China’s largest battery manufacturer plans $5 billion battery recycling factory
Chinese law imposes a duty on battery manufacturers to be responsible for recycling their products when they reach the end of their useful life.
East Asia
Mongolia to spend no less than one percent of GDP to plant one billion trees
The goal is to create a legal environment in which at least 1% of Mongolia’s GDP to be spent annually on combating climate change and desertification, and on increasing environmentally friendly and green facilities.
China to stop building coal plants abroad
China is the largest public financier of overseas coal plants. Last week, an alliance of 35 NGOs pressed the Bank of China to end the financing of such projects outside China in order to combat climate change.
China steps in to regulate brutal ‘996’ work culture
Many workers in China currently work more than 300 hours a month, far exceeding legal limits. Now, the Chinese government is stepping in to curb these abusive practices.
China bans written exams for six- and seven-year-olds as it retools education system
Beijing on Monday banned written exams for six- and seven-year-olds, as part of sweeping education reforms aimed at relieving pressure on pupils and parents in China’s hyper-competitive school system.
Japanese scientists produce first 3D-bioprinted, marbled Wagyu beef
The world of lab-grown meats is fast filling with all kinds of tasty bites, from burgers, to chicken breasts, to a series of increasingly complex cuts of steak.
Hong Kong cracks down on wildlife trafficking
A new bill empowers law enforcement to go beyond prosecuting carriers and mules and instead crack down on the criminal syndicates responsible for illegal wildlife trafficking.
South Korea to grant legal status to animals to tackle abuse and abandonment
The amendment will make South Korea one of a handful of countries to recognize animals as beings, with a right to protection, enhanced welfare and respect for life.
China pledges 2 billion vaccines globally through year’s end
A pledge by China to supply 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines to other countries this year expands the commitments made by a nation that is already the largest exporter of the shots by far.
Biggest China bank abandons $3 billion Zimbabwe coal plan
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. told Go Clean ICBC that it won’t fund the 2,800-megawatt Sengwa coal project in northern Zimbabwe.