TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras – A fire started by an inmate tore through an overcrowded prison in Honduras, burning and suffocating screaming men in their locked cells as rescuers desperately searched for keys. As many as 300 people were killed in the BEIJING – China may start its first citywide carbon cap-and-trade system by June as the world’s biggest polluter seeks to rein in emissions, a project adviser said.
The northeast port city of Tianjin plans to impose a mandatory limit on energy used to heat buildings in the first half of this year, John Shi, chief executive officer of the carbon credit trader Arreon Carbon U.K. Ltd., said in an interview. Property managers able to reduce energy use to below the limit will earn credits they can then sell, he said.
Citigroup and OAO Gazprom have already bought allowances in the Chinese program as nations around the world struggle to enact climate-protection rules that may boost costs during a period of slow economic growth or recession. Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama told lawmakers Thursday he doesn’t want a “watered-down” climate bill as that country seeks to impose new rules. “Pursuing energy efficiency has truly risen to the top of the agenda for local governments” in China, Shi said Thursday from his office in Beijing.
China has pledged to reduce its carbon-dioxide output per unit of gross domestic product by 40 percent to 45 percent by 2020 compared with 2005 levels. Premier Wen Jiabao in January called pollution in the nation “grim” and said the government will strictly limit emissions from coal-powered generators, cement and steel producers.”
