TRAINING TRIP: Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy vessels sail into the West Pacific for the year's first open-sea training exercise on January 31 (LI YUN)

Climate Saver

Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. Ltd., a leading solar energy company based in the city of Baoding in north China's Hebei Province, becomes the first Chinese business and also the first photovoltaic (PV) manufacturer to join the World Wildlife Fund's Climate Savers program.

Yingli is the first Chinese company to set a specific renewable electricity consumption target, the fund said.

Yingli has agreed to reduce the intensity of its greenhouse gas emissions per megawatt (mw) of PV module production by 13 percent by the end of 2015 in comparison to 2010 levels.

The company also plans to reduce emissions from purchased goods and services per mw of PV module production by 7 percent and to reduce emissions from upstream transportation by 10 percent by the end of 2015.

Thirty companies have joined Climate Savers since 1999, setting targets for emission reduction and working with other companies, suppliers and partners to implement solutions for a clean, low carbon economy.

Widening Wetlands

Wetland conservation efforts by the government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and individuals have paid off in northwest China's Qinghai Province, which now holds the largest share of the country's wetlands.

Wetland growth partly resulted from increasing rainfall and expanding headwaters on the Yangtze River, said Cai Ping, Deputy Director of Qinghai Wildlife and Nature Reserve Administration.

By the end of 2012, Qinghai's wetland area had reached 8.16 million hectares, roughly marking a 50-percent increase from 1997, according to data released by the province's forestry department in late January.

"But human factors are more worthy of note," he added, pointing to the provincial government's continuous investment and public participation.

Qinghai has thus far established seven wetland nature reserves at the provincial level or above, including Qinghai Lake and Hoh Xil nature reserves. They cover a total area of 21.2 million hectares, or nearly 30 percent of the province's total area.

Over the past five years, Qinghai Lake, Gyaring Lake and Ngoring Lake, three Chinese wetlands of international importance listed under the Ramsar Convention, have received a total of 30.5 million yuan ($4.9 million) in government subsidies, according to Cai.

Contaminants Caps

China's Ministry of Health has announced new limits on 13 contaminants in 20 categories of food.

The newly amended standards will come into effect on June 1.

They limit the content of contaminants including lead, cadmium, mercury and arsenic that can legally be allowed in food including grains, vegetables, fruit, meat, drinks, alcohol, aquatic products and seasoning.

Previous limits on selenium, aluminum, and fluorine were deleted in the amendment.

The ministry also said that it will streamline 5,000 existing safety standards applying to agricultural produce and food products by the end of 2013.