TABLE OF CONTENTS
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S/N |
Title |
Synopsis |
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I. Subject Area: Environmental Policy and Regulations |
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1 |
Irish plastic bag levy becomes law |
Ireland's 1p environmental levy on plastic shopping bags becomes law with effect from March 2002. |
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2 |
Germany adopts new rules for elimination and recycling of old wood |
The German Cabinet adopted an ordinance regulating the elimination and recycling of used wood and wood products, expected to go into effect in early 2003. |
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3 |
Draft law approved to set EU-wide speed restrictions to curb vehicular emissions |
The European Parliament approved a legislative draft for further European Union-wide restrictions on the speed of commercial vehicles to reduce emissions. |
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II. Subject Area: Environmental Technology |
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4 |
Japan's NKK tests new generation fuel |
Japanese steel maker NKK Corp said it would begin road testing a truck that runs on a new generation fuel dimethylether (DME). |
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5 |
Electrokinetics may be used for more effective degradation of organic contaminants in soils |
The Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) carries out a research on the use of soil electrokinetics to improve the effectiveness of the remediation method for degradation of organic contaminants in soils. |
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6 |
'Global warming' satellite launched |
Envisat, one of the largest and most advanced satellites ever built has been sent into orbit to gather information on environmental concerns. |
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III. Subject Area: Clean Technology |
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7 |
Japan considers changing law to promote fuel cells |
The Japanese government is moving towards changing the existing energy law that only allowed the use of fuel cells for business purposes in Japan. |
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S/N |
Title |
Synopsis |
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III. Subject Area: General Environmental News |
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8 |
OECD Governments look to buy 'Green' |
Governments within the OECD are leading the effort to buy more environmentally friendly goods and services, with the objective of encouraging businesses and households to follow suit. |
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9 |
Grants give rise to green schools |
Grants have been awarded to promote the design and construction of a new generation of resource- and energy-efficient green school buildings under the Massachusetts Green School Program |
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10 |
UK firms paying more attention to environment - survey |
A survey conducted by Business in the Environment (BIE) indicated that British companies and investors are paying greater attention to the environment. |
SUMMARY REPORT
Period Covered: 25 Feb - 3 Mar 2002
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Item 1 |
Irish plastic bag levy becomes law |
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Summary |
The Irish Environment Minister, Noel Dempsey, signed Ireland's 1p environmental levy on plastic shopping bags into law with effect from March 2002. According to Ireland's Environment Department, plastic bags are a visible and persistent component of litter in towns, the countryside and even the coastlines. They had created a huge negative impact on ecosystems, habitats and wildlife. It is estimated that around 1.2 billion plastic bags are provided to consumers at retail outlets annually. The implementation of this levy legislation aims to bring about a significant reduction in the use of plastic bags and a subsequent reduction in the number of plastic bags that ends up as litter. The levy applies at the point of sale in all retail outlets and shop owners are obliged to pass on the full amount of the levy as a charge to customers at checkout. The levy applies to all bags other than small bags containing unpackaged fruit; ice; cooked food; meat fish and poultry and other bags for life. Revenue from the levy would be used to support environmental initiatives. |
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Reference |
Environmental Business Magazine, March 2002, pg. 8 |
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Item 2 |
Draft law approved to set EU-wide speed restrictions to curb vehicular emissions |
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Summary |
The European Parliament approved a legislative draft for further European Union-wide restrictions on the speed of commercial vehicles to reduce emissions and to attain fuel savings. Besides heavy trucks and buses, the executive European Commission would extend requirements to also make the fitting of speed limiters mandatory to lighter vehicles. The new rules would restrict the speed of all minibuses and "midi-buses" to 100 kilometers per hour and that of trucks weighing between 7.5 metric tons and 12 metric tons to 90kph. The Commission expected the new legislation to bring in enormous environmental benefits; huge savings in the fuel economy and fewer casualties. However, critics have different views. Reduction in speed limits to a large extent could lead to congestion effects, caused by more vehicles being trapped in long overtaking maneuvers. It could also impose additional costs on operators because of increased journey times. |
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Reference |
International Environment Reporter, Vol. 25, No. 4, pg. 153 - 154 |
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Item 3 |
Draft law approved to set EU-wide speed restrictions to curb vehicular emissions |
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Summary |
The European Parliament approved a legislative draft for further European Union-wide restrictions on the speed of commercial vehicles to reduce emissions and to attain fuel savings. Besides heavy trucks and buses, the executive European Commission would extend requirements to also make the fitting of speed limiters mandatory to lighter vehicles. The new rules would restrict the speed of all minibuses and "midi-buses" to 100 kilometers per hour and that of trucks weighing between 7.5 metric tons and 12 metric tons to 90kph. The Commission expected the new legislation to bring in enormous environmental benefits; huge savings in the fuel economy and fewer casualties. However, critics have different views. Reduction in speed limits to a large extent could lead to congestion effects, caused by more vehicles being trapped in long overtaking maneuvers. It could also impose additional costs on operators because of increased journey times. |
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Reference |
International Environment Reporter, Vol. 25, No. 4, pg. 153 - 154 |
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Item 4 |
Japan's NKK tests new generation fuel |
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Summary |
Japanese steel maker NKK Corp said it would begin road testing a truck that runs on a new generation fuel dimethylether (DME), a marker in the road towards widespread use of eco-friendly fuels. DME is produced from natural gases and coal and does not produce harmful substances during combustion. Its use would not bring about detrimental impact on the environment. NKK is developing a technology for low-cost mass production of DME and aims to start supplying DME in 2006. It is estimated that the potential market for DME in Asia as a replacement for LPG and as a generator fuel is 100 million tons a year by 2010. |
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Reference |
http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/14788/story.htm |
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Item 5 |
Electrokinetics may be used for more effective degradation of organic contaminants in soils |
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Summary |
The Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) has been working with the Oxford Centre for Environmental Biotechnology to develop an in situ remediation method that stimulates the microbial degradation of organic contaminants in soils. In order for micro-organisms to degrade organic contaminants effectively, there must be direct contact with the pollutants. The use of microbial soil remediation method under normal conditions may result in failure to successfully degrade the organic contaminants. This is because the contaminants may be locked within soil particles and are not in direct contact with the micro-organisms. To overcome this problem, CEH researched on the use of the soil electrokinetics technique to move organic pollutants relative to the organisms used in remediation to increase contact time and stimulating degradation. CEH has demonstrated the technique to be effective in improving microbial action. |
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Reference |
Environment Business Magazine, March 2002, pg. 13 |
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Item 6 |
'Global warming' satellite launched |
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Summary |
Envisat, one of the largest and most advanced satellites ever built, has been launched to gather information on greenhouse gases, as well as monitoring the oceans, Arctic and Antarctic ice melting and rain forests. It will orbit the earth every 100 minutes and is the first satellite to contribute to the monitoring of compliance of the Kyoto Protocols. |
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Reference |
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Item 7 |
Japan considers changing law to promote fuel cells |
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Summary |
The Japanese government is moving towards changing the existing energy law that only allows the use of fuel cells for business purposes in Japan. The use of fuel cells in commercial context subject the business to a number of business duties and strict safety standards. As the use of fuel cells emits only heat and water and result in exceptionally clean operations, the Japanese government is moving forward on deregulating it to encourage wide-spread use of the clean technology for general purposes. Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said that he wishes to achieve the goal of having fuel cells in practical use for cars and home appliances within three years with the deregulation of the technology while maintaining sufficient safety standards in the use. |
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Reference |
http://www.gnet.org/news/newsdetail,.cfm?NewsID=19709&image1=2 |
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Item 8 |
OECD Governments look to buy 'Green' |
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Summary |
A recommendation by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Council outlines the steps for governments within its auspices to consider environmental performance in public procurement. This green product recommendation followed the endorsement by OECD Environment Ministers in Paris last May of a series of environmentally preferable practices in the context of public procurement policies. |
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Reference |
http://www.earthvision.net/ColdFusion/News_Page1.cfm?NewsID=19763 |
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Item 9 |
Grants give rise to green schools |
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Summary |
US$776,900 has been awarded under the Massachusetts Green Schools Program to cover design costs for seven new or renovated 'green' schools in Massachusetts. Additional funding to cover green construction costs will be awarded later this year. The US$13.5 million initiative to promote the design and construction of a new generation of resource- and energy- efficient green school buildings, will cover up to US$130,000 for incremental design costs and up to US$500,000 for costs of installing renewable energy technologies and enhanced energy-efficiency measures. |
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Reference |
http://www.enn.com/extras/printer-friendly.asp?storyid=46445 |
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Item 10 |
UK firms paying more attention to environment - survey |
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Summary |
A survey by Business in the Environment (BiE) for its sixth Index of Corporate Environmental Engagement indicated that British companies and investors are paying greater attention to the impact of environmental responsibility on the performance of companies. An increase in participation of FTSE 100 and FTSE 350 companies indicated that leading companies were taking environmental issues more seriously. |
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Reference |
http://www.planetark.org/avantgo/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=14738 |