Indonesia launches US billion renewable energy investment plan

JAKARTA: Indonesia launched on Tuesday (Nov 21) its investment plan to mobilise US$20 billion in financing pledged by global lenders led by the United States and Japan to accelerate its power sector decarbonisation and called for immediate fund disbursement. Under Indonesia’s Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) the country seeks toContinue Reading

Tired of failed climate promises by rich nations, tiny Maldives takes matters into its own hands

Even when funding is approved, the process is tedious and the money could take years to materialise, said Ms Shauna, giving an example of two projects from Maldives under the Green Climate Fund (GCF).

“By the time the money does come to the Maldives, the entire reality has changed – we’re talking about coastal erosion, about running out of fresh water,” she said.

“People can’t wait for the money to come five years later to address the issue of erosion.”

This has forced the nation to take matters into its own hands and inject funds from its domestic revenue and budget to invest in green transition and adaptation.

MALDIVES’ GREEN INITIATIVES

The nation is using engineering solutions to put in place coastal protection projects, such as preserving and regenerating coral reefs. 

“So far, we have protected about 13 per cent of our reef area. We are using nature-based solutions on how we could possibly use it as a defence mechanism against tidal swells and coastal erosion,” said Ms Shauna.

“We are also looking at utilising new technology to collect data and better design our coastal protection and adaptation measures. So like I said, we’re not waiting for the world to come to us. We are already doing this (ourselves).”

With none of its islands able to meet the freshwater needs of its population of around 530,000 people, Maldives has built desalination plants across the archipelago. 

Through land reclamation projects, the nation has increased the size of some of its islands where the land is higher.

However, Ms Shauna acknowledged that land reclamation is a “double-edged sword” that also harms the environment and impacts marine resources.

Maldives is also constructing a floating city that can house 20,000 people using modular units attached to an underwater concrete hull that is screwed to the seabed.

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IN FOCUS: How a devastating oil spill has sparked new fears about Southeast Asia’s gas ‘feeding frenzy’

The crisis that may occur, which sparked a crisis that has persisted to this day, was illustrative of the growing fear among the medical community, environmental organizations, and energy analysts. & nbsp,

In particular, a regional rush to expand the fossil fuel industry, particularly in the form of liquefied natural gas ( LNG ) hubs and possibly many more activated oil and gas fields, is endangering the environment, climate, and livelihoods of the local population.

According to Mr. Ivan Andres, the assistant head of research and policy from the Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development( CEED ), a non-governmental organization in the Philippines that focuses on lasting energy, industry and management,” more and more tankers – LNG ships will be able to go through the area.”

” Of course, there are more possibilities of capsizing and fatal events like the one we saw in Oriental Mindoro given the increased number of these containers in the area.”

Big delivery and possibly hazardous cargoes are one of the signs of that industry’s expansion. The development of offshore oil and gas boring has also drawn more attention, as has the leak of heavy metals into waterways.

In the Philippines, Batangas, a town to the south of Manila in southern Luzon, is the hub of business activity. There, new or rebuilt power plants and LNG stations are being quickly put online as part of the country’s infrastructure.

The MT Princess Empress had been traveling through lakes in and around Batangas that were frequently used by tankers and cargo ships. LNG ships are becoming more and more prevalent.

They are the same waters used for generations by small-scale fisherfolk from places like Pola, the community worst hit by the oil spill, toNaujan, the epicentre of the disaster response activities for the weeks and months that followed after the incident.

These developments, beginning with the oil spill, the local growth of fossil fuel and LNG, as well as the numerous problems being faced by the coastal communities and fisherfolk, are unquestionably a wake-up call for increased safety and safeguarding of the Verde Island Passage, Mr. Andres said.

The factual data indicate that the Verde Island Passage’s value and health are deteriorating. It serves as evidence that its latest laws and policies are inadequate.

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