The Thai National Energy Policy Committee recently decided to purchase electricity generated by three planned hydropower projects on the Mekong River in Laos. Not surprisingly it’s the low purchases prices Thailand is able to lock in that makes Laos’ hydropower a major player in Thailand’s energy market, all the while brushing aside the incalculable, and mounting, social and environmental impacts of dams and reservoirs necessary to produce it.
Category: Region
Selected environmental stories from media outlets in the Mekong region and beyond.
Carbon pricing aids Vietnam’s efforts towards decarbonization
Vietnam’s revised Law on Environmental Protection (LEP) to be effective as of January 1, 2022 legalizes the establishment of a carbon market. The carbon market aims to address multiple goals: reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, enhancing Vietnam’s contribution to global climate change goals, and encouraging greener and cleaner technology innovation.
Study backs adoption of GMO tech
The suggestion was presented yesterday by Khunying Thongtip Ratanarat, a member of the board of the Petroleum Institute of Thailand, who was asked by the Energy Policy and Planning Office to conduct a study on a master plan on the fourth-phase development of the Thai petrochemical industry over the next three decades.
Rare earth metals used in electric vehicles may come from mines controlled by Myanmar junta
Amid the global effort to combat climate change, giant carmakers like Tesla hope to sell millions of electric vehicles to replace petrol-powered cars and trucks. But there’s a snag: one of the main source countries of a key metal used in the motors of many electric vehicles is military-ruled Myanmar.
Thailand agrees to buy electricity from Laos, ignoring NGOs’ concerns
“Laos is going to build all planned dams, including these two dams on the Mekong River,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Right now, our ministers are meeting and discussing our plans to sell all our power to Thailand.”
IEAT pushing to carbon neutral industrial zones
Nashida Kazuya, Japanese ambassador to Thailand, said Japan is the largest investor in Thailand so it should play a major role in helping the country carry out a carbon neutrality campaign in the industrial sector.
The $168 million Mekong-Australia Partnership launched
According to a statement from the Australian Embassy in Cambodia said the MAP provides support to the five countries in the Mekong subregion to strengthen economic recovery, environmental resilience, and human capacity, with a particular focus on bridging the development gap between Asean member states.
Laos pledges to diversify energy sources to minimise imports
From 2021-2025, we plan to produce 1,807MW of electricity, with hydropower accounting for 57 percent of the total, coal-fired power 19 percent and solar power 24 percent.
Growing Chinese investments in Myanmar post-coup
The junta has reorganised the working committees of several developmental projects that are crucial under the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor.
Dams and droughts, data and diplomacy in the Mekong
It does not seek to resolve the continuing tensions over how large dam building is planned and decided in the Mekong River and its tributaries, in particular without addressing the concerns of thousands of local communities who depend on the Mekong River for sustenance and livelihoods.