A wind turbine system generates energy in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. [Photo/Xinhua] China registered a higher rate of decarbonization than any of the world's major economies for the second year running, according to a new report published by London-based consultancy PwC. China reduced its carbon intensity by 5.2 percent in 2017, PwC, also known as PricewaterhouseCoopers, found in its annual Low Carbon Economy Index of G20 members. Carbon intensity rates are measured by comparing greenhouse gas emissions with a nation's energy demand and gross domestic product. While emissions levels in China actually rose by 1.4 percent last year, this increase was low in comparison to a high GDP growth rate of 6.9 percent and an increase in energy demand. The United Kingdom also performed well in the index, registering an average drop in carbon intensity of 3.7 percent over the past 10 years, the best of all nations studied. In 2017, UK carbon intensity dropped by 4.7 percent, the fourth-best in the G20 behind China, Mexico and Argentina. Overall, PwC found that global emissions are now on the rise again - by 1.1 percent - after having plateaued for the past three years. Global energy demand rose by 2.1 percent last year, more than twice the rate in 2016, and most of the increased energy demand was met with fossil fuels, according to the report. The gap between the current decarbonization rate and that needed to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius is widening, the report said. There seems to be almost zero chance of limiting warming to well below 2 degrees, the main goal of the Paris Agreement. The PwC study coincided with the release of a report by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that said the world has only 12 years to limit a climate change catastrophe. In China last year, PwC found that renewable power generation rose by 25 million metric tons of oil equivalent, which is an energy usage measurement. This was driven by a 71 percent increase in solar energy and a 20 percent increase in wind energy. Coal use in China increased by 1 percent last year, following several years of reductions. PwC attributed the rise to the opening of coal-fired power generation plants. Despite this growth, political signals do not suggest that coal consumption will grow long term in China again as pollution control is at the top of the political agenda, the report stated. China also saw the highest percentage increase in the use of natural gas - 15 percent. This is largely associated with residential heating and small industrial boilers switching from coal to gas. Despite growth of fossil fuels, China has positioned itself as a global engine for renewable deployment, the report said. It has made significant strides toward meeting its pledge under the Paris Agreement to generate 20 percent of its energy in 2030 from low-carbon sources. silicone wristbands no minimumnew rubber band braceletsrubber braceletscheap custom rubber bracelets no minimumplain rubber wristbands
A Shanghai hospital is collaborating with a biotechnology company from the United Kingdom to start clinical trials of a method to screen for cancer through breathing tests - which it said has great potential to become an easy, noninvasive and less expensive way for early diagnosis of various cancers.It was the first time that such a technology had come to the Chinese mainland, said Renji Hospital affiliated with Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the Chinese partner in the Sino-UK project, during a signing ceremony with Cambridge-based Owlstone Medical on Monday in Shanghai.The British company will provide its patented devices and training, and the Shanghai hospital will provide lab space and a research team.Subjects of the test need only wear a breathalyzer and breathe for several minutes as the device checks for volatile organic compounds, or VOCs. The test samples the whole body, doctors said.VOCs are produced as the end product of metabolic processes within the human body. Underlying changes in metabolic activity can produce VOC patterns characteristic of specific diseases, they said.Owlstone said on its website that the device uses a chemical sensor on a tiny silicon chip.Wang Liwei, director of the lab, said the China-UK team is working on a detailed proposal for the trial, which includes setting standards for the telltale VOCs and the age range of the subjects. The trials are expected to begin in three months."Such trials have been carried out in the UK on 4,000 individuals and achieved an accuracy rate that qualified for clinical application. So it may win approval for use in the UK soon," Wang said.He said the hospital will first carry out trials looking for lung cancer, the most common form of cancer and the leading cause of cancer deaths in China. The target for the trials is 70 percent accuracy.With a total of 787,000 newly diagnosed patients every year, lung cancer tops China's malignant tumor incidence and accounts for nearly one-fourth of cancer deaths in the country, according to the National Cancer Center."Such a fast and noninvasive means of screening will reduce the cost of medical treatment for individuals and society as a whole and improve the overall early diagnosis and survival rate of cancer patients," Wang said.Chris Hodkinson, vice-president of business development at Owlstone Medical, said the cooperation will improve the technology and eventually benefit more cancer patients at home and abroad.Experts said VOCs originating from all parts of the body are captured in a person's breath, making the technology applicable to a wide range of cancers."We have plans to expand the screening technology to other cancers, including gastric cancer and intestinal cancer, for which the current detection means - gastroscopy and enteroscopy - are kind of painful, and to pancreatic cancer, which is hard to discover," Wang said.
