China, US sign 6 new environment pacts
July 12, 2013, 9:50 am

Coca-Cola will now use agricultural waste to produce Coke’s plastic bottles [Xinhua]

“The new agreements will add six partnerships to the original group of 18”, said Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi.

The programme was established in 2008 and seeks to unite stakeholders from both countries to work on clean energy.

US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns said the new pacts would significantly boost the environment protection initiatives jointly undertaken by the two biggest economies of the world.

“The six new EcoPartnerships we are committing to today are the best of the best. Some of you will be working on energy efficiency while others will be creating cutting-edge technologies to use landfill gas, conserve our groundwater resources and create plant-based plastic bottles,” Burns said.

US beverage giant Coca-Cola will now use agricultural waste to produce Coke’s plastic bottles in partnership with China’s Yangtze River Delta Circular Economy Technology Research Institute.

“The project is expected to reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions in the United States and China, use previously unused agricultural waste, create jobs for farmers in China and the United States, and bring more sustainable plastic bottles into use around the world,” says a press release from the US state department.

China’s Peking University will also team up with the New York Institute of Technology to protect groundwater resources.

According to Bloomberg data, clean-energy investment rose 22 per cent in the second quarter from the prior three months as increased spending in the US, China and South Africa countered a slump in Europe.

Source: Agencies