Editorial: New beginnings

As we come to the end of the year it is also time for us to come to the end of our specific China edition. From the new year, Chemistry World China  will be absorbed into the main edition of Chemistry World. With so much Chinese news in our global edition that it seems foolish to double up our efforts. Instead, we urge you to sign up to our main e-alert and get even more 
content than you do now. 

As well as being the end of 2011 and Chemistry World China,  December marks the end of the International Year of Chemistry so where does chemistry stand as a field? The pharmaceutical industry is certainly moving away from blockbuster drugs but it will still need skilled chemists, and more and more of that business is moving to China. But chemistry is more than drugs. 

In this final issue of Chemistry World China, the environment seems to feature heavily in the China News section. It’s very easy to point the finger backwards and forwards, but the majority are agreed that pollution, energy security and global warming are real threats that need to be dealt with. We may not be feeling the full effects yet but I’m sure we, or our children, will. 

Last month the 2011 edition of World Energy Outlook  was published by the International Energy Agency. The report includes energy demand and supply projections for different future scenariosand the overall message was clear, if we don’t do something soon, it’s going to be too late. China is central to the report, both for its investment in renewable power and its consumption of coal. 

Energy and climate change are also topics that require the hand of chemistry to help solve. It sometimes seem an irony that despite spills and pollution, and bad PR about ‘scary chemicals’ those same chemicals have made it more likely that you and I will live to a healthy old age. But I don’t think we should rest on our laurels. Let’s build on the International Year of Chemistry and make sure we don’t just acknowledge the importance of chemistry to ourselves, but to make sure that message gets spread far and wide, from policy makers and school children. Chemistry is fundamental to life and vital for our future, and I’d like that future to be as secure as possible. 

While 2011 was the International Year of Chemistry, 2012 has been declared the International Year of Sustainable Energy for All. So let’s move on from championing chemistry’s successes and importance and start putting it into practice. As scientists are research sustainable ways of powering our planet we’ll keep telling you about them, as well as all the other developments in Chemistry around the globe. 

As ever, endings lead to new beginnings, I hope you join us over on Chemistry World   to see how it goes. 

Laura Howes, China editor