Recently, Russia, Turkey and Indonesia have issued new environmental policies, or banned plastic or reduced the use of basic fossil energy, the paper chamber of Commerce said. These new policies are expected to change the supply pattern of local or world energy or raw materials for a long time, especially the paper industry with obvious recycling value.
01. Russian government considers to ban non recyclable plastics
On Friday, Russian Vice Premier viktoriaaabranchenko said at the 9th Nevsky international ecological conference in St. Petersburg that Russia was revising legislation to ban the production of unrecyclable plastics in Russia.
It is reported that the new regulations will give the Russian industry time to adapt and adjust before it is promulgated. But some lawmakers and industry sources told the media that the ban could lead to a surge in prices as the country’s recycling capacity is underdeveloped and there is a lack of viable plastic alternatives in the market.
Abramancenko further noted that the ban would cover plastic materials that are particularly difficult or impossible to recycle, such as disposable tableware, cotton swabs, plastic pipettes, colored plastics and similar materials. In the fall of 2021, the government will launch the relevant amendments.
02. Turkey implements import ban on ethylene polymer plastic waste
An amendment issued in the official gazette of Turkey on May 18 said that the Turkish Ministry of trade had added vinyl polymer plastics to its list of illegally imported waste materials, which would take effect in 45 days.
The Mediterranean Greenpeace organization welcomed the news as a “very important step towards the zero waste import target” set by the Ministry of environment and urbanization of Turkey. 74 percent of Turkey’s imports of plastic waste last year are now on the ban list, the group said.
“Every day, about 241 trucks of plastic waste are transported from all over Europe to Turkey, and we are still the largest plastic dump in Europe,” Greenpeace said. The Turkish Association of plastic industrialists criticized the ban, saying the policy issuing department did not consult with industry representatives.
03. Indonesia will stop approving new coal-fired power generation projects
Indonesia, the world’s largest exporter of power coal, has recently decided to stop approving new coal-fired power plants to reduce carbon emissions and expand renewable energy use.
The Indonesian Ministry of energy (esdm) said the government would allow the construction in progress and the completion of the factory that has already completed the financial closing. It is reported that the move to stop approving new coal-fired power plants is also linked to the increasingly tight financing of fossil fuels by global banks.
The policy change is also outlined in the draft power plan 2021-2030 of the state-owned utility company of Indonesia (Indonesia), which will phase out the subcritical coal-fired power plant in the next 20 years with a view to achieving carbon neutralization in the country in 2060.
Indonesia plans to increase 41gw of electricity in the next 10 years, 48 per cent of which will be from new and renewable sources of energy, and the rest will be fossil fuels. The total power supply capacity in Indonesia is expected to reach 104gw in 2031.
In addition, the Ministry of finance of Indonesia proposes to develop a carbon tax regulation that will cover coal consumption industries, such as pulp and paper, cement and electricity.
According to the United Nations COMTRADE database, Indonesia exported US $446.93 million to China in 2019. The change of Indonesia’s energy structure in the future will have an impact on the pulp and paper industry in the country, and will also bring changes to China’s pulp supply.
Post time: Jun-23-2021