Team effort needed for climate action: Khor

Civil society, businesses and individuals must play their part, she tells ethical investing meet
Aw Cheng Wei Straits Times 25 Jun 19;

Fighting climate change needs to be a consolidated effort, and the Government cannot tackle the pressing issue alone, Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources Amy Khor said yesterday.

"Everyone, including civil society organisations, businesses and individuals must take urgent climate action."

Climate change poses existential threats for the Republic, she added, speaking on the first day of a four-day conference on ethical investing. Speakers included representatives from Standard Chartered Bank, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Macquarie Group Foundation.

Dr Khor pointed out that Singapore is heating up twice as fast as the rest of the world, and climate change aggravates challenges such as public health, livelihoods and food supply. "Businesses are also realising and counting the cost of climate risks," she added.

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Malaysia, Johor: Pasir Gudang industries to be strictly monitored to prevent pollution

Rizalman Hammim New Straits Times 25 Jun 19;

JOHOR BARU: The state government has set up a committee to conduct continuous monitoring on activities of industries in Pasir Gudang to ensure incidents such as air pollution do not recur.

State Health, Culture and Heritage Committee chairman Mohd Khuzzan Abu Bakar said, among others, the committee would look into the feasibility of creating a buffer zone between residential and industrial zones in Pasir Gudang.

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Indonesia: Riau's land, forest fires covered 3,147 hectares in Jan-June 2019

Antara 25 Jun 19;

Pekanbaru, Riau (ANTARA) - Land and forest fires in Riau Province during the period from January to June covered an area of 3,147 hectares, according to data of the Land and Forest Fire Task Force.

Deputy Chief of the task force Edwar Sanger informed ANTARA here on Tuesday that the area covered 12 districts and cities in the province.

"The largest area was in Bengkalis covering 1,426 hectares of land," Sanger, concurrently managing chief of the Regional Mitigation Agency (BPBD) of Riau, stated.

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Indonesia: Trained elephants ill after 10 days of expelling wild elephants

Antara 25 Jun 19;

Pekanbaru, Riau (ANTARA) - Two trained elephants fell ill from fatigue after a 10-day operation to drive out wild elephants in Riau Province and had to be returned to the Tesso Nilo National Park for their recovery.

"Two elephants named Rahman and Indro were returned (to the park) on Sunday night, as they had fallen sick and showed signs of exhaustion," Andri Hansen Siregar, an official of the Riau Natural Conservation Agency (BBKSDA), stated here on Tuesday.

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Indonesia: KPK hints at crime behind major flooding in Southeast Sulawesi

Antara 25 Jun 19;

Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi (ANTARA) - Laode M. Syarif, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chairman, sought to conduct an evaluation over possible crime behind the flooding that wrecked parts of Southeast Sulawesi Province.

"Lately, the public has shown interest in speaking about alleged crime pertaining to the mining sector since flooding occurred in mining areas with abundant natural resources, notably in North Konawe, Konawe, and South Konawe," he stated here on Tuesday.

However, that crime could not be termed as a corruption crime as assumed by several people, he noted.

Syarif, an environmental law expert, pointed out that it was no easy task to prove that corruption had occurred, as strong evidence is required.

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Indonesia: Batam city government bans use of imported plastic waste

Antara 25 Jun 19;

Batam, Riau Islands (ANTARA) - The Batam city government barred imported plastic waste used as raw materials for industries in the coastal city owing to the harmful and damaging impact on the environment, a local government official stated here, Tuesday.

The firm stance on banning imported plastic waste was taken by the city administration by strictly implementing waste management regulations for environmental protection, Head of the Batam City Government's Environmental Management Division IP stated.

"We reject those offering imported raw materials," IP affirmed, adding that the Indonesian Customs and Excise officers had recently come across 65 containers of imported plastic waste. Drums, pipes, and buckets were among the plastic goods found loaded inside the containers.

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Greenpeace recommends ASEAN to curtain single-use plastic production

Antara 26 Jun 19;

Banyuwangi, East Java, (ANTARA) - Greenpeace Southeast Asia has praised the Bangkok Declaration and the ASEAN Framework of Action on Marine Debris, though views the ASEAN as being unable to tackle the upstream problem pertaining to production of single-use plastics.

According to a statement by Greenpeace, the Bangkok Declaration and the ASEAN Framework of Action on Marine Debris is a good example of how regional action can be achieved to address a common challenge.

However, the Framework remained inadequate in solving the problem of plastic pollution at its core by prioritizing waste management instead of the need to lessen the production of single-use plastics to prevent them from ending up as waste, Muharram Atha Rasyadi, urban campaigner of Greenpeace Indonesia, noted in the statement on Tuesday.

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