The Asian Development Bank (ADB) released a set of policy guidelines to help nations reduce vehicle emissions and called on the private sector to link up with an ADB-supported programme called the Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities. The initiative involves 20 cities in the region, 15 government agencies, and more than 40 non-government organizations and universities.

According to statistics compiled by the ADB, air pollution kills about 800,000 people annually around the world, about 500,000 of whom (or 60%) are Asians. The ADB is of the view that 'not enough has been done to ensure that people will be able to breathe clean air in the foreseeable future'.

The guidelines are contained in a series of studies. Among others, governments are called upon to adopt an integrated approach in maintaining engines and applying stricter emission standards, as well as to ensure the availability of cleaner fuels while mandating regular vehicle inspections.

The Japan government will campaign in 14 locations across Japan to encourage people to use public transport instead of cars. The campaign by the transport ministry is designed to help achieve reduction targets for greenhouse-gas emissions required under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol on global warming.

In Chikusino, Fukuoka Prefecture, Nishi-Nippon Railroad Co. will give railway passengers discounts on parking fees in lots near Futsukaichi Station, while in Miyazaki Prefecture, Miyazaki Kotsu Co. will offer three times the number of reward card stamps for passengers traveling on certain dates. Kobe's transportation department is planning to offer discount tickets that allow an entire family to use public transportation with just one ticket.

Meanwhile, in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, Iyo Railway Co. will provide smart cards that can be used for both buses and trams. The cards will enable unlimited travel once the upper limit of the daily fare has been surpassed. The global warming measures are in line with Japan's efforts to comply with the Kyoto Protocol, an international treaty to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Thailand's Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) is finalizing a set of guidelines, with the co-operation of its Ministry of Agriculture, to discourage the open burning of agricultural waste.

Under the guidelines, farmers would be encouraged to stop burning the waste they produced by being trained in alternative waste disposal methods. They would also be shown how to use waste as fertilizer and as a source of energy in biomass plants. Besides that, forestry officials also would work to prevent people in rural areas from burning down forest areas to clear land for agricultural use.

MONRE noted the guidelines would be helpful for Thailand to prepare for the ratification of the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution which requires signatories to impose strict controls on the open burning of waste.

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin found that organic wastes such as paper mill sludge or cheese can be converted into hydrogen using an inexpensive metal catalyst in a process that could boost efforts to replace oil and gas fuels.

After testing more than 300 metal combinations, the researchers found a mix of nickel, tin, and aluminum could separate hydrogen from a mixture rich in glucose. The combination metal catalyst worked as efficiently in laboratory tests as a much more expensive platinum catalyst and at a lower temperature and pressure.

The finding is regarded as a major technical breakthrough to separate hydrogen from other compounds and to store the fuel efficiently and safely. The most likely immediate application of hydrogen would be in fuel cells, which combine hydrogen and oxygen to make electricity, heat, and water.

Toshiba Ceramics Co., announced it has developed a new product, a lithium-silicate based ceramic material with exceptional carbon dioxide (CO2) absorption characteristics. The new material can absorb 400 times its own volume of CO2 at an unmatched rate of absorption, and can do so at room temperature. Toshiba also confirmed that the new ceramic is capable of over 500 cycles of absorption and discharge.

One application of Toshiba's CO2-absorbing ceramics is in thermal power plants, where they will provide the cheapest solution yet for capturing CO2. CO2 fixed in the new ceramic could also be recycled. Potential recycling of such captured CO2 could include delivery to beverage companies that use CO2 as an ingredient, a move that would cut CO2 emissions.

A study by researchers from the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health published in the June 2003 issue of the Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association has identified a significant association between vehicle traffic and curbside concentrations of carcinogens benzene, 1,3-butadiene and particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH).

Results showed that pollution levels varied 9- to 20-fold depending on both traffic volume and type of vehicle, with the lowest levels recorded in the middle of the night and the highest levels occurred in the morning rush hour. The findings also showed larger vehicles with more than two axles, such as buses and trailers, were found to emit 60 times more PAHs, 32 times more 1,3-butadiene, and 9 times more benzene compared with smaller vehicles with just two axles.

Japan's Ministry of the Environment is recommending specific industry targets to 'reduce, reuse, and recycle' waste, energy, and other resources to tackle Japan's waste-related problems. In a white paper titled 'Creation of Cyclical-based Society' released early June 2003, the MOE said it would like to see Japan develop a rhythm of production, recycling, and reuse to address its mounting waste problem. The paper urged stakeholders to do its part to recycle and reuse the 2.1 billion tons of 'material input' that Japan handles annually.

The paper recommends that Japan set the overall target to improve the raw material productivity ratio - which measures how well a raw material is used in terms of output - to US$3,390 per ton by 2010, compared with US$2,465 per ton now.

A simulation study by the California Institute of Technology (CIT) showed that while a hydrogen-based economy would improve urban air quality, uncertainty remains about its atmospheric effects. CIT's scientists reported that the higher levels of hydrogen could cool the stratosphere and lead to the destruction of the Earth's protective ozone layer by as much as 10 % due to hydrogen gas leakage. This could lead to more harmful ultraviolet radiation reaching the surface of the Earth.

The estimated potential damage to the stratospheric ozone levels was based on an atmospheric modeling programme that tests various scenarios, depending on how much hydrogen enters the atmosphere from all sources.