Environment China

In this special mini-episode of Environment China, we again talk to Li Shuo of Greenpeace, following up on his earlier interview on the Biodiversity COP, as well as discussing how the recent crisis in China could affect the country's policies and efforts on the broader topics of biodiversity, wildlife protection, and climate change.   Li Shuo references a column by recent podcast guest Lauri Myllyvirta, of the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, available here: https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-coronavirus-has-temporarily-reduced-chinas-co2-emissions-by-a-quarter   Here is another article illustrating graphically how the reduction in industrial activity has influenced emissions, as observed by satellites. The question is, will additional stimulus lead emissions to rebound even more strongly?  https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-01/air-pollution-vanishes-across-china-s-industrial-heartland

Although Beijing still frequently suffers from stretches of heavy air pollution, the city has made astonishing improvements since the Airpocalypse of 2013, when for several days readings of PM2.5 (particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter, the most dangerous type of pollution in regional air pollution) literally went off the charts of the U.S. Embassy air quality monitor, which tops out at the U.S. EPA Air Quality Index value of 500. Today, Beijing averages around 40-50 micrograms of PM2.5 per cubic meter over the course of a year. That's still worse than international standards (the World Health Organization guideline is 10 micrograms/m3 on an annual basis for PM2.5), but showing steady improvement since 2013, when the annual average was well above 100. Progress elsewhere in China has been less dramatic. In this episode, we sit down to discuss air quality in Beijing and China with Lauri Myllyvirta, Lead Analyst with the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). Lauri has over 10 years of

In this episode, our panel sits down with Edmund Downie to discuss China’s vision for a Global Energy Interconnection, or 全球能源互联网 in Chinese. Downie is an energy analyst with the Analysis Group in Boston, and former Fulbright Scholar at Yunnan University in Southwest China.  In past roles with Yale and the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi, Downie has written extensively on South and Southeast Asia political and social issues, including for Foreign Policy magazine. While many Western analysts are skeptical about the Global Energy Interconnection plan, and its fantastical map of a world crossed by ultra-high voltage transmission lines stretching from New Zealand to Greenland and everywhere in between, Downie takes a nuanced view: “There are many things that GEI can achieve reflecting the interests driving GEI… The key is to think of [GEIDCO, the Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization] as a planning and research body that’s occupying a niche between global energy governance

Biodiversity loss and climate change have may of the same causes: ecosystem destruction both releases carbon into the atmosphere and shrinks the area available for threatened species to survive. Nature-based solutions are emerging as a framework to address these challenges together. Most recently, China and New Zealand were named co-chairs of the Nature-Based Solutions Track for the Climate Action Summit, one of nine areas the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is focusing on for solutions to the climate crisis. In this podcast, we sit down with Xi Xie from the Nature Conservancy to discuss Nature-Based Solutions in China and China's role in promoting NBS worldwide.  Xi Xie is the Climate Change and Energy Director for TNC China. She has 12 years of experience working on international climate efforts, both in government and NGO roles. She holds a bachelor's degree and a master's degree from Xi'an Jiaotong University. In the show, participants discuss a paper written in part by authors from TNC, Bronson

This week we join past guest and recent host, Anders Hove, for a journey to Inner Mongolia, Northern California, and Central Europe, where he recently tested the charging infrastructure on three long-distance electric vehicle road trips. We examine how EVs compare on fueling cost, emissions, and convenience, and discuss how the experience compared across the three regions, along with potential recommendations for policy-makers. Anders is a non-resident fellow with Columbia University's Center for Global Energy Policy as well as Project Director at GIZ China.  He is the co-author with Prof David Sandalow of Columbia University of the recent paper "Electric Vehicle Charging in China and the United States": https://energypolicy.columbia.edu/research/report/electric-vehicle-charging-china-and-united-states https://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/11172-Electric-vehicle-charging-What-can-the-US-and-China-learn-from-each-other- Yiyang Chenzi and Cynthia Wang serve as co-hosts this week. We hope you en

Li Shuo, Senior Global Policy Advisor at Greenpeace East Asia, gives a preview of the biggest issues on the table at the climate COP (Conference of the Parties) this year in Madrid, and what role China will likely play in the proceedings.  Li Shuo's official bio: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/person/li-shuo Li Shuo on Twitter: https://twitter.com/lishuo_gp?lang=en Link to COP 25 official web page: https://unfccc.int/cop25 (Note: episode republished due to sound issues.) The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is a carbon trading mechanism that has enabled developed countries to offset their own emissions by investing in or purchasing credits from carbon reduction projects in developing countries: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clean_Development_Mechanism.  

China's data centers currently consume over 2% of China's electricity production and that share is growing quickly. In today's episode, we sit down with Greenpeace East Asia's Ye Ruiqi to discuss how some companies are turning to renewable energy to meet the growing need for clean energy to power data centers.  A link to the report Powering the Cloud: How China's Internet Industry Can Shift to Renewable Energy, from September 2019, can be found here: https://www.greenpeace.org/international/press-release/24112/electricity-consumption-from-chinas-internet-industry-to-increase-by-two-thirds-by-2023-greenpeace/  Ruiqi is a climate and energy campaigner from Greenpeace East Asia, and covers topics like China’s renewable energy development, power market reform, and IT sector sustainability. Before joining Greenpeace, Ruiqi worked as a grassroots organizer at the US Public Interest Network after graduated from University of California Santa Barbara. In the episode, we reference Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs). You

Professor David Sandalow is the Inaugural Fellow at Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy. Prior to Columbia, David served in senior positions in the US government – at the White House, State Department and US Department of Energy. He’s also served in various roles at the Brookings Institution, the Clinton Global Initiative, and the World Wildlife Fund. In this episode we discuss developments in China climate policy over the past year, as well as the most recent news concerning China’s carbon trading system as well as a prominent speech on energy security by the Premier of China, Li Keqiang. David Sandalow, Guide to China Climate Policy 2019, Columbia University https://energypolicy.columbia.edu/explore-guide-chinese-climate-policy-2019-david-sandalow https://www.amazon.com/Guide-Chinese-Climate-Policy-Sandalow/dp/1726184307 Yao Zhe and Tom Baxter, The 14th Five Year Plan: what ideas are on the table? China Dialogue, August 2019 https://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/11434-The-

We sit down to talk about the recent history and far future of urban planning and design in China and worldwide with Sebastian Ibold, Project Director for the project Sino-German Cooperation on Low Carbon Transport, GIZ. Sebastian has a rich past life as a consultant on urban planning issues and consulting in Asia, and his current work relates to rethinking urban mobility, shaping the city around an integration of the needs of users, technology, and sustainability.  At the end of the episode, we play a scenario analysis betting game based on a report, "The Politics and Practices of Low-Carbon Urban Mobility in China," from the Centre for Mobilities Research, Lancaster University, and the Graduate School at Shenzhen, Tsinghua University. The report is available at https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/42416653.pdf.  The episode's title is from a poem by William Cowper: https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/god-made-country. Sebastian references Dutch-American sociologist Saskia Sassen. Her biography, bibliography, and var

As the way China eats transforms, food activism and education are rising to address these changes. This week’s episode of Environment China collaborates with Erwin Li of Chewing the Fat, a podcast from Yale’s sustainable food program, to interview Zhou Wanqing about her research and grassroots organizing in China. Starting with an overview of the country’s food system, we then discuss the ways Chinese people have historically eaten, and what this means for a trend like a plant-forward diet. In other words, in what ways should place and culture inform or complicate our approaches to food and agriculture, even ones sometimes seen as universal? How do collaborations then emerge to transform the relationships between people, food, farming, and the environment?

With the U.S. announcing its intention to withdraw from the Paris Agreement and China now embracing the concept of global climate governance, it’s easy to forget that 20 years ago, discussion of climate change in China was almost nonexistent. One person particularly well-placed to reflect on China’s transformation into a purported environmental hero is Barbara Finamore, founder of the Natural Resources Defense Council’s China Program and author of the book Will China Save the Planet?. Although China has certainly come a long way from the days when NRDC first started sharing its experience on energy efficiency and “negawatts” in the 1990’s, it is still a land of contradictions. We sat down with Barbara to explore China’s ongoing battle to fundamentally transform its economy in order to protect public health and reduce emissions, and the challenges it faces both domestically and globally.  You can check out Barbara’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Will-China-Planet-Barbara-Finamore/dp/1509532641

Environment China is back from hibernation with a series of new interviews! First up, today’s episode was recorded live at the Beijing Bookworm International Literary Festival. It was an honor to be invited back for the second year in a row to host a panel about the biggest stories coming out of China’s energy and environmental field over the past year. Our producer and host Lili Pike moderates a panel with three expert guests: Ma Tianjie, Managing Editor of chinadialogue Beijing; Alvin Lin, Climate and Energy Policy Director at Natural Resources Defense Council China; and Lijing, a freelance environmental journalist based in Beijing. They discuss the top environmental news stories from the past year from how the trade war has impacted environmental governance to the evolution of the Belt and Road Initiative. Tune in for a riveting conversation, and we’ll be back in two weeks with our next episode! Also be sure to check out our new website, created by our producer Erin Wong! https://www.environmentchinapodcas

马天杰，中外对话北京运营副主编。加入中外对话之前，他担任绿色和平中国大陆项目总监。他于2009年取得美利坚大学国际环境政策硕士学位。他的英文博客Panda Paw, Dragon Claw (中文名：萌猛哒) 致力于从主流媒体以外的视角去记录和分析中国海外投资的足迹。 如果您有兴趣关注中外对话，请登录中外对话官网 https://www.chinadialogue.net/ 如果您有兴趣阅读Panda Paw, Dragon Claw 博客, 请点击 https://pandapawdragonclaw.blog/   Ma Tianjie is Beijing Managing Editor of chinadialogue. Before joining chinadialogue, he was Greenpeace's Program Director for Mainland China. He holds a master’s degree in environmental policy from American University, Washington D.C. His English blogPanda Paw, Dragon Claw, is a conversation about China‘s footprint beyond its border. If you are interested in learning more about chinadialogue, please visit https://www.chinadialogue.net/ If you are interested in reading Panda Paw, Dragon Claw, please go to https://pandapawdragonclaw.blog/    

This week, we have a special episode that was recorded LIVE in Beijing at an event on July 5th.  Environment China hosted an evening panel discussion on the growing trend of podcasting and podcasters in Beijing.  We were joined by hosts and producers from four relatively new Beijing-produced podcasts, including: Zhang Ya Jun from the Wo Men podcast, John Artman from the China Tech Talk podcast, Brendan Davis from the Big Fish in the Middle Kingdom podcast, and our own Noah Lerner from Environment China. The evening was moderated by another of our hosts and producers, Kate Logan.  As you'll hear, Kate led an interesting discussion on the origin stories and motivations behind each of the shows, as well as on some technical talk and tips on how each of the guests sets up, records, and produces their show.

“十三五”煤控目标如何实现，“一带一路”建设如何促进绿色发展，是目前中国能源环境问题的两个重要焦点。华北电力大学袁家海教授作为电力经济和电力低碳转型的专家，从电力发展的角度就以上问题开展了深度研究。在这期节目中，袁教授将通过实地调研案例，与我们分享他在 “十三五”电力行业控煤政策研究以及“一带一路”绿色电力合作研究中的发现。如果希望进一步阅读相关研究成果，可以在网络上搜索《持续推进电力改革 提高可再生能源消纳》，下载这份报告。 Our guest this episode is Professor Yuan Jiahai from North China Electric Power University, an expert in electric power development and its low carbon transition. During the past few years, Prof. Yuan has done extensive research on how China's electric power development is meeting coal cap goals. He also travelled to a number of countries to research on China's green electric power cooperation with Belt and Road Initiative countries. He is very excited to share his findings with us.

In today’s episode, we check the millennial box and take a look at blockchain -- and its energy implications. Alarming headlines came out earlier this year charting the rising energy consumption of Bitcoin and tracing the majority of its mining operations back to China. We are joined by Sophie Lu, head of China Research at Bloomberg New Energy Finance, who has written a report on the topic. She describes why Bitcoin mining consumes so much electricity, why it is taking place in China, and what future power consumption might be as demand for Bitcoin rises but its manufacture also becomes more efficient. Sophie also discusses the broader potential environmental benefits of the blockchain technology behind Bitcoin – particularly its use in making supply chains more transparent and facilitating distributed energy grids.

在国际NGO“野生动植物保护国际”负责具体的研究项目几年之后，木兰科植物研究者赵兴峰和灵长类动物研究者宋晴川认为对动植物的保护比起研究更加紧迫。随着中国生态文明建设的不断深入，兴峰和晴川与几个志同道合的朋友共同创立了社会企业“大戟自然”，希望利用自己的科研背景、国际NGO的工作经验以及商业化的模式，为中国大大小小的自然保护地提供管理运营的解决方案。如果希望进一步了解大戟自然，可以关注“大戟自然”的微信公众号。   Our guests for this episode are Song Qingchuan and Zhao Xingfeng, who are both researcher-turned-social entrepreneurs in ecological protection. After working in international NGOs on special research projects for a few years, Song and Zhao decided to make the change and be the change in their ways to protect the ecological environment they are passionate about. By combining their technical expertise and business minds, Song, Zhao and a few like-minded friends established Daji Nature, a social enterprise that offers business solutions to the management of protected areas in China, which they believe is practical and replicable.

What if we could turn smog into diamonds? This seemingly far-fetched idea is actually not so far from reality: a Dutch designer recently installed a tower in one of Beijing's most well-known art districts which does exactly that. While the installation is more art than long-term pollution solution, what if the growing movement of pollution-focused art in China could influence policy and the way that environmental issues are regulated, thus posing scalable impacts? We sit down with Dr. Kathinka Fürst, assistant adjunct professor of environmental policy at Duke Kunshan University, to discuss her recent research on smog art in China. Dr. Fürst sheds light on how artists are confronting pollution challenges with creativity and innovation, as well as the role that art could potentially play by impacting policy. She also touches on her previous research on environmental civil society in China as a pollution regulator. You can read more about Dr. Fürst's work on her webpage: https://dukekunshan.edu.cn/en/environment

在良好的环境中工作、生活，是我们每个人都应当享有的权利。当环境污染侵害到了我们正常工作和生活的权益，我们可以通过法律途径要求污染者停止污染，向他们获取赔偿，维护自己的权益。然而，不具备环境法律权益知识的污染受害弱势群体，是否会被剥夺通过法律维护自身权益的权利？今天做客环境中国播客的嘉宾，中国政法大学王灿发教授，几十年来除了在环境法领域不断深耕，也致力于用自己的知识服务于社会大众，提高公众的环境维权意识，维护污染受害者的环境权益。他于1998年创立了全国第一家免费向污染受害者提供法律帮助的民间环保组织，并于1999年开通了污染受害者法律帮助热线，目前已经帮助700多起污染案件受害者向法院提起诉讼。希望了解更多污染受害者法律帮助中心，可以微信搜索“环境法律帮助”，关注他们的公众号。 We all have a right to work and live in a healthy environment. When pollution impedes this right, legal measures can be taken on behalf of victims. What happens to those who do not know their legal rights? How do victims that are not aware of environmental rights advocate for pollution compensation? Our guest on Environment China today is Professor Wang Canfa, a veteran environment law expert who is a vehement advocate of spreading legal knowledge to all members of society. In 1998, he established the first grassroots environmental NGO, China Legal Assistance to Pollution Victims, to provide legal help to pollution victims and opened a telephone hotline to serve as many

Meet Joe and Carrie, the couple spreading the zero waste gospel in China. The dynamic duo opened the first zero waste store, “The Bulk House”, in China this year, selling products to help others live the zero waste lifestyle they adhere to. In today’s episode, they walk us through a day in the life of a zero waster - guiding us through everything from how to eat without waste to the world of eco-friendly toothbrushes and toilet paper. They also reflect on their choice to start a business rather than a non-profit in order to have a wider impact. For more information on their shop and movement, search “The Bulk House” on WeChat.