Singapore Exchange eyes carbon trading

November 21, 2007 (New Values Net) – Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX) could become the latest in a long line of trading platforms to offer carbon contracts after announcing it is conducting research into creating a range of financial derivatives, including property derivatives, Asian credit derivatives and carbon trading.

The exchange said in a joint press release today that it has signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on research with the National University of Singapore.

“Singapore, with its central geographical location and expertise in oil and commodities trading, is well-placed to facilitate carbon trading and to support the region in greenhouse gas mitigation. In collaboration with SGX, NUS researchers who are currently studying carbon trading hope to contribute to the efforts in developing Singapore as a hub for carbon trading,” the release said.

Asia will bear brunt of global warming; India must move to clean tech

November 20, 2007 (LiveMint – WSJ) – Environmental and development groups say India should go all out to invest in clean technology even if it means incurring an estimated cost of $2 trillion.

New Delhi: The fallout of global warming will severely impact Asia, yet another study, this time conducted over four years by a group of 35 environmental and development groups, predicts. “Without immediate action, global warming is set to reverse decades of social and economic progress across Asia, home to over 60% of the world’s population,” the study, Up in Smoke, said.

UN warns of climate catastrophe for Australia, New Zealand

November 19, 2007 (News.com.au) – CLIMATE change is upon us and its impacts could be abrupt and irreversible.

The latest UN report on global warming predicts that in just 13 years, Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef and Wet Tropics will start to suffer significant biodiversity losses.

Philippines President Arroyo to press environment issues in Singapore

November 18, 2007 (Inquirer) – President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is expected to follow up in Singapore environmental issues concerning Southeast Asia, including the need for renewable sources of energy and the conservation of coastal and marine ecosystems.

At a briefing Saturday on the series of summits of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations scheduled here on Nov. 19-22, Filipino journalists were told that Ms Arroyo’s first meeting was expected to cover environmental issues.

Synergy to buy 60% of Sarawak Hidro, 2,400 MW dam project

November 17, 2007 (The Star) – Sime Darby Bhd says Synergy Drive Bhd has obtained the Government’s approval to acquire a 60% stake in Sarawak Hidro Sdn Bhd, owner of the 2,400-megawatt Bakun dam project.

“Synergy Drive will proceed to commence negotiations with the Government of Malaysia on the terms of the acquisition,” the company said in a statement to Bursa Malaysia yesterday.

Green Energy breaks ground for solar wafer plant in Taipei

November 17, 2007 (Taipei Times) – Green Energy Technology Inc (綠能科技) held a groundbreaking ceremony yesterday for a new solar wafer plant that will produce amorphous silicon thin-film modules.

The new plant in Taoyuan, expected to be completed at the end of next year, will boost the company’s capacity to 30 megawatts (MW), with initial monthly production of wafer modules reaching 7,000, a company official surnamed Huang said by telephone.

$360m Australian solar farm in the works

November 17, 2007 (ABC News) – Australian company CBD Energy has announced plans to build a $360 million solar farm and manufacturing plant in the New South Wales Hunter Valley.CBD Energy says the first stage of the project will cost $60 million. It involves the construction of a five-megawatt solar farm on land near Raymond Terrace, north of Newcastle, which it hopes to complete by June next year.

US, China Working on Biofuel Pact

November 17, 2007 (AP) – The United States and China are working on a pact to promote use of ethanol and other biofuels to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and could announce an agreement as early as next month, an American official said Friday.

The agreement would call for cooperation in research, producing crops for fuel and other areas, said Alexander Karsner, an assistant U.S. energy secretary. He was in Beijing for talks with Chinese officials on promoting use of renewable energy sources.

China Grand Forestry Agrees to Buy Biofuels Company for US$822m

November 16, 2007 (Bloomberg) – China Grand Forestry Resources Group Ltd., the Hong Kong-listed men’s clothing and timber products supplier, agreed to buy a bio-energy company for HK$6.4 billion ($822 million) as China’s demand for alternative fuels surges. Grand Forestry will buy Yunnan Shenyu New Energy, a Chinese company that mainly does research and development on biological energy sources such as using the oilseed-bearing, drought- resistant Jatropha Curcas tree to make auto fuels, the company said in a statement to the city’s stock exchange today.

Greenpeace blocks shipment of Indonesian palm oil

November 15, 2007 (Reuters) – Greenpeace has blocked a tanker carrying more than 30,000 tonnes of palm oil from leaving an Indonesian port to protest against forest destruction blamed on plantations, the environmental group said on Thursday.

The protest came less than three weeks before a U.N. climate change meeting on the resort island of Bali, where delegates from 189 countries will debate ways to slow down global warming, including the impact of dwindling tropical rainforests.