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Coal

Sumitomo begins construction on 1.3GW coal-fired power plant in Vietnam

26 August 2019

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Vietnam

Sumitomo has started construction of the 1.3GW Van Phong 1 coal-fired power project in the Van Phong Special Economic Zone in Vietnam’s Khanh Hoa Province.

The company is involved in the power project through its wholly-owned subsidiary Van Phong Power Company.

The coal-fired Van Phong 1 power plant will include two 660MW power-generating units and is being built at a cost of JPY280bn (£2.16bn).

Sumitomo will complete the project on build-operate-transfer (BOT) model. Once complete, it will sell the electricity to Vietnam Electricity (EVN), the country’s state-owned power company, over a period of 25 years. The project is expected to reach commercial operation by the end of 2023.

As per Sumitomo, the demand for electric power has risen sharply in Vietnam and it is sharply in line with the rapid economic growth. Resolving the power shortages is expected to become a pressing issue for the country in the near future.

Vietnam aims to generate 129.5GW of energy by 2030

Under its revised National Power Development Plan VII originally formulated in 2016, the Vietnamese government is striving to meet power demand growing about 10% annually by increasing its power generation capacity to 96.5GW by 2025 and to 129.5GW by 2030.

Sumitomo, in a statement, said: “While the Group’s general policy is to refrain from building new coal-fired power plants, it has decided to make case-by-case assessments of projects deemed essential for the economic and industrial development of local communities that conform to policies established by Japan and the host country with due consideration for international efforts and trends toward mitigating climate change, and it was on this basis that this project was undertaken.”

In July, Sumitomo, in partnership with Electric Power Development (J-POWER) commenced offshore ground investigation to explore the possibility of developing an offshore wind power plant.

Sumitomo said that they are investigating around Hirashima and Enoshima islands off the coast of Saikai City, Nagasaki Prefecture.

Energy Policy

Energy minister ties up with PTT to lower energy costs

26 August 2019

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Thailand

Energy Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong is collaborating with PTT Plc to find ways of reducing the cost of electricity for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

“We believe we should be able to announce some measures in September,” the minister said, adding that the aim will be to make electricity cheaper for SMEs, so they are not burdened by high production costs.

“We cannot say what kind of measure it will be, but we have an idea and it has to be discussed with PTT before we decide how to implement it,” he said.

The Energy Ministry is also working with the Finance Ministry on special measures for the low-income strata that will be implemented through the state welfare card.

Under these measures, welfare card holders will be divided into two groups: disabled people who cannot work, and people employed as taxi drivers, motorcycle taxi drivers and chauffeurs. The first group will require a subsidy on electricity, while the second group will require a reduction in energy costs, he said.

PTT Plc is currently helping the second group by reducing the price of natural gas for vehicles (NGV), he said.

Renewables

Something Is Very Wrong on the Mekong River

26 August 2019

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Cambodia

The Mekong is reeling from the combined onslaught of climate change, sand-mining, and incessant damming of the river, which combined to help cause the worst drought recorded in over 100 years in July.

“This is the worst ecological disaster in history of the of Mekong region,” declared Thai natural resources expert Chainarong Setthachua.

The water level in the Tonle Sap, Cambodia’s great inland lake, the “beating heart of the Mekong,” was reduced to unprecedented shallow areas with one floating village almost completely dried up. Almost unbelievable for Tonle Sap locals was that this happened in not in the dry season, but two months into the rainy season.

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Youk Sengleng an NGO fisheries expert stationed by the Tonle Sap, shared his observations: “Many fish died because of the shallow water, hot temperature, and toxic water resulting from lack of oxygen. Around 2.5 million people who depend on the lake’s once abundant fisheries have been directly affected. “

Taking too much water out of a river essentially sucks the life out of it. Pollutants become more concentrated and water flows dwindle, resulting in the build-up of sediments that clog up the river bed.

During a normal rainy season, the Tonle Sap expands its size to over 40 percent based on a 7-8 meter rise in water level in the Mekong after the heavy monsoon rains. This amazing “flood pulse” phenomenon, whereby the Mekong reverses the flow of the Tonle tributary back into the great lake, usually happens between the end of the August and mid-September.

A heavy cloud of uncertainty and anxiety hangs over the fate of the river now. It changes course every year, but seldom with such a diminished flood pulse. It is already too weak to support the level of fish breeding and food security that normally sustains 60 million people living in the Lower Mekong basin. Even if the river finally fulfills its heavenly mandate from the Gods of Angkor to change course, his year millions will still suffer from a scarcity of fish and a protein deficiency until fish stocks recover.

Ian Cowx, director of Hull University’s International Fisheries Institute (HIFI) in the U.K., explained that the biggest long-term obstacle to the recovery of fisheries would not come from climate change and this drought, but rather from the dams upstream.

According to HIFI research, “all fish species are adapted to periods of droughts and floods” and the climate factor does not cause a risk of species extinction. “The big issue here is whether other activities such as flow regulation and [the] barriers effect caused by hydropower, pollutants, and sediment extraction have degraded the habitat, and increased the risk of extinction,” according to Cowx. “Perhaps the biggest problem here is the reduction in flows caused by Chinese dams, the Lower Sesan 2 dam [on a Mekong tributary in Cambodia] and the loss of the Hou Sahong channel because of Don Sahong dam.”

In addition to these, the Xayaburi dam, the first dam to be launched and almost completed on the Lower Mekong, is another example of predicted long-term damage to the ecosystem, far greater than the problem of temporary water fluctuations.

The primary reason for the acutely low water level in the Mekong this July was the lack of rainfall, but operations at the Jinghong dam in China, and the almost completed massive Xayaburi dam in Laos, have also been blamed for exacerbating the water crisis. China decided to “turn off the Mekong tap” from the Jinghong on the grounds that they had to carry out “grid maintenance.”

At the same time critics have also pointed the finger at the Xayaburi dam for engaging in special tests that closed the floodgates. That further angered Thai farmers 220 km downstream in Chiang Rai province.

While the Thai dam construction company CK Karnchang denies any responsibility for aggravating the water crisis, Thai NGOs have petitioned Thailand’s Administrative Court, demanding that EGAT, the Thai Electricity Commission, delay purchases of electricity from Xayaburi dam, pending further investigation into its potential role in the unseasonal drought. This litigation could delay the scheduled October launch of the dam.

Everything is changing along the Mekong. Droughts are increasing; water resources are decreasing. The rich abundance of fisheries and biodiversity are threatened both from climate change and the unregulated damming of the river.

Chainarong, who teaches political ecology and natural resources management at Maha Sarakham University, asserted, “Today, we can see from the case of Chinese dams in upstream and Xayaburi dam in [Laos] that Mekong governments and their policies have unleashed an ecological disaster in the biggest river basin in the region.”

But in spite of various scientific warnings about the Mekong’s critical decline, policymakers and governments have not heeded civil society ‘s demands to impose greater environmental controls to safeguard a Mekong under siege.

An important wake-up call was delivered by the Mekong River Commission (MRC), which is composed of four member states: Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam. The MRC officially launched its Council Study report on hydropower impacts in 2018. Among many alarming conclusions, the report found that there would be a 35-40 percent reduction in fish biomass by 2020. Moreover, the report warned that hydropower development through 2040 will eliminate migratory fish in large parts of the Mekong. No Mekong migratory fish species will be able to survive in the reservoirs of dams planned by 2020 and 2040.

Given that the MRC fisheries department has reported the value of the Mekong fisheries — the largest freshwater fisheries in the world — at $11 billion in wild-capture fish (excluding fish farms) for the MRC countries alone, observers might reasonably expect deep concern about the dire prospect of fish extinction.

However, three of the four member states — Laos, Thailand, and Cambodia — surprisingly declined to endorse this landmark document based on five years of research, and have shown little desire to debate the report at all. Only Vietnam welcomed and endorsed the report.

Locals observe erosion in the Mekong Delta in July 2019. Photo by Tran Van Tu.

“The Mekong governments really need to wake up to the alarms of recent years, and start working together for the common good,” urges wetlands ecologist Dr. Nguyen Huu Thien, who has worked on several international reports on the Mekong as a consultant for WWF and ICEM.

In an interview with Thien in Can Tho, he mapped out his long-term concerns for his nation’s future: “The delta is sinking because most of the nutrient-rich sediment vital to replenishing the delta is trapped upstream by dams. This causes large-scale environmental degradation that is also linked to regional instability and tension. In the future the delta will no longer be able to sustain its 18 million population. They will have to flee as migrants and refugees. Hydropower in the Mekong region is sowing the seed for regional instability and it could become a regional security issue.”

New research published by the Stockholm Environment Institute in 2018 revealed that 96 percent of the nutrient-rich sediment of the Mekong will never reach the delta if all 11 dams mapped out for the Lower Mekong are built.

If upstream damming and environmental degradation results in Vietnam “losing” the delta, it would mean the loss of its major source of rice, fruit, and vegetables, which account for nearly 25 percent of GDP. Dr Thien wonders if, “in the long-term, without the delta, Vietnam can survive as a nation?”

When and if the damming could be stopped, the WWF’s water resources lead Marc Goichot explains there would be multiple benefits to the river: “Keeping the Lower Mekong free flowing would make some 28 million people in Cambodia and Vietnam more resilient to climate and water disasters while improving their food security.”

Hopes are rising that hydropower dams could soon be regarded as obsolete as renewable energy from solar and wind power is catching on in the region. Mekong energy analyst Brian Eyler a director at the U.S.-based Stimson Center believes that MRC states are starting to embrace renewable energy and will eventually shift away from hydropower. “Since the Xayaburi dam began construction in 2012 much has changed,” he said. “I am sure some officials in Thailand’s government regretfully see the Xayburi dam (bankrolled by Thailand) as an entirely unnecessary project.”

The original dream of the MRC’s 1995 Agreement was one river of international cooperation and the equitable sharing of water resources. But Dr. Thien Ding Tran, the director of Hanoi’s Institute of Economics, speaking at a Mekong Forum a few years ago, lamented that is not how it has worked out. “We can only save the Mekong by shedding the narrow ‘pond’ mentality of making profit from [each state’s sovereign segment of the river] in the name of development.”

Some cynical commentators may argue it is too late to turn things around and chart a new and more sustainable path for the Mekong. At a time when the health of the Mekong is endangered as never before, Thai academic Chainarong is convinced otherwise. “It is not too late to protect this river by stopping all dam projects in the pipeline, and developing a different Mekong policy based on compliance with the World Commission on Dams and the full participation of civil society and riverine communities.”

“All Mekong governments should collaborate to prevent the worst impacts of natural disasters, ecological damage and the plunder of natural resources with a different Mekong policy, balancing environmental protection with development,” Chainarong continued.

Tom Fawthrop is a freelance journalist and film-maker based in Southeast Asia.

Energy-Climate & Environment

Climate calamities will make Asia’s poorest people poorer—UN

26 August 2019

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ASEAN

On 8 November 2013, Typhoon Haiyan ripped through the middle of the Philippines, taking more than 6,300 civilian lives and displacing four million residents.

With food prices surging, livelihoods ruined, and homes lost, the storm—one of the most powerful tropical cyclones ever recorded—pushed more than a million more Filipinos into poverty in an already poor country.

From cyclones and floods to droughts and heatwaves, a relentless sequence of natural disasters continues to hit the Asia-Pacific region, causing the greatest damage in poor and marginalised communities, according to the 2019 Asia-Pacific Disaster Report by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.

“Most of the poor communities in the region live in high disaster risk areas, and they have limited means to cope with and prepare for the frequent extreme climate events that result in them being hit the hardest,” said Tiziana Bonapace, director of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and disaster risk reduction division at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

When disasters erode livelihoods, vulnerable families often find themselves stripped of their ability to absorb shocks. And as they try to cope by decreasing nutritional intake or removing children from school, parents inadvertently pass poverty down to their children—a vicious cycle that inhibits poverty reduction and threatens to reverse hard-won development gains in the region, reads the analysis.

By 2030, the study estimates, 56 million people in the region will live in extreme poverty, but unless governments in Asia-Pacific take adequate measures to build up communities’ resilience to mitigate disaster risks, this number could more than double to 123 million.

Preparing communities for the worst requires funding, posing a financial challenge for the region, Bonapace told Eco-Business. But with hazards on the rise, the damage and losses from unmitigated disasters will be a far greater burden than targeted investments in resilience made now, she said.

Already, the annual economic loss for Asia and the Pacific resulting from natural hazards amounts to a staggering $675 billion, the report has found.

The 2019 Asia-Pacific Disaster Report comes in the same week that WWF revealed in a study that the vast majority of banks in Asean are indifferent to the threats posed by climate change and other environmental and social ills in their lending operations. More than nine in 10 banks in Asean still finance carbon intensive coal power plants, and not a single bank adequately addresses water risks, the WWF has found.

It is the responsibility of governments to protect their people, and ensure resilient and sustainable development.

Tiziana Bonapace, director, disaster risk reduction division, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)

In Asia-Pacific, the UN study says, the intersection between risks from disasters and socioeconomic vulnerabilities is particularly pronounced because the region is home to a number of fragile hotspots with populations vulnerable to droughts, floods and other climate-related hazards.

These include, for example, the transboundary river basins of South and Southeast Asia, where poverty and hunger are coupled with exposure to intensifying floods alternating with prolonged droughts, and the Pacific Small Islands Developing States such as Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and Samoa, where populations and infrastructure are highly vulnerable to sea-level rise.

The region is also more exposed to disaster risks than any other in the world. Last year, nearly half of the 281 natural disaster events worldwide occurred in the Asia-Pacific, the study shows.

And in the face of accelerating climate change, such hazards are only going to increase in intensity and frequency, said Winston Chow, associate professor of humanities at Singapore Management University and one of the lead authors for the sixth assessment report on climate change by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which is due in 2021.

“Climate change will increase the risk exposure of people living in cities, especially those along the coast, and the risks of these will depend on their location. Cities in areas where more intense tropical cyclones are expected to make landfall, for instance, will be in a particularly difficult situation in the years to come,” he told Eco-Business.

Outpacing disaster risk

Vulnerable groups, the study has found, are often excluded from the benefits of investment in resilience due to barriers in accessing land, reliable early warning systems, finance and decision-making structures.

To close this gap and make disaster resilience more inclusive, governments have to cease treating social policies and disaster resilience as separate policy domains, according to Bonapace.

In other words, policy reforms for more inclusive and empowered societies, such as pro-poor growth strategies and investments in the social sectors of education, health and social protection, can bring down the number of people living in extreme poverty substantially in spite of natural hazards—if they are informed of such risks, she explained.

Conversely, communities where poverty compounds vulnerabilities need to be identified in order to tailor investments to local contexts, the UN report reads.

Different groups have unique vulnerabilities and capacities, after all, but just as diverse are the reasons why communities find their ability to cope with natural hazards eroded, ranging from socio-economic circumstances to environmental fragility—and interventions must take all these into account, the study shows.

In regions stricken by environmental degradation, for instance, restoring polluted groundwater bodies or replanting lost forest can boost communities’ resilience to water shortages or floods, respectively.

A major obstacle is that official data collection systems which help governments analyse trends of complex disaster risks often exclude the most vulnerable who are difficult to reach. To reduce such barriers, emerging technologies, ranging from geospatial and satellite data to data sets from mobile phone tracking and computer-based flood models, could play a vital role, the study shows.

With steep disaster losses and the nexus between poverty, inequality and disaster risk growing stronger, the need for governments to act becomes increasingly urgent, said Bonapace.

She adds: “It is the responsibility of governments to protect their people, and ensure resilient and sustainable development.”

Eco Friendly Vehicle

An idea to electrify 1 million boats in Southeast Asia—inspired by Ikea

26 August 2019

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ASEAN

All around Southeast Asia, experiments in the electrification of transport are underway. Buses in Thailand, cars in Malaysia, scooters in Myanmar, bicycles in Singapore, and jeepneys in the Philippines. But, as sea levels rise around the climate-vulnerable sub-region, what about transport of the seafaring variety?

Hans van Mameren, a septuagenarian Dutchman who runs Singapore-based renewable energy consultancy Energy Renewed, has an ambitious plan to electrify one million diesel boats in Southeast Asia.

The aim? To build a sustainable business ecosystem around e-boats, and in so doing reduce the region’s reliance on fossil fuels, curb pollution, and improve the health and livelihoods of local communities in one of the regions at greatest risk from climate change.

Van Mameren and his team were inspired by the Ikea model of homeware distribution and assembly when they came up the plan. His company will supply the parts for the boats and instructions for how to assemble the kit, but ultimately, the vessels will be put together by local boat builders who can sell off the completed boats and turn a profit.

Van Mameren (right) accompanies Frederik Sarwa, a Biak tribesman from Raja Ampat, who is carrying an outboard motor that is to be converted into an electric engine in Singapore. Image: Eco-Business

“The whole world is in hot pursuit of electric cars, buses and scooters. But they forgot about boats. There are literally millions of boats in Southeast Asia. If you let this market get away, you’re making a big mistake,” said Van Mameren, who spent 50 years in the shipping business before launching his clean energy venture in 2017.

A lot of boats

Heavy, diesel-powered wooden boats are the primary form of transport for navigating the waterways of developing Southeast Asia. Referred to as rua hang yao in Thailand, thuyền gỗ in Vietnam, bangkas in the Philippines and jukungs in Indonesia, these vessels are typically made of timber from fully-grown trees and crafted by local boat builders. Motor engines, fuelled by diesel, are then fitted so that the boats can traverse long distances.

Southeast Asia simply could not function without this life-supporting mode of transport. The Philippines is made up of 7,641 islands, while 13,466 islands make up the Indonesian archipelago. One of the most important rivers in the world, the Mekong, is home to 60 million people spread across Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand who live along its tributaries and depend on the river for food, water and jobs.

Fishing boats anchored on the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. Image: Xuanhuongho / Shutterstock.com

Many of the region’s boat users are fishermen; one fifth of the world’s fish catch comes from Southeast Asia, and Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines make the list for the world’s top 10 fish producers.

Another big part of the region’s boat fleet is devoted to tourism; popular travel destinations such as Krabi, Phuket, Boracay and Bali use smaller vessels for island-hopping tours.

The idea

Boat in Indonesia with solar panels on its roof

What won’t work. With only two solar panels on its roof, the solar capacity of this heavy wooden boat in Indonesia could only power the lighting, says Van Mameren.

Increasing boat numbers have sparked concerns over fuel leaks and noise pollution, which harm marine life and affect fisheries and the quality of tourist sites. Responding to this need, renewable energy solutions such as solar-powered boats have been making waves in Southeast Asia.

Besides creating the boat assembly kit, Van Mameren’s bigger ambition is to work with solar technology specialists to install solar panels in villages where his electric boats operate. These panels will supply clean energy to charge the boats and also provide electricity for daily consumption—an important bonus for those living off-grid.

Describing local boat builders as “craftsmen”, Van Mameren is confident that locals who use wooden boats can easily translate their traditional boat building skills into the modern composite boat building that is needed for electric boats. His assembly kits will come with an instruction manual in the local language, and he also intends to organise training sessions to familiarise local boat builders with the assembly procedure.

Van Mameren also thinks that his idea, while expensive at the outset, will generate savings over the long term.

According to his calculations, Indonesian fishermen in the divers’ paradise of Raja Ampat, West Papua, spend about half of their incomes on fuel. So, instead of selling the assembly kit at prices that are beyond the incomes of local boat folk, he intends to work with local dealers to lease his electric boat assembly kits at prices lower than what they would spend on fuel.

Perhaps the biggest appeal of Van Mameren’s solution is its capacity to double as a rural electrification scheme. If he can secure partners to install solar panels on his customers’ homes, he thinks that locals are very likely to embrace his renewable energy solution.

“Most fisherman load ice blocks from the main ports and ferry them back to their villages to preserve their catch. If they have electricity in their villages, they can power small refrigerating units and preserve their fish there,” said Van Mameren.

The future

Currently, Energy Renewed’s team of engineers in Singapore is working on a prototype for their electric boat assembly kit, and they plan to go to market by the end of 2020. Two prototypes have been designed, one for a catamaran and another for a longboat.

The prototype of Energy Renewed's e-catamaran

The prototype of Energy Renewed’s electric catamaran. Image: Energy Renewed

How fast and how far the project will go depends whether Energy Renewed can secure the necessary funding, get the right partners on board and win support from policymakers.

“If they [policymakers] can drive the initial wave of change from traditional boats to electric boats, then we have a greater chance of success,” said Van Mameren. “If they are still subsidising and promoting fossil fuels, then it’s harder for us. If governments plan for all cars to be electric in five to ten years’ time, then we can simply say, do boats too.”

The end-of-life sustainability of the electric boats, which will be made from lightweight but non-biodegradable fibreglass, will also depend on local industrial waste management policies. Van Mameren recalls seeing old wooden boats laying abandoned in creeks and ports in West Papua.

As he looks for partners and funding for his renewable energy solution, Van Mameren is optimistic about the scalability and replicability of his idea.

“The principle and concept works everywhere, you just have to adjust it slightly to the local situation. After all, a boat is a boat,” he said.

Renewables

PLN and ESDM partner in exploration on geothermal project at Mataloko, Indonesia

26 August 2019

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Indonesia

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and PT PLN (Persero) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) of exploration studies and drilling of production wells in the Mataloko Geothermal Working Area (WKP).

The MOU was signed by the Head of Geology Agency Rudy Suhendar and PLN’s Strategic Procurement 1 Director Sripeni Inten Cahyani in July 2019.

Head of Research and Development Agency of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Dadan Kusdiana said the government is committed to increasing the electrification ratio in NTT Province through accelerating electricity infrastructure projects that are sourced from geothermal energy. The signing of the MoU was seen as a form of government commitment.

Flores Island in NTT has 12 regions with geothermal potential, three of which have obtained WKP management permits, namely Ulumbu, Mataloko, and Sokoria with a total installed capacity of 12.5 MW.

With the utilization of geothermal potential, in the future it is expected to significantly increase the electrification ratio in NTT. The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources noted the electrification ratio of NTT was among the lowest in Indonesia with 72 percent achievement as of June 2019.

“Along with the development of tourism in the region, electricity demand in NTT continues to increase. Currently, most of NTT’s electricity needs are still being supplied by diesel power plants [PLTD],” he said through an official statement.

In this collaboration, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources through the Public Service Agency (BLU) Center for Research and Development of Electricity Technology, New Energy, Renewable and Energy Conservation (P3TKEBTKE) and BLU Institute for Oil and Gas (Lemigas) will carry out several geothermal studies, including studies risk mitigation, geophysical geochemical geological studies, analysis of environmental impact (EIA) studies, and the use of mobile hydraulic rigs.

Previously, the Lemigas BLU and PLN had worked together to provide consulting services for calculating the actual losses of the Arun Block regasification and procurement of consulting services for the study of gas prices for PLN electricity.

The role of the Geological Agency in this collaboration will be carried out by the Center for Mineral Resources, Coal and Geothermal (PSDMBP) because it has the capability and equipment for geothermal exploration drilling.

Meanwhile, PT PLN Gas and Geothermal (PT PLN GG) as a subsidiary of PLN that handles gas infrastructure and the supply of geothermal electricity, was assigned to develop the Watal Mataloko in the construction of a 2.5 MW PLTP.

Others

Indonesia picks coal and oil heartland as site of new capital city

26 August 2019

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Indonesia

JAKARTA — Indonesia’s new capital city will sit at the nexus of the country’s coal and oil hubs in eastern Borneo, the president revealed on Aug. 26.

President Joko Widodo, who has long teased relocating the capital from the chronically congested and fast-sinking Jakarta, announced that the new capital would straddle the border between the two districts of North Penajam Pasar and Kutai Kartanegara, in East Kalimantan province.

“It’s a strategic location in the middle of Indonesia,” the president said at a press conference in Jakarta. He said the location was chosen based on a three-year assessment of the risk of disasters such as floods, landslides, forest fires, earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions.

Widodo said the government already owned 180,000 hectares (445,000 acres) of land there, an area about the size of London. He also cited its proximity to Balikpapan, the country’s oil hub, and Samarinda, the East Kalimantan provincial capital. Both cities have an international airport. Balikpapan is also home to refineries and a busy seaport, while Samarinda hosts the country’s main coal terminal. Kutai Kartanegara, in which the new capital will sit, is Indonesia’s biggest coal producer.

A map showing East Kalimantan province, in light red, and the two districts of North Penajam Paser and Kutai Kartanegara. Indonesia’s capital will straddle the border area between the two districts. Image courtesy of President Joko Widodo’s Twitter account.

Construction is expected to begin as early as 2021, with a completion date of 2024, when Widodo’s second and last term in office ends, according to Bambang Brodjonegoro, Indonesia’s planning minister.

“The masterplan that we’ve been developing will hopefully become an ideal city, and most importantly, will be the standard for the development of big cities in metropolitan areas in Indonesia,” Bambang told reporters in Jakarta on Aug. 1.

The first phase of the city slated for completion in 2024 will span 2,000 hectares (nearly 5,000 acres), or almost six times the size of New York City’s Central Park. By 2045, the new capital will be spread over 200,000 hectares of land — and no protected forests will have to be deforested for the new development, according to the planning minister.

That’s because the new capital will have at least 50 percent “open green space,” which includes recreational parks, a zoo, botanical garden, and sports complex “integrated into the natural landscape such as hilly areas and river systems,” Bambang said.

“The open green space won’t mean it’s cleared land, but an actual green area, and our concept is that of a forest city,” he said. “So as we build the new capital from zero, we will also restore the environment in Kalimantan. This is our strategy to ensure that the environment will not be disturbed as the development of new capital takes place.

“Our big commitment is that this won’t reduce the size of protection area forest in Indonesia,” he added.

Bambang has not shared with any outside environmental groups or experts what the concept of a “forest city” entails, or how it would be possible to create extensive urban space within a forested environment without disturbing the ecosystem.

The planning minister said the move would cost an estimated $33 billion, with the government intending to cover less than 10 percent of that and encouraging public-private partnerships to finance the bulk of the development costs. Some 1.5 million people, mostly civil servants, will move from Jakarta to the new capital.

President Widodo, center, visits a location in East Kalimantan province in July with regional government officials. Image courtesy of the East Kalimantan government.

Kalimantan is home to 37 million hectares (91 million acres) of tropical forest, about 7 million hectares (17 million acres) of which are designated as protected areas, according to the national statistics agency. Before its separation with North Kalimantan, East Kalimantan had the largest span of protected forest in Indonesian Borneo, covering more than 2.8 million hectares (6.9 million acres).

Indonesian Borneo, known as Kalimantan, is the third most populated region in the country, after the islands of Java and Sumatra (both of which are significantly smaller in size), and the government estimates the current population of about 16 million will increase by nearly a third to more than 20 million by 2035.

The region is home to indigenous communities whose lives revolve around intact forests, as well as to critically endangered species such as Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus).

But industrial-scale forest clearing in recent decades — for mining, logging, and oil palm cultivation — has threatened the well-being and lives of both human and animal inhabitants of Kalimantan. The extensive draining of the island’s peat forests to make way for agriculture has also rendered the organic-rich soil highly flammable. In 2015 alone, nearly half of the deforestation recorded in Indonesia, or nearly 800,000 hectares (2 million acres) of forest loss, occurred in Kalimantan.

A recent study evaluating large-scale road-building projects in Kalimantan, ongoing and planned, shows that they will fragment the forests further, threatening the forest corridors vital to the wildlife. Such a transformation, the authors say, is “worrisome” because the region hosts one of the world’s largest tracts of native tropical forest, spanning an area a quarter the size of Alaska.

The plan has also sparked worries it will exacerbate environmental and social problems in Kalimantan, which has a long history of deadly conflicts between the indigenous population and migrants from other islands. Indigenous rights activists warn there could be a surge in land grabs as speculators look to cash in on demand for land for the new capital.

Aerial view of a village in Kutai Kartanegara District, East Kalimantan province, on Dec. 18, 2017. Image by Nanang Sujana/CIFOR.

Energy-Climate & Environment

More S’poreans aware of climate change but not doing enough to slow crisis, say activists

25 August 2019

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Singapore

SINGAPORE — Some activists believe that while more Singaporeans are aware of climate change, their level of understanding is still superficial, and that habits are not yet changing enough to make a significant difference.

Corporations, government bodies and the wider community are mostly underestimating the seriousness of the issue, and more needs to be done urgently to tackle the crisis, they add.

Mr Sivasothi N, 52, a senior lecturer at the Department of Biological Sciences at the National University of Singapore (NUS) is among those who have been struck by the change in mindsets here — even if it’s at a modest level.

He told TODAY on Friday (Aug 23) that he was surprised to hear that the administrative officers at NUS were receptive when a group of student activists asked for more plant-based options to be available in the canteens university-wide. Growing plant-based food produces far less carbon emissions than meat products, for example.

“This is so crazy. It’s not something that was happening 10 years ago, it’s no longer a strange idea. The modern individuals who care about this now have support from their peers and even the authorities,” he said.

Mr Sivasothi said that the change he has observed in the mindsets of Singaporeans over the last decade has been “phenomenal”. Previously, such demands would have never been entertained by the authorities, he added.

MORE BECOMING MINDFUL OF CLIMATE CHANGE

Some middle-aged Singaporeans are getting the message from the young.

Madam Chan Yen Ling, 51, has started to make the conscious choice to refuse plastic bags from the cashier since she attended her daughter’s graduation in Edinburgh, Scotland in July.

Her daughter, 22, who studied Ecological and Environmental Science at the University of Edinburgh, makes a habit of taking grocery bags to the supermarket.

For Mdm Chan, a key moment in her change of habit was seeing an image of a whale which had died after ingesting too many plastic bags in the ocean.

“I saw that whales have died because they are too full of plastic. Such a terrible way to die. And we lose such a magnificent animal all because of plastic bags. These kinds of animal stories will affect me a lot so I will really try to use less plastic bags, or use it many times to try and maximise it,” she said.

An environmental activist Ms Maria Tan, 24, has also observed a mindset shift over the years where environmental issues are now spoken about more frequently.

“Climate change has gotten a lot more airtime in recent years, especially in 2018. I think it is also because there has been more media coverage on environmental issues over the past few years,” said the co-founder of Back to Ground Zero, a local environmental group.

Earth Society vice-president, Mr Low Chip Khoon, 46, has noted a rise in the number of companies which have approached the group to conduct talks about climate change.

Once the message of climate change is made clear to the attendees, they are usually keen on learning how they can do their part to mitigate the effects of climate change, he added.

BUT UNDERSTANDING IS STILL SUPERFICIAL

Ms Tan Beng Chiak, 57, who is a member of the Nature Society Singapore and a board member of the Jane Goodall Institute, said that while Singaporeans have become more aware of climate change, most are still largely unaware of the consequences of their actions on the environment.

“Even though they know it is a concern, they will still prioritise their own needs, such as turning the air-conditioning on or running the tap,” she said.

“It is still unlikely that Singaporeans would go out of their way to ensure that their actions do not have any impact on the environment,” she added.

“People are also not concerned about finding out where their money is going, whether their banks are investing in ventures that ruin the environment,” she said.

Agreeing, Ms Lee Guat Keow, 51, said that younger people still place greater importance on efficiency and convenience over thinking carefully about their consumption habits.

Ms Lee, an art therapist and school counsellor who is passionate about the environment, said she observes that the younger generation — including her own children — still choose their own comfort and desires over being more prudent about their use of resources.

“They consume to meet their needs, buying a lot of clothes or throwing things away mindlessly when they are in a rush. They take it for granted that someone will take care of it so they do not consider the repercussions of their actions. My kids, their clothes will just pile up and pile up,” she said.

Mr Subaraj Rajathurai, 56, director of Strix Wildlife Consultancy, a local natural history group, emphasised that the severity of climate change needs to be fully understood as current estimates may not accurately reflect the reality of the climate crisis.

“We have to look at the reality in the long term. Based on (Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s National Day Rally speech) the other day, we are slowing down our emissions by 2030. But if you calculate it, our emissions will still be higher than what they are today. We have to look harder at what significant changes can be made,” he said.

SEVERITY OF ISSUE MUST BE ACKNOWLEDGED

Nominated Member of Parliament Anthea Ong warns that by not taking climate change seriously, the Government and society at large may overlook the consequences it may have on social structures in Singapore.

Ms Ong told TODAY on Thursday (Aug 22) that young people have spoken to her about their fears of having children, given the alarming picture that reports on climate change paint.

“Many young people have recently lamented to me that they do not think they will have kids because of their dystopian view of the future with climate change, and therefore, they see no need to get married if that’s the case,” she said.

These are anxieties that are often not taken into account when we discuss how to tackle climate change, but they should not be neglected, she added.

“We should be taking note of this. The older generation may not realise the kind of impact that climate change has on the younger generation in terms of making big life decisions. And this is something that will possibly continue to grow in the future,” she said.

GOVERNMENTS, CORPORATIONS TO TAKE THE LEAD

Ms Tan said that ultimately, public awareness is not enough to move the needle on slowing down the rate at which climate change is rearing its ugly head.

“At the end of the day, we need a combination of political, commercial and industrial will as well as public (awareness) to make a change. I do think that the people who need to change (their mindsets) the most are the industries because their actions will be more impactful than the layman,” she said.

She added that policies should not only be focused on adapting to the problem. More attention needs to be directed to ramping up awareness and mitigation efforts.

Making reference to PM Lee’s speech, Ms Tan said that as an educator, she was upset that Mr Lee did not speak more about how to raise understanding of climate change.

“If we don’t teach it in schools, who is going to do the understanding of climate change and how it will affect Singapore? (The Government) cannot tell us we are not doing enough while not providing Singaporeans with the information on how they can do their part,” she added.

Mr Aidan Mock, 23, an undergraduate at Yale-NUS College and one of the co-founders of Fossil Free Yale-NUS, said that activism must go beyond straws and plastic bags to really make a difference. Greater public awareness of the impact that industries have on emissions can help to put pressure on them to halt the burning of fossil fuels.

“Bigger institutional action such as divesting from fossil fuels or shutting down fossil fuel plants have a huge impact and are attractive areas for individuals to spend (their) time and energy advocating for,” he said.

He warns that leaving governments to proceed with “business as usual” will not do much to slow down the current trajectory of climate shifts and “greater political action” is needed to really get the ball moving in the right direction.
Read more at https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/more-singaporeans-are-conscious-climate-change-awareness-enough-slow-unfolding-crisis

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