Greenpeace China
Encyclopedia
Greenpeace East Asia is an office serving the East Asia region of the global environmental organization
Greenpeace
. It is one of the largest international NGOs in China.
office was opened in Hong Kong
in 1997. Early actions included a blockade of a shipment of electronic waste
from Australia
and a campaign highlighting the dangers of PVC
in children's toy
s.
Before offices were formally opened in Guangzhou
and Beijing
in 2002, activists from the Hong Kong office ran several campaigns on the Chinese Mainland. These included investigations into electronic waste dumping in Guangdong province
and a campaign to stop US-headquartered biotechnology firm Monsanto Company from patenting a Chinese indigenous soy bean variety.
Early mainland-based
campaigns focused on food and agriculture and electronic waste. Since then Greenpeace East Asia has broadened its mandate into efforts to urge China's wood
products industry to import environmentally-sound timber
, clean up its polluted rivers and lakes
, and highlight the urgency of stopping climate change
.
and energy
, food
and agriculture
, toxics (water pollution
), forest
s and a campaign on air pollution
(Hong Kong only). The organisation uses non-violent direct action to draw attention to what it considers significant threats to the environment and also lobbies for solutions. It emphasizes that while "surging economic development in East Asia has brought widespread prosperity, [it] has also taken a severe environmental toll, both regionally and worldwide."
The website also lists several achievements including:
Currently one of Greenpeace East Asia's key campaigns is to encourage China to reduce its reliance on coal
as a power source and to speed up the development of the renewable energy
sector instead.
Environmental organization
An environmental organization is an organization that seeks to protect, analyze or monitor the environment against misuse or degradation or lobby for these goals....
Greenpeace
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
. It is one of the largest international NGOs in China.
History
Greenpeace East Asia's first ChinaChina
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
office was opened in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
in 1997. Early actions included a blockade of a shipment of electronic waste
Electronic waste
Electronic waste, e-waste, e-scrap, or Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment describes discarded electrical or electronic devices. There is a lack of consensus as to whether the term should apply to resale, reuse, and refurbishing industries, or only to product that cannot be used for its...
from Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and a campaign highlighting the dangers of PVC
PVC
Polyvinyl chloride is a plastic.PVC may also refer to:*Param Vir Chakra, India's highest military honor*Peripheral venous catheter, a small, flexible tube placed into a peripheral vein in order to administer medication or fluids...
in children's toy
Toy
A toy is any object that can be used for play. Toys are associated commonly with children and pets. Playing with toys is often thought to be an enjoyable means of training the young for life in human society. Different materials are used to make toys enjoyable and cuddly to both young and old...
s.
Before offices were formally opened in Guangzhou
Guangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
and Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
in 2002, activists from the Hong Kong office ran several campaigns on the Chinese Mainland. These included investigations into electronic waste dumping in Guangdong province
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
and a campaign to stop US-headquartered biotechnology firm Monsanto Company from patenting a Chinese indigenous soy bean variety.
Early mainland-based
Mainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
campaigns focused on food and agriculture and electronic waste. Since then Greenpeace East Asia has broadened its mandate into efforts to urge China's wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
products industry to import environmentally-sound timber
Timber
Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...
, clean up its polluted rivers and lakes
Lakes in China
Lakes in China include:See also:*Lake Tianchi Monster-External links:**http://www.hceis.com/ChinaBasic/Lakes/Lakes%20of%20China.htm...
, and highlight the urgency of stopping climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
.
Campaigns
Greenpeace East Asia runs five main campaigns: climateClimate
Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...
and energy
Energy
In physics, energy is an indirectly observed quantity. It is often understood as the ability a physical system has to do work on other physical systems...
, food
Food
Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals...
and agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, toxics (water pollution
Water pollution
Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies . Water pollution occurs when pollutants are discharged directly or indirectly into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds....
), forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
s and a campaign on air pollution
Air pollution
Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or cause damage to the natural environment or built environment, into the atmosphere....
(Hong Kong only). The organisation uses non-violent direct action to draw attention to what it considers significant threats to the environment and also lobbies for solutions. It emphasizes that while "surging economic development in East Asia has brought widespread prosperity, [it] has also taken a severe environmental toll, both regionally and worldwide."
The website also lists several achievements including:
- In 1998, following a Greenpeace campaign, Hong Kong banned the import and re-export of hazardous waste.
- In 2006, Greenpeace East Asia was the only NGO to be consulted on an early draft of a renewable energyRenewable energyRenewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
law by China's National People's CongressNational People's CongressThe National People's Congress , abbreviated NPC , is the highest state body and the only legislative house in the People's Republic of China. The National People's Congress is held in the Great Hall of the People, Beijing, capital of the People's Republic of China; with 2,987 members, it is the...
. - Two Greenpeace expeditions to China's Himalayan region in 2006 and 2007 produced evidence of dramatic glacial retreat.
- On July 6, 2010 Greenpeace China took action against Asia Pulp & PaperAsia Pulp & PaperAsia Pulp & Paper, also known in the paper industry as APP is based in Singapore, is one of the largest pulp and paper companies in the world. It was founded by Eka Cipta Widjaja, who had significant ties to the Suharto ruling family in Indonesia. APP claims to obtain 80-90% of the fiber for...
and French supermarket chain AuchanAuchanGroupe Auchan SA is a French international retail group and multinational corporation headquartered in Croix, France. It is one of the world's principal distribution groups with a presence in 12 countries and 175,000 employees....
, which carries APP paper products such as Breeze (清风 Qingfeng) tissue paper. Activists, dressed as the Sumatran TigerSumatran TigerThe Sumatran tiger is a tiger subspecies that inhabits the Indonesian island of Sumatra and has been classified as critically endangered by IUCN in 2008 as the population is projected at 176 to 271 mature individuals, with no subpopulation having an effective population size larger than 50...
buried themselves under packages of Breeze toilet paper rolls while forest campaigner Ma Lichao spoke to the media about the issues.
Currently one of Greenpeace East Asia's key campaigns is to encourage China to reduce its reliance on coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
as a power source and to speed up the development of the renewable energy
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
sector instead.
Greenpeace Mission Statement
According to the Greenpeace East Asia website, the mission of Greenpeace can be summed up as follows:- Greenpeace stands for positive change through action to defend the natural world and promote peace.
- Greenpeace is a non-profit organisation, with a presence in 40 countries across Europe, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific. To maintain its independence, Greenpeace does not accept donations from governments or corporations but relies on contributions from individual supporters and foundation grants.
- As a global organisation, Greenpeace focuses on the most crucial worldwide threats to our planet's biodiversityBiodiversityBiodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
and environmentEnvironment (biophysical)The biophysical environment is the combined modeling of the physical environment and the biological life forms within the environment, and includes all variables, parameters as well as conditions and modes inside the Earth's biosphere. The biophysical environment can be divided into two categories:...
. Greenpeace speaks for 2.8 million supporters worldwide, and encourages many millions more to take action every day.
See also
- GreenpeaceGreenpeaceGreenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
- Environmental issues in ChinaEnvironmental issues in ChinaEnvironmental issues in ChinaOne of the serious negative consequences of the People's Republic of China's rapid industrial development has been increased pollution, smog, and degradation of natural resources. Much solid waste is not properly disposed of. Water pollution is a source of health...
- Agriculture in ChinaAgriculture in ChinaAgriculture is an important economic sector of China, employing over 300 million farmers. China ranks first in worldwide farm output, primarily producing rice, wheat, potatoes, sorghum, peanuts, tea, millet, barley, cotton, oilseed, pork, and fish.-History:...
- Geography of ChinaGeography of ChinaChina stretches some across the East Asian landmass bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam in a changing configuration of broad plains, expansive deserts, and lofty mountain ranges, including vast areas of inhospitable terrain...
- Energy in China
- Renewable energy in ChinaRenewable energy in ChinaRenewable energy is helping the People's Republic of China complete its economic transformation and achieve "energy security". China rapidly has moved along the path of renewable energy development. About 17 percent of China's electricity came from renewable sources in 2007, led by the world's...
- Coal power in ChinaCoal power in ChinaThe People's Republic of China is the largest consumer of coal in the world, and is about to become the largest user of coal-derived electricity, generating 1.95 trillion kilowatt-hours per year, or 68.7% of its electricity from coal as of 2006...
- Recycling in China