The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) recently issued a statement: Mainland China and India, the world’s largest importers of edible palm oil, should reduce tariffs on environmentally friendly palm oil products to encourage manufacturers to produce more products that are environmentally friendly to health and the environment. Beneficial cooking oils. The Sustainable Palm Oil Roundtable was established in 2004 to provide a communication platform for manufacturers, consumers, and environmental groups to jointly advocate the expansion of the use of environmentally friendly palm oil products, avoid the ecological damage of the palm oil industry, and reduce forest degradation. coverage\rate. RSPO Chairman Jan-Kees Vis said that the EU dominates the high-priced environmentally friendly palm oil market, preventing the product from being popularized in the highly price-sensitive Chinese and Indian markets. As a result, people cannot enjoy environmentally friendly palm oil. CSPO calls on China and India to Reducing tariffs on certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO) products will increase competitiveness against non-certified products. This can also encourage manufacturers to produce a greater proportion of sustainable palm oil. The current annual output value of green palm oil is about 6 million metric tons, with a market share of 12%. Currently, mainland China imposes a 2% tariff on industrial palm oil products and a 9% tariff on edible vegetable oil. India imposes tax exemptions on certified palm oil products and requires a tariff of 7.5% for higher quality products. Source: &

The "Low Carbon Product Certification Management Measures (Interim)" and related technical documents jointly formulated by the Mainland Development and Reform Commission and the National Certification and Accreditation Administration will be released in the near future. By then, mainland China will implement a nationwide, voluntary low-carbon product certification system. It is understood that mainland China has multiple certification systems for energy-saving products, environmentally friendly products and future low-carbon products. According to mainland quality inspection system experts, for consumers, energy-saving products focus on saving energy costs, environmentally friendly products focus on reducing the emission of toxic and harmful substances, and low-carbon products focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In this regard, Qian Guoqiang, a mainland carbon emission reduction expert who participated in the negotiations of the Kyoto Protocol as an attaché of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the mainland, believes that in fact, although the mainland has multiple certifications for energy-saving, environmentally friendly, and low-carbon products, they are not mutually exclusive. It is not exclusive, but whoever can win the voluntary enterprise certification in the future will have a greater chance of winning government preferential procurement, financial subsidies, tax exemptions and other support policies from the mainland finance and taxation departments, and whoever can win the low-carbon certification of international authoritative institutions and advanced countries. Mutual recognition of marks can expand the scope of use of one's own products. In addition, China Quality Certification Center (CQC) undertook the research work of the "Special Project to Address Climate Change - Research on Mainland's Low-Carbon Certification System" jointly implemented by the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Certification and Accreditation Administration. Tian Xiaofei, director of the Low Carbon and Energy Efficiency Department of CQC, revealed that mainland China will establish a unified low-carbon product certification system. It is understood that mainland China will implement a unified low-carbon product catalog in the future and plan unified national standards, certification technical specifications and certification regulations.

In recent years, the global carbon trading market has doubled and the market has become more and more active. The "Greater China Carbon Trading Development Prospect Forum" recently held at the International Environmental Protection Expo conducted an in-depth discussion on how to integrate the development of Greater China's carbon trading. Jeff Huang, Managing Director of Greater China of the Intercontinental Exchange Group (ICE), said that carbon trading refers to two main forms: "Cap and Trade" (Cap and Trade) and "Carbon Offsetting" (Carbon Offsetting). To exempt developed countries and their companies from reduction targets, "cap and trade" was originally used in the US Acid Rain Program (US Acid Rain Program) to set cap controls through governments and intergovernmental organizations. If companies cannot If it meets the total amount, it can be purchased from other people with remaining carbon rights; "carbon offsets" are traded through the emission reductions generated by country-to-country cooperation emission reduction plans. They are usually bought and sold in advance in the form of futures. Among them, the power industry It is a major contributor to carbon emissions in various countries. The total amount of global carbon rights trading increases every year. The more mature trading systems currently include the European Union Greenhouse Gas Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS) in Europe and the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) in the United States. ), Greater China is still in its infancy and has huge development potential. The Chinese industry continues to explore how to use these financial tools to

India's Wipro beats Apple, HP in 'Green Electronics Guide' ranking Greenpeace has released their latest (18th) 'Green Electronics Guide', in which Indian electronics giant Wipro beats companies from Another 15 companies from other countries ranked first. Followed by HP, Nokia, Acer, Dell and Apple, among others. As early as 2006, Greenpeace began to launch the "Green Electronics Guide", which focuses on assessing the environmental impact of electronic product manufacturers, such as whether they use toxic substances, whether they have a complete recycling mechanism for discarded products, manufacturing and even How much energy is used in transporting products and whether the energy they use is “green”. In addition, during the assessment, it is also necessary to look at whether these companies have formulated relevant greenhouse gas emission reduction targets and relevant sustainable development policies. We can see from the figure that the top ones are Wipro, HP, Nokia, etc., while the ones at the bottom are Sharp, Toshiba and RIM. This is the first time that Wipro, an Indian company, has been on the list, and it has taken the first place ahead of other major international brands. Greenpeace said this is because of their outstanding performance in climate leadership. Wipro said they plan to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of 44% by 2015 and plan to achieve the emission reduction target of 85% by using clean energy. Wipro

Oxford Properties Group used the VELO platform developed by Zerofootprint to communicate real-time energy usage dynamics at the Royal Bank Plaza Towers in Toronto to tenants. The VELO system will display energy usage data throughout the day for all 7,500 tenants in the building, including Royal Bank of Canada and JP Morgan Chase. The data, which includes the amount of energy consumed in a day, will be displayed on a large screen in the building's lobby. Zerofootprin notes that once people begin to see the immediate energy usage dynamics within a building's 21,000 square feet, they typically re-evaluate their energy consumption within the building and begin turning off unnecessary appliances and lighting. Changing the behavior of commercial building tenants is an untapped aspect of building energy efficiency. Due to the special leasing type of commercial buildings, potential energy reduction opportunities cannot be realized unless the actual users of the building make energy-saving initiatives and take concrete actions. Oxford Property Group said that the participation of all building users will be the key to the success of this smart sustainable energy efficiency platform. Source: Environmental Leader (2012-10

California, a pioneer in green policy in the United States, began auctioning carbon emission allowances on Wednesday (14th). This is the largest greenhouse gas emission reduction program in the world second only to the European Union. The California Air Resources Board said the online auction is expected to make California the second largest carbon emissions market in the world. According to this plan, the California state government sets a total annual emission cap for operators of polluting industries. The operators can have two approaches: one is to reduce emissions below this cap, and the other is to reduce emissions for every ton of carbon exceeded. All purchased quotas from other companies that did not reach the cap. The committee said the results of the auction, including the price per ton of carbon and how many companies participated in the auction, will be announced on the 19th of this month. California passed a global warming management mechanism called AB32 in 2006, and cap/trade is the core of that mechanism. California has passed an emissions reduction system that Washington has been unable to enact, and the world is closely watching the outcome of the auction. Currently, only the European Union has adopted such a large-scale emission reduction plan, making Europe the world's largest carbon market. The Northeastern United States also has a cap/trade system, but only on a much smaller scale for power plants. Borenstein, a professor of energy economics at the University of California, Berkeley, said that if the California plan fails, it will be a very serious blow to the United States' carbon reduction efforts. He said that if the United States one day comes up with a nationwide carbon reduction plan, cap/trade may be the most likely way. In order to encourage businesses to use new technologies to reduce emissions, the cap/trade system will provide them with free 90% emissions for the first two years, but the cap will be lifted later.

On November 8, 2012, the American Office Furniture Association (Bifma) officially announced the introduction of the California Air Resources Board (CARB) formaldehyde release in wood-based panels into the ANSI/BIFMA e3-2012 furniture sustainability standard (or e3 standard). The regulation on formaldehyde emission (ATCM) imposes strict requirements on the minimum formaldehyde emission in furniture products. The e3 standard represents a structured methodology for evaluating the stability of furniture products to comprehensively assess the environmental and social effects of furniture products, and is an important part of the technical rating standards of the product certification process. Like the Green Building Assessment Criteria of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) in the construction field, the e3 standard also contains a number of necessary conditions for environmental sustainability and a number of optional standards, because a product needs to meet a variety of different options. standards, so the score is determined by the final score and the corresponding assessment grade. This time Bifma introduced ATCM regulations into the e3 standard, which can be regarded as one of the manifestations of the United States' strengthening supervision of formaldehyde release in wood furniture. Source: Chemical Watch (2012-11-09) (PIDC compilation)

Canadian Federal Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq announced at the beginning of the month that she would propose to amend the law to ban all toys suitable for children aged 3 years or younger. Polyurethane (PUF) materials containing toxic chemicals phosphoric acid cannot be used in all parts. Triester (TCEP) to protect children's safety. The Canadian Toy Association welcomes the federal government's proposed amendments to the order. TCEP is a flame retardant that is used in many daily necessities, such as furniture,

In order to further promote the sustainable development of the global supply chain, Walmart announced on the 25th new measures to further fully integrate its sustainable development strategy into business development. At the press conference in Beijing, Walmart emphasized that its goal of promoting sustainability indexes within the global supply chain will be implemented into the global supply chain system, including using a US$2 million grant from the Walmart Foundation to launch sustainable development in China Alliance (TSC) and other four measures. The new initiatives announced by Walmart are all based on the sustainable development goals proposed by Walmart at the 2008 China Sustainability Summit, specifically including: By the end of 2012, 70% products sold in U.S. Walmart stores and U.S. Sam's Club stores, Will only purchase from global suppliers, including China, that participate in the Sustainability Index project. Suppliers must evaluate products based on the Sustainability Index and share the results with Walmart. The index covers all Suppliers of categories of goods will be subject to this requirement. Starting in 2013, Walmart will use the Sustainability Index to evaluate the design of U.S. private label products, and will change the evaluation criteria for major global sourcing to ensure that sustainability strategies become an important part of the daily work of purchasing personnel. From now on, these purchasing personnel will be required to clarify sustainability goals in their annual evaluations, just like the main purchasing staff at Walmart stores and Sam's Club stores in the United States. The start of sustainable development this time

Recently, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the General Administration of Customs, and the State Administration of Taxation issued the "Notice on Further Clarifying the Product Scope of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Products Disposal Fund", clarifying the treatment of waste electrical and electronic products. The collection scope of the fund. Therefore, in the future, companies that produce LCD TVs, plasma TVs, and drum-type washing machines must pay waste electrical and electronic product disposal funds according to corresponding standards. The notice pointed out that the electrical and electronic products included in the scope of fund collection include televisions, refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, microcomputers, etc. Among them, TV sets included in the scope of fund collection include cathode ray tube black and white, color TVs, LCD TVs, plasma TVs, etc. Refrigerators included in the scope of collection include refrigeration and freezer cabinets with separate outer doors and refrigerated cabinets with a capacity of 500 liters. wait. Turbine washing machines, drum washing machines, integrated air conditioners, split air conditioners, laptop computers, etc. are also covered by the fund. Refrigerators included in the scope of fund collection refer to insulated boxes with refrigeration systems that consume energy to obtain cold energy, including refrigeration and freezers (cabinets) each equipped with a separate outer door, and refrigeration boxes with a volume of ≤500 liters. Boxes (cabinets), freezers (cabinets) with refrigeration temperature > -40°C and volume ≤ 500 liters, and other insulated boxes with refrigeration systems that consume energy to obtain cold energy. The Measures clearly stipulate that producers of electrical and electronic products, consignees of imported electrical and electronic products or their agents shall perform fund payment obligations in accordance with the provisions of these Measures. Information comes

Luiz Alberto Figueiredo Machado, Brazil's chief negotiator, pointed out that emerging economies should not have the same responsibility as developed countries (rich countries) in cutting carbon emissions, suggesting that they should return to the old position that has led to no progress in UN climate change negotiations for several years. Figueiredo said during the United Nations General Assembly last week that Brazil abides by the position agreed by all parties at the Durban Conference in South Africa last year - to promote the establishment of a joint emissions reduction convention for developed and developing countries. But he pointed out that the agreement should follow the United Nations' principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities". The principle, agreed in 1992 to exclude countries such as Brazil, China and India from mandatory cuts in carbon emissions, appears to have been scrapped at the Durban summit. “Countries, depending on their different circumstances, will make different contributions in the fight against global climate change. ” said Figueiredo. What he is referring to is mainly that rich countries are responsible for "the occurrence of climate problems." The four base countries in the UN climate negotiations (Brazil, South Africa, India and China) emphasized the above position at a joint meeting in Brasilia last week, and the four countries will hold a unanimous position in the Doha negotiations starting next month. Figueiredo emphasized that the BASIC countries are not abandoning the voluntary carbon emission reduction commitments agreed at the Durban Summit or previous summits, but they just hope that each country can have a system that responds to national needs and national conditions. Figueiredo said that if countries in the UN climate negotiations took this into consideration

What would it look like if all the water on Earth were gathered into a sphere? It might be smaller than you think. The attachment is a simulation by the United States Geological Survey that converts all water on the earth, including various water bodies, glaciers and water vapor, as well as all water existing in soil and even living organisms, into a sphere with a diameter of 1,680 kilometers. The volume is equal to 1.362 billion cubic kilometers. The USGS explains that the sphere looks small because it is placed next to the Earth for comparison. According to one estimate, 971 TP3T of water on Earth is found in oceans, and only 11 TP3T is freshwater, found in lakes, rivers or underground. British researchers recently mapped all of Africa's groundwater volumes and potential extraction benefits, a study that could help improve African residents' access to clean drinking water. Estimates from scientists at the British Geological Survey and University College London suggest that Africa's groundwater content should exceed 647,000 cubic kilometers. In addition to the research, experts also warn that growing water shortages could lead to political instability in Africa and elsewhere. Former Ghanaian President John Kufuor pointed out, “When there is a water shortage, people will migrate to any place. They will even go to war to obtain water resources. 』 Even the United States is not immune to the water shortage crisis. According to the U.S. EPA, by 2013, more than 36 states are expected to experience "local, regional, or statewide" water shortages during the non-drought season. Source:

Apple works to reduce toxic chemicals in phones Apple's latest iPhone 5 contains lower amounts of toxic chemicals than its main smartphone rival, the Samsung Galaxy S III, according to a study by ifixit.org. In this study, which was jointly conducted by ifixit.com, Ann Arbor-based Ecology Center and HealthyStuff.org, researchers disassembled 36 mobile phones and passed all the components through X-ray fluorescence analyzer (XRF) one by one. To detect the chemical composition of each component. Each phone will receive three scores after testing: the chemicals used, each component and the overall score. The final scores are summed into a scale between 0 and 5, with lower scores indicating lower levels of toxic chemicals. The much-hyped iPhone 4S achieved a score of 2.69, falling into the "low concern" category. Almost every other phone in the "low attention" category is marketed as a green phone. Samsung's Galaxy S III scored 2.99 and was classified in the "moderate concern" category. The least toxic phone in the study was the Motorola Citrus Machine, which scored 2.56. The most toxic mobile phone is the iPhone 2G, which received the highest score of 5 and belongs to the "high concern" category. According to an analysis by HealthStuff.org, Apple is actively incorporating

The Haitian government will ban the import, production and sale of black PE (polyethylene) plastic bags and expanded polystyrene (Styrofoam) containers starting from October 1. Haitian Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe said through the Miami Herald, "This is a reasonable and logical decision. Importing and manufacturing biodegradable items will benefit Haiti's environment in the short, medium and long term. "Profits." Haitian President Michel Martelly issued a plastic ban in August, hoping to solve the problem of plastic waste on the streets and canals of the capital, Port-au-Prince. This ban once caused people to misunderstand that plastic bags for drinking water were also banned, so they launched protests. Later, the government clearly informed through advertising that plastic bags for drinking water were not subject to this restriction, and the protests were immediately stopped. However, it may be difficult to ban PE cups and plates imported from neighboring Dominican Republic. Haitian environmentalists agree with the government's move, but they also worry that the government will not be able to enforce the ban. Sam Bloch, a member of Haiti Communitere, a non-profit organization whose purpose is to improve the living environment, said that if the ban does not go smoothly, he hopes the government will have follow-up plans. The Haitian community in Port-au-Prince is currently working on an "Ubuntublox project" to promote plastic blocks (Ubuntublox) made from recycled plastic.

China's roadmap for phasing out incandescent lamps has begun to be implemented and can save tens of billions of kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. Lighting electricity consumption in mainland China accounts for about 13% of the country's electricity consumption. If all the 1.4 billion incandescent lamps in use in China are replaced with energy-saving lamps, 48 billion kilowatt hours of electricity can be saved every year, which is equivalent to reducing 48 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions every year. The potential for energy saving and emission reduction is huge. Xie Zhenhua, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission of China, said that in order to save energy, protect the environment and actively respond to global climate change, on November 1, 2011, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Commerce, the General Administration of Customs, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, and the State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine Jointly released the "China's Roadmap for the Phase-out of Incandescent Lamps", which stipulates that starting from October 1, 2012, the import and sale of incandescent lamps for general lighting will be gradually banned in stages according to power. On October 17, the Chinese government held a promotional event with the theme of "Farewell to incandescent lamps and light up a green life" in Beijing, announcing the official implementation of the "China's Roadmap to Phase Out Incandescent Lamps" and banning the import and sale of 100 watts and above from October. Incandescent lamp for general lighting. Xie Zhenhua said that the release and implementation of "China's Roadmap to Phase Out Incandescent Lamps" will not only have a positive impact on the transformation and upgrading of China's lighting appliance industry and the energy conservation and emission reduction of the whole society, but will also make an important contribution to global energy conservation and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. "More importantly, through a lamp, the concept of green and low carbon can be conveyed to thousands of households." Source: Environment