CHINA’s railway network now exceeds 150,000km following the opening of several new lines at the end of 2021, including various high-speed lines, taking the length of the high-speed network to more than 40,000km. Two-thirds of the total high speed rail network in the entire world is in China. According to China Railway (CR), China spent Yuan 748.9bn ($US 117.43bn) on investment in railway fixed assets in 2021, putting 4208km of new lines into operation, of which 2168km were high-speed lines. CR carried 1.37 billion passengers during the year.   China’s State Council released on 19 January 2022 the plan for rail … Continue reading China’s High-Speed Rail Network: Unstoppable Growth

Context China’s rapid economic development has been accompanied by environmental problems that have been the subject of much criticism. On March 12, the 44th Arbor Day in China, Liu Min and Hu Angang used detailed data to show the lesser well-known achievements of China’s forestry industry and the reasons that drove them. Key points From 1990 to 2016, the world’s forest area and carbon sink – the ability of forests to absorb and store carbon dioxide – entered a period of sustained decline. During the same period, China increased its forest area by a net 553,000 square kilometers, equivalent to 3.8 … Continue reading How China became the world’s largest contributor to forest growth

Wealthy senior citizens in the US and Australia have the highest per capita footprint, twice the average level of western Europe and more than triple that of Japan. … Elderly people consumed about a third more meat and dairy than their middle-aged compatriots, especially in Western European countries. The higher consumption of protein-rich food translates to greater amounts of energy needed to produce it. The growing ranks of wealthy senior citizens leading carbon-intensive lifestyles in developed countries pose a challenge for global efforts to reduce carbon emissions, according to a scientific study. The trend creates obstacles for the emission mitigation efforts of developing economies … Continue reading Wealthy senior citizens in developed countries pose carbon-reduction challenge for ‘world factories’ like China, Middle East, study finds

China aims to boost the annual output of its forest and grass industry to 9 trillion yuan ($1.42 trillion) by 2025, according to a five-year plan released recently by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration. In the next four years, China will establish a relatively complete modern forest and grass industry and build itself into a leader in the international trading of forest and grass products, with annual imports and exports reaching a value of $195 billion by 2025. “Related production, trade and consumption will rely more on the domestic market,” the plan said. “The forest and grass industry will … Continue reading China to boost forest and grass industries