Eco-Business: News, Opinion, Jobs, Events, Press Releases and Research for topic Energy

• Asia’s green finance rules face credibility test over natural gas: report
  IEEFA warns that including gas in a regional taxonomy could turn off investors who are concerned about being accused of pouring money into “greenwashing” exercises.
• Solar Impulse Foundation expands to Asia with Jeremy Lovey’s move to Singapore
  With the new move, Jeremy Lovey’s role will be vice president, development and partnerships in Asia Pacific.
• The 'diesel vs doughnuts' debate
  As the demand for vegetable oil soars, soybean farmers are deciding whether to sell their products for food or biofuel production. With biofuel producers emerging as the highest bidders, what does this mean for the future of food security?
• Rooftop solar to roll out on China’s public buildings
  The latest county-level trials could boost rooftop solar power generation over the next five years but new business models are needed to make them successful.
• Rooftops to railways: neighbourhoods race to hit net zero climate goals
  From Tokyo to London, community-driven green projects aim to speed up carbon neutrality in cities.
• Despite the warning signs, climate action is still painfully slow
  With the COP26 climate change negotiations in November, almost all countries and industry sectors are not doing nearly enough to reduce emissions. Climate action by Thailand and Singapore has been classed as 'critically insufficient'.
• Surging wind industry faces its own green dilemma: landfills
  The launch of 'the world’s first recyclable wind turbine blade' shines a light on the wind industry’s struggle to become resource-efficient.
• 'Tiger on my farm': Indian coal mining hub brings new dangers for villagers
  India is the world's second-largest coal producer and is ramping up mining to meet energy needs - but impacts are mostly negative for local communities, environmentalists say.
• Resorts World Sentosa's new sustainability chief prepares for the return of eco-conscious visitors
  When the pandemic subsides and travel returns, a new breed of eco-aware tourists are expected to patronise the casino-cum-theme park. Resorts World Sentosa's sustainability chief Loh Su Kim shares what her firm is doing to appeal to them.
• Civil society groups demand ADB rectify energy policy before crucial COP26 talks
  In the run-up to a key UN climate summit in November, activists urge the Asian Development Bank to eliminate fossil fuel projects in its proposed energy policy which are feared to undermine efforts to limit global heating to 1.5C.
• Electric vehicles in the Philippines: a mottled green solution
  [Special report] Electric vehicles promise to help slash greenhouse gas emissions and tackle air pollution choking Southeast Asia's cities. But, under the industry's bonnet are sustainability issues that dent its green credentials.
• Hydroelectric project in Sumatra risks extinction of world’s rarest orangutan
  As well as threatening the home of the critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan, environmentalists say the Batang Toru hydropower plant in Indonesia jeopardises the livelihoods of 130,000 people and increases the risk of landslides
• India’s renewable energy plants ‘not bird-friendly’
  Bird mortality high in India’s Thar desert, a hub for solar and wind energy, with the great Indian bustard especially threatened as it nears extinction.
• South Korea’s lavish coal funding has drawn global criticism — but even more money has gone to oil and gas
  While awareness of the nation's backing of climate-wrecking coal has grown, its financing spree for the oil and gas industry has flown under the radar, says a Korean climate policy group.
• To improve lives, rural electrification efforts must respond to local aspirations
  Fostering local innovation and equipping local service providers with the tools to deliver solutions that meet people’s needs can create sustainable development impact at scale.
• Indonesia’s pipeline of coal plants undermines pledge to only build renewables
  Although the country has said it will go all renewable from 2023, its current construction of lignite power plants will generate emissions for decades.
• Wet-season dam operations hit Mekong ecology and communities
  In early July 2021, Chinese dams began restricting the flow of the Upper Mekong. Researchers and activists say the consequences downstream are unknown and potentially severe.
• When the wind drops and the sun goes down: how can Southeast Asia handle fluctuating clean power supply?
  While solar and wind help countries meet energy security and environmental objectives, their variable nature poses challenges to electricity grids that require utilities to rethink operations.
• Southeast Asia's economy could grow by US$12.5 trillion by 2070 if the fossil fuel-dependent region decarbonises
  If Southeast Asia dramatically reduces greenhouse gas emissions over the next 50 years, its economy could grow by 3.5 per cent a year. If it doesn't decarbonise, it could lose $28 trillion by 2070, according to Deloitte projections.
• Building back badly: global power sector emissions rise beyond pre-Covid levels
  More coal was burned for electricity this year than before the pandemic, pushing emissions from power production to a new high. Developing Asia accounts for most of the increase, but no single nation has lived up to green recovery promises.