Indonesian religious, traditional wisdom urged for green protection

The Jakarta Post 30 Nov 07;

Religious and ethnic leaders expressed concern Thursday over global warming, asserting no spiritual teachings or traditional beliefs allowed the unchecked exploitation of nature.

Environmental damage caused by human activities is against all spiritual and traditional values, which teach people to preserve and live in harmony with nature, Muhammadiyah chairman Din Syamsuddin said during a discussion here.

The event was organized by Muhammadiyah, one of Indonesia's most influential Muslim organizations, to seek a common ground among different groups prior to the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali from Dec. 3 to 14.

World representatives will convene at the UN conference to negotiate a global treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.

Religious and ethnic leaders will also be involved in the negotiations aimed at pushing developed countries to reduce carbon emissions produced by industrial activities and to shoulder the responsibility for any failure to meet reduction targets.

Present during Thursday's meeting were representatives of Indonesia's five biggest religions: Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Buddhism and Hinduism.

Ethnic tribal leaders from Banten, Sumatra, Papua, Madura and Borneo also were in attendance.

Buddhist priest Tadisa Paramita said human greed was behind the environmental degradation that has translated into natural disasters such as floods and drought.

He said humans had benefited from industrial activities at the expense of the environment, ignoring nature's protests sent through a number of disasters.

"Nature responds according to what humans do. We believe that nothing comes as a coincidence ... people reap what they sow."

Father Ismartono of the Indonesian Bishops Conference said: "Humans are not the owners of this earth and have no right to exploit nature the way they do. God is the creator of this earth and humans are the steward."

Indonesia has seen some of the worst environmental damage in the world, with some 50 million hectares of forest throughout the country heavily exploited.

The country has been cited for its rapid rate of deforestation, and has been called one of the main contributors to global warming.

Al Azhar, representing the Riau Malay tribe from Sumatra, told the audience how forests in his region were exploited by timber companies despite protests from indigenous people.

"Indigenous people will plant one tree if they cut down one tree ... but the companies come and take everything from the forest without any effort to replace it."

Leonard Imbiri from Papua said the forests in Papua had been devastated.

"People know of Papua as having amazing and wild forests ... but you can come and see now, the forests and nature there have been badly damaged. Gone are the indigenous people's efforts to preserve them," he said. (lln)

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Indonesia could net US$2 billion from forest conservation

Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post 30 Nov 07;

If it is rapacious business interests that are destroying our forests, then perhaps it might be ingenious business responses that could help save them -- especially if such "commercial conservation" can generate as much money as exploiting the forests.

In the Indonesian context, there may be up to US$2 billion in potential annual revenues that could be generated just by preserving the country's forests and offering them as a carbon-dioxide (CO2) "sinks" on the global carbon-trading market.

"We should think of forests beyond timber, rattan and minerals. The most valuable aspect of a forest is actually its ability to retain and absorb carbon (CO2). That's what many people don't quite grasp yet," Laode M. Kamaluddin, regional director of the non-profit Borneo Tropical Rainforest Foundation (BTRF), said during a workshop on forest carbon-trading Thursday.

"So, our forests should be seen as manageable and durable asset, and no longer just as an exhaustible commodity."

Building on this "business-like mind-set" regarding the carbon value of forests, Laode said Indonesia should not miss out on the already existing -- and growing -- carbon trading market to raise funds for better managing and conserving its forests, and doing so in a "business-like manner".

This includes establishing professionally managed bodies for forest conservation projects, which could work closely with local communities, and ensure that the projects turned out as profitable as if the forests were used for commercial purposes.

"The aim is to show that the benefits of conserving forests are comparable to those of exploiting them," Laode said.

Studies show that a hectare of preserved forest can provide a sink for between 90 and 400 tons of CO2, while a ton of CO2 can fetch between US$3 and $20 on the carbon market.

If calculated using median figures, Laode pointed to how just one million hectares of forest in Kalimantan, Aceh, Papua or any other of Indonesia's provinces could fetch up to Rp 18 trillion (US$2 billion) alone.

As a rough comparison, the government only expects to take in Rp 2.3 trillion in royalties and fees from forestry concessions. Royalties and fees from mining, some concessions for which are located in forest areas, are expected to come to Rp 4.8 trillion.

Indonesia has some 88 million hectares of rainforest, the world's third largest area, yet is estimated to be losing up to 1.8 million hectares each year due to illegal logging and forest fires. Such risks mean that forest-related carbon projects in Indonesia are only worth between US$5 and 10 per ton of CO2 reduction.

The Swiss-based BTRF, Malinau regency in East Kalimantan and the U.K.-based Global Eco Rescue (GRE), have entered into a public-private partnership to conserve 325,000 hectares in the area worth an initial 325,000 euros.

The Malinau project is expected to serve as a pilot project in setting a more accurate "carbon value baseline" for others in Indonesia. It comes on the heels of BTRF's and GRE's one-million-hectare project in Brazil's Amazon forest, and 500,000-hectare project in Malaysia's Sabah.

Malinau regent Marthin Billa said the project was also expected to promote a culture of preserving forests and benefiting from their resources, as shown by the Dayak people, who only remove as much wood and rattan as they need, and clear forest land using responsible methods.

Forest conversation projects can at present only be offered through the voluntary carbon market (VCM), as they are not part of the Kyoto Protocol's clean development mechanism (CDM), which only includes reforestation as an emissions reduction method.

The carbon market was born from the CDM, which allows developed nations to invest in green projects in developing countries in exchange for their required emissions reduction quota.

The international conference on climate change, which Indonesia will host next week in Bali, is expected to discuss the inclusion of the proposed Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) mechanism for the 2012 post-Kyoto Protocol agreement on emissions reduction -- combining reforestation methods with conservation.

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Best of our wild blogs: 1 Dec 07

NEW Singapore dragonfly online resources
Dragonflies and damselflies of Singapore lists and photo index
Asia Dragonfly mailing list: find photos and post information

Singapore horseshoe crabs in the news
on the cyber dino blog

From wetland to wasteland
A sad article featured on the budak blog

Bali Who
the contradictions of trying to save the planet on the reuters environment blog

Drongo and woodpecker
an odd partnership on the bird ecology blog

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Farmers near Tengah Air Base told to destroy 200 tonnes of greens

Farmers told to destroy 200 tonnes of greens after red dye from airbase falls on them
Mindef says dye was from an aircraft being tested on the ground last Friday
Jessica Jaganathan & David Boey, Straits Times 1 Dec 07;

SOME farmers and people living near Tengah Air Base have, literally, been seeing red the past week after the area was doused with droplets of red dye last Friday.

Six vegetable farms have been told to destroy 200 tonnes - about 10 lorry-loads - of the stained caixin, kangkong and other leafy vegetables.

This comes a week after The Straits Times received a flurry of complaints on its Stomp website that cars, crops and even someone's pet cat had been sprinkled with what people thought was 'red paint'.

Yesterday, the Ministry of Defence cleared the air.

It said the dye was released by an aircraft being tested on the ground for about 20 minutes at about 2pm last Friday.

The Straits Times understands that the Republic of Singapore Air Force's Black Knights aerial display team was testing the dye to create a red plume of smoke in the exhaust of an F-16C fighter jet.

Strong winds carried the smoke into the area south-east of the base.

Colonel Darius Lim, Mindef's director of public affairs, said: 'We are currently conducting further investigations and have suspended all such trials. Standard aviation dye was used in this trial.'

He assured the public that 'the amount of red dye deposited will not cause adverse health effects when inhaled or when in contact with the skin'.

Neighbouring the airbase is a cluster of vegetable farms. Officers from the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) checked 46 vegetable farms in the Sungei Tengah and Lim Chu Kang Agrotechnology parks.

They found that six farms in the Lorong Semangka area in Sungei Tengah had crops that were stained.

These farms were ordered to destroy the crops as tests showed that the dye was not approved for use in food.

AVA officers will check the farms today to ensure that the produce is destroyed and disposed of properly.

None of the stained produce left the farms.

The AVA added that all vegetables sold in wet markets and supermarkets are safe.

One farmer estimated his losses to be $70,000 and said he has to wait another three to four weeks for the next harvest.

Another farmer, Mr Wong Kok Fah, who said he will lose more than 10 tonnes of crops, asked: 'How am I going to pay my staff?'

The dye did not affect the nearby Kranji Reservoir, according to the PUB, the national water agency.

Water samples from the area where the six farms are located have also been collected for testing, said Mr Tan Nguan Sen, the PUB's director of catchment and waterways.

Not so lucky was a resident in Teck Whye who made a police report last Friday after discovering red spots the size of pin heads on his white Honda Civic car.

'I would like to know who will compensate me for the damage to the car's paintwork,' he said.

Col Lim said: 'We are in direct contact with the affected farms to address their concerns. All reasonable claims arising from this incident will be considered and compensation will be paid accordingly.'

Singapore air force left red-faced by botched test
Yahoo News 1 Dec 07;

A test by Singapore air force of a red plume of smoke for an acrobatic display has backfired after a cloud of the dye polluted nearby farms' vegetable plots.

The air force was testing the dye on the ground, but strong winds carried the smoke away from the base, the ministry of defense said in a statement on Saturday.

Nearby farms had to destroy 200 tonnes of vegetables -- about 10 truck loads -- since the dye is not approved for food use, the Straits Times paper said.

The ministry of defense said it would not cause adverse health effects if inhaled.

The paper said it had received a flurry of complaints from people saying everything from a pet cat to white cars were sprinkled with the red dye. One farmer estimated his losses at S$70,000 ($48,410), the paper said.

Claims for compensation will be considered, said the ministry's Colonel Darius Lim in the statement.

(Reporting by Neil Chatterjee)

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AVA revises regulations on plants imported from West Malaysia

Channel NewsAsia 30 Nov 07;

SINGAPORE: The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) has announced tighter regulations concerning plant import from West Malaysia.

Starting from 1 December, travellers returning from West Malaysia are only allowed to bring in up to three plants without potting medium – such as soil, sphagnum moss, peat moss and potting mix – or 250 gm of seeds or both, without an import permit from AVA and a plant health certificate.

This is because potting medium, if not properly treated, could contain microscopic worms which can cause poor growth or death of plants.

The AVA said these worms can multiply quickly and spread to other healthy plants and will thus be detrimental to the plant health status of Singapore.

Presently, travellers returning from West Malaysia are allowed to bring in up to three plants with or without potting medium.

However, for travellers intending to bring in plants with potting medium from West Malaysia, they must now obtain an import permit from AVA and a plant health certificate from Malaysia.

Violation of the above regulations will result in confiscation and destruction of the plants and seeds.

More information is available online at the AVA website http://www.ava.gov.sg/

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I'm a virus: Harming the earth

Dr Manoj Thulasidas, Today Online 1 Dec 07;

It is unlikely that we will get exterminated; we are far too sophisticated for that. In all likelihood, we will make our planet uninhabitable. We may, by then, have our technological means of migrating to other planetary systems. In other words, if we are lucky, we may be contagious! This is the inescapable conclusion of this intellectual exercise.

On one poignantly beautiful autumn day in Syracuse, a group of us physics graduate students were gathered around a frugal kitchen table. We had our brilliant professor, Lee Smolin, talking to us. We held our promising mentors in very high regard. And we had high hopes for Lee.

The topic of conversation on that day was a bit philosophical, with Lee describing to us how the Earth could be considered a living organism. Using insightful arguments, Lee made a compelling case that the Earth, in fact, satisfied all the conditions of being an organism.

Lee, by the way, lived up to our great expectations in later years, publishing highly-acclaimed books and generally leaving a glorious imprint in the world of modern physics.

The point in Lee's view was not so much whether or not the Earth was literally alive, but that thinking of it as an organism was a viable intellectual model to represent the Earth. Such intellectual acrobatics was not uncommon among us physics students.

In the last few years, Lee has actually taken this mode of thinking much farther in one of his books, picturing the universe in the light of evolution. Again, the argument is not to be taken literally, imagining a bunch of parallel universes vying for survival. The idea is to let the mode of thinking carry us forward and guide our thoughts, and see what conclusions we can draw from the thought exercise.

A similar mode of thinking was introduced in the movie Matrix. In fact, several profound models were introduced in that hit movie. One misanthropic model that the computer agent Smith proposes is that human beings are a virus on our planet.

It is okay for the bad guy in a movie to suggest it, but an entirely different matter for a newspaper columnist to do so. But bear with me as I combine Lee's notion of the Earth being an organism and Agent Smith's suggestion of us being a virus on it. Let's see where it takes us.

The first thing a virus does when it invades an organism is to flourish using the genetic material of the host body. The virus does it with little regard for the well-being of the host. On our part, we humans plunder the raw material from our host planet with such abandon that the similarity is hard to miss.

But the similarity doesn't end there. What are the typical symptoms of a viral infection on the host? One symptom is a bout of fever. Similarly, due to our activities on our host planet, we are going through a bout of global warming. Eerily similar, in my view.

The viral symptoms could extend to sores and blisters as well. Comparing the cities and other eye sores that we proudly create out of pristine forests and natural landscapes, it is not hard to imagine that we are indeed inflicting fetid atrocities on our host Earth. Can't we see the city sewers and the polluted air as the stinking, oozing ulcers on its body?

Going one step further, could we also imagine that natural calamities, such as the Asian tsunami, are the planet's natural immune systems kicking into high gear?

I know that it is supremely cynical to push this comparison to these extreme limits. Looking at the innocent faces of your loved ones, you may feel rightfully angry at this comparison. How dare I call them an evil virus?

Then again, if a virus could think, would it think of its activities as evil?

If that doesn't assuage your sense of indignation, remember that this virus analogy is a mode of thinking rather than a literal indictment. Such a mode of thinking is only useful if it can yield some conclusions. What are the conclusions from this human-viral comparison?

The end result of a viral infection is always gloomy. Either the host succumbs or the virus gets beaten by the host's immune systems. If we are the virus, both these eventualities are unpalatable. We don't want to kill the Earth. And we certainly don't want to be exterminated by the Earth. But those are the only possible outcomes of our viral-like activity here.

It is unlikely that we will get exterminated; we are far too sophisticated for that. In all likelihood, we will make our planet uninhabitable. We may, by then, have our technological means of migrating to other planetary systems. In other words, if we are lucky, we may be contagious! This is the inescapable conclusion of this intellectual exercise.

There is a less likely scenario — a symbiotic viral existence in a host body. It is the kind of benign lifestyle that Al Gore and others recommend for us. But, taking stock of our activities on the planet, my doomsday view is that it is too late for a peaceful symbiosis. What do you think?

The writer is a scientist from the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, or Cern, who currently works as a senior quantitative developer at Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore.

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Social aims in mind but business acumen also needed

Lin Yanqin, Today Online 1 Dec 07;

THEY'RE businesses with a social purpose, but good intentions, it seems, can only carry a social enterprise (SE) so far.

Without the knowhow and resources to run a business, some SEs — enterprises with a social aim of helping those in need — have found themselves struggling to deliver. Some might even ultimately be forced to shut down, to the loss of its beneficiaries.

That is why more needs to be done to boost a sector with a "generally poor entrepreneurial environment and a culture of letting the Government take the lead", said a report commissioned by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS).

The report looks at the state of Singapore's fledging SE sector and offers a slew of recommendations for change — such as ways to match SEs with business expertise and available funds, and introducing school courses to teach business skills in a non-profit sector.

What poses a challenge now is perception, said the report. For instance, consumers sometimes regard SE products as inferior and expect them to be lower-priced, putting SEs at a pricing disadvantage, said the report. This makes it difficult for SEs to attract employees and customers.

Meanwhile, some organisations — private and non-profit — think of SEs as being "more like a charity" and "entitled to support and subsidies".

In contrast with countries like the United States that have a stronger SE sector, local SEs typically have their roots in non-profit groups rather than the private sector. With staff from social service rather than business backgrounds, the firms lack the management capabilities to keep going.

Financial instability is also an issue. While 42 of the 94 SEs surveyed for the report were profitable in the current financial year — 31 had earned income as a primary source of income — SEs also rely on donations. This puts them at the mercy of changing donor sentiments and limited fundraising capabilities, said the report.

It added: "Most social enterprises are not able to plan strategically but have a tendency to think short-term and fight fires as they arise."

And the SEs' small scale means they cannot afford IT or audit support services, for instance, and have to rely on staff with limited knowhow or volunteers who come and go.

As for support and seed-funding, the report noted that government efforts in Singapore focus mainly on social services for the needy. Those SEs championing causes like the arts, sports and health, on the other hand, get less support.

In addition, with no central repository where SEs can identify and assess what is available to them, they may have difficulty accessing the funds available from companies such as M1, DHL and Standard Chartered Bank.

While the report recommends measures to correct such shortfalls, some social entrepreneurs point out that the right strategy helps.

Said Mr Anderson Tan, who runs Fued Cafe, a cybercafe that reaches out to help youths at risk: "To survive, a social enterprise needs to fulfil its commercial objectives first, and keep its social objectives at the back of the mind without losing sight of it. Once you have achieved commercial viability, you can leverage on your social objectives because it becomes an edge over pure-profit businesses."

"There are lots of cybercafes but ours is the only one that really engages youths" and this differentiating factor keeps the cafe in business.

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Fuel cost woes? 'Go for lower grades'

Oil expert says higher octanes won't make car go faster. His advice: Check car manual's recommended grade of petrol
Lin Xinyi, Straits Times 1 Dec 07;

Some may abandon the road altogether. Car owner Wong Wan Ying, 44, said: 'If prices continue to rise, I might have to stop driving.' Other drivers told the Straits Times they would consider planning their routes more precisely, driving less and taking public transport.

DRIVERS looking for some respite from sky-high petrol prices should consider changing to a lower grade of fuel, according to one expert.

Consultant Ong Eng Tong, a 40-year veteran of the oil industry, said many drivers think pricier petrols will make their cars go faster - but that is not how it works.

'If 92-octane is sufficient, pumping 95 or 98-octane will not bring about any difference,' he said yesterday.

His advice: Check your car manual to find out the recommended grade of petrol.

Many drivers have turned to penny-pinching after the country's four petrol retailers raised their prices on Wednesday - all within the span of eight hours. All but one grade of petrol is now above the $2 mark - a record.

The price hike has forced businessman David Lim to downgrade the petrol for his car. For the past two months, he has filled his Toyota Camry with 95-octane, instead of 98-octane.

'I won't try 92-octane unless I've no choice,' said Mr Lim, 55.

But that isn't such a bad thing, according to Mr Ong. Most Japanese and Korean makes will do fine with 92-octane, the lowest grade of petrol available here.

'(Even) 95-octane is good enough for cars from Mercedes-Benz and BMW,' said Mr Ong.

'In fact, in Germany, they only have 95-octane.'

Before discounts, 98-octane petrol now costs $2.08 a litre, while 95-octane and 92-octane cost $2.006 and $1.973 respectively.

Motorists who make the switch from 98-octane to 95-octane could save $7.40 per 100 litres. Dropping from 95 to 92 would lop $10.70 off 100 litres.

Mr Chua Kim Leng, 40, said he would resort to a more drastic change should petrol prices continue to rise.

Mr Chua, the owner of a 1.8 litre-MPV, said he would consider looking for a smaller car.

Some may abandon the road altogether. Car owner Wong Wan Ying, 44, said: 'If prices continue to rise, I might have to stop driving.'

Meanwhile, motorcyclists who are already pumping 92-octane are finding other ways to cope with the hike.

Mr Sam Thung, 27, said: 'I save where I can. My meals used to cost $3 to $4 but now I go for meals that cost $2.50.'

The cook pumps a full tank every day, which costs him $6 - up by about $1 since the start of the year.

Other drivers told the Straits Times they would consider planning their routes more precisely, driving less and taking public transport.

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Finnish refiner to build world's largest biodiesel plant in Singapore

Channel NewsAsia 30 Nov 07;

SINGAPORE: Singapore's biodiesel industry got a boost on Friday. Neste Oil, a refiner from Finland, said it has decided to invest nearly S$1.2 billion to build the world's largest biodiesel plant in Singapore.

In a statement, Neste said the plant will have a design capacity of 800,000 tonnes each year.

This will make it the largest facility producing diesel fuel from renewable feedstock anywhere. The plant will use mostly palm oil for raw material.

The company said it chose Singapore because it is the world's third-largest centre for oil refining.

Singapore is also a central location in terms of product and feedstock flows and logistics.

Neste believes this will give Singapore excellent potential to develop into a centre for Asian biofuel production.

The Economic Development Board will also support the investment by helping with research and development, as well as assisting with recruiting and training personnel.

Construction of the plant at Tuas will start in the first half of next year and it is due to be completed by the end of 2010.

The plant will be integrated into the area's existing industrial infrastructure, and will make use of local site utilities and port and storage services.

When operational, the plant will employ around 100 people.

Analysts say the move is positive for Singapore.

ABN AMRO Asia Securities' investment analyst Nirgunan Tiruchelvam said: "..... it places Singapore as a hub in the biodiesel industry. There has been a few other developments earlier this year and last year where other companies have set up biodiesel facilities in Singapore because of its superior logistics."

According to Neste, the use of biofuels is predicted to increase rapidly in developed economies over the next few years.

For now, though, analysts believe the plant's impact on Singapore's economy will be minimal.

ABN AMRO Asia Securities' Nirgunan Tiruchelvam said: "The production being anticipated in this biodiesel facility is a small percentage of the petroleum requirements of this country. So the impact on the Singapore economy per se will be quite minimal. However it may encourage other players in the biodiesel industry to ramp up capacity in Singapore." - CNA/ir

World's biggest biodiesel plant to be built in Singapore
Bryan Lee, Straits Times 1 Dec 07;

A FINNISH firm will build the world's biggest biodiesel plant in Singapore at a cost of 550 million euros (S$1.18 billion).

The plant will convert palm oil into fuel for cars, trucks and other vehicles.

Oil refiner Neste Oil's investment will create 100 jobs and boost the Republic's goal of riding a growing global wave of environmentally friendly industries.

Unlike fossil fuels, biodiesels are a renewable energy source as they are derived from crops that can be repeatedly grown and harvested.

Also, Neste says greenhouse gas emissions from its fuel are 40 to 60 per cent less than conventional diesel.

Green industries are now far more than a mere buzzword for cause-hungry Hollywood celebrities.

They are fast becoming big business, and Singapore wants in on this hot new sector.

The Neste plant, announced yesterday by the Helsinki-listed firm, is the second big clean energy win for Singapore in as many months.

Norway's Renewable Energy Corp said in October that it is building a $6.3 billion solar panel plant - the world's biggest such facility here.

'Singapore is an excellent location for the plant because of its good infrastructure,' said Neste executive vice-president Jarmo Honkamaa. 'It is one of the world's big oil refining hubs.'

Mr Honkamaa said Singapore's proximity to palm oil production sites such as Malaysia and Indonesia was another reason for siting its first overseas biodiesel plant here.

Neste now runs a biodiesel plant with an annual capacity of 175,000 tonnes at its Porvoo oil refining complex in Finland. A second plant with a similar capacity is being added there and will come on stream in 2009.

The new plant here will be built on a 19-ha plot in Tuas, and will be able to produce 800,000 tonnes of biodiesel every year.

When completed in 2010, it will be the largest biodiesel investment here, much bigger than a US$130 million (S$188 million) project by Australia's Natural Fuel that is aiming for an annual capacity of 600,000 tonnes a year.

'This investment is a strong endorsement of Singapore's drive to develop a robust and sustainable biofuels industry, differentiated by a focus on next-generation technologies,' said the Economic Development Board's energy, chemicals and engineering services head Julian Ho.

Most of the new plant's output will likely be shipped to Europe, where demand for biodiesel is strongest.

But demand from other developed nations is expected to pick up over the next few years as governments move to cut emissions of greenhouse gases to address rising concerns about global climate change.

$1.2b investment for biodiesel
Finnish company to build facility here to produce renewable diesel from palm oil
Esther Fung, Today Online 1 Dec 07;

From 2010, Singapore will be home to the world's largest facility producing diesel fuel from renewable feedstocks.

Finnish company Neste Oil Corporation is investing approximately 550 million euro ($1.17 billion) to build a plant here to produce 800,000 tonnes of renewable diesel a year using its NExBTL technology. NExBTL diesel uses a flexible mix of vegetable oils and animal fats to produce the diesel, which Neste says significantly reduces exhaust emissions.

"Singapore is an excellent location for this type of plant. Because of its existing infrastructure, we can save some investment costs," Mr Jarmo Honkamaa, deputy chief executive officer and head of oil refining said in a teleconference from Finland.

"We have received favourable tax treatment from Singapore, so that helps us make the decision to locate in Singapore."

Palm oil is the main raw material to produce this biodiesel, and Singapore was chosen for this site because of its proximity to suppliers from Malaysia and Indonesia.

"The palm oil has to be certified as sustainable palm oil, but we have also options to use vegetable oils and animal fats, especially animal fats which could be available in the area," Mr Honkamaa said.

He said that the biodiesel, which can be used in cars, will be mainly exported to Europe, but did not rule out producing for Singapore, South Korea and the United States, which have voiced interest to buy these fuels.

Construction of the plant will begin in the first half of next year, and is expected to be completed by end 2010. The plant will occupy a 19-ha site in the Tuas Industrial Zone, and will hire around 100 people.

When the Singapore facility is ready, it will overtake the one in Europe, which produces about 600,000 tonnes of diesel, Mr Honkamaa said.

The Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) has assisted the refining and marketing company in the preparations for the project.

"This second-generation biofuels manufacturing investment is a strong endorsement of Singapore's drive to develop a robust and sustainable biofuels industry," said Mr Julian Ho, the EDB's executive director, energy, chemicals and engineering services.

Refiner to build 550m euro S'pore biodiesel plant
Finnish facility with capacity of 800,000 tonnes a year set to be world's largest
Matthew Phan, Business Times 1 Dec 07;

(SINGAPORE) Finland-listed refiner Neste Oil is building a palm oil-based biodiesel plant in Singapore at a cost of 550 million euros (S$1.17 billion), it said yesterday.

The plant will have a design capacity of 800,000 tonnes per annum, making it 'the largest facility producing diesel fuel from renewable feedstocks anywhere', Neste said in a release to the Helsinki Stock Exchange.

Using Neste's proprietary NExBTL technology, the plant will produce biodiesel that is 'completely sulphur free', with 'no aromatics', Jarmo Honkamaa, executive vice-president at Neste, told BT in a phone interview.

With over 99 per cent cetane levels - this is analogous to the octane level for gasoline and measures how evenly a diesel fuel burns - Neste's fuel goes far beyond the average cetane levels of about 50 per cent now found in European diesel oils, he said.

Neste will export output from the Singapore plant 'most likely to Europe', as the fuel is meant for the latest vehicle engines there, said Mr Honkamaa.

But it is also seeing a lot of interest from Japan and the US, and would consider selling in Singapore if a local market emerged, he said.

Construction of the plant will begin in the first half of 2008, and is due to complete by end 2010.

It will be located in the Tuas industrial zone and integrated into the area's existing industrial infrastructure, making use of local site utilities and port and storage services, Neste said.

The plant will employ about 100 people when operational.

To supply the plant, Neste will 'most likely source palm oil locally produced', said Mr Honkamaa.

The firm has 'committed itself to only using palm oil certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil as soon as sufficient quantities are available'.

The RSPO certification system was approved only this month and compliant palm oil will be available from early 2008 onwards, it said.

Mr Honkamaa said that Neste plans to build other biodiesel plants of similar scale in Rotterdam and the US, to complement existing plants in Finland.

The first NExBTL facility was commissioned in Finland in summer 2007, and a second is due to come onstream in 2009.

But the local Economic Development Board has been very helpful with smoothing the process, which led to the Singapore plant being announced first, he said.

EDB will support the investment through R&D and assistance with recruiting and training personnel, according to the release.

Singapore is the world's third largest oil refiner, with a central location in terms of product and feedstock flows and logistics, giving it 'excellent potential to develop into a centre for Asian biofuel production', said Neste.

Neste To Build US$814 Mln Singapore Biofuel Plant
Story by Tarmo Virki, PlanetArk 3 Dec 07;


HELSINKI - Finnish refiner Neste Oil said on Friday it would spend 550 million euros (US$814 million) to build the world's largest biodiesel plant in Singapore to meet growing but controversial demand for biofuels.


Neste said the plant would have a design capacity of about 20,000 barrels per day, and use mostly palm oil as its raw material, though it can use also soy oil or animal fats.

"The investment forms part of Neste Oil's strategic goal of becoming the world's leading renewable diesel producer," the firm said.

Neste said the use of biofuels is seen growing rapidly over the next few years and that its biodiesel, branded NExBTL, is the cleanest renewable fuel around.

While Neste believes using its proprietary technology is the best way to do business, the market has voiced scepticism over its ability to manage large investment projects, as the refiner has faced major teething problems with its key unit producing conventional diesel at its refinery in Porvoo, Finland.

"For now at least the market will rightly be left wondering if the Neste Oil management can be trusted to project manage any material investment programmes -- and this goes to the heart of its ambitious, biodiesel ambitions," Citigroup said in a note.

The use of biofuels made from crops such as maize, sugarcane and vegetable oils is expected to rise rapidly in developed economies and is seen by many as a way to cut emissions of greenhouse gases and provide an alternative fuel source to crude oil, which has been pushing US$100 a barrel this year.

Some environmentalists, however, dispute the greenhouse gas emissions benefits of biofuels and are alarmed by deforestation to increase palm oil output and the effect on food prices.

On Sunday environmental group Greenpeace tried to prevent a tanker bringing palm oil to Neste's first biodiesel plant, which is now running at full capacity of 170,000 tonnes, in Porvoo.

Construction of the plant in Singapore, which is close to major palm oil producers Malaysia and Indonesia, will begin in the first half of 2008, with completion due by the end of 2010.


PALM OIL PRICE BOOST

The announcement is expected to boost prices of palm oil, which have more than doubled since January 2006, a Malaysian industry analyst said on Friday.

"We are already facing supply constraints and not even able to meet the demand from the food sector," said M. R. Chandran, an independent consultant and former head of Malaysian Palm Oil Council. "It is very good news for the market."

Soaring feedstock prices have squeezed the margins of biodiesel producers in Asia and only large producers like Neste Oil will survive, he said.

"Obviously now it is the volumes game, it is like the refinery sector. Margins are so small that you have to have the volumes in order to be economically viable," Chandran said.

The news about the biodiesel plant came on a day when the world's largest palm planter Sime Darby relisted on the Malaysian stock exchange at a 36 percent premium to its indicative price, after merging with two other palm-oil groups.


ENVIRONMENT WORRIES

Neste said it was committed to only using palm oil certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), a system approved in November 2007, which would probably be available from the early part of 2008 onwards.

Greenpeace said the certification scheme was not enough.

"It does not matter if there are certificates or not. Growing demand is leading to accelerating destruction of rain forests," said Juha Aromaa, Greenpeace spokesman.

Shares in Neste Oil were up 1.2 percent at 24.05 euros at 1447 GMT, against the DJ Stoxx European oil and gas index, up 0.7 percent.

(Additional reporting by Naveen Thukral in Kuala Lumpur and Sami Torma in Helsinki; Editing by Louise Ireland)

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Green living scores in design contest for homes in Marina South

URA selects 4 schemes out of 30 entries from S'pore, overseas architects
Uma Shankari, Business Times 1 Dec 07;

A LOW-RISE eco-village, canal streets, a coastal shopping promenade and terraced communal green roofs - coupled with dramatic views and contrasting skylines. This is the living environment suggested by the winning entrants in a competition to get ideas on how Marina Bay should look.

In September, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said it will set aside 60 hectares - the Marina South Residential District (MSRD) - for 11,000 homes.

A design competition to inspire innovative ideas to distinguish the area was announced at the same time.

When the competition closed on Nov 12, 30 entries had been received from local and overseas architects. Foreign submissions came from Hong Kong, Australia, Indonesia, India and the US.

Four schemes have been selected and another two received special mention. The winners are Hong Kong's Compass Studio and Singapore's Khoo Teik Rong, SKPS-Project and Surbana. Special mention was given to Australia's Chor and Singapore's ZONG Architects.

The four winners will get $10,000 and the two special mention schemes $5,000.

'We are impressed with the numerous interesting and novel ideas from the competition,' said URA's director for urban planning and design Fun Siew Leng.

'They will serve as a starting point to stimulate reflection and inspiration to develop Marina South into a distinctive waterfront garden district for generations to come.'

MSRD will also have 1.6 million sq ft set aside for hotel use and 678,000 sq ft of commercial space. The entire project will be developed over 15 to 20 years, once supporting infrastructure has been put in place.

Four winning design ideas for Marina South residential area
Cheow Xin Yi, Today Online 1 Dec 07;

Wave-like high-rises juxtaposed against developments with terraced communal green roofs, vast vistas of water and greenery, and contrasting skylines.

That is the vision (picture) that a Singapore architectural firm, Surbana, has of the upmarket 60-ha Marina Bay area that will eventually house 11,000 homes when the project is completed over the next 15 to 20 years.

It was one of four winning entries in the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Singapore (URA) and Singapore Institute of Architects' Marina South Residential District Design Ideas Competition. The results were announced on Friday.

"The URA is at a conceptual stage of planning for Marina South," said Ms Fun Siew Leng, URA's director of urban planning and design who is also a member of the jury panel.

"The numerous interesting and novel ideas garnered from the competition ... will serve as a starting point that stimulates reflection and inspiration to further develop Marina South into an attractive, distinctive waterfront garden district for generations to come."

The URA is the master planner for the site.

The other three winning entries came from Singaporean Khoo Teik Rong, a group that calls itself SKPS-Project and Compass Studio from Hong Kong.

These designs feature ideas from low-rise eco-villages to canals lined with commercial activities.

The 30 submissions hailed from as far away as India and the US.

Striking ideas thrown up for Marina South project
4 winners in design competition boast features such as terraced buildings, 'floating' blocks
Tay Suan Chiang Straits Times 1 Dec 07;

IT'S been a hazy vision up to now but the first stunning proposals for the Marina South Residential District, unveiled yesterday, indicate that a design revolution is brewing on Singapore's waterfront.

The four proposals - picked from a design competition that attracted 30 entries from India to Australia - promise an intoxicating cocktail of architectural flamboyance and ecological innovation in what has been touted as Singapore's future No. 1 residential hot spot.

It is the first time a design competition has been held as part of the planning process for a residential district here.

And the ideas thrown up have not been seen here before: They include elevated condominiums, terraced buildings resembling cascading gardens, and 'floating' housing blocks with Amsterdam-style canals.

The winners, who each get $10,000, include local architecture firm Surbana, Hong Kong's Compass Studio and national serviceman Khoo Teik Rong, an architecture graduate from Melbourne's RMIT University.

The designs remain just suggestions at this stage and may not be part of the final plan, but they serve as a striking starting point for the ambitious project.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) will now compile a final plan for the 60ha site, which will be developed over 15 to 20 years and will have up to 11,000 homes.

The competition, organised by the Singapore Institute of Architects (SIA) and the URA, asked entrants to unscramble what amounted to a Rubik's cube of design challenges.

At the basic level, 11,000 housing units had to be incorporated with commercial, hotel and community facilities on a prime site near the upcoming Gardens at Marina South and Marina Bay Sands integrated resort.

But proposals had to show how high-density living could be achieved while retaining the ambience of a waterfront garden.

The judges also looked for environmental sustainability and a sense of community, while calling for designs that would allow Marina South to showcase the City in a Garden vision.

Mr Khoo, 23, drew on inspiration from a visit to Amsterdam and opted for canals to run through the site to make the area more intimate.

'I didn't want a site that would have only large-scale buildings,' he said.

The Surbana team had a 'green and blue' strategy. Green in the form of plants on the roofs of low-rise buildings, which would be terraced to give the appearance of gardens sloping to the marina.

Blue covered their housing idea - 30- to 50-storey-high blocks placed on shallow pools, making them appear to float on water.

Compass Studio, meanwhile, used hills as its inspiration - it wanted high-rise buildings to resemble hills that meet the lower plains. It also proposed a low-rise eco-village.

The fourth winner was SKPS-Project, a group of five architects, mostly from Singapore. They proposed lifting residential blocks 30m above the ground and planting trees underneath.

Reacting to the designs, Mr Mink Tan of Mink Architects said they were visually evocative, with 'a mix of everything'. 'If done successfully, this can be a...shining example of Asian urban living.'

Ex-SIA president John Ting of AIM & Associates was encouraged by the designs, but said more refinement was needed. He suggested the land can be split into smaller parcels and various architects let loose: 'Then we can learn how to work the land better.'

Property developers and consultants were more hardheaded, telling The Straits Times that it was too early to judge if the designs were commercially viable.

The 30 entries are on display at City Hall until Dec 8.

Shaping the homes of Marina South
High-rise blocks depicting hills and canals for boat rides are among the suggested features of four winning proposals
Tay Suan Chiang Straits Times 1 Dec 07;

WATERFRONT-GARDEN living that's just minutes away from the city. That is what residents at the future Marina South Residential District can expect.

No date has been set for when people can move in.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has set aside 60ha of land between Gardens at Marina South and the Straits of Singapore, which will host some 11,000 homes, with a mix of commercial, hotel and community facilities for all to enjoy.

To get ideas for this project, the URA and the Singapore Institute of Architects (SIA) held a competition in September.

Open to students and professionals in planning, architecture and landscape, both locally and internationally, it drew 30 entries.

Participants had to illustrate how high-density living can co-exist with a waterfront garden concept, and set a new landmark in residential development.

A five-member panel, including Mr Tai Lee Siang, SIA president, and Ms Fun Siew Leng, director of urban planning and design at URA, chose four winners who each won $10,000.

The winning ideas will serve as an inspiration and catalyst for the masterplan.

The four winning and other entries are on display at City Hall, Level 3 Chambers, till Dec 8, from 10am to 10pm. Admission is free.

Design by Surbana, Singapore

THIS proposal adopts two broad housing strategies.

The first is the Blue strategy, where 30- to 50-storey-high residential towers sit directly on a vast expanse of water in a radial manner. This allows residential owners to have breathtaking views.

Carparks and vehicle movements will be limited to the basement levels, freeing up the ground level for water-themed playgrounds.

In the second Green strategy, most of the rooftop spaces will be semi-public gardens. Public gardens and spaces are also carved out between apartment blocks, creating a closeness to nature.

An internal canal system will allow residents to take boat rides around the area.

Design by Compass Studio Limited, Hong Kong

The overall design of this proposal resembles rolling hills - depicted by high- rise residential blocks of various heights - that overlook a low-rise village.

The towers are arranged such that they have views of the Gardens at Marina South and the seafront.

Connecting the buildings are several high-level terraces called 'Sky Cloud Gardens', and they will be used for leisure activities.

Nearer the waterfront will be a low-rise eco village. Traffic here is restricted to green means of transportation, preferably electric cars.

Design by SKPS Projects, Singapore

The focus here is on creating more open areas and creating a waterfront space for communal and commercial use. Garden decks will link this area to the Gardens at Marina South.

The residential buildings will be lifted 10 storeys above ground, so the space below can be used by the public. There are also plans to plant rainforest

Design by Khoo Teik Rong, Singapore

Khoo Teik Rong was inspired by the many canals he saw in Amsterdam and wanted to recreate the same atmosphere. His canals will be artificially created and connect the Gardens at Marina South to the sea.

There are also plans for the canals to be lined with street-level shops.

His residential blocks will consist of high-rise ones as well as townhouses and waterfront homes.

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Asia has its own models to beat water woes

Complex challenge can be met as keys to solution exist within region as a whole
Asit Biswas, Strait Times 1 Dec 07;

Major and fundamental changes in water governance practices are thus needed. There are many success stories in Asia in this regard.

For example, during the past 30 years, Singapore has made remarkable breakthroughs in its governance practices as a result of which it now has one of the best, if not the best, water supplies, waste-water management, and overall catchment management in the world.

LEONARDO da Vinci said water is the driver of nature.

Nearly half a millennium later, his wisdom can be considered prophetic. Increasingly, water is seen as the planet's driving lifeblood.

Asia, poised for greater growth, needs rational water development and efficient water management to ensure that such growth is not jeopardised.

Moreover, having adequate access to energy and water is one of the keys to resolving many existing societal problems.

Human survival and ecosystem conservation depend on the reliable availability of adequate water of appropriate quality. After all, food and agricultural production requires water.

In recent years, this water-food linkage has become more complex because of social and environmental concerns, technological developments, globalisation and management practices.

With the Industrial Revolution, water needs started to increase significantly, as did its collection, treatment and waste-water disposal.

Environmental issues for water management became salient during the 1970s. Development activities, including those on water, had to consider environmental implications, which gained momentum in the 1980s and are now universally accepted as integral to efficient and rational water management.

With rapid industrialisation and demands for a better quality of life, energy requirements have gone up as well. In recent years, the energy needs of Asian developing countries have increased very rapidly and will keep doing so. These have major water-related implications.

We can confidently predict, on current assessments of water resources, expected future water demands, available technology, knowledge and experience, that Asian developing member countries (DMCs) of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) should not experience, or expect, a future crisis because of scarcity of water.

What is important is that, irrespective of the rhetoric on a looming global water crisis and likely water wars, there is now enough knowledge, technology and expertise available in Asia to solve existing and future water problems.

Nevertheless, some Asian DMCs will find it much harder than others to ensure their future water security. This, however, is likely to be the general situation not only for the water sector, but also for all other development-related sectors in those countries.

Major and fundamental changes in water governance practices are thus needed. There are many success stories in Asia in this regard.

For example, during the past 30 years, Singapore has made remarkable breakthroughs in its governance practices as a result of which it now has one of the best, if not the best, water supplies, waste-water management, and overall catchment management in the world.

In the process, its national water agency, the PUB, has gained full confidence of the public in the level of services it consistently provides. Most of this transition happened within about two decades.

It is now important for improving the performance of the water sector that a comprehensive search be made to identify similar success stories from all over Asia in areas like water supply, waste-water management, irrigation, and hydropower development.

These successes need to be reviewed independently by knowledgeable and experienced water experts in terms of their veracity, long-term sustainability, and potential replicability in other parts of Asia. It is also essential to analyse the enabling context of each success story to see how and why it managed to make remarkable progress, when other urban centres did not.

Successful Asian good-practice models are essential for South-South knowledge and experience transfer in the context of the special monsoon climatic conditions of the region. European and North American models have often not been successful in Asia.

Successful models from Asian monsoon areas are likely to be more replicable to other Asian DMCs than are models directly imported from Europe and North America. However, the Asian models should only be applied after appropriate modifications for site-specific conditions.

Improving data reliability and availability is another hurdle that must be overcome.

Data must also be readily accessible to the people who need them, ranging from national and international organisations to research and academic institutions, non-governmental organisations and civil society in general.

If the status of water development and management is to be improved, it is essential that collection, quality and management of data receive significantly higher priority in all Asian DMCs than has been the case to date.

A new paradigm of 'business unusual' is needed that can solve the region's water and waste-water problems in a cost-effective and equitable manner. It will require a new tripartite partnership, different from the earlier models: government, corporate (public or private) and society.

The tasks of the government could include formulation of an overall framework within which the three parties can operate, and the promulgation of regulatory regimes for the service providers.

The corporate partner could be public or private. If public, it should be an autonomous and accountable government entity with operational and financial autonomy, and free from political and bureaucratic interference.

In fact, many water utilities in Asian DMCs now fail to function efficiently because of unnecessary rules, regulations, administrative requirements, and bureaucratic and political interference.

Under such conditions, it would indeed be a miracle if a utility succeeds in providing reliable levels of services efficiently and equitably to all on a sustainable basis.

The Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority is to be held up as a model of an autonomous public corporate partner - it has already revolutionised the water supply of that city. This type of model needs further consideration for possible use by other Asian DMCs.

The third partner should be civil society, which, as a general rule, needs to move away from its current apathetic response to poor and unacceptable levels of water and waste-water service delivery.

Consumers will have to pay a fair price for receiving water and waste-water services, so they need to be encouraged to demand good-quality service.

Water quality management has mostly been a neglected issue in Asian DMCs. The health costs and social impacts are likely to be substantial at present. While these have not been carefully assessed for the region, the annual economic cost is likely to be billions of dollars.

Institutional strengthening and restructuring, inter-institutional coordination, and capacity building in technical, administrative, and managerial aspects are urgent requirements, as are significant improvements in the formulation and implementation of legal and regulatory regimes, and transparency and non-corruptibility of the associated administrative and management processes.

Considering the massive funding needed to manage water quality because of past neglect, it is highly unlikely that the public sector can generate the needed investment funds. Funding that can be generated from private sector and multilateral and bilateral agencies will be useful, but even this is unlikely to be enough.

New forms of funding mechanisms are needed, and need to be available on a sustained basis for a reasonable period of time.

Despite the deteriorating water quality in many Asian DMCs, the issue is not getting the political priority and social attention it deserves at national and local levels. Overall governance, including political, legal and institutional conditions, has often contributed to an environment that has not encouraged new investments. This situation needs to be changed, and a comprehensive perspective is essential.

Solving the water problems of the future will require additional skills and capacity, innovative approaches and new mindsets. A more holistic approach that can successfully coordinate the energy, food, environment and industrial policies of a nation, all of which have direct linkages to water, is needed.

All these factors make future water management in Asia a far more complex task than ever before. The challenge is formidable but it can be met, as the knowledge, experience and technology to solve the problems in a timely manner exist within Asia, not in one location, but within the region as a whole.

The writer is head of the Mexico City-based Third World Centre for Water Management, and winner of the 2006 Stockholm Water Prize - the highest honour in the water industry. This article is excerpted from his contribution to the inaugural Asian Water Development Outlook, a publication by the Asian Development Bank.

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Why Bali talks matter to Singapore

They may lead to future deal on emissions reductions that could affect developing states
By Arti Mulchand Straits Times 1 Dec 07;

If Indonesia's proposal that developing countries be paid to protect their forests is accepted, it could help mitigate the haze that has the region in a chokehold during the land-clearing season.

WITH no more than 0.2 per cent of the world's greenhouse gases coming from this tiny island state, Singapore's emissions seem to hardly make a dent in the atmosphere.

As Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has put it: 'Even if Singapore shuts down... no lights, no fans, no air-cons, no cars, buses, MRT, nothing, the amount of carbon...not generated will be the same as three days of energy consumption in China.'

But as representatives of some 190 countries gather next week in Bali to decide the future of the Kyoto Protocol, the current pact to cut carbon dioxide emissions, Singapore, like many around the world, will be watching what surfaces from the talks.

If all goes well, analysts believe Bali could kickstart a two-year negotiation for Kyoto's successor - a more 'comprehensive' emissions reductions framework in which developed countries agree to serious emissions cuts.

At the same time, developed countries want developing nations, especially mega-emitters like India and China, to shoulder some responsibility and agree to develop in a 'cleaner' way.

Therein lies the rub.

The issue of binding targets has been the main reason countries, especially developing ones, have been reluctant to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, since they feel they would have to sacrifice economic growth to meet the targets.

While Singapore ratified the protocol last year, it was as a non-Annex 1 country, which means it is not obliged to cut emissions. Annex 1 nations have to cut emissions by at least 5 per cent below their 1990 levels by 2012.

The talks matter for Singapore because they may set the stage for any future international emissions reductions agreement, which could affect developing countries.

Another issue that will be watched closely is Indonesia's proposal that developing countries should be paid to protect their forests.

If the proposal is accepted, it could help mitigate the haze that has the region in a chokehold during the land-clearing season.

But it will also raise the tricky issue of just how the burden of paying to protect forests should be shared by developed countries.

The Republic will also be interested in the Clean Development Mechanism, which allows developed countries to undertake environmentally friendly projects in developing ones to make up for some of the greenhouse gases they produce.

This will be discussed at the conference.

Singapore is pushing to be a regional centre for such green initiatives and technology.

Singapore, for its part, has put energy efficiency high up on the agenda, and the government has pumped in some $350 million to grow the clean energy sector.

The Republic has its own National Climate Change Strategy and has created the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore to promote carbon trading and other energy initiatives.

It also aims to cut energy intensity, or carbon dioxide emissions per dollar of GDP, by 25 per cent from 1990 levels by 2012.

Singapore, after all, does sit in the heart of Asia, which is set to bear the brunt of climate change, with changing weather patterns bringing drought and disease, and rising seas displacing millions of impoverished people.

Like many other developing countries, including China and India, Singapore has constantly underlined its stance that even as it is prepared to do its bit to mitigate climate change, it cannot afford to take 'drastic measures' at the expense of economic growth.

This is because Singapore is totally dependent on fossil fuels, with few feasible alternatives.

Then there are other issues: Singapore is a major manufacturing base for multinational firms, and a major air and sea hub where a large amount of fuel is uploaded to planes and ships.

Singapore argues that it should not be penalised for this production, as the goods are predominantly being consumed overseas.

That cannot all be 'put onto our account, because that's not fair and that does not make sense', Mr Lee has said.

This is a view that has its critics, including National University of Singapore academic and climate change commentator Natasha Hamilton-

Hart. Associate Professor Hamilton-Hart told a seminar on climate change earlier this week: 'The fact that Singapore is an exporting country has contributed to its wealth. And if you own the benefits, you should take the responsibility.'

Singapore leaders have pledged that the country will 'contribute' constructively to negotiations, but also made plain that they will have to safeguard 'national interests', like everyone else.

It is a view that is likely to be shared by many in the Group of 77, a bloc that represents about 130 developing countries.

The road to Bali
Straits Times 1 Dec 07;

Bali will set the scene for a post-Kyoto global climate change agreement, but much has happened in the last 12 months that could influence its outcome.
March: The IPCC's Working Group 1, which assessed the physical science backing climate change and its man-made drivers, releases its first report for policymakers. It was produced by more than 620 experts and governments, and was reviewed line by line by representatives of 113 governments.

April: The second segment of the IPCC report, on 'Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability' is released, and concludes that 'evidence from all continents and most oceans shows that many natural systems are being affected by regional climate changes, particularly temperature increases'.

May: The final instalment of the IPCC report is released, pointing to possible strategies to curb climate change. One key issue in the debate concerns a proposal to limit concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to between 445 parts per million and 650 parts per million, with pressure from developing countries to raise the lower limit. Eventually, though, the original proposed figure is accepted into the summary created for policymakers.

Nov 16: The strongest scientific warning on climate change yet, the IPCC Synthesis Report, is issued. It declares that it is more than 90 per cent sure that humans are to blame for rising temperatures, and that 'abrupt or irreversible' impacts could result.

On the table in Bali
Business Times 1 Dec 07;

Delegates will ride bicycles to meetings but more substantial action is needed, writes Matthew Phan.

COME Monday, world leaders will meet in Bali until Dec 14 to discuss the future of the planet.

Delegates will ride to meetings on bicycles, as befits the theme of the talks: how to reduce world emissions of greenhouse gases, which scientists say are causing global warming.

At the 13th Conference of the Parties (COP13) in Bali, leaders aim to firm up what the Kyoto Protocol could look like after 2012, when current targets to cut emissions under the treaty will expire.

The protocol emerged as early as 1997, out of discussions that began as the UN's Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It came into force in 2004, and as at October this year, some 175 countries representing over 61 per cent of world emissions have ratified or accepted the treaty, making it the best known co-ordinated effort to curb emissions.

But Kyoto has glaring weaknesses, the most infamous of which is the failure of heavy emitters like the US and Australia to ratify the treaty, though the latter is set to change its stance.

A crucial part of Kyoto is a commitment from developed countries listed under Annex I to reduce their greenhouse-gas emissions by an average of 5 per cent from 1990 levels, during the period 2008 to 2012.

The US accounts for more than a fifth of world emissions from fossil fuel use and industrial processes, or 5.8 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide, and originally agreed to slash this by 7 per cent.

For its part, the US says that China should also reduce emissions - which thanks to industrial processes like cement production became the world's heaviest emitter last year, surpassing the US by 8 per cent. Still, China ranks far lower on a per capita basis.

China has not ratified Kyoto and has not set any reduction targets, though it plans to cut energy use per dollar of GDP by a fifth by 2010.

As Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the UNFCCC, says: 'Powerful economies have to stop playing chicken with the future of the world.'

So far only the EU has demonstrated leadership - it has unilaterally committed to increase targets to 20 per cent of 1990 levels by 2020 - and has said that it will increase these to 30 per cent if other developed nations join in.

Other issues on the Bali agenda centre on how to make the treaty's mechanisms more effective.

Kyoto works via market mechanisms like the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme. More relevant to Asia, though, is the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).

Under the scheme, projects that reduce emissions in developing countries generate carbon credits. Project owners can sell them to EU members or other countries to help them meet targets.

The market for so-called Certified Emissions Reductions is roaring. It reached almost US$5.5 billion in 2006 and further growth is expected. But it is not enough, industry players say.

Further cuts

To cap the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere at levels that imply an acceptable risk of climate change, emissions must come down much faster.

The CDM accounted for more than half a billion tonnes of potential reductions in 2006. But according to a report to the UK government by economist Nicholas Stern, to stabilise emissions at relatively safe levels (450 parts per million of carbon dioxide), they must be lowered by 70 per cent by 2050, which requires a drop of 7 per cent a year.

Given that world emissions were 42 billion tonnes in 2000 and are probably higher now, this implies cuts of at least three billion tonnes a year to start. Guy Turner, an analyst at Point Carbon, says: 'The scale of the challenge is far, far greater than our capability at this time.'

Part of the reason is lack of resources, which means that the UN cannot register projects fast enough. Also, registration and transaction costs mean that many small-scale projects are not worth doing.

To address these, the UN has developed a scheme called 'programmatic CDM', where hundreds of projects of the same type can be grouped together, speeding up the approval process. Another option in the works is 'sector-based', where plants from the same industry can register quickly if they meet performance benchmarks.

Under such schemes, projects like improving energy efficiency in thousands of houses across a region, or installing fuel efficient engines in large vehicle fleets, could be registered. This would accelerate and broaden efforts.

Another critical issue is deforestation. According to the UN, the cutting of trees accounts for up to a quarter of world emissions every year. But carbon reductions from forestry do not qualify under the CDM, though Mr de Boer points out that deforestation leads to over 5 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide released a year, several times the volumes traded by the EU.

With so much at stake, observers say the Bali meetings must be decisive, although they warn that too much should not be expected. COP13 will just be a starting point, but must provide an ambitious roadmap to conclude by 2009.

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