned, crushed into particles, and then sorted. High-density and hard panels are made using thermal compression technology, which are then made into various types of furniture, including spectator seats for the Paris Olympics. These 11,000 spectator seats made of recycled plastic were installed at the Adidas Arena, which will host badminton and rhythmic gymnastics events, and the Paris Olympic Aquatics Center, which will host diving, water ballet, water polo and other events. Benjamin said, “I

In order to achieve the 2050 net-zero transformation goal and effectively promote a zero-carbon energy system, the international community has paid increasing attention to the development of electrification of transportation vehicles in recent years. Governments of various countries have also increased their efforts to subsidize the electric vehicle market and provide related tax incentives. The United States also committed to increasing subsidies for electric vehicles through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 in August 2022. This move has also contributed to the rapid increase in American private demand for electric vehicles. However, while electric vehicles are booming, more and more firefighting units around the world have noticed that not only are electric vehicles difficult to extinguish when they accidentally catch fire, but firefighters often need to use more water than traditional fuel vehicles to control the fire. How Effectively extinguishing fires caused by electric vehicles seems to have become an issue that fire agencies are increasingly paying attention to. Canadian news station "CTV News" pointed out that on average, firefighting units need to use 40 times more water than ordinary fuel vehicles to extinguish electric vehicle fires. The water consumption per firefighting is as high as 40,000 gallons (approximately 151,400 liters), and fire trucks It is usually impossible to carry such a huge amount of water. If there is not enough water source or fire hydrants at the fire site, the electric vehicle may burn for several days before extinguishing. "It is definitely a challenge for us to have electric vehicle fires in areas where firefighting facilities are lacking, which is why firefighting units must now develop new technologies to combat the problem of electric vehicle fires." Perth County, Ontario, Canada (Perth County) Fire Chief Cum

Valentine's Day has just passed, and TikTok tells you what products young Americans are most concerned about. At 4 o'clock in the morning, crowds began to gather in front of Target. As soon as the opening hours came, the crowd poured in, and 20 seconds later, the limited-edition red thermos cups on the shelves were all gone. This is the "Valentine's Day" cup co-branded by Stanley and Starbucks. A video of a frantic rush for Stanley's new thermos cup has been circulated on social media in the United States, and physical fights have broken out in some stores. CBS, FOX and local TV stations competed to report on it. The New York Times reporter advised everyone to wear a helmet next time they go to Dajit. The sustainable eco-friendly cup has become a fashion accessory and collectible. Stanley is an old American thermos cup. It has always been famous for its durability. Holding a cup in your hand can show your "tough guy style" and is very popular among outdoor adventurers. However, Stanley's style has changed drastically in recent years, making the thermos a new favorite of the community and a fashion accessory for young people. With a stainless steel bottle, simple handle, and colorful styles, the Stanley Adventure Series Quencher is a basic equipment for TikTok users. Some people display hundreds of cups that have never been used; others display daily outfits in the same color as the cups. In November last year, a woman took a video of his car being on fire and charred, but the Stanley thermos cup in the front seat was intact and there was still ice in the cup. This video attracted 95 million views on TikTok, adding to the sense of legend. Even Mr. Stanley

Environment Minister Xue Fusheng said today (20th) that a carbon fee review committee will be formed at the end of this month, with a total of 21 members, including six representatives of citizen groups, and a draft carbon fee rate will be released by the end of March. He revealed that in the future, if industry adopts the SBTi EU carbon reduction standard, it is not ruled out that they can enjoy more than half of the "very, very large" discount rate, which will be quite attractive to the industry. my country's major carbon emitters will start paying carbon fees next year (2025), but the draft rates and preferential measures have not yet been made public. The Ministry of Environment held a media dinner this afternoon. During the meeting, Xue Fusheng pointed out in a joint interview with the media that the Ministry of Environment is currently selecting members for the "Carbon Fee Review Committee", with a total of 21 members, including six representatives of citizen groups. Xue Fusheng said that he would consider the balance of civil society roles and invite public associations to join the discussion. "It should not be limited to environmental groups." The members of the review committee will be selected at the end of February and two review meetings will be held to launch the carbon dioxide emissions reduction meeting at the end of March. The relevant drafts such as fee rates and preferential rates will be announced after a two-month discussion period. Regarding the dispute over the "25,000 tons exemption amount" in the "Carbon Fee Designated Reduction Targets and Independent Reduction Plan Review Methods" (referred to as the preferential rate draft), Xue Fusheng said that the original intention was to avoid "24,900 tons without payment" ", 25,100 tons must be paid in full" is an unfair situation that the Ministry of Environment believes is very reasonable and has been agreed by the majority of people. When asked about the objections of civil society groups, he changed his subject and said, "This part (draft) has not been finalized yet, it is just in the stage of collecting opinions." Xue Fusheng further explained the preferential rate draft. If the industry adopts

The world is fully committed to green energy, and the wind power and photovoltaic industries have promising prospects, but offshore wind power has encountered headwinds. Global offshore wind power leader Ørsted failed to invest in the US market and announced a series of countermeasures on the 7th, deciding to eliminate 600 to 800 positions, suspend dividends from 2023 to 2025, and withdraw from offshore wind power in Norway, Spain and Portugal. market and suspend the development of the Japanese market. S&P Global has lowered Wo Xu's long-term credit rating to BBB from BBB+. The prospect of wind power is promising. Offshore wind power leader Wo Xu has entered the multi-national market, but its expansion in the United States has not been smooth and it has suffered huge losses. Expanding the market and entering the United States was a major setback. Wo Xu has built more than 1,900 offshore wind turbines in Europe, North America and Asia, accounting for 25% globally. It is the world's largest offshore wind power developer. It is also involved in offshore wind power in Taiwan and the Greater Changhua Offshore Wind Farm. plan. Wo Xu entered the multi-national market, but suffered a major setback in the United States. In November 2023, Wo Xu said that due to the impact of inflation, interest rate increases and supply chain disruptions, he decided to cancel the development of New Jersey offshore wind power Ocean Wind 1 and Ocean Wind 2, and recognized 28.4 billion kronor (4 billion USD) asset impairment. As soon as the news came out, the stock price fell to its lowest level in six years. In January this year, Worsch announced again that the Skipjack offshore wind power project in Maryland was not commercially viable and would seek another power contract. On February 7, Wo Xu’s board of directors approved the company’s 2030 renewable energy installation