Environmental Issues: International Issues

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All Documents in International Issues Tagged pollution

Hansa Urbana’s Cabo Cortés Project in Baja California Sur
Investor Risk Advisory
Report

The Spanish developer Hansa Urbana intends to build a large-scale tourism and real estate complex called Cabo Cortés on the southeastern tip of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula. Due to its proposed scope and scale, the project could result in irreparable harm to vulnerable protected areas and endangered species, as well as negatively impact local communities. Environmental and social sustainability is necessary not only for the protection of local ecosystems and communities, but also to ensure the long-term financial success of a coastal tourism project itself. Potential investors must be fully aware of the serious concerns and risks associated with Cabo Cortés. Get document in pdf.

Clean By Design
Revolutionizing the Textile Supply Chain with Market-Based Strategies that Reduce Pollution and Improve Efficiency
Overview

The massive amounts of coal burned by Chinese textile plants spread pollution across the globe. NRDC and the Council of Fashion Designers of America are working to reduce pollution by changing the way the textile industry operates and making factories cleaner.

Clean by Design: Revolutionizing the Global Textile Industry
Fact Sheet

Addressing the global health threats posed by the textile industry is a daunting challenge, even with more than 30 years of environmental victories under your belt. Yet this challenge spurred NRDC’s team of health experts to pioneer approaches that will help solve global industrial pollution problems associated with apparel, with a focus first in China, where most textiles are made. NRDC and its partner, The Council of Fashion Designers of America, are spearheading a multi-phased initiative called Clean By Design, which aims to revolutionize the way the apparel industry operates, from fiber and dye selection to fabric sourcing decisions to consumer care. This fact sheet explores the key phases of the initiative already completed and those underway in 2010.

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How Redbud Company Saved Money, Curbed Pollution, and Gained Favor from a Major Buyer
Fact Sheet

NRDC and its partners in Clean by Design, an initiative to green the global textile supply chain, are recommending 10 practical, easy-to-implement best practices for textile mills that will not only improve manufacturing efficiency, but also save money and stem pollution. The Jiangsu Redbud Textile Company—a Chinese-owned mill that dyes cotton woven fabric supplying Wal-Mart among others—put our best practices to the test. And the results were profound. Get document in pdf.

NRDC’s Ten Best Practices for Textile Mills to Save Money and Reduce Pollution
A Practical Guide for Responsible Sourcing
Issue Paper

Textile manufacturing has a huge environmental footprint, polluting as much as 200 tons of water per ton of fabric with a suite of harmful chemicals, and consuming tremendous amounts of energy for steam and hot water. That the industry is now centered in countries with still-developing environmental regulatory systems such as China, India, Vietnam, and Bangladesh only compounds the problem. To address the rapidly increasing global impact of this industry, NRDC and its partners are spearheading the Responsible Sourcing Initiative (RSI) -- a key element of the larger Clean By Design initiative to curb pollution from the fashion industry.

NRDC is Leading the Way Towards Climate Solutions for China
Fact Sheet

China’s rapid development has created urgent environmental and energy challenges—-but it also presents a unique opportunity to help shape a low-carbon, sustainable development pathway for China that would have significant benefits both for China and the world. For nearly 15 years, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has been working to strengthen environmental protection and reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in China by working with central and local governments, research institutes, environmental groups, and businesses to develop the policies and tools needed to address China’s climate and energy challenges.
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Cutting Through the Fog with China’s First Pollution Information Transparency Index (PITI)
Fact Sheet

Developing a coordinated international effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions requires, among other things, that countries have confidence in each others’ capacity to monitor and mitigate their GHG emissions. Reliable emissions data in turn relies on the existence of governance systems that make energy and environmental information transparent and publicly available. In May 2008, the Chinese government took a critical step toward furthering environmental transparency by adopting a pair of sweeping  pollution disclosure measures that for the first time required government bodies at all levels to make certain pollution information publicly available. The Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs (IPE) and the Natural Resources Defense Council developed a Pollution Information Transparency Index (PITI) to carry out a systematic assessment of the first year of implementation for these regulations.
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Accelerating the Greening of China
Promoting Cutting-edge Environmental Solutions in China
Index

In the past three decades, China's explosive growth has resulted in serious environmental problems with impacts beyond China's borders. NRDC is working with key Chinese government agencies, research institutes, lawyers and environmental groups to help promote cutting-edge environmental solutions in China. These factsheets describe NRDC's work to help address some of China's most pressing environmental challenges.

China's Budding Environmental Movement
Attorney Alex Wang talks about what it's like to be in on the ground level of a new environmental movement.
FAQ

Attorney Alex Wang talks about what it's like to be in on the ground level of a new environmental movement.