TABLE OF CONTENTS
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S/N |
Title |
Synopsis |
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I. Subject Area: Environmental Policy and Regulation |
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1 |
Philippines to Require Oil Companies to Reduce Aromatics, Benzene in Gasoline s |
The Philippines Government had set more stringent requirements on the emissions from unleaded gasoline. |
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2 |
EU Cracks Down on Off-Road Engine Emissions |
The Australia's economy would become more productive if the government were to adopt key energy reforms.European Commission proposed to strengthen the limits on nitrogen oxides and particulates emissions from off-road machinery. |
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3 |
EU Buildings Energy Law Reaches Statute Book |
The European Union enacted a new law on energy performance of buildings. |
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II. Subject Area: Waste Management and Recycling |
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435 |
France to Require Manufacturers, Distributors, Importers to Recycle Tires |
France enacted a new legislation which requires manufacturers, distributors and importers to collect and recycle used tires. |
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5 |
Free Battery Recycling Offered to Public Agencies |
Rechargeable battery recycling would be made available to public agencies free of charge under a new initiative from the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation in United States. |
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III. Subject Area: Climate Change |
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6 |
US Senate Bill Would Cap Greenhouse Gas Emissions |
The United States Senate introduced a bipartisan bill which attempts to curb global warming by establishing a market based trading system in greenhouse gas emissions. |
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7 |
Scientists Discover Global Warming Linked to Increase in Tropopause Height |
Researchers from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in United States discovered that the increase in the height of the tropopause over the past two decades was linked to ozone depletion and increased greenhouse gases. |
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V. Subject Area: General Environmental News |
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8 |
Initiative Targets Air Pollution from Ground Freight |
The United States Environmental Protection Agency is launching a new partnership programme aimed at reducing air pollution from trucks and other ground freight carriers. |
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9 |
Aseptic Packages Are Difficult to Recycle |
Aseptic packages which are used to ship food safely without refrigeration are difficult to recycle. |
SUMMARY REPORT
Period Covered: 6 Jan 2003 to 12 Jan 2003
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Item 1 |
Philippines to Require Oil Companies To Reduce Aromatics, Benzene in Gasoline Reduction In Off-Road Diesel Emissions Energy reform could boost Australia GDP |
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Summary |
The Philippines Government had set more stringent requirements on the emissions from unleaded gasoline. Oil firms would be required to reduce aromatics in unleaded gasoline to 35 percent starting from 1 January 2003, compared to the current 42 percent, and benzene to 2 percent from the current 4 percent. Vehicles would also be required to undergo emissions testing prior to registration. The government is also planning to issue an order requiring all oil firms in the country to submit a certificate of compliance with the new fuel specifications. |
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Reference |
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Item 2 |
EU Cracks Down on Off-Road Engine Emissions |
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Summary |
Australia's economy would become more productive if the government were to adopt key energy reforms.The European Commission proposed to strengthen the European Union (EU) limits on nitrogen oxides and particulates emissions from off-road machinery. The proposal would cover engines used in a wide range of machinery, especially those used in the construction industry and craft used on inland waterways. Under the proposal, the maximum allowable nitrogen oxides emissions from off-road machinery would be cut from the existing levels by 30 to 40 percent in 2006. Particulates limits could be made up to 90 percent tougher than current standards in 2010, subjected to confirmation in 2006. EU warned that without the curb, off-road machinery would be responsible for even more nitrogen oxides emissions than road transport by the year 2020 and nearly as much particulates. |
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Reference |
http://www.environmentdaily.com/articles/index.cfm?action=article&ref=13561http://www.planetark.org/avantgo/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=19205 |
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Item 3 |
EU Buildings Energy Law Reaches Statute Book |
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Summary |
The European Union (EU) enacted a new law on energy performance of buildings. Under the new law, EU member states must set up by 4 January 2006 a scheme to certify the energy performance of all buildings and carry out regular inspections of boilers and air conditioning systems. Those lacking an infrastructure to do this would have up to three extra years to create one. All building construction, sale and rental transactions would have to be accompanied by an energy performance certificate no more than ten years old so as to allow potential occupants to compare building efficiency. For large public service buildings, the certificate would have to be made available to the public. The new law also requires member states to lay down their own national minimum energy efficiency standards. |
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Reference |
http://www.environmentdaily.com/articles/index.cfm?action=article&ref=13563 |
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Item 453 |
France to Require Manufacturers, Distributors, Importers to Recycle Tires |
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Summary |
France enacted a new legislation which requires manufacturers, distributors and importers to collect and recycle used tires. Under the new legislation, distributors, principally 42,000 service stations, car repair shops, and other retail outlets that sell tires would be required to accept used tires from individuals on a "no-fee" basis. The government believed that this "no-fee" disposal policy would put an end to the rampant consumer practice of dropping used tires in public places for collection with municipal waste. The tire manufacturers and importers, including car companies would be required to gather used tires stored at distributor sites and coordinate the recycling and elimination. |
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Reference |
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Item 57 |
Free Battery Recycling Offered to Public Agencies |
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Summary |
The Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC), a non-profit public service organisation in United States, would make available the recycling of rechargeable batteries free of charge to public agencies starting from January 2003. The public agencies include federal, state and local governmental agencies, public hospitals, police and fire departments and military institutions. Under the new programme, RBRC would handle the collection of all small portable rechargeable batteries, including nickel-cadmium, nickel metal hydride, lithium ion and small sealed lead rechargeable batteries. RBRC would also provide collection kits at no cost and pay for all shipping, materials, processing and recycling costs. |
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Reference |
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Item 6 |
US Senate Bill Would Cap Greenhouse Gas Emissions |
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Summary |
The United States Senate introduced a bipartisan bill which attempts to curb global warming by allowing the trading of greenhouse gas emissions allowance on the open market. The legislation requires a reduction to 2000 carbon dioxide emissions levels by the year 2010, and a further reduction to 1990 levels by the year 2016. The bill would apply to emissions from the electricity generation, petroleum refining, industrial and commercial economic sectors. Companies would be required to submit one tradable allowance for each metric ton of greenhouse gases they emit, while petroleum refiners and importers would have to submit an allowance for each unit of petroleum product sold that would produce a metric ton of emissions. The Senate Commerce Committee would determine the number of emissions allowances each company would receive free of charge and how many would be auctioned off. Proceeds from the auction of these allowances would be used to reduce the energy costs of consumers and assist workers affected by the new policy. Companies could buy and sell credits among themselves, and could satisfy up to 15 percent of its emission reduction requirements by submitting tradable allowances from another nation's market in greenhouse gases or by contributing to projects that sequester carbon dioxide emissions. Companies would have the economic choice of reducing their emissions to reduce their required allowance or purchasing other companies' allowances to cover their continued emissions. Any companies that failed to meet the emissions limits set by the bill would be fined for each ton of greenhouse gases and those that have voluntarily undertaken efforts to reduce their greenhouse gases would receive credits which they could sell to other companies. |
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Reference |
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Item 7 |
Scientists Discover Global Warming Linked to Increase in Tropopause Height |
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Summary |
Researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in United States found that there had been a pronounced increase in the height of the tropopause over the past two decades. The tropopause is the transition zone between the lowest layer of the atmosphere and the more stable stratosphere. The increase was due to the warming of the troposphere, which was caused by increasing greenhouse gases, and cooling of the stratosphere, which was mainly caused by depletion of stratospheric ozone. This discovery supported the conclusion of the 2001 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change which stated that most of the observed warming over the last 50 years was likely to have been due to the increased in greenhouse gas concentrations. |
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Reference |
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/01/030106082326.htm |
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Item 8 |
Initiative Targets Air Pollution from Ground Freight |
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Summary |
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is launching a new partnership programme, known as the SmartWay Transport programme, aimed at reducing air pollution from trucks and other ground freight carriers. Charter partners in this programme include Canon USA, Inc., Coca Cola, the American Trucking Association, Federal Express Corporation, UPS, IKEA and Nike. These companies agreed to work with EPA to develop performance measures or goals to improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save fuel, and protect public health. The companies would take steps to reduce truck idling, upgrade truck tractor aerodynamics, improve freight moving operations, use wide based tires and automatic inflation systems, and reduce highway speed and weight. Participating companies could also earn SmartWay labels that would distinguish them as having made commitments to reducing emissions. The new partnership programme is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by as much as 18 million metric tons a year, and prevent emissions of up to 200,000 tons of nitrogen oxides a year. EPA projected that by 2012, the emissions reductions would be equal to taking 12 million cars a year off the road or saving 159 million barrels of oil a year. |
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Reference |
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Item 9 |
Aseptic Packages Are Difficult to Recycle |
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Summary |
Aseptic packages which are used to ship food safely without refrigeration are difficult to recycle. These packages are made up of 70 percent paper, 24 percent polyethylene and 6 percent aluminum and only recycling facilities that practice "hydrapulping", a process used on polyethylene-coated paper, can handle aseptic containers. Another problem with the recycling of aseptic packages was that the recycling mills considered the aluminum present in the packages to be a contaminant and were not willing to recycle the packages. Some areas, such as Maine, banned the use of aseptic packages in order to avoid the problem of recycling aseptic packaging. |
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Reference |
http://www.enn.com/news/enn-stories/2002/12/12312002/s_49251.asp |