Increased consumption of the pollutive fossil fuel comes despite high-profile commitments and international aid to scale back coal dependence. The latest data from energy think tank Ember reveals the struggle both countries face amid rising energy demand to fuel growing economies.
Just as Malaysia commits to phase out coal power locally, the role of a government-owned development bank in financing arrangements of the Song Hau 2 coal plant in Vietnam has raised concerns about how this might jeopardise its neighbour’s decarbonisation aid package and undermine climate goals.
Indonesia has hatched a plan to reduce emissions from its coal-powered nickel trade amid growing scrutiny of its downstreaming policy. Environmentalists worry that the plan glosses over the impact of the booming trade on forests, biodiversity and local communities.
Singapore's largest telco is set to levy an internal carbon fee on a wider range of projects following earlier shadow pricing trials. Sustainability chief Aileen Tan tells Eco-Business going green faster is a business imperative.
Hartono, who runs the Indonesian chamber of commerce's decarbonisation unit and the world's largest carbon project, says achieving net zero without carbon credits in his country is like trying to fly to the moon in the 19th century.
A wind energy trade association aims to educate its members on offshore turbines' biodiversity impacts in the Philippines, along with strategies to maintain the sector's social license amidst the country's clean energy expansion.
Wind and solar expansion in the archipelago could mean renewables targets are met, but it has also worried environmentalists. A proposed wind farm in the Masungi Georeserve in Rizal province could impact up to a thousand hectares of karst landscape.
Adopting renewables and electricity imports adds to security concerns posed by global gas market volatility. Investors’ cold shoulder towards fossil energy could also threaten the longevity of Singapore’s gas plants, analysts say.
A growing number of pressures is pushing CSOs to the limit as the sustainability function expands and evolves. Eco-Business investigates burnout among sustainability leaders and asks if there is a remedy.
A South Korean law to ease tensions with fisherfolk could face months of delays after missing the legislative polls deadline, while more conflicts are surfacing in the Philippines. Can tighter financing criteria help avoid disputes?
Economist Michael Greenstone, who first put a price on emissions for the US government, says that unless the price gap between fossil fuels and clean energy narrows, poor countries will face difficult trade-offs amid climate breakdown.