While the Burma people’s uprising or revolution is aimed at achieving the goal of uprooting the military junta and the establishment of a federal democratic union, the proxy war raging in Shan State may be intended solely to serve China’s national interest, with a matching physical presence of its proxy EAOs to provide security for its business interests and trade and communication infrastructure linking southwest China to the Indian Ocean.
Category: Region
Selected environmental stories from media outlets in the Mekong region and beyond.
Laos enlists Japan startup for study on digital currency
The initiative marks an attempt by Laos to extend the reach of its currency, the kip, as a digital Chinese yuan looms as a potentially powerful presence in the Southeast Asian nation with close economic ties to China.
The bleak outlook for Myanmar’s farmers
Myanmar’s rice farmers are facing higher production and transportation costs, lower yields, and low prices, leaving many worried they will no longer be able to earn enough to survive.
China’s crypto ban a big boon for little Laos
After China’s recent cryptocurrency crackdown, impoverished Laos is now allowing Bitcoin mining, fueled by abundant hydroelectric power from the Mekong River and shrugging off US warnings of disastrous environmental problems.
Untold impact on northern Thailand’s wildlife from Mekong dams
Otters, fish and birds along the Ing and Ruak rivers face threats from hydropower dams on the Mekong, but understanding is lacking of the true impacts on the ecology of these Mekong tributaries
Vietnam says no extension of price offer for wind power developers
In an email interview with Reuters earlier this month, William Gaillard, Asia Pacific sales vice-president of wind turbine provider Vestas, said that without the FiT, projects face huge uncertainty over their future revenue, if not a risk of default under their project finance terms.
Cambodia counts the cost of its push to expand coal-fired power
Bridget McIntosh, country director of EnergyLab Cambodia, said there was still an opportunity to change course. “Cambodia can take existing coal and hydro and build the rest out with solar, wind,” she said. “Balancing the analysis shows this will be reliable and cheaper than current plans.”
“Building Back Better”: Southeast Asia’s transition to a green economy after COVID-19
Through its assessment, APHR found that only minimal green policy measures have been adopted as part of the national COVID-19 recovery plans. Moreover, the few positive measures approved were critically undermined by the widespread adoption of those that contribute to global warming and create significant barriers to a low-carbon economic transition. Countries in the region clearly lacked a unified strategy on a green recovery from COVID-19.
Mekong-ROK Cooperation Fund
The Republic of Korea (ROK) is the donor of the MKCF. From 2013, ROK provided US $ 10.42 million to foster regional support and cooperation among the Mekong member countries. The ROK pledged additional contributions of $ 4 million into the fund in 2021 in advancing needs-based cooperation in the Mekong region.
Vietnam should walk the talk in climate actions
The “critically insufficient” rating indicates that Vietnam’s GHG target in 2030 reflects minimal to no action and is not at all consistent with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C temperature limit. If all countries were to follow Vietnam’s approach, warming would exceed 4°C.