An environmental activist wearing a face mask depicting US President Donald Trump takes part in a Bangkok demonstration AFP/Lillian SUWANRUMPHA The United States, despite withdrawing from a landmark accord aimed at curbing climate change, is stonewalling vital UN talks over how to fund poorer nations as they battle against global warming, sources told AFP Saturday (Sep 8). US President Donald Trump caused global outrage by withdrawing from the Paris Accord last year but his country is still committed to the deal's roadmap, giving Washington leverage over the Bangkok conference. The issue of how funds are made available to developing nations has emerged as a key sticking point at the talks, which have made little headway since they opened on Tuesday. The Paris deal - hailed as a game-changer when struck in 2015 - promised US$100 billion annually from 2020 to poor nations already coping with floods, heatwaves and rising sea levels exacerbated by climate change. But it left room for … [Read more...] about US accused of blocking UN climate talks amid protests
Climate investment funds
Foreign funds to help domestic e payment firms with competition
Support from foreign investors is expected to help domestic e-payment firms create new things and make a difference in the competition with foreign players in the domestic e-payments market. The domestic e-payment market will become more dynamic. Photo: theleader.vn OnOnPay and VNPay receive foreign investment Vietnam remains a promising e-payment market with the increasing number of Internet users and smart phone owners. According to the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)’s survey, the number of transactions via mobile phones over 2017’s first nine months reached 90 million, up 93 per cent against 2016, and up 153 per cent against 2015. The number is expected to increase sharply in 2018. Investment fund Fenox Venture Capital from the US’ Silicon Valley has just confirmed pouring capital into domestic e-wallet application OnOnPay, but the value of the deal has not been revealed. The US fund also stated that this is its first investment in Vietnam. … [Read more...] about Foreign funds to help domestic e payment firms with competition
Business community voices suggestions to improve business climate
The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) reported that it had passed 1,152 petitions from the business community to relevant State agencies as of the end of November 2017.Of these, 954 had received replies. The information was released in VCCI’s latest document on last year’s outcome of the implementation of the government’s Resolution 35/NQ-CP on business assistance and development by 2020.The report said the businesses’ concerns mostly revolved around administrative reform, including tax and customs procedures, and environmental inspection. Firms also complained that a number of inspections were not needed or were unnecessarily prolonged, causing a waste of time and money for enterprises. Many regulations were complicated and overlapped among different ministries and sectors.They asked the State to improve the performance of funds for the development of science-technology, and small- and medium-sized enterprises. They also called for a frequent … [Read more...] about Business community voices suggestions to improve business climate
Business community’ voices help improve climate
The information was released in VCCI’s latest document on last year’s outcome of the implementation of the Government’s Resolution 35/NQ-CP on business assistance and development by 2020. Photo for illustration The report said the businesses’ concerns mostly revolved around administrative reform, including tax and customs procedures, and environmental inspection. Firms also complained that a number of inspections were not needed or unnecessarily prolonged, causing waste of time and money for enterprises. Many regulations were complicated and overlapped among different ministries and sectors. They asked the State to improve the performance of funds for the development of science-technology, and small- and medium-sized enterprises. The also called for frequent review of conditional business sectors in line with the Investment Law. The business community voiced their hope for equal access to resources and business opportunities, and asked for the … [Read more...] about Business community’ voices help improve climate
Can agriculture and the climate fix their ‘unhappy marriage’ in 2018?
After René Castro-Salazar attended the first U.N.-led climate talks in Berlin in 1985 as Costa Rica's environment and energy minister, he tried to talk about agriculture and climate change - but few wanted to join the conversation. "There was always opposition - and we couldn't understand why," said Castro, now assistant director-general at the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). To him, the need to tackle the topic was clear. Agriculture, forestry and other land uses together account for nearly a quarter of the greenhouse gas emissions heating up the planet, according to the FAO. Cutting these is essential if the world is to keep global temperature rise to a manageable level, said Castro. Farms and forests can also store large amounts of carbon, and simple actions by all countries could result in immediate environmental benefits, he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. In the early years, the climate negotiations focused on reducing emissions from the energy … [Read more...] about Can agriculture and the climate fix their ‘unhappy marriage’ in 2018?
China funds coal away from home
Nguy Thi Khanh, executive director and founder of the Green Innovation and Development Centre (GreenID), a Vietnamese non-profit promoting sustainable energy sector development, told VIR that China is playing a very substantial role in coal finance in Vietnam via its commercial banks – Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China, and China Construction Bank.“China is the biggest investor in coal-fired power plants in Vietnam, accounting for 50 per cent of Vietnam’s total foreign coal finance funded by nations, followed by Japan (23 per cent) and South Korea (18 per cent),” Khanh said. “While most developed nations and international organisations have stopped coal finance for Vietnam, and with the country in critical need of capital for developing energy – including coal-fired power – China stands ready to increase its coal finance to Vietnam. So Chinese investment capital is very necessary for the country.”A GreenID report … [Read more...] about China funds coal away from home
Conference reviews UN funded-program for new rural development
From 2014 to 2017, these programs contributed to raising rural residents’ awareness, improving public investment and policy building capacity in rural areas, and supporting the national target program on new rural development. They helped increase monthly income of rural residents and make positive changes in rural development in Vietnam.Vietnam has so far had 43 districts and nearly 2,900 communes, or one third of the total, recognised as new-style rural areas. The national target program on new rural development targets 50% of communes recognized as new-style rural areas by 2020 and increase the average income 1.8 times against 2015.The UNJP aims to provide technical assistance for the NTP-NRD in order to develop potential of Vietnam’s rural areas and coordinating UN offices’ technical assistance for Vietnam’s new-style rural area building.Its focus is on boosting technology transfer for the country’s agricultural production, improve the … [Read more...] about Conference reviews UN funded-program for new rural development
Banks, companies turn against coal as leaders seek cash for climate
Two years to the day since 195 nations sealed the Paris Agreement to avert worst-case-scenario climate change, the World Bank said it would stop financing oil and gas exploration and extraction - about two per cent of its portfolio now - from 2019.On the sidelines of a summit of some 60 leaders called by French President Emmanuel Macron, French insurer Axa said it would speed up its carbon sector divestment, pulling €2.5 billion (US$2.9 billion) from companies which derive more than 30 per cent of their revenues from coal.Dutch bank ING said it would have "close to zero exposure" to coal power generation by 2025, and a group of more than 200 global investors, including banking giant HSBC, launched a campaign to pressurise the world's largest corporate greenhouse gas emitters - including BP, Airbus, Volkswagen, and Glencore - to go greener.Summit participants, meanwhile, warned that … [Read more...] about Banks, companies turn against coal as leaders seek cash for climate
Investors turn against fossil fuels at Paris climate summit
PARIS: Major investors vowed on Tuesday (Dec 12) to move away from Earth-warming fossil fuels as world leaders met in Paris seeking to unlock new cash to save humanity from climate "doom".Two years to the day since 195 nations sealed the Paris Agreement to avert worst-case climate change, banks and companies announced billions of dollars of intended divestments from coal, oil and natural gas at a finance-themed climate summit.But conference host France, as well as the UN and the World Bank, said efforts to shift the global economy into a green energy future were too little and too slow, as a report warned about unprecedented Arctic warming."We are losing the battle" against climate change, French President Emmanuel Macron told delegates. "We are not moving fast enough."For his part, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said continued fossil-fuel subsidies amounted to humanity "investing in its own doom"."We are in a war for the very existence of life on our planet as we know it," … [Read more...] about Investors turn against fossil fuels at Paris climate summit
Leaders join France’s Macron to discuss climate cash crunch
Without trillions of dollars of investment in clean energy, the pact’s goal to keep global warming below two degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels will remain a pipedream, observers and participants warned on the eve of the Paris summit.Political action "will not be enough if we do not update and reset the global finance architecture and make all development low-emission, resilient, and sustainable," UN climate chief Patricia Espinosa said."We see some movement... but climate consideration must now be part of all private sector decisions," she said.After the Paris Agreement was adopted in 2015 to cheers and champagne, helped over the finish line by then US president Barack Obama, his successor Donald Trump has cast a long shadow over the process, withdrawing political support and finance.Money has long been a sore point in the UN climate process, with developing nations insisting on financial assistance to help them make the costly move to less-polluting energy … [Read more...] about Leaders join France’s Macron to discuss climate cash crunch