October 14 is International E-Waste Day, and experts are calling on households, businesses and governments to get more scrapped or unused electronic devices into repair or recycling facilities to recover precious metals and reduce the need to mine new resources. This year's waste electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE) has piled up like a mountain, with an estimated total weight of about 57.4 million tons, which is heavier than the heaviest building on earth, the Great Wall of China. Hidden Treasures Ruediger Kuehr, director and chief of staff of the Sustainable Cycle Project (SCYCLE) of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), said that electronic and electrical components are a kind of "urban mine" with huge the value of. SCYCLE performs and shares comprehensive, practical research to help society reduce the environmental damage caused by the production, use and disposal of electronic and electrical waste. "One ton of discarded mobile phones contains more gold than one ton of gold ore," Dr. Quill asserted. "For example, 1 million mobile phones contain 24 kilograms of gold, 16,000 kilograms of copper, 350 kilograms of silver and 14 kilograms of palladium. These resources can be recycled and returned to the production cycle. If they are not recycled, new materials need to be mined continuously. , thereby endangering the environment.” United Nations University SCYCLE Project High School

The British Independent reported that scientists have developed a new technology for extracting valuable metals from electronic waste. The energy consumption is 1/500 of the existing method, which can reduce the need for mining raw materials and the waste generated will not harm the environment. . "The largest waste has been turned into a treasure." This technology is based on the "flash Joule heating method". Joule thermal flash evaporation is an innovative method that can produce graphene from carbon sources such as wood and plastic. A research team from Rice University in Texas has improved the "Joule thermal flash evaporation method" to recover rhodium, palladium, gold, silver and other substances from waste for reuse. The new technology works by using electric current to rapidly heat waste to 3400K (3124°C), causing the aforementioned metals to evaporate into gas for separation, storage or disposal. The research team stated that "flash evaporation" can remove highly toxic heavy metals remaining in materials, such as chromium, arsenic, cadmium, mercury and lead, leaving by-products with extremely low metal content. With more than 40 million tons of electronic waste produced globally every year, this new form of "urban mining" has huge potential, giving technology companies the opportunity to avoid sourcing raw materials from countries and regions with security, corruption and conflict issues. "Here, the largest amounts of waste are turned into treasures," said Professor James Tour of Rice University. "This could reduce the need to mine ore, strip the surface and use large amounts of water in remote and dangerous areas around the world. The treasure of sex...is in our trash cans." Toole said cell phones, etc.

5G commercial transfer is coming soon. When technology giants are launching new 5G mobile phones one after another and countries are intensively deploying base stations to lay out the layout for the next communication era, the world has to face up to the environmental pollution caused by communication chips. 5G communications can be successfully unveiled, and "gallium arsenide" is the biggest contributor behind it. The material properties of "gallium arsenide" allow electrons to move faster, and it is a chip raw material for making mobile phone power amplifiers (PA); however, "arsenic" in it is also a century-old poison that causes cancer and is harmful to the environment. Arsenic was used to kill people in ancient times. Blackfoot disease is also caused by arsenic contaminating water quality. During the manufacturing process of communication wafers, if arsenic-containing wastewater or waste oil is not properly treated, arsenic will enter the groundwater system through weathering and dissolution, causing pollution. In the age of communications, dealing with arsenic pollution has become a global issue. The research team of Professor Ling Yongjian of the Department of Chemistry of Tsinghua University, who has long been specialized in green chemistry methods, separated arsenic from "waste cutting oil" containing gallium arsenide through "wet smelting[1]", and the processed "non-toxic cutting oil" "It can be purified and turned into a synthetic raw material for "carbon quantum dots" in vivo imaging detection reagents. By turning waste oil into products of high economic value, Ling Yongjian's team successfully turned stone into gold and achieved the goal of resource reuse. Using green chemistry methods to solve chemical pollution, investing in green chemistry, and promoting the recycling of waste resources were not the main focus of Ling Yongjian’s early research. After graduating from the United States in 1989, he returned to China to teach at Tsinghua University. He was engaged in research on "analytical chemistry" and often cooperated with organizations such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the Consumer Council to apply mass spectrometry analysis.

Reuters reported that the United Nations warned on the 25th that greenhouse gas concentrations reached a record high last year and that the world's pace of controlling rising temperatures has been "significantly derailed." This clearly illustrates the specific tasks of the United Nations Glasgow Climate Summit (COP26). Carbon dioxide concentrations soar WMO: We are totally off track A report from the United Nations World Meteorological Organization (WMO) shows that despite a temporary decline in emissions during the epidemic lockdown, carbon dioxide concentrations soared to 413.2ppm in 2020, higher than average over the past ten years. WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said the current rate of increase in greenhouse gases will lead to temperature rises "well in excess" of the 2015 Paris Agreement target of 1.5°C above this century's pre-industrial average. "We are completely off track," he said. "We need to re-examine our industrial, energy and transport systems and our entire way of life," calling for a "significant increase" in emissions reduction commitments at the COP26 conference, which begins at the weekend. The city of Glasgow is making final preparations for a climate summit that may be the world's best remaining chance of keeping global warming within the limits of the 1.5°C target of the Paris Agreement. According to another analysis by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), if all current commitments by countries are realized, global emissions in 2030 will be 16% higher than in 2010. this

As the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere continues to rise, there is an increasing risk that our descendants will be saddled with a massive carbon debt. Researchers from the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) and international partners have called for the immediate establishment of a Carbon Removal Obligation and determination of responsibilities for carbon debt. The next EU emissions trading plan to be revised is An opportunity to import. Scholar: The world should obtain funds to implement carbon debt before the carbon budget is exhausted. Over the past few decades, governments have jointly committed to slowing global warming through agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement. Despite many countries ratifying these agreements, atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations continue to rise. At the current rate of development, we are working hard to use up the remaining CO2 emissions available before warming reaches 1.5°C. If this so-called "carbon budget" is exhausted before the world reaches net-zero emissions, then we will have to remove a ton of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere for every ton of carbon dioxide we emit. In other words, if we continue on our current trajectory—which now seems likely—we will accumulate a carbon debt. A new study published in the journal Nature points out that the net-zero commitments made by an increasing number of countries already assume that large carbon debts need to be compensated through long-term net negative emissions. For example, the ideal global scenario estimates in the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on 1.5°C Warming

A look at carbon tariffs, 2035 ban on sales of fuel vehicles, and 2030 renewable energy targets. Following Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s 10-point climate plan launched in November last year, he will ban the sale of cars and vans using new petrol and diesel in 2030. , the UK once again announced that it will ban the sale of new petrol and diesel large trucks by 2040 as part of its 2050 net-zero emissions transport plan. On the other hand, the EU and the United States made progress on the carbon border tax almost simultaneously on the 14th. UK transport emissions reduction to increase, ban on freight oil trucks and zero-emission domestic flights in 2040 Transport is the most polluting industry in the UK, accounting for about 1/3 of the country's carbon dioxide emissions before the COVID-19 pandemic. The UK’s plan to cut transport emissions also includes achieving net-zero aviation emissions by 2050, with the goal of reducing emissions from domestic flights to net-zero by early 2040. But the plan has been criticized in the past as unrealistic as technology to reduce aviation's climate impact is still in its infancy. The government also said it would replace its government fleet of 40,000 cars and trucks with zero-emission vehicles by 2027, three years earlier than originally planned. The British government has yet to announce full details of its transport decarbonisation plan, which is expected to be released before Cop26, the United Nations climate summit hosted by the UK in November. Europe and the United States are simultaneously promoting carbon border taxes, and the United States plans to increase "pollution import fees." The carbon border tax recently released by the European Union is designed to protect domestic manufacturing while pressuring other countries to reduce emissions. On the same day, the American people

Japan's Ministry of the Environment basically decided on the 27th that in the 2022 tax system revision, it will require the full introduction of a "carbon tax" based on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions aimed at strengthening global warming countermeasures. This is intended to be a powerful means to achieve a decarbonized society, the signature policy proposed by the Yoshihide Suga administration. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the business community have shown a cautious attitude as they are wary of the increased burden, and will coordinate comprehensively on whether to impose taxes and the level of collection by the end of the year. The Ministry of Environment presented the outline of the proposal at a closed meeting of the Liberal Democratic Party group. It states for the first time that it will take measures to promote "carbon pricing" that taxes CO2 to promote emission reductions, and "promote professional and technical discussions while also considering the burden method" on carbon tax requirements, one of the representative methods. However, no specific tax items, tax rates and other system designs were given, which will be discussed in the future. In 2012, Japan introduced a "global warming countertax" as a type of carbon tax, which is mainly levied on companies using fossil fuels such as oil and coal. Compared with Europe, it is accused of low tax rates and poor emission reduction effects. The comprehensive introduction of carbon taxes may expand this. However, Japan already has a petroleum and coal tax and a volatile oil tax on gasoline, etc., and there are strong opinions that the overall adjustment should be unified. The coordination work is also expected to have twists and turns. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga in December last year instructed the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry to explore the introduction of carbon pricing. Although the methods have been discussed through separate expert meetings, the Ministry of the Environment, which wants to focus on carbon tax, and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, which is exploring options that lighten the burden on companies, are not in sync. An official from the Ministry of the Environment said: “Finally,

Most of the cartons used to package food need to be coated with a layer of plastic in order to protect the food and block sunlight. Nowadays, however, petrification is not the only option for this layer of glue. Taiwan's first "recyclable bioplastic" all-plant box is jointly launched by Tetra Pak Taiwan and Yimei Food Company. Not only does it use paper materials with the Forest Stewardship Council FSC mark, but the film also uses "Bonsucro sugar cane sustainability certification" ” mark and 100% recycled plant-based polyethylene (PE), so that consumers can drink it fresh and recycle it according to their daily habits. These efforts have also resulted in Tetra Pak being ranked among the top 50 sustainable development and climate leaders in the world. Yimei launched this fresh milk in October 2019 using university-proven paper pulp and sugar gum in paper containers. It uses Tetra Pak's all-plant box. A small leaf is embossed on the bottle cap to quietly indicate its identity - —Even the bottle caps are grown. Because paper containers need to hold drinks, soups, and water ingredients, they must be waterproof, insulated, and even block sunlight. Therefore, the inner film is usually added with multiple layers of plastic film or aluminum foil insulating layers, which also distinguishes paper containers from paper. Recycling falls into different categories. Paper containers are not just paper, but composite materials. Traditionally, petrochemical materials are used for this layer of glue. In recent years, plant glues such as soybeans, corn, and pasture have been added. For this all-plant box jointly launched by Tetra Pak and Yimei, the cardboard comes from FSC™ certified forests, and the glue film is Made from 100% plant-based polyethylene (PE) from Bonsucro sustainably verified sugar cane. "These are raw materials that can be grown and will continue to grow.

Norwegian company Yara has created the world's first zero-emission autonomous cargo ship, Yara Birkeland, which runs on battery power and can achieve zero emissions. The ship is expected to sail between two Norwegian towns for the first time before the end of the year. There will be no crew on board and its voyage will be monitored by three onshore data control centres. The Norwegian company Yara, which developed the vessel, said the Birkeland will depart from the town of Her?ya and anchor in Brevikt. Birkeland uses 7 MWh of batteries, which is about 1,000 times that of an electric car. It can reduce the emission of nitrogen oxides (toxic pollutants and greenhouse gases) and carbon dioxide, has a maximum speed of 24 km/h, and can place 103 containers inside the ship. Although there are currently no plans for any major ocean voyages. But Yara also shows that the ship is capable of doing similar things to today's fossil-fuel-burning cargo ships. The shipping industry currently accounts for 2.5% to 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the International Maritime Organization. Almost all of Norway's electricity is generated by hydropower, which still produces greenhouse gases but is generally considered to have much lower carbon emissions than burning fossil fuels. Source: CSRone (https://csrone.com/news/7056)

Carbon tariffs, a ban on the sale of fuel vehicles in 2035, and the 2030 renewable energy target were announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Vice President Frans Timmermans on the evening of Wednesday (14th) Taipei time. Scale climate change plan. This "Fit for 55" (Fit for 55) proposes a total of 12 policy measures to ensure that future climate and energy policies are consistent with the goals set by the European Climate Law, and will lead other countries in Scotland in a few months. Glasgow's appearance at the United Nations climate conference in November follows. Fit for 55: Looking towards a climate-neutral Europe on greenhouse gas reduction in 2030 55% In order to achieve its contribution to the goals of the Paris Agreement, the European Commission proposed a green policy in December 2019, with the goal of making Europe the first country in the world by 2050. A climate neutral continent. This goal is officially written into the European Climate Law that will take effect in July 2021, with a specific commitment to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by 55% in 2030 compared with 1990. In order to achieve the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 55% in nine years, the European Commission held an online press conference on the evening of the 14th and announced "55 packages" covering climate, energy, construction, carbon trading, land use, transportation, taxation Endowment and other aspects to drive economic and social transformation. Since it involves a wide range of areas, it will not only affect energy, transportation

The EU's carbon border adjustment mechanism is approaching, and countries and major brands have launched countermeasures. Walmart is actively reviewing its value chain and is expected to use 100% renewable energy by 2035. Amazon even hopes to use 100% renewable energy for operations by 2025. Global emission reductions are unstoppable, and Taiwan has also called for reaching a net-zero goal by 2050. It is currently evaluating sustainable strategies that can be implemented by various industries and promoting energy transformation. In order to combat climate change, 195 member states of the United Nations adopted the Paris Agreement in 2015. The goal is to control the global climate rise within 2 degrees Celsius before the pre-industrial revolution by 2100, and even preferably reach 1.5 degrees. However, in 2018, the authoritative international climate science organization "United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change" pointed out that the global climate rise will exceed 1.5 degrees in 2052. If the average temperature is to return to within 1.5 degrees, global carbon dioxide emissions will It must be reset to zero in 2050. This goal is less than 30 years away from now. The European Union announced the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism to improve the past carbon reduction methods that only addressed the symptoms but not the root cause. In view of the climate crisis facing the world, the European Union announced the draft "Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism" on July 15, 2021. It is expected to be implemented on a trial basis for three years starting in 2023. Initial requirements Imported steel, aluminum, cement, fertilizers and power products are required to declare carbon emissions, and taxes will be levied on the greenhouse gas emissions of imported goods, and will gradually be expanded to other industries. Although all countries have established greenhouse gas emission controls in the past, high-carbon production companies

Swedish company Hybrit claims to have produced the world's first batch of "green steel" that does not use coal. It has been trial-produced and shipped to truck manufacturer Volvo, and is expected to be officially commercially produced in 2026. IEA: The steel industry is the largest industrial consumer of coal. The performance of steel production in terms of emissions and other sustainability-related indicators is relatively mature, but there is still much room for improvement. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the steel industry directly emits 260 million tons of carbon dioxide every year. In 2019, this figure was higher than direct emissions from industries such as cement and chemicals. The IEA said the steel industry is the largest industrial consumer of coal. About 75% of the energy needs of the steel industry are met by coal. A year ago, Hybrit began trial operations at its green steel pilot plant in Lulea, northern Sweden, hoping to use renewable electricity and hydrogen to replace traditional coking coal to produce steel. Hydrogen is also key to the EU achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Volvo plans to use green steel to manufacture prototype cars and vehicle parts from next year. Hybrit is a joint venture between steel manufacturer SSAB, Swedish utility company Vattenfall and mining company LKAB. SSAB's CO2 emissions account for 10% and 7% of Sweden and Finland's emissions. The company said the trial delivery is "an important step towards a zero-fossil fuel value chain... The aim is to deliver fossil-free steel to the market as early as 2026 and at industrial scale"

The United Nations has announced that the era of leaded gasoline is officially over, and a major health threat to humans and the planet has finally passed into history. Major milestone: Algeria finally bans leaded gasoline. United Nations experts say lead was first used in fuel in 1922 and became an "environmental and public health disaster." By the 1970s, almost all gasoline produced around the world contained lead. Now, Algeria, the last country to use leaded gasoline, has finally stopped selling it at gas stations. United Nations officials say ending the use of leaded gasoline could prevent more than 1.2 million premature deaths each year and help improve air pollution around the world. Lead is highly toxic and there is no safe upper limit for exposure. For much of the past century, leaded fuel contaminated air, dust, soil, drinking water and food crops, causing heart disease, stroke and cancer. This is especially harmful to children because lead can damage the developing brain and affect learning. "The implementation of the leaded gasoline ban is a major milestone for global health and the environment." said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Program. Leaded fuels will continue to impact the environment after ban The effects of the last use of leaded fuels may continue for decades. A recent study found that leaded fuel, which was banned in London 20 years ago, is still affecting London's air quality. Although the city's current lead concentrations are well below their peak in the 1980s, they are still well above natural background levels. The UK began adding lead to fuel in the 1930s,

The Energy Bureau of the Ministry of Economic Affairs announced the revised draft of the "Electric Power Development Assistance Fund Utilization and Supervision and Management Measures (Electric Power Association Fund Measures)" in April this year, including offshore wind power in the Electric Power Development Assistance Fund (Electric Power Association Fund) system, and clearly stipulated the offshore wind power The distribution ratio of the onshore wind power association funds will be 55% accounted for by the local fishermen’s association, but it must be reported to the local county and city government and then reviewed together with the central government. Non-governmental organizations such as the Fishermen's Rights and Environmental Sustainability Center held a press conference on the 8th. They affirmed the Energy Bureau's intention to amend the law, but believed that the review system was still too vague. Therefore, they put forward four amendment suggestions and called for the establishment of an expert committee to review the use of electricity association funds, Fishermen are actually involved in the utilization planning, the information on the utilization of the Electricity Association funds is disclosed, and it is clearly used for fishery and marine affairs to avoid social disputes. Offshore wind power is included in the Electricity Association's financial system, and local fishermen's associations can receive 55% subsidies. my country is fully developing renewable energy and actively promoting the construction of solar photovoltaics and wind power generation. The goal is to achieve the proportion of renewable energy in 2025 to reach 20%. According to the "Electricity Industry Law", the power generation industry and the power transmission and distribution industry must set up a certain proportion of electricity association funds based on the degree of electricity produced or transmitted to assist local promotion of power development and community development. The Energy Bureau of the Ministry of Economic Affairs announced this year On April 29, a draft amendment to the "Electric Power Association Financing Measures" was announced, intending to include offshore wind power that was not covered in the past into the Electric Power Association Financing System. The Energy Bureau will amend Article 6-1, Article 9 and the Schedule of Article 7 of the Measures. According to the draft content, the offshore wind power association funds will be divided into two parts, with 70% becoming the routine "subsidy type" and Thirty percent are "project-type" applications for individual projects. Routine supplement

"Our laundry does not provide customers with (plastic) hangers and dust covers." Ishihara Laundry located in Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture said in an interview with the public welfare group "SDGs-log". This is one of the store’s practices in response to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Some people may immediately feel suspicious after hearing this. It is common sense for laundries to provide dust jackets when delivering items. If they do not provide them to customers, won't it affect their competitiveness? It turned out that Ishihara Laundromat appealed to customers to save these and asked them to donate the same expenses to the victims. "So, everyone agreed." In this way, each person's small actions achieved a win-win situation between environmental protection and charity. Ishihara Laundry also encourages customers to do other things to protect the environment. The store has set up a "Button Bank 30 Bottom Bank", where customers are asked to store their spare buttons at home and organize them into categories. One day a customer's clothes fell off a button and he would replace it. "I hope it can reduce carbon emissions and plastic waste in the sea." It's a small gesture that makes everyone feel that they can help a little bit. As an environmentally friendly laundry, the obvious thing that will affect the environment is drainage. Naturally, Ishihara Laundry also chooses relatively environmentally friendly detergents, such as soap with a simpler molecular structure than synthetic detergents, or natural persimmon astringent lotion; and "100%" which claims to be biodegradable and additive-free. All things in Nature" lotion. Among the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), some also include projects such as labor and poverty reduction. And stone