Kyodo News reported that Japanese government officials revealed on the 21st that Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will propose achieving zero domestic greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 in his policy speech on the 26th. This will be Japan's clear timetable for achieving a decarbonized society. Abnormal climate change has led to a greater sense of crisis about climate change, and many countries around the world have announced a "zero emissions by 2050" policy. In view of this, the government believes that Japan also needs to accelerate the introduction of countermeasures. In his speech, Suga Yoshihide will propose "our country strives to achieve overall zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050" and announce his efforts to achieve a decarbonized society by 2050. The goal previously proposed by the Japanese government was to achieve net zero emissions as early as possible in the second half of this century. On the other hand, there are many issues facing the realization of decarbonization, such as how to deal with coal-fired power plants that emit a lot of carbon dioxide (CO2). This may also have an impact on the adjustment of the "Basic Energy Plan", a medium- and long-term energy policy guideline. Source: Environmental Information Center

The "TASS 2020 Asian Sustainable Supply + Circular Economy Exhibition" was held today (2nd) at the Kaohsiung Exhibition Center. In order to showcase the outstanding performance of Taiwan's SMEs in the circular economy and green sustainable development, the Ministry of Economic Affairs' Small and Medium Enterprises Administration specially planned to set up the "SME Sustainable Circular Supply Station". In addition to inviting 9 companies that received guidance this year to exhibit innovative green products and business models, the SME Administration will also award certificates and prizes to the companies. Huang Yaping, Group Leader of the SME Administration of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (fourth from the right in the front row), Xiao Yaogui, General Manager of the Plastics Center, and 9 certified companies took a group photo together. Huang Yaping, Group Leader of the SME Administration of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (fourth from the right in the front row), Xiao Yaogui, General Manager of the Plastics Center, and 9 certified companies took a group photo together. Photo by Plastics Center Huang Yaping, Group Leader of the SME Administration, said in her speech that 100 billion tons of natural resources are lost every year in the world, 90% of which are not recycled, indicating that recycling has great development potential. In particular, the US-China trade war and the pandemic have impacted the operations of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Small and medium-sized enterprises must prioritize and strive to innovate their operational models, particularly by embracing green innovation, increasing product value, and aligning with international standards. Huang Yaping noted that it's becoming a trend for businesses to adhere to international recycling standards and incorporate green sustainability frameworks and concepts into their operational models. Sharing the experiences and strengths of companies in various countries in the circular economy will inspire Taiwanese SMEs to continuously innovate their circular economy operational models, thereby expanding into the international market and tapping into global green business opportunities. Chi Li Industrial exhibited its "Fine Filtering Fan Unit (FFU) Monitoring System."

Environmentalists said today (2nd) that climate change has become the biggest threat to UN World Heritage sites such as glaciers and wetlands, and has pushed Australia's precious Great Barrier Reef to "endangered" status. Agence France-Presse reported that the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) revealed in a new report that a full one-third of the world's 252 sites listed as UNESCO natural heritage sites are now threatened by changes brought about by climate change. Overall, 94 sites face significant or critical risks due to various factors, including tourism, hunting, fire and water pollution, an increase from the 62 listed in the previous report in 2017. The study also suggests that the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic has also harmed some of the world's most beautiful and precious natural sites. However, climate change remains the biggest single threat to date. Source: Environmental Information Center

Swedish furniture and home furnishings retailer IKEA said today that it will offer to buy back thousands of old furniture in 27 countries and resell, recycle or donate them to community projects. The Associated Press reported that IKEA said today that the Black Friday event, which will run from November 24 to December 3, will be "an opportunity to meet customer needs by contributing to the circular economy." IKEA Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) Pia Heidenmark Cook said: "Achieving a circular economy is only possible through investment and collaboration with customers, other businesses, local communities and governments, so that we can eliminate waste and create a cycle of repair, reuse, renovation and recycling." Source: Environmental Information Center Central News Agency

The International Energy Agency (IEA) released its World Energy Outlook 2020 report on the 13th. The 464-page outlook notes that the turmoil caused by the COVID-19 pandemic will create a high degree of uncertainty in global energy use over the next 20 years. The outlook offers four scenarios, all of which show significant growth in renewable energy. This year's report offers four possible pathways, or scenarios, forecasting growth through 2040. All four scenarios show significant growth in renewable energy. In the IEA's most likely scenario, solar energy production will increase by 43% by 2040 compared to 2018 projections, partly due to solar prices being 20 to 50% cheaper than expected. The IEA notes that despite accelerating renewable energy growth and the structural decline of coal, it is premature to declare global oil use has peaked unless stronger climate action is taken. Similarly, natural gas demand could grow by 30% by 2040 unless policies to address global warming accelerate. This means that although global carbon dioxide emissions have peaked, they are still far from the rapid decline required to stabilize the climate. The IEA said that to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, all aspects of the global economy will need to exert "massive efforts", not just rely on the power industry. The main approach of this report is still the "Stated Policies Scenario" (STE).

According to a December 2020 NHK report, Japan's Ministry of the Environment has decided to conduct its first "Environmental Impact Survey" on the fashion industry, citing the environmental impact of various processes in the Japanese fashion industry, such as textiles, dyeing, and large inventories of discarded clothing. Prior to this, the Japanese fashion industry had submitted a "Proposal to Promote Sustainable Fashion Management" to the Environment Agency and invited industry figures to sign a petition to promote sustainability awareness and concrete actions within the fashion industry. The proposal addresses issues such as carbon emissions, water consumption in production, and plastic use, as well as improvements to address gender pay disparities, environmental impacts, and working conditions. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50854883486_6b2176c805_b.jpg Fashion figures including Watanabe Mitsuko (second from right) submitted the sustainability proposal to the Minister of the Environment. Image source: Ministry of the Environment The origin of this proposal actually stems from the impact of the building collapse accident in Savar District, Bangladesh in 2013. According to Wikipedia, there are several independent clothing factories in this building, including Benetton Group, Walmart, Monsoon Accessories, etc., which employ a total of about 5,000 workers. Long before the accident, cracks had appeared in the building that was illegally added with four floors, but the workers were still required to go to work, which eventually led to the world's highest number of building collapse disasters: 1,127 deaths and about 2,000 injuries.

While the vast amount of plastic products humans produce provides convenience, they also harm the planet due to their non-reusability. To address this problem, scientists have recently created a super enzyme that can "eat up" plastic waste in just a few days, rather than hundreds of years. According to CNN, the University of Portsmouth in the UK issued a statement stating that the research team combined PET hydrolase with another enzyme to create a new artificial enzyme. This new product can quickly act on polyethylene terephthalate (PET), breaking down PET, which originally took hundreds of years to decompose, into its basic components in just a few days, allowing it to be reused to make new plastic products. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is a widely used artificial plastic polymer and the most common thermoplastic used in beverage bottles, carpets, and clothing. Considering the super enzyme's extraordinary ability to decompose PET, if it can be successfully developed and mass-produced, it means that existing plastic products can be recycled and reused, saving a lot of energy while also solving the global waste and carbon emission problems. Source: Environmental Education Center

British media reports indicate that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is scheduled to present his green energy plan on the 18th, potentially announcing a ban on gasoline and diesel vehicles from 2030, five years earlier than originally planned. This would be the second time Johnson has brought forward the ban, highlighting the UK's commitment to achieving its net-zero carbon emissions target. The BBC and the Financial Times reported that the UK's gasoline and diesel vehicle ban could be brought forward to 2030, with hybrid vehicles banned in 2035. Sources familiar with the matter revealed that the UK government has not yet made a final decision. The UK originally planned to implement a gasoline and diesel vehicle ban in 2040, but Johnson announced in February that the ban would be brought forward to 2035. Johnson may now bring the ban forward again to 2030 as part of his green energy plan, a move his government has already postponed at least twice. Johnson is scheduled to unveil his green energy plan on the 18th, focusing on hydrogen, carbon capture and storage, offshore wind power, and home insulation, according to people familiar with the matter. He is expected to approve the construction of nuclear power plants such as Sizewell and invest in small modular reactors (SMRs), which are key technologies for reducing pollution but are too expensive without government subsidies.

The latest Australian research indicates that plastic microparticles can change the behavior of fish. Fish that eat plastic microparticles tend to become bolder, more active, and have lower survival rates than other fish. The Daily Mail reported that a research team from James Cook University in Australia captured juvenile fish in the waters of Australia's Great Barrier Reef and fed them plastic microparticles in addition to brine shrimp for four consecutive days. Scientists marked them and released them back into the sea to observe their behavior and study whether plastic microparticles have an impact on fish. Scientists said they do not think this is because plastic has a toxic effect on fish, but rather that fish become hungrier after eating plastic. This "nutritional demand pressure" prompts them to be more inclined to take risks in search of food, and this risky behavior makes them more vulnerable to being eaten by predators. Mark McCormick, the leading scholar of the study, said that the changes in fish behavior and their impact on survival are because fish become full after eating plastic microparticles but do not actually obtain nutrition. Source: Environmental Information Center

Following the joint announcement on the 24th by China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment and relevant departments banning the import of solid waste, Qiu Qiwen, Director of the Solid Waste and Chemicals Department of the Ministry, reiterated on the 30th that, effective January 1, 2021, China will prohibit the import of solid waste in any form. Statistics from the General Administration of Customs of China show that the total amount of solid waste imported by China has declined significantly in recent years, from 22.63 million tons in 2018 to 13.48 million tons in 2019. In the first ten months of 2020, China declared imports of 6.69 million tons of solid waste, a year-on-year decrease of 42.7%. China's environmental protection plan, launched in 2017, is entering its final phase. Within this policy framework, China has initially listed 24 types of solid waste in four categories for import ban, including plastics, auto parts, paper, textiles, and steel and wood scrap. China, once a major importer of solid waste, has been processing foreign solid waste within its borders for nearly 14 years. In 2017, China implemented restrictive measures for several months through an operation called "National Sword," rejecting certain waste products, including those difficult to recycle. Effective New Year's Day 2021, China banned the import of solid waste in any form and prohibited the dumping, storage, and disposal of solid waste from abroad.

The United Kingdom, once known as the "Empire on which the Sun Never Sets" for its global colonies, will now launch what it claims is the world's largest ocean monitoring system—the Baited Remote Underwater Video Systems (BRUVS)—to protect wildlife and biodiversity. This makes the UK the first country to develop a large-scale network of underwater video equipment. This network, part of the UK government's "Blue Belt" initiative, will monitor over 4 million square kilometers of ocean and enable British Overseas Territories to observe and manage marine wildlife. In a multinational collaboration with scientists, the UK will collect data on life in four oceans. Collaborative scientists from the UK Environment Fisheries and Aquarium Science Centre, the University of Western Australia, and the UK Overseas Territories will collaborate with Blue Abacus, the developer of BRUVS, to collect data using 66 BRUVS units deployed in open ocean and coastal habitats. BRUVS, equipped with 66-channel stereo sound, will be used to capture and analyze data from a wide range of species, including white marlin (Kajikia albida), sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus), silky shark (Carcharhinus falciformis), and many other animals.

According to reports, the National Development and Reform Commission of China and ten other government departments jointly issued the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Resource Utilization of Wastewater," stating that China will systematically implement wastewater resource utilization. The guidelines aim to significantly improve national wastewater collection efficiency by 2025, ensuring that wastewater treatment capacity in counties and cities meets the needs of local economic and social development, and that wastewater treatment in water-sensitive areas is substantially upgraded. Furthermore, the utilization rate of recycled water in water-scarce cities at the prefecture level and above will reach over 25%, and over 35% in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. "Wastewater resource utilization" refers to the harmless treatment of wastewater to meet specific water quality standards, using it as recycled water to replace conventional water resources for industrial production, municipal miscellaneous uses, residential use, ecological water replenishment, agricultural irrigation, and groundwater recharge. It also includes extracting other resources and energy from wastewater to optimize water supply structures, increase water resources, alleviate supply-demand imbalances, reduce water pollution, and ensure water ecological security.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF), a renowned British advocacy organization, has been committed to promoting circular economy issues since its establishment in 2010. A 2016 study by the Foundation indicated that only 14% of global plastic packaging is actually recycled, while 34% ends up in the natural environment. This has significant consequences, potentially leading to a greater concentration of plastic waste in the ocean than fish by 2050. This information has sparked widespread discussion and has been widely cited. Recognizing that current plastic usage patterns contribute to three major global crises—climate change, resource depletion, and environmental pollution—the Foundation, in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), launched the "New Plastics Economy Global Commitment" in 2018. This initiative aims to bring together the capabilities of corporate brands, industrial supply chains, and public and private institutions to promote plastic packaging use and development strategies aligned with the new economic development era. Starting with eliminating unnecessary plastic, the Foundation leverages innovative technologies and practices to ensure that essential plastic products are reusable, recyclable, or compostable, keeping plastics used in our daily lives out of the natural environment. The New Plastics Economy Global Commitment initiative has received strong responses from all sectors since its inception. In addition to professional investment institutions, government agencies and research institutions, there are also many well-known corporate brands participating. Its influence covers many international leading fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies.

Due to global ocean pollution, poor waste management, and monsoon-related issues, the beaches of the Indonesian resort island of Bali have recently become covered in plastic waste, giving the impression of being garbage dumps. According to The Guardian, Wayan Puja, an environmental and sanitation official in Padang, Bali, stated that 30 tons of garbage were cleared from Kuta, Legian, and Seminyak beaches on January 1st alone, a figure that doubled to 60 tons on January 2nd. Puja lamented, "Every day we deploy crews, trucks, and bulldozers, working diligently to clean the beaches, but the garbage continues to wash ashore." Denise Hardesty, a principal scientist at Australia's CSIRO, who collaborates with Indonesian marine pollution researchers, revealed that this is an annual occurrence, with the amount of garbage increasing over the past decade. Bali's beaches are often covered in garbage during the annual southwest monsoon. Hardesty said the surge in plastic waste is related to increased global plastic production. Although plastic waste is found on beaches around the world, it is more affected by seasonal factors in monsoon countries. Source: Environmental Information Center

Two French ministers announced in an interview published today (22nd) that the French government plans to introduce a crime known as "eco-cide," punishable by up to 10 years in prison or a fine of over NT$150 million for intentional violations of environmental laws. Justice Minister Eric Dupont-Moretti and Minister of the Ecological Transition Ministry Barbara Pompili told the French daily Journal du Dimanche (JDD) that "deliberate violations" of environmental regulations will be punishable by a fine of up to €4.5 million (approximately NT$152 million) or 10 years in prison. "We will create a universal crime of pollution," Dupont-Moretti said. "The penalties will be significantly heavier depending on the offender's intent." He added that the legislation aims to punish violators of environmental regulations with penalties "up to 10 times the profit they made by dumping waste into rivers."

With the Lunar New Year approaching, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is encouraging the public to use electronic red envelopes (hong bao). This will not only reduce queues at banks to exchange new banknotes, but also reduce the need to print large quantities of new banknotes for exchange, making it a more environmentally friendly practice. The MAS issued a press release today (11th) encouraging the public to use electronic red envelopes (hong bao) instead of physical red envelopes during the Lunar New Year holiday. This will help reduce queues and be more environmentally friendly. MAS noted that using electronic red envelopes instead of physical red envelopes can reduce the need for the large quantities of new banknotes typically deposited into banks after Lunar New Year. Furthermore, using electronic red envelopes can reduce queues at banks to exchange new banknotes. A MAS official stated in the press release that electronic gifting can also help reduce carbon emissions from the printing of new banknotes for Lunar New Year. Currently, it is estimated that the annual carbon emissions from printing new banknotes for Lunar New Year are approximately 330 metric tons.

Climate Home reported that the Danish Parliament signed a groundbreaking agreement on the evening of the 3rd to halt the issuance of new oil and gas exploration licenses and phase out fossil fuel production by 2050. The Middelgrunden offshore wind farm in Denmark. Photo credit: European Wind Energy Association (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0). Denmark has made the world's most aggressive climate commitments, becoming a green gas pioneer. Denmark has been extracting hydrocarbons in the North Sea for nearly 50 years and is the largest oil producer among countries that have pledged to phase out fossil fuel production. The minority Social Democratic government reached an agreement with five other parties to cancel the latest licensing round and all future tenders. The agreement also includes support for the development of alternative economies and job creation in the Esbjerg region, the largest offshore oil producing area. Climate and Energy Supply Minister Dan Jørgensen said he hopes the decision will inspire other countries to follow suit. "We are now putting an end to the fossil fuel era," he said. "Our activities in the North Sea will be consistent with the Climate Law's goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050." Greenpeace praised Denmark as a climate role model. "This is a watershed moment," said Helene Hagel, head of climate and environmental policy at Greenpeace Denmark. "Denmark can now say it is a green pioneer and inspire other countries to end their dependence on fossil fuels. This is a great milestone for the climate movement and all the people who have worked for it for so many years."