Environment

China launched a satellite to monitor its greenhouse gas emissions early on Thursday, the latest step in efforts to cut its carbon footprint, the official Xinhua news agency said.

Vietnam accounts for 87 of the 163 new species of animals and plants discovered in the Greater Mekong region, according to a report released recently by the World Wide Fund for Nature.

Thick, gray smog fell over Beijing on Tuesday, choking China's capital in a haze that spurred authorities to cancel flights and close some highways in emergency measures to cut down on air pollution.

Ha Tinh authorities said they were investigating a Facebook user criticised for posting many photos showing his killing of wild animals.

A rainbow-headed snake, a tiny frog and a lizard with dragon-like horns are among more than 150 new species confirmed by scientists last year in the ecologically diverse but threatened Mekong region, researchers said.

Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung called for greater efforts to use energy effectively and economically at a conference hosted by the Ministry of Industry and Trade in Hanoi on December 16.

The Government is developing guidelines enabling People’s Committees of districts and provinces to sue polluters, Pham Van Loi, head of the Environmental Study Institute under the Vietnam Environment Administration, said at a recent conference on sustainable development.

World Wild Fund for Nature and Vietnamese nature authorities on Wednesday kicked off an emergency project to protect the biggest herd of elephants in the country from extinction.

The Vietnam Directorate of Fisheries and the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers jointly launched a training course on protecting dolphins during fishing tuna in Phu Yen province.

The continual erosion of forested land by local people has narrowed the living space for elephants in Dong Nai Province, leading to more conflict. In addition, the province’s elephant conservation project has still proceeded at a very slow pace.

Hanoi People's Committee said changeable weather and discharged waste water are the main causes that killed huge amounts of fish in many lakes in the city.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has asked to continue monitoring 19 beaches in the four central provinces polluted by the mass fish deaths following a toxic leak from the Formosa Ha Tinh steel plant.

Over 600 participants took part in a fun run at Ciputra urban area, North Tu Liem District, Hanoi, aimed at supporting and acting to prevent the extinction of wild animals while urging the community not to use herbal medicinal

Vietnam has a long list of tasks to fulfill in order to meet its commitments to reduce 8 percent of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 under the historic Paris Agreement, Jenty Kirsch Wood, senior technical specialist of disaster risk

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment will send experts from the French Viola Group to the central region to inspect the quality of Formosa’s waste and sewage treatment equipment from December 12.

Dong Nai Forest Protection Department on Monday announced that ultrasound results by Thai experts showed that the elephant had been pregnant for nine months.

Waste water from households and forest product facilities are destroying the Ma River in Thanh Hoa Province and threatening the livelihoods of local people.

Vietnam is going through a construction boom, with apartment and office buildings mushrooming, and energy efficiency is imperative, Nguyễn Công Thịnh, head of the Ministry of Construction’s science, technology and environment department, told a seminar in HCM City.

Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung has asked the management board of West Lake to explain the use of VND128 billion (USD6.1 million) for dredging West Lake.