Russian and Chinese leadership signed a host of preliminary agreements yesterday covering everything from oil & gas, to nuclear power, finance, satellite navigation and high-speed rail. Russia has long been skeptical about cozying too close to China, which is both a huge market and potential business partner, but also a competitor and potential rival. It… Keep reading →
Energy efficiency is a goldmine, but not everyone has the time or resources to dig. That’s why for the past seven years, over three hundred organizations have turned to EDF Climate Corps for hands-on help to cut costs and carbon pollution through better energy management. And every year, the program delivers results: this year’s class of fellows found $130 million… Keep reading →
In This Issue:
– Doing Business in China
– U.S-China Relations
– Energy & Environmental
– Food Safety
– Health Care
– Trade
– Excerpt from Doing Business in China:
The U.S.-China Business Council has released the results of its 2014 China Business Environment Survey, identifying the following Top 10 issues: Competition with companies in China; IPR enforcement, Foreign investment restrictions; Human resources: Talent recruitment and retention; Cost increases; Uneven enforcement/implementation of Chinese laws; Licensing; Transparency; Nondiscrimination/national treatment; and Overcapacity in the Chinese market. According to the USBC, “Doing business in China can be a study in contrast for American companies. On the one hand, it remains a strong and growing market for American goods and services. On the other, it is a challenging and sometimes frustrating place to do business for multinational companies, with numerous regulatory barriers preventing the market from being as accessible — and large — as it should be.”
Pollution is one of the many environmental challenges facing the world today. The impact of pollution is more severe in developing countries, leading to ill health, death and disabilities of millions of people annually. Developed countries have the resources and technologies to combat pollution. As a result of the health risks and the potential impact… Keep reading →
Back in 2011, Shell took the final investment decision (FID) on its Prelude FLNG project and started having a floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) terminal built in South Korea in order to produce and export LNG from the so-called Browse Basin, about 300 miles off the coast of Western Australia. This project is the first… Keep reading →
With US natural gas production growth and subsequent natural gas price declines coal has been backed out of the power generation fuel mix to some extent. As a result, US coal producers are exporting greater volumes to European and Asian buyers, which is a trend that alarms many in the environmental community who fear negative… Keep reading →
The Pennsylvania Health Department was criticized last month for not doing enough to address heath concerns associated with Marcellus Shale development activities, and as a result recently announced changes designed to facilitate the complaint handling process. “The department’s priority is to address the public’s concerns, whether they are about environmental health in general or specifically… Keep reading →
China quietly cut its 2020 goals for shale gas, a goal that was so ambitious that few took the number seriously. The goal – to ramp up from zero commercial production of shale gas to 60-80 billion cubic meters by 2020 – was met with skepticism both inside and outside China when first announced. Now,… Keep reading →
The leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (known as the BRICS) recently met to launch a newly-created international fund called the New Development Bank (NDB). The BRICS represent roughly a fifth of the world economy and 40 percent of the global population. The NDB will have an initial capital pool of $50… Keep reading →
On May 15, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held the seventh meeting of the Advisory Panel on Reconstruction of the Legal Basis for Security in his long quest to advance the reinterpretation of its ‘Pacifist’ Constitution and to allow finally for the exercise of Japan’s right to collective self-defense. During the meeting, the members of… Keep reading →
