As part of the country’s transition from fossil fuels to new and renewable energy, the Indonesian government has set a goal of achieving a 100 percent renewable energy mix by 2060. Nuclear power would add around 6% of energy to the whole renewable energy mix.
Other renewable energy sources include solar power (about 61 percent), hydroelectric power plants (approximately 14 percent), wind power (approximately 6.6 percent), bio-energy power plants (approximately 6.4 percent), geothermal power (approximately 4%), and ocean power plants (around 2 percent).
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Plastic recycling has become increasingly viable and might become an important source of fuel for South Korea in the future. Increasing plastic consumption, together with rising oil prices has caused the manufacturing of new plastic to become much more expensive than before.
Before this, China was the world’s largest importer of recyclable materials until it stopped importing plastic waste in 2018. This led to a sharp decrease in the price of plastic waste which later deeply disrupted the collection and recycling operations of 48 recycling companies in South Korea.
The South Korean government had to quickly step in to address the crisis, extending much-needed financial assistance to these companies so that they could continue with their business operations.
Apart from this, the South Korean government also committed to reduce plastic waste by half while increasing recycling rates to 70 percent, from 34 percent.
The matter became more challenging due to recent restricted borders and disruptions in the global supply chain and trade in recyclables.
Stepping up to further untangle the situation, the South Korean government has permitted the building of plastic waste pyrolysis recycling facilities and incineration facilities in industrial parks, in order to boost on-site plastic recycling.
At the present, the top policy makers are focusing on industrial parks with yearly waste output of more than 20,000 tonnes and an area of more than 500,000m2.
The South Korean government wanted to push for greater usage of pyrolysis techniques in recycling plastic and hopes to transform 3.6% of the country’s plastic waste into bio-oil by 2025, and 10% of the country’s plastic waste into bio-oil by 2030.
At the moment, roughly about 0.1% of plastic waste is currently processed using pyrolysis techniques.
The central administration hoped that by 2050, extraction of fuel and raw material from plastic waste through chemical recycling process, such as pyrolysis techniques, would become one of the country’s key pillars to becoming a carbon neutral nation.
Currently, bio-oil generated in South Korea’s pyrolysis facilities is mostly used for fuel. The Korean government is encouraging more Korea-based organisations to switch to bio-oil for their projects as well.
Since 1950, the proportion of individuals above the age of 65 has increased in Japan. According to the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, the proportion was predicted to climb to 35.3 percent by 2040, when the so-called second baby-boomer generation, or persons born in the early 1970s, reaches the age of 65 or older.
In 2020, the number of older adults working reached a new high of 9.06 million, increasing for the 17th year in a row. They accounted for a record high of 13.6 percent of all working-age adults aged 15 and over, as well as 25.1 percent of all senior persons.
The wholesale and retail industries employed the greatest number of older people, accounting for 1.28 million, followed by 1.06 million.
The Japanese intended to soften this problem by augmenting their current workforce with delivery robots, which is in line with the top policy maker’s plan to turn Japanese cities into smart cities.
The central government is going to organise an internal discussion panel for their private sector and local governments, to discuss about the implementation of robotic delivery services for eCommerce and its future developments.
Against the backdrop of Covid-19 pandemic plus the country’s vision for smart city, the working group expected that robotic delivery services will play a very important role in the following areas:
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Last week, Russia’s central bank proposed a ban on cryptocurrency investing and mining as governments around the world tighten down on decentralised currencies. The central bank contended that bitcoin might pose a significant risk to financial stability, people’s well-being, and the bank’s monetary policy autonomy.
ESG watchers and sustainability advocates also cited possible negative environment impacts that could result from bitcoin mining.
Instead of following the central bank’s suggestion and outright banning the business, the top administration begun mulling over multiple strategies to stimulate cryptocurrency mining in the country, supported by sustainable mining practices, taxation and regulatory measures.
This week, the top policy makers suggested for the development of a roadmap for governmental control of the cryptocurrency market and circulation of cryptocurrencies, one which would guarantee transparency and lower current risks for legitimate cryptocurrency investors. The working group wanted this to be completed as soon as possible.
The central administration feared that limits on cryptocurrency circulation would stifle the growth of the blockchain industry, eventually leading to an exodus of professionals and specialists to other nations.
The working group believed that blockchain technology is currently one of the world’s fastest growing businesses, and that its advancement might considerably impact other industries and domains through smart contracts and many more areas. Furthermore, they emphasised that many successful international cryptocurrency ventures originated from Russia.
The Russian government would work with related IT associations such as APKIT, RAEC, RUSSOFT, etc, to analyse international best practices in regulating cryptocurrencies and their impact on the development of the software development industry and cloud technologies.
The upcoming work would also respond to the risks related to illegal financial activities, frauds and financial pyramids.
PM2.5 fine dust pollution has returned to engulf Bangkok, with the air quality index in some sections of the city reaching the unhealthy red threshold, as it has done on occasion in recent months.
Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, the city had been plagued by PM2.5 air pollution. At its worst, excessive levels of air pollution prevented youngsters from attending school, while vulnerable populations were urged to stay home.
Power generation from coal, manufacturing, refining, and mining sectors, automobile emissions, and garbage burning all contribute to Thailand’s poor air quality. There are also seasonal changes, that contribute significant levels of air pollution during the dry season which usually runs from January to April.
The Thailand government has already put in place several measures and apart from these, the top policy makers would also try to facilitate the adoption of green technology in the mining and construction sector, to reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission.
In the upcoming period, the taskforce would be encouraging greater collaborations between the public and private sector and also allocating funds to government-led electric vehicle (EV) projects. This policy move was to encourage the private sector to invest more into the green technology domain.
For a start, the Thailand government in partnership with its private sector, would be piloting the use of four EV mining trucks to deliver limestone for construction and cement manufacturing. The top policy makers hoped that the push for EV, could help the country to reduce CO2 emission by around 1,000 tonnes per year.
This move was part of the Thailand government’s earlier commitment to achieve COP 26’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. More policies would be established to facilitate the adoption of green technology and attract investments and entrepreneurs to the sector.
The Thailand government has committed to improve its sustainability standards through ESG principals and aimed to ignite the movement by fostering Green Construction through EVs, Net Zero, Green and Lean principals and greater transparency.
The Japanese government decided, in a sweeping move, to reduce bureaucratic red tapes and increase transparency in industry-related information by digitalizing parts of their public administration functions.
This is to streamline and further increase the efficiency of its public administration and also in line with the top policy makers’ earlier intent to elevate the country’s ESG and safety working standards,
The digitalization exercise is expected to shake up traditional work processes and procedures because industry-related information was previously stored in well-demarcated jurisdictions.
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With the expected urbanisation of various parts of Indonesia, the top policy makers are now preparing to understand how the upcoming developments might impact energy demand and how the administration should plan in advance for the electrical grid underlying the country’s future built environment.
The issue is made more challenging as the country prepared in their earlier masterplan to progressively leverage more on clean and renewable energy. Top policy makers intended in the upcoming months, to seek more clarity in these areas so that they could create relevant policies to benefit the affected communities.
According to Statista data, the biggest volume of industrial waste in Russia was recorded in 2019 at over 7.8 billion metric tonnes. Since 2015, the volume of industrial waste has continuously climbed, at waste production rate of 5.1 billion metric tons per year.
Russia presently lacks a recycling, garbage separation, and/or trash incineration practices. Meanwhile, existing landfills are approaching their capacity limits.
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In a move to strengthen Spain’s presence in Asia, the Spanish Council of Ministers had approved for the establishment of a new Ministry of Finance arm in Beijing, China. This move is part of the country’s plan to advantage Spanish investors and companies that have international business interest, especially in the Asia region.
In 2019, China was Spain’s third largest supplier (amounting about 9 percent of imports). Following a 6.7 percent gain in 2020, bilateral trade reached USD35 billions, a 29.7 percent increase year-on-year.
Spanish exports to China, on the other hand, are roughly about USD9.6 billions, representing a 31.3 percent growth year on year. Furthermore, 242 trains departed Yiwu for Madrid during the first eight months of the year, and trains from Spain multiplied by ten-fold. China ranked as the fourth highest destination for Spanish exports outside the European Union.
When the Covid-19 epidemic hit China, the Spanish government dispatched medical supplies twice in 2020, at the end of January and the first week of February. The assistance shipments were organized in collaboration with the United Kingdom and took occurred in the context of the Spanish government’s high-level political support for the Chinese population in Spain, the Chinese people, and their leaders.
As a result, interactions between the Chinese and Spanish administrations have been heightened in recent years, owing primarily to the enormity of trade volume between the two nations.
With the establishment of this new arm, the two countries hoped to promote cooperation and mutual assistance in tax matters in the Asian continent. The top policy makers would in tandem, abolish the Spanish Ministries of Finance in Argentina and Mexico.
The Thailand government moved to ink a public-private partnership deal to nurture the country’s workforce in the production, conversion and maintenance of electric vehicles, which was already in line with the top policy makers’ idea to promote the use of clean energy vehicles in the country.
The administration would set in play a series of coordination among relevant government agencies to encourage the development of manpower in this new area so that the country would be prepared for the new industries. The administration would be expected to involve their Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the upcoming programmes as well.
As part of the project, the top policy makers also wanted to elevate the country’s capability in the conversion of fuel-based motorcycles to electric motorcycles. Through this programme, the country hoped to do its part to help to reduce the impact of climate change, which was in line with Thailand’s commitment for carbon neutrality target in 2050 and net zero emissions in 2065.
The government would be inviting more private sector participants to invest in the research and development (R&D) of the electric vehicles conversion programmes.
The central government believed that the potential value of developing electric motorcycles is clear. As part of the implementation plan, the working group will quickly design and run a trial after which, they would immediately move to the next phase of setting business standards and encouraging suitable business models to grow.
Special programmes would also be put in place to develop professionals and entrepreneurs so that they could move on to build their own businesses, helping the country to be self-reliant and competitive in the related technology, ultimately elevating its industries to the global business landscape.
The working groups placed high importance on ESG and sustainability challenges, would work on the related challenges and be sharing more operational details later. The top policy makers hoped that this move would help to create new jobs to boost its economy.
Terra Link Research 