China to ban all variants of deadly drug
China announced it will ban all variants of a powerful opioid responsible for many of the deaths in America’s opioid crisis.
East Asia
Honda to electrify 100% of its European sales by 2025
Honda revealed their ambition to make 100% of its European sales electrified by 2025. This has built on the vehicle manufacturer’s previous goal of two thirds electrified by 2025.
Asia Pacific region installed 25 GW of onshore wind in 2018
The Asia Pacific region installed a total of 24.9 gigawatts (GW) of onshore wind in 2018, bringing the region’s cumulative capacity up to an impressive 256 GW. 145 GW of new onshore capacity are expected to be brought online by 2023.
Beijing will implement Stage 6 emissions rules in 2019 – reducing CO2 and NO2 emissions by 50%
Currently, Stage V rules, based primarily on regulations promulgated by the European Union, are in force. Stage VI rules will slash carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions by 50% below those already strict Stage V level.
Earth has more tree and leaf coverage now than in 2000, thanks to China and India
According to U.S. NASA, there are now more than 2 million sq miles of extra leaf area per year, compared with the early 2000s — a 5% increase. The greening effect stems mainly from ambitious tree-planting and intensive farming in China and India.
Japanese city of Otsu is using AI to prevent youth suicides
The hope is that the AI will allow school officials to identify the bullying cases that are likely to escalate in seriousness so that they can intervene and diffuse the situation before it’s too late.
Plug-in electric car sales skyrocket in China
2018 PEV sales in China ended at over a million units. For some context, 2017 was the first year that plug-ins reached 1 million sales globally.
Scientists invent new carbon capture technology that generates electricity by sucking up CO2
Researchers in South Korea and Georgia say they’ve devised a system that captures atmospheric carbon in water and uses the reaction to generate electricity and hydrogen.
China postpones plan to lift the 25-year ban on endangered animals
Environmentalists said that lifting the ban could have devastating effects for rhinoceros and tiger populations. Yesterday, the Chinese Government postponed plans to lift this ban.
The City of Taipei & Tesla partner on new clean energy startup incubator
The City of Taipei, Taiwan, has joined forces with Tesla to establish a new 1.5 hectare hub to help local startups find footing and get training for new energy ventures in the city.