Source: Sup China (1/6/20)
The Yangtze River Paddlefish Is Extinct
THE EDITORS

SupChina illustration by Derek Zheng

The Yangtze (长江 cháng jiāng) is the longest river in Asia, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country, all the way from the Tibetan Plateau to its mouth on the East China Sea near Shanghai.

Sadly, pollution and overfishing have decimated the unique ecosystem of the river, endangering species such as the Yangtze finless porpoise and the Chinese alligator. Last week, the Chinese government announced a 10-year ban on commercial fishing on the Yangtze River. But this came too late for one of the great river’s native species. The South China Morning Post reports:

The Chinese paddlefish, one of the world’s largest freshwater fish species and a native of the Yangtze River system, has been declared extinct.

Also known as the Chinese swordfish, the species grows up to 7 meters long and is believed to have vanished between 2005 and 2010. Chinese scientists made the announcement in a research paper published in Science of the Total Environment last week.

Source: Sup China (11/4/19)
Rising Sea Levels To Sink Shanghai, Says Study
By The Editors

Photo credit: SupChina illustration

Shanghai in Chinese literally means “upon the sea” (上海 shànghǎi). But if the projections in a new study are correct, China’s most populous city may very well be “under the sea,” or 下海 xiàhǎi, by the end of the century.

The new calculations: Two scientists at an organization called Climate Central found a more accurate method to estimate land elevation from satellite data.

• Sea level rise due to climate change will be at least 0.5 meters by the end of the century, even with “sharp, immediate cuts to carbon emissions,” and levels could rise by two meters or more.
• Tens of millions more people than previously thought are vulnerable to these rises in sea level, when compared with the more accurate land elevation data.

Continue reading →

Source: The New Republic (9/20/19)
“What About China?” Is a Bad Response to the Climate Crisis
Unlike Washington, Beijing has at least gestured at a national plan to fight global warming.
By DANIEL K. GARDNER

Beijing smog in 2015 (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

Whenever the subject of climate policy comes up in the United States, someone in the room, sooner or later, is sure to point out that China today emits more carbon dioxide than the U.S. What is China doing to tackle the climate crisis, they ask.

Together, China and the U.S. are responsible for a walloping 43 percent of the world’s total annual carbon emissions. If the world is to keep the planet from warming more than two degrees over pre-industrial levels, neither country can stay on the sidelines. But there’s a profound difference, so far, in how the two countries have approached the issue. In the U.S., public concern has driven government engagement with the climate. Prodded by an increasingly agitated and vocal public, Democratic politicians, including 2020 presidential hopefuls, are increasingly discussing a potential Green New Deal, and other plans to deal with the crisis. But what will come of any of this is anybody’s guess, and any meaningful, concerted action by Washington will likely have to wait until the current president leaves office. While individual climate-aware states and cities are helping to compensate, the national government remains in a holding pattern. Continue reading →

Source: Japan Times (12/6/18)
China’s unbridled export of coal power seen as imperiling climate goals
AFP-JIJI

Workers sort coal on a conveyer belt near a mine in Datong, in China’s northern Shanxi province, on Nov. 20, 2015. | AFP-JIJI

Source: Caixin (7/24/18)
Ecology Ministry More Than Doubles Number of Cities in Air Quality Ranking
By Li Rongde

Clear skies greet tourists visiting the Summer Palace in Beijing on June 27. Photo: VCG

China’s environmental watchdog has more than doubled the number of cities in its monthly air quality ranking in a bid to pressure authorities to clean up pollution in their respective areas.

The Ministry of Ecology and Environment said Monday that it will now rate air quality in 169 Chinese cities each month, up from the previous total of 74. It will also highlight the 20 cities with the cleanest air and the 20 cities with the worst air pollution every month, up from the 10 best and worst it published before, the ministry said. Continue reading →

Source: Sixth Tone (7/12/18)
Environmental Whistleblower Gets Prison Sentence
Chinese authorities confirmed industrial waste dumping in Henan, yet the man who reported it has been convicted of damaging the polluters’ reputations.
By Fan Liya

Photographer’s Choice/VCG

A whistleblower has been sentenced to 17 months in prison for “disturbing market order” after reporting industrial pollution in central China’s Henan province — even though provincial environmental protection authorities have confirmed that his accusations were true.

Zhang Wenqi was sentenced by the court of Wuzhi County on Monday on charges of fabricating facts and causing financial losses to three companies in the province, The Beijing News reported Tuesday. The public prosecutor brought forward the criminal case after the two paper companies and a technology company complained that Zhang’s allegations had damaged their business reputations and caused substantial losses. Continue reading →