Third complaint against Chinese companies flouting rules filed. Probe underway. The trade dispute between the US and China over renewable energy equipment is growing shriller. The Wind Tower Trade Coalition (WTTC), a coalition of producers of wind towers in the US, has filed a complaint with the US Department of Commerce and International Trade Commission seeking anti-dumping and countervailing investigations into the Chinese and Vietnamese wind towers imports in the US market. Two similar probes against China are already underway.
After CNG, the national capital is all set to run its public transport fleet on biogas. Ambitious as it may sound, but Delhi plans to run its buses on biogas. In collaboration with the Swedish government, the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy plans to set up a biogas plant inside Kesopur Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) complex in West Delhi. The plant will receive raw gas emitted by the STP and upgrade it so that it can be used to propel vehicles.
Countries protect their renewable energy equipment. Exporting nations see it as trade barrier. The world is witnessing an increase in trade disputes in the renewable energy sector. Countries are trying to strengthen their renewable energy base by preferring indigenous products over imports. This is an obvious dampener for countries with good renewable energy equipment manufacturing capabilities and advanced technology. They argue that such policy measures hinder free trade. Their complaints at the World Trade Organization (WTO) are piling up. India is the latest to be in the spotlight.
Warns US of retaliatory measures. China has reacted sharply to the inquiry launched by the US Department of Commerce into the alleged unfair trade practices adopted by China in the United States for selling solar cells and panels. The Coalition for American Solar Manufacturing (CASM) had filed a petition with department, saying China is selling heavily subsidised solar panels and cells below market price in the US, which is severely affecting domestic business. The department launched the inquiry on November 9.
Noise levels in most Indian cities have crossed safe limits. Lack of awareness has led to ailments ranging from hypertension to heart diseases. But the authorities dont's seem bothered. Read this special report in Down To Earth.
After declaring 43 industrial areas in India as critically polluted and imposing a moratorium on their expansion, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests is going easy on them. As many as 23 critically polluted areas have been removed from the moratorium list since last October on the basis of inadequate action plans submitted by the respective states.
Five per cent of the clinical trials conducted across the world will be in India by 2012. They are vital for confirming the efficacy of a new drug, but compromise on ethics. While doctors and organisations conducting trials make big bucks, the rights and safety of the subjects are often overlooked.
