A shortage of policies on power tariffs for renewable energy, particularly solar electricity, has prevented the sector from attracting investors, said Prof Dang Dinh Thong from the Vietnam Clean Energies Association (VCEA).
Category: Region
Selected environmental stories from media outlets in the Mekong region and beyond.
Myanmar likely to join Asean Power Grid
MYANMAR is likely to be the fifth Asean country to sign up for the Asean Power Grid formed by Laos, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, energy ministers have said.
“We had long discussions with our Myanmar counterparts,” said Laos Vice Minister for Energy and Mines Viraphonh Vilavong. “They are keen to join. I expect that to be quite soon.”
Viraphonh on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Thai Energy Minister General Anantaporn Kanjanarat and Malaysian counterpart Johnity Ongkili that would allow the transportation of electricity.
Action Urged Over Illegal Mining
Rattanakiri provincial authorities were urged by a National Assembly commission yesterday to take swift action against illegal gem mining, which they blamed on infrastructure damage and tax revenue loss.
Speaking after a meeting with provincial authorities at the provincial hall, opposition member Heng Danaro said the province’s tourism sites were being made increasingly difficult to visit due to road and bridge damage caused by illegal mining operations.
Vietnam: Call To Free Imprisoned Bloggers
Vietnamese authorities should quash the politically motivated convictions of two bloggers and release them from prison, Human Rights Watch said. On September 22, 2016, the Higher People’s Court of Hanoi will hear the appeal of prominent blogger Nguyen Huu Vinh and his colleague Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy who ran a website critical of the Vietnamese government.
Regime’s absolute power is a danger to environment: experts
THAILAND faces many environmental issues as major development plans are being pushed ahead across the country, organic laws about the environment and community rights remain to be drafted and the forest reclamation campaign continues to cause conflicts, experts said on Wednesday.
The Thai Environmental Journalists Society held a forum and exhibition on current environmental issues and future challenges yesterday at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre. At the forum, many speakers flagged up the environmental issues the country faces.
Kratie’s Tourist Boat Operators Worry Over Don Sahong Dam Impacts in Laos
Two commune chiefs and tourist boat operators in Kratie province have expressed their dissatisfaction over the construction of Don Sahong Dam, saying people’s living conditions will be getting worse while biodiversity – including rare fish species and dolphins in the lower Mekong River – are facing a threat of becoming extinct in the future if the Lao dam proceeds with its construction.
Market mechanisms not the solution to pollution
“Market mechanisms will not solve pollution issues, only a State mechanism will,” Mr. Le Dang Doanh, senior economic expert, told Vietnam Economic Times’ Investment Attraction and Sustainable Development workshop held on September 20 in Hanoi.
Agreeing, Mr. Tran Du Lich, National Assembly Delegate for Ho Chi Minh City, said that the environment cannot be exchanged for profit. “Health, education and environmental issues cannot be regulated by a market mechanism; they are the responsibility of the State,” he said.
Water Conflicts and the Fate of Mekong Delta
Water conflict on the Mekong is getting increasingly tense and the fate of Mekong Delta is really being threatened by drought and salinity intrusion. The Kong-Chi-Mun-Loei project aims to get irrigation water supply for 4 river basin covering 1.8 million hectares for rainy season and about 900,000 hectares for dry season in 17 provinces of northeastern Thailand. The project will take the water amount equivalent of 1,200m3/s from Mekong River. In the dry season, the flow on the Mekong River in recent years is only about 2,500m3/sec. Thus, the amount of water Kong-Chi-Mun-Loei project would take almost accounts for half the amount of water on the Mekong.
What’s the Deal with “Sustainable Banking”?
Citizens in the Mekong region are increasingly hearing about “sustainable banking,” mostly associated with infrastructure and energy projects. It means regional banks, slow to commit to sustainability, are increasingly considering more responsible ways of doing business.
Cambodia recently joined Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, China and 20 other emerging market economies in committing to better environmental and social risk management practices under the International Finance Corporation’s (World Bank Group) Sustainable Banking Network. And just this week, the Association of Banks in Cambodia (ABC) announced an initiative promising to work toward sustainable banking principles for Cambodia, “as ways to mitigate the damage associated with infrastructure, energy and large scale agribusiness projects.”
Banking with a positive spin
A banking sector initiative launched yesterday aims to advise Cambodia’s financial sector on best practices for sustainable lending while capitalising on the growing pool of international funds that could flow into green and socially responsible projects.
The Sustainable Finance Initiative will conduct two years of research to identify best practices that can be applied by financial institutions when formulating their lending policies, such as ways to mitigate the damage associated with infrastructure, energy and large-scale agribusiness projects.