Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today called upon the academia, technocrats, research institutes, professionals, mining houses, and steel makers to adopt appropriate technology, along with suitable pollution prevention and control measures, to ensure minimal adverse impact on the environment and ecology.
Addressing an international convention on ''Clean, Green and Sustainable Technologies in Iron and Steel Making'', Mr Patnaik said the increased use of clean and green technology would help us to reduce the carbon emissions and address the concern of global warming.
The Chief Minister said raw materials with intensive carbon contents that form the primary resource in steel production and mining, a prerequisite to iron and steel making, adversely affect the quality of air, water and soils.
He said Orissa had been able to attract impressive investments in steel making due to its rich mineral wealth. The state had signed 49 MoUs in the steel sector envisaging an output of 90 MTPA after the plants commissioned fully.
Mr Patnaik said the state produced 10 million tonnes of steel of different grades. The latest report of the World Bank on ''Doing business in India'' has ranked Bhubaneswar at Number three in the country beating Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Ahmedabad.
The Chief Minister said a strong policy framework, introduced by the state government over the past few years, ushered in an industrial revolution and promised to continue to effect reforms to reach the top place.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Global warming fuelling malaria vaccine need
Global warming has led to a rapid increase in the number of malaria cases, thereby fuelling the need for lifesaving vaccinations to those in need, says an expert.
Experts fear that the drastic changes in the climate may further increase
the number of cases in the coming years.
?Forty-one percent of the human race lives in areas of high malaria transmission,? said Dr. Sylvain Fleury, Chief Scientific Officer at Mymetics, a Swiss vaccine biotech currently developing a vaccine with the potential to control malaria in developing countries.
?Because Europe, North America, and North Asia are now significantly colder than regions of high malaria incidence, developed nations have felt immune from the malaria threat, but that sense may soon be upended,? Fleury added.
Studies have shown that even a modest temperature increase can extend the proliferation of malaria-bearing mosquitoes.
Therefore, as temperatures rise, billions of people could find themselves living in regions of high malaria incidence.
?The best way to prevent the spread of malaria into warming areas of the globe is to find a solution before the situation worsens,? said Dr. Fleury.
?If we can begin to curb the spread of malaria in high threat areas, the eventual reach of the disease will be seriously limited,? he added.
Due to global warming malaria has already returned to the areas such as
Peru that had already eradicated the disease forty years ago.
America saw 1,337 cases, including eight deaths, as recently as 2002 – the importance of developing a vaccine for the disease is becoming more and more urgent
Experts fear that the drastic changes in the climate may further increase
the number of cases in the coming years.
?Forty-one percent of the human race lives in areas of high malaria transmission,? said Dr. Sylvain Fleury, Chief Scientific Officer at Mymetics, a Swiss vaccine biotech currently developing a vaccine with the potential to control malaria in developing countries.
?Because Europe, North America, and North Asia are now significantly colder than regions of high malaria incidence, developed nations have felt immune from the malaria threat, but that sense may soon be upended,? Fleury added.
Studies have shown that even a modest temperature increase can extend the proliferation of malaria-bearing mosquitoes.
Therefore, as temperatures rise, billions of people could find themselves living in regions of high malaria incidence.
?The best way to prevent the spread of malaria into warming areas of the globe is to find a solution before the situation worsens,? said Dr. Fleury.
?If we can begin to curb the spread of malaria in high threat areas, the eventual reach of the disease will be seriously limited,? he added.
Due to global warming malaria has already returned to the areas such as
Peru that had already eradicated the disease forty years ago.
America saw 1,337 cases, including eight deaths, as recently as 2002 – the importance of developing a vaccine for the disease is becoming more and more urgent
Flat screen TVs blamed for accelerating global warming
A gas used in the making of flat screen televisions, nitrogen trifluoride (NF3), is being blamed for damaging the atmosphere and accelerating global warming.
Almost half of the televisions sold around the globe so far this year have been plasma or LCD TVs.
But this boom could be coming at a huge environmental cost.
The gas, widely used in the manufacture of flat screen TVs, is estimated to be 17,000 times as powerful as carbon dioxide.
Ironically, NF3 is not covered by the Kyoto protocol as it was only produced in tiny amounts when the treaty was signed in 1997.
Levels of this gas in the atmosphere have not been measured, but scientists say it is a concern and are calling for it to be included in any future emissions cutting agreement.
Professor Michael Prather from the University of California has highlighted the issue in an article for the magazine New Scientist.
He has told ABC's The World Today program that output of the gas needs to be measured.
"One of my titles for this paper was Going Below Kyoto's Radar. It's the kind of gas that's made in huge amounts," he said.
"Not only is it not in the Kyoto Treaty but you don't even have to report it. That's the part that worries me."
He estimates 4,000 tons of NF3 will be produced in 2008 and that number is likely to double next year.
"We don't know what's emitted, but what they're producing every year dwarfs these giant coal-fired power plants that are like the biggest in the world," he said.
"And it dwarfs two of the Kyoto gases. So the real question we don't know is how much is escaping and getting out."
Dr Paul Fraser is the chief research scientist at the CSIRO's marine and atmospheric research centre, and an IPCC author.
He says without measuring the quantity of NF3 in the atmosphere it is unclear what impact it will have on the climate.
"We haven't observed it in the atmosphere. It's probably there in very low concentrations," he said.
"The key to whether it's a problem or not is how much is released to the atmosphere."
Almost half of the televisions sold around the globe so far this year have been plasma or LCD TVs.
But this boom could be coming at a huge environmental cost.
The gas, widely used in the manufacture of flat screen TVs, is estimated to be 17,000 times as powerful as carbon dioxide.
Ironically, NF3 is not covered by the Kyoto protocol as it was only produced in tiny amounts when the treaty was signed in 1997.
Levels of this gas in the atmosphere have not been measured, but scientists say it is a concern and are calling for it to be included in any future emissions cutting agreement.
Professor Michael Prather from the University of California has highlighted the issue in an article for the magazine New Scientist.
He has told ABC's The World Today program that output of the gas needs to be measured.
"One of my titles for this paper was Going Below Kyoto's Radar. It's the kind of gas that's made in huge amounts," he said.
"Not only is it not in the Kyoto Treaty but you don't even have to report it. That's the part that worries me."
He estimates 4,000 tons of NF3 will be produced in 2008 and that number is likely to double next year.
"We don't know what's emitted, but what they're producing every year dwarfs these giant coal-fired power plants that are like the biggest in the world," he said.
"And it dwarfs two of the Kyoto gases. So the real question we don't know is how much is escaping and getting out."
Dr Paul Fraser is the chief research scientist at the CSIRO's marine and atmospheric research centre, and an IPCC author.
He says without measuring the quantity of NF3 in the atmosphere it is unclear what impact it will have on the climate.
"We haven't observed it in the atmosphere. It's probably there in very low concentrations," he said.
"The key to whether it's a problem or not is how much is released to the atmosphere."
Brother Rice H.S. Wins United Nations Foundation Global Debates
Brother Rice High School (www.brrice.edu) was selected as a winner in an international debate competition and will travel to New York City this week for a Youth Leadership Summit, July 15-18. The United Nations Foundation’s Global Debates program, which engages more than 2,000 high schools from 90 countries in climate change debates and action, will bring 150 students and teachers from seven countries to the United Nations. They will spend three days immersed in panel discussions with UN leadership, workshops on climate science from grassroots youth activists, and service with local organizations working to offset climate change in New York City. “We have been incredibly impressed by the thousands of students who took part in the 2008 and 2009 Global Debates,” said Kaitlin Barry, Director of the UN Foundation’s Campus Outreach. “It is inspiring to see students create detailed Climate Change Action Plans, debate whether or not developed nations have a higher obligation to combat global warming, and work with their communities to engage everyday people in climate action. This year’s summit will bring together the most active Global Debates schools and celebrate the enthusiasm of these impressive young leaders.”Each team participating in the Youth Leadership Summit consists of four to six students accompanied by two of their Global Debate teachers. UN Foundation Senior Advisor Gillian Sorensen and Janos Pasztor, the director of the UN’s Secretary-General’s Climate Change Support Team will be among the featured speakers. Youth climate activists from 350.org will help the Summit students prepare detailed grassroots organizing plans for International Day of Climate Action, which will take place on UN Day, October 24th, 2009. Lastly, partners such as Goldman Sachs and the New York Restoration project will support participants in their efforts to engage in local environmental service. “The UN-sponsored Youth Summit was the culmination of a year’s worth of experience that will carry with me through the rest of my life,” said Brother Rice sophomore Evan Hebert, who attended last year’s World Youth Summit. “Going to New York, meeting other students from around the globe with similar interests, and hearing lectures from some of the leaders in climate science were all opportunities to share my views and defend them in a forum that was both open and informative.”Brother Rice Debate Coach and Speech Teacher Nancy Lauer added: “Our guys have accumulated more than 30,000 points throughout the school year to earn this distinction among other schools. But the main thing they have learned is what it means to become active participants in making a difference in the world in which they live. It is such a wonderful experience to communicate with students from around the globe and work together.” Global Debate Winners from Rice attending this year’s Summit will be: Seniors Alex Tolksdorf, Damon Tang, Robert Armstrong and Junior William Giorgio. The top 10 U.S. schools and top six international schools who have won a trip to the Summit include: Madison Central High School, Madison, Mississippi; Brother Rice High School, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan; Kerr High School, Houston, Texas; Santee High School, Los Angeles, California; Northern Utah Academy for Math, Engineering & Science, Layton, Utah; Princeton High School, Princeton, Texas; Del Valle High School, Del Valle, Texas; Monsignor Kelly High School, Beaumont, Texas; Norman High School, Norman, Oklahoma, Kearney High School, Kearney, Nebraska; Prometeu-Prim, Chisinau, Moldova; Liceul Academiei de Stiinte, Straseni, Moldova; Hobby School, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; Secondary School of Mathematics “Baba Tonka,” Rousse, Bulgaria; CheongShim International, Gyeonggi-do, Korea; Kolej Tuanku Ja’afar, Mantin, Malaysia. For more information about the UN Foundation’s Global Debates and Youth Leadership Summit, visit http://www.unfoundation.org/our-impact/engaging-youth/the-global-debates.html.About the UN Foundation The United Nations Foundation is an advocate for the UN and a platform for connecting people, ideas, and capital to help the United Nations solve global problems. We build partnerships, grow constituencies, mobilize resources and advocate policy changes to support the UN’s work for individual and global progress. The UN Foundation’s work - focused on select global problems - is decreasing child mortality, improving disaster relief, protecting diverse cultures and environments, creating a clean energy future, empowering women and girls, and improving U.S.-UN relations. About Brother Rice Brother Rice High School is a private, fully accredited, four-year Catholic College Preparatory school for young men. Brother Rice was founded in 1960 by the Congregation of Christian Brothers of Irelan
Past warming shows gaps in climate knowledge - study
A dramatic warming of the planet 55 million years ago cannot be solely explained by a surge in carbon dioxide levels, a study shows, highlighting gaps in scientists' understanding of impacts from rapid climate change.
During an event called the Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, global temperatures rose between 5 and 9 degrees Celsius within several thousand years. The world at that time was already warmer than now with no surface ice.
"We now believe that the CO2 did not cause all the warming, that there were additional factors," said Richard Zeebe, an oceanographer with the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
"There may have been an initial trigger," he told Reuters on Wednesday from Hawaii. This could be a deep ocean warming that caused a catastrophic release of methane from hydrate deposits under the seabed.
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas but much of it is oxidised into CO2 when it is released from hydrate deposits.
Zeebe and his colleagues estimated the amount of CO2 released during the Palaeocene-Eocene event by studying sediment cores from seabeds around the globe. Their study is published in the latest issue of Nature Geoscience.
They estimated about 3 trillion tonnes of carbon (11 trillion tonnes of CO2) was released over several thousand years from the methane deposits, leading to a 70 percent rise in atmospheric CO2 levels from pre-event levels.
But Zeebe said this could only explain a 1 to 3.5 degree Celsius rise in temperatures, adding that a commonly accepted scientific range for a doubling of CO2 is between 1.5 and 4.5 degrees Celsius.
This meant other factors must have been at work to drive up temperatures between 5 and 9 degrees Celsius.
"If this additional warming which we do not really understand, was caused as a response to the CO2 warming, then there is a chance that also a future warming could be more intense than people anticipate right now," Zeebe said.
He said the study suggested there could be atmospheric or ocean processes as yet unknown or poorly understood that might have accelerated the warming. Possibilities could be changes in ocean currents, a much larger release of methane or even greater impacts from higher CO2 levels than currently thought.
At present, CO2 levels have already risen from 280 parts per million to nearly 390 ppm since the Industrial Revolution and could exceed a 70 percent increase during this century, a rate much faster than the Palaeocene-Eocene event, Zeebe said.
While this would cause initial effects, much worse could follow in the coming decades and centuries as the oceans, land and atmosphere tried to deal with the higher CO2 levels, he said.
"The carbon that we put into the atmosphere right now is going to stay there for a very long time. Much of it will stay there for tens of thousands of years."
During an event called the Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, global temperatures rose between 5 and 9 degrees Celsius within several thousand years. The world at that time was already warmer than now with no surface ice.
"We now believe that the CO2 did not cause all the warming, that there were additional factors," said Richard Zeebe, an oceanographer with the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
"There may have been an initial trigger," he told Reuters on Wednesday from Hawaii. This could be a deep ocean warming that caused a catastrophic release of methane from hydrate deposits under the seabed.
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas but much of it is oxidised into CO2 when it is released from hydrate deposits.
Zeebe and his colleagues estimated the amount of CO2 released during the Palaeocene-Eocene event by studying sediment cores from seabeds around the globe. Their study is published in the latest issue of Nature Geoscience.
They estimated about 3 trillion tonnes of carbon (11 trillion tonnes of CO2) was released over several thousand years from the methane deposits, leading to a 70 percent rise in atmospheric CO2 levels from pre-event levels.
But Zeebe said this could only explain a 1 to 3.5 degree Celsius rise in temperatures, adding that a commonly accepted scientific range for a doubling of CO2 is between 1.5 and 4.5 degrees Celsius.
This meant other factors must have been at work to drive up temperatures between 5 and 9 degrees Celsius.
"If this additional warming which we do not really understand, was caused as a response to the CO2 warming, then there is a chance that also a future warming could be more intense than people anticipate right now," Zeebe said.
He said the study suggested there could be atmospheric or ocean processes as yet unknown or poorly understood that might have accelerated the warming. Possibilities could be changes in ocean currents, a much larger release of methane or even greater impacts from higher CO2 levels than currently thought.
At present, CO2 levels have already risen from 280 parts per million to nearly 390 ppm since the Industrial Revolution and could exceed a 70 percent increase during this century, a rate much faster than the Palaeocene-Eocene event, Zeebe said.
While this would cause initial effects, much worse could follow in the coming decades and centuries as the oceans, land and atmosphere tried to deal with the higher CO2 levels, he said.
"The carbon that we put into the atmosphere right now is going to stay there for a very long time. Much of it will stay there for tens of thousands of years."
Biobutanol Creeps Toward the Market
A type of fuel once used in Japanese aircraft during World War II is slowly making its way again toward the market, and its backers say that it will work better in automobiles than ethanol
DuPont and BP hope to produce the fuel, called biobutanol, on a commercial scale starting in 2013. They are currently testing it in Britain, where a demonstration-scale plant should start operations at the end of next year, according to Nick Fanandakis of DuPont’s applied biociences division.
A BP-DuPont takeover of an American biobutanol maker received regulatory approval from the European Commission last week.
The fuel — butyl alcohol derived from plant materials rather than fossil fuels — is being pursued by other companies as well. Last November a private equity company, Patriarch Partners, purchased a disused pulp mill in Maine, with the purpose of refitting it to produce biobutanol derived from maple, birch and beech tree chips.
Construction is expected to start early next year, with production of the fuel to begin in 2011, according to Dick Arnold, who manages the Old Town Fuel and Fiber mill.
Compared with ethanol, “Butanol is a superior fuel in many respects, whether it’s from a handling standpoint or from a usage standpoint or even a chemical standpoint,” said Mr. Arnold. “It’s a higher-grade fuel.”
Its backers say that butanol has a higher energy content than ethanol (Dupont plans to produce fuel with 30 percent more energy than ethanol). It is also easier to transport — unlike ethanol, it can go through pipelines.
The catch is that biobutanol has always been very expensive to produce (which is why it was abandoned after widespread use in the first half of the 20th century). DuPont says it has a new way of making biobutanol, using a microbe. “We will be at a cost-equivalent of ethanol on an energy basis,” predicted Mr. Fanandakis.
Ron Lamberty of the American Coalition for Ethanol said that currently biobutanol’s fuel yield per bushel of corn is currently less than half that of ethanol. But even if biobutanol is able to scale, he saw no competition between it and ethanol. “I guess I see all of these technologies as part of the strategy of making us more energy-independent,” he said.
To be sure, even after it is produced in reasonable volumes, biobutanol faces plenty of regulatory hurdles. It must get approval from the Environmental Protection Agency for use in the United States. The agency must certify that it produces 50 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions on a “lifecycle” basis than regular gasoline, according to Mr. Fanandakis.
DuPont and BP hope to produce the fuel, called biobutanol, on a commercial scale starting in 2013. They are currently testing it in Britain, where a demonstration-scale plant should start operations at the end of next year, according to Nick Fanandakis of DuPont’s applied biociences division.
A BP-DuPont takeover of an American biobutanol maker received regulatory approval from the European Commission last week.
The fuel — butyl alcohol derived from plant materials rather than fossil fuels — is being pursued by other companies as well. Last November a private equity company, Patriarch Partners, purchased a disused pulp mill in Maine, with the purpose of refitting it to produce biobutanol derived from maple, birch and beech tree chips.
Construction is expected to start early next year, with production of the fuel to begin in 2011, according to Dick Arnold, who manages the Old Town Fuel and Fiber mill.
Compared with ethanol, “Butanol is a superior fuel in many respects, whether it’s from a handling standpoint or from a usage standpoint or even a chemical standpoint,” said Mr. Arnold. “It’s a higher-grade fuel.”
Its backers say that butanol has a higher energy content than ethanol (Dupont plans to produce fuel with 30 percent more energy than ethanol). It is also easier to transport — unlike ethanol, it can go through pipelines.
The catch is that biobutanol has always been very expensive to produce (which is why it was abandoned after widespread use in the first half of the 20th century). DuPont says it has a new way of making biobutanol, using a microbe. “We will be at a cost-equivalent of ethanol on an energy basis,” predicted Mr. Fanandakis.
Ron Lamberty of the American Coalition for Ethanol said that currently biobutanol’s fuel yield per bushel of corn is currently less than half that of ethanol. But even if biobutanol is able to scale, he saw no competition between it and ethanol. “I guess I see all of these technologies as part of the strategy of making us more energy-independent,” he said.
To be sure, even after it is produced in reasonable volumes, biobutanol faces plenty of regulatory hurdles. It must get approval from the Environmental Protection Agency for use in the United States. The agency must certify that it produces 50 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions on a “lifecycle” basis than regular gasoline, according to Mr. Fanandakis.
Economy in China Regains Robust Pace of Growth
Fueled by a massive economic stimulus package and aggressive bank lending, China’s economy grew by 7.9 percent in the second quarter of this year, the government said Thursday, a surprisingly strong showing during the global economic downturn.
The gross domestic product figures, released Thursday by the National Statistics Bureau in Beijing, suggest the country’s stimulus policies are working and that the government will meet the 8 percent growth target it set early in the year, analysts say.
While most other major economies are in recession or struggling with anemic growth, China appears to have turned a corner following a sharp slowdown at the end of last year and the beginning of this year, when the pace of growth in the country was cut in half.
“This is a stunning recovery,” said Andy Rothman, an economist at the brokerage firm CLSA in Shanghai. “And it’s also not just the government money fueling the recovery. The private sector is also recovering, and that’s the key.”
After growing at a torrid pace of nearly 13 percent late in 2007, China’s growth dipped to 6.1 percent in the first quarter of this year, the slowest pace in a decade. Some analysts suspect growth during that period was even slower.
But in recent weeks, analysts say they have begun to see signs of robust growth in the Chinese economy, including strong car and property sales, soaring commodity prices, long lines at ports and huge infrastructure projects.
“Demand for steel has rallied strongly in the last six months,” said Jim Lennon, a London-based steel analyst at Macquarie Securities. “Many Chinese steel producers are now operating at full capacity. The Chinese are the only growth market for steel.”
While many countries may be relying on government-funded stimulus projects, China has turned to its state-owned banks, which have already made more than $1 trillion in loans this year.
“This recovery is much more reliant on bank lending,” said Wang Tao, the chief China economist at UBS Securities. “In the last few months, the bank lending has been massive — beyond anyone’s imagination.”
Analysts say the dynamics of the economy have begun to shift slightly this year, away from the once-booming coastal provinces and toward less developed regions in central and western China.
But some analysts remain skeptical about China’s statistics, questioning whether the government is releasing overly rosy figures and masking serious troubles in the economy.
After dropping sharply in the early part of this year, exports have stabilized. But they are still struggling, analysts say. Analysts also point to weak electricity consumption figures and meager foreign investment as indications that growth may not be as strong as reported in official data.
But many analysts say there are more signs of strength than of weakness, and that record bank lending is filtering through the economy and helping drive growth.
“This is probably the only major economy in the world where manufacturing employment is rising,” said Mr. Rothman of CLSA.
Most analysts are now forecasting strong growth for the second half of this year, at close to 9 percent from a year earlier. But there are risks emerging too.
The government has already warned about wasteful government-spending projects, the possibility that overly aggressive lending could lead to a sharp increase in nonperforming loans and the threat of asset bubbles and inflation.
Property prices are skyrocketing again in some parts of the country.
And Shanghai’s stock market is up nearly 70 percent this year, after a huge drop last year.
Some experts say the stock market has been propped up partly by state-owned companies that are once again speculating on stocks rather than investing in their businesses.
The government and many analysts are also worried about asset price inflation and the possibility that aggressive lending from state-owned banks will result in a raft of nonperforming loans in the coming years.
“There are the two biggest worries for the government,” said Ms. Wang of UBS Securities. “It’s impossible to make so many loans in such a short period and not have problems. Two or three years down the road, nonperforming loans could be a serious problem.”
The gross domestic product figures, released Thursday by the National Statistics Bureau in Beijing, suggest the country’s stimulus policies are working and that the government will meet the 8 percent growth target it set early in the year, analysts say.
While most other major economies are in recession or struggling with anemic growth, China appears to have turned a corner following a sharp slowdown at the end of last year and the beginning of this year, when the pace of growth in the country was cut in half.
“This is a stunning recovery,” said Andy Rothman, an economist at the brokerage firm CLSA in Shanghai. “And it’s also not just the government money fueling the recovery. The private sector is also recovering, and that’s the key.”
After growing at a torrid pace of nearly 13 percent late in 2007, China’s growth dipped to 6.1 percent in the first quarter of this year, the slowest pace in a decade. Some analysts suspect growth during that period was even slower.
But in recent weeks, analysts say they have begun to see signs of robust growth in the Chinese economy, including strong car and property sales, soaring commodity prices, long lines at ports and huge infrastructure projects.
“Demand for steel has rallied strongly in the last six months,” said Jim Lennon, a London-based steel analyst at Macquarie Securities. “Many Chinese steel producers are now operating at full capacity. The Chinese are the only growth market for steel.”
While many countries may be relying on government-funded stimulus projects, China has turned to its state-owned banks, which have already made more than $1 trillion in loans this year.
“This recovery is much more reliant on bank lending,” said Wang Tao, the chief China economist at UBS Securities. “In the last few months, the bank lending has been massive — beyond anyone’s imagination.”
Analysts say the dynamics of the economy have begun to shift slightly this year, away from the once-booming coastal provinces and toward less developed regions in central and western China.
But some analysts remain skeptical about China’s statistics, questioning whether the government is releasing overly rosy figures and masking serious troubles in the economy.
After dropping sharply in the early part of this year, exports have stabilized. But they are still struggling, analysts say. Analysts also point to weak electricity consumption figures and meager foreign investment as indications that growth may not be as strong as reported in official data.
But many analysts say there are more signs of strength than of weakness, and that record bank lending is filtering through the economy and helping drive growth.
“This is probably the only major economy in the world where manufacturing employment is rising,” said Mr. Rothman of CLSA.
Most analysts are now forecasting strong growth for the second half of this year, at close to 9 percent from a year earlier. But there are risks emerging too.
The government has already warned about wasteful government-spending projects, the possibility that overly aggressive lending could lead to a sharp increase in nonperforming loans and the threat of asset bubbles and inflation.
Property prices are skyrocketing again in some parts of the country.
And Shanghai’s stock market is up nearly 70 percent this year, after a huge drop last year.
Some experts say the stock market has been propped up partly by state-owned companies that are once again speculating on stocks rather than investing in their businesses.
The government and many analysts are also worried about asset price inflation and the possibility that aggressive lending from state-owned banks will result in a raft of nonperforming loans in the coming years.
“There are the two biggest worries for the government,” said Ms. Wang of UBS Securities. “It’s impossible to make so many loans in such a short period and not have problems. Two or three years down the road, nonperforming loans could be a serious problem.”
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