Environment Report 14 Jul to 20 Jul 2003

TABLE OF CONTENTS

S/N	Title	Synopsis
I. Subject Area: Environmental Policy and Regulation
1	OECD Nations Question Effectiveness of Voluntary Environmental Initiatives	The OECD released a new report questioning the effectiveness of voluntary environmental initiatives on both economic and environmental grounds
2	Japan To Propose Carbon Tax On Fossil Fuels	The Environment Ministry of Japan will propose to introduce a carbon tax on petroleum, natural gas, and coal in fiscal year 2005.
II. Subject Area: Environmental Technology
3	Joint US-EU Efforts To Advance Hydrogen Economy	The US and the EU agreed to accelerate collaboration on establishing a hydrogen economy that cuts air pollution significantly.
4	Toyota's Environment-Friendly Automobiles	Toyota will start using, from 2004, a new environmental impact assessment system that calculates the environmental burden a vehicle poses during its entire life cycle.
5	Fuel Efficiency Trumps Fuel Cells	Two US energy experts cast more doubt on a push to develop hydrogen-powered cars as a means to cut air pollution and reduce oil imports.
III. Subject Area: Environmental Health
6	UK Food Watchdog Says Public Wary Of Biotechnology	Britain's consumers are wary about genetically modified (GM) food and need clear information about the technology, according to the country's government-backed food watchdog, the Food Standards Agency.
IV Subject Area: Waste Recycling
7	Columbia Launched "Solid Waste Exchange"	Columbia's Bogata Department of Environment launched a "Solid Waste Exchange" with the aim of maximizing the recycling of such rubbish in the city.

SUMMARY REPORT

Period Covered: 14 Jul to 20 Jul 2003

Item 1	OECD Nations Question Effectiveness Of Voluntary Environmental Initiatives
Summary [Back to Table of Contents]	The OECD released a new report questioning the effectiveness of voluntary environmental initiatives on both economic and environmental grounds, although governments are increasing turning to voluntary initiatives with the private sector as they seek to implement environmental policy goals. The OECD points out there are few cases where voluntary approaches have improved the environment "significantly different from what would have happened anyway." Voluntary approaches are often economically inefficient as the cost of achieving additional improvements differs considerably among individual polluters, because environmental targets are set for firms or sectors, rather than at the national level.
Reference	International Environment Reporter Vol. 26, No. 14, Pg 663

Item 2

Japan To Propose Carbon Tax On Fossil Fuels

Summary

[Back to Table of Contents]

The Environment Ministry of Japan will propose to introduce a carbon tax on petroleum, natural gas, and coal in fiscal year 2005. The recommendation is to collect tax from importers or refiners when products are shipped. The debated tax rate is revolving around US$30 per ton of carbon, translating into about US$0.017 per litre of gasoline. Such a rate could generate tax revenues of about US$7.7 billion for the Japanese government.

The government is also looking into recommending that the proceeds from the tax be used for the development of energy conservation technologies, such as fuel cells and hybrids of motor vehicle engines, and electric motors, and domestic reforestation. In earlier discussions, the Central Environment Policy Council, which reports to the environment minister, debated meeting one-third of Japan's Kyoto Protocol commitment with the introduction of new energy conservation technologies to be financed by the tax.

Reference

International Environment Reporter Vol. 26, No. 14, Pg 693

Item 3

Joint US-EU Efforts To Advance Hydrogen Economy

Summary

[Back to Table of Contents]

The United States (US) and the European Union (EU) agreed to accelerate collaboration on establishing a hydrogen economy that cuts air pollution significantly. According to the White House, this combined effort will enable both nations to:

further sustainable economic growth;

encourage development of universally compatible codes, standards, and regulations;

strengthen joint research and development; and

work mutually to foster public-private partnership

Both US President and EU Commission president have made the development of hydrogen economy a major priority.

In May 2003, US and EU hydrogen technical experts met to identify potential areas for cooperation, including codes and standards and fuel cell technology, production, and storage. This is part of President Bush's US$1.2 billion hydrogen fuel initiative to accelerate the development of a hydrogen infrastructure and commercialization of hydrogen powered fuel cells.

Reference

International Environment Reporter Vol. 26, No. 14, Pg 674

Item 4

Toyota's Environment-Friendly Automobiles

Summary

[Back to Table of Contents]

Toyota will start using from 2004, a new environmental impact assessment system that calculates the environmental burden a vehicle pose during its entire life cycle, from raw materials procurement to the disposal of end-of-life vehicles. The new system, called the Eco-VAS (Vehicle Assessment System), is the first of its kind in the world.

Key Features of the system include:

set environmental impact reduction targets for the new vehicle at the stage;

assessment range covers fuel efficiency and noxious gases (e.g. carbon dioxide, hydrocarbon, nitrogen oxide, particulate matter, sulphur oxide, etc), noise levels, the disposal recovery rate of materials, and the reduction of substances of environmental concerns such as lead and arsenic; and

allow project leader or officer responsible to have access to an environmental database, check progress, check progress and make adjustments if needed via a computer network.

Toyota explained that the environment is the company's top priority as the increase in cars over the next 20 years is going to have a tremendous impact on the global environmental and energy issues.

Reference

International Environment Reporter Vol. 26, No. 14, Pg 694

Item 5

Fuel Efficiency Trumps Fuel Cells

Summary

[Back to Table of Contents]

Two US energy experts cast more doubt on a push to develop hydrogen-powered cars as a means to cut air pollution and reduce oil imports.

According to David Keith, assistant professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and Alexander Farrell, associate professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, cheaper and faster ways already exist to achieve the same effect, including raising fuel efficiency and toughening environmental standards. They said that better fuel efficiency, improvements to car technology and stricter environmental rules could reduce air pollution at less than one-hundredth the cost of hydrogen cars and would be more effective for several decades.

President Bush has proposed spending US$1.5 billion over five years to spur development by 2020 of cars that run on hydrogen fuel cells in order to cut dependence on imported oil. The European Commission plans to spend close to US$2.3 billion on hydrogen-related research over the next four years.

Reference

http://www.wired.com/news/autotech/0,2554,59687,00.html

Item 6

UK Food Watchdog Says Public Wary Of Biotechnology

Summary

[Back to Table of Contents]

Britain's consumers are wary about genetically modified (GM) food and need clear information about the technology, according to the country's government-backed food watchdog, the Food Standards Agency (FSA).

FSA concluded that consumers do not have entrenched views on GM food, but there is a suspicion of GM and there is lack of readily understood information. The conclusions of the study which involved three years of intensive research, will be taken into account as the government considers whether gene-sliced crops should be grown commercially.

British consumers were most worried about the potential impact of the crop on the environment and that the safety of GM food was less of an issue. Consumers also want to be able to make a choice between GM and non-GM food and clear and effective labeling was crucial to achieving that goal.

Reference

http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstorey.cfm/newsid/21551/newsDate/18-Jul-2003/story.htm

Item 7

Columbia Launched "Solid Waste Exchange"

Summary

[Back to Table of Contents]

Columbia's Bogata Department of Environment launched a "Solid Waste Exchange" with the aim of maximizing the recycling of such rubbish in the city. The Exchange, a nonprofit enterprise, is an information clearinghouse designed to connect producers and recyclers of solid waste and to reduce the participation of private-sector middlemen in marketing recyclable materials. It also seeks to provide factories and other businesses that generate solid waste with a tool to reduce their costs and improve their competitiveness and compliance with environment norms.

Participants of the Exchange are asked to provide basic information about their companies and the category of the waste they generate. This information then will be matched with specific capabilities of the recyclers. The administrator of the Exchange will also oversee the negotiation of a contract for waste collection between the two parties.

Reference

International Environment Reporter Vol. 26, No. 14, Pg 692

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