🎬 [#38] Indo-mitable action for a cleaner future!

🛢️...in the wake of the murky waters of spOILed SEAs 🌊

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Climate starts with SEA
August 11, 2024

Hello! Halo! Kumusta! Xin chào! สวัสดี! မင်္ဂလာပါ! ជំរាបសួរ! ສະບາຍດີ!

🗓️ This month, there are 3 Southeast Asian countries celebrating their respective independence days:

  1. August 9th is Singapore’s national day

  2. August 17th is Indonesia’s independence day

  3. August 31st is Malaysia’s merdeka day

📝 It’s also worth mentioning that August 8th was ASEAN Day—the 57th anniversary of the founding of ASEAN, which occurred during the Bangkok Declaration in 1967!

The same spirit of activism that led to the independence and founding of these nations is the same type of spirit that is leading the charge on climate change & environmental sustainability solutions across the region.

This week, we have 2 stories from Indonesia, 2 from Malaysia, 1 from Singapore, 1 from the Philippines and 1 related to ASEAN overall.

📰 News headlines:

  1. ♻️ Indonesia’s waste wonderwoman

  2. 🟢 Malayisa’s (Sara)work on green hydrogen

  3. 🌀 Oil tycoon? More like oil typhoon

  4. 🤦🏻 A real facepalm moment for a palm oil spill

📢 Other voices:

  1. 🌱 To beat climate change we need peat

  2. 📢 Indonesian youth (David) vs systemic environmental issues (Goliath)

  3. 📍 Singapore evolving from red dot to green one?

🗞️ Recent News

👍🏻 Good News

‘Princess of the dump’ launches alliance to give Indonesia’s women waste pickers a fair wage

Indonesia's first alliance for female waste pickers wants to help more women get a fair wage

www.eco-business.com/news/princess-of-the-dump-launches-alliance-to-give-indonesias-women-waste-pickers-a-fair-wage

🚮 As we covered across three issues last year on waste management (#2 on organic waste, #3 on plastic waste, and #5 on e-waste), waste management is a massive problem with interlinkages between climate change, economic development, and—believe or not—gender as well!

🚺 The above story highlights Resa Boenard, an Indonesian environmental activist who is empowering female waste pickers at Bantar Gebang—an infamous landfill located just outside Jakarta and happens to be the largest landfill in Southeast Asia—through her ARBIE, a social waste management enterprise in Bekasi.

Sarawak’s green hydrogen ambitions: What it means for Southeast Asia

As the frontrunner for green hydrogen projects in Southeast Asia, Sarawak’s success or failure in the next two years will serve as a bellwether for Malaysia’s hydrogen economy goals, Asean’s hydrogen future and global clean hydrogen demand.

www.eco-business.com/opinion/sarawaks-green-hydrogen-ambitions-what-it-means-for-southeast-asia/

🟢 Clean, green hydrogen has been generating a lot of attention both globally as well as in ASEAN and Malaysia is betting big on this gas alongside its neighbors like Indonesia, which the state-owned oil & gas enterprise has prioritized. However, cost and efficiency still present major challenges for this to scale.

⏭️ We actually have a deep-dive issue on green hydrogen planned a couple of weeks from now, in which we will be interviewing the founder of Singapore’s SunGreenH2, so stay tuned for that!

👎🏻 Bad News

In the wake of a super typhoon, coastal communities grapple with oil spill in Manila Bay

After just over a year since the MT Princess Empress disaster in Oriental Mindoro, environmental groups have renewed calls to ‘make polluters pay’ as the nation grapples with more frequent super typhoons and yet another massive oil spill, now closer to th

www.eco-business.com/news/in-the-wake-of-a-super-typhoon-coastal-communities-grapple-with-oil-spill-in-manila-bay

Singapore-flagged palm oil tanker dumping oily waste in Malaysian waters reveals pollution law flaw

Although it is legally permissible, some say the discharge of waste by palm oil vessels flushing out their tanks off the coast of Malaysia is an overlooked problem in Southeast Asia.

www.eco-business.com/news/singapore-flagged-palm-oil-tanker-dumping-oily-waste-in-malaysian-waters-reveals-pollution-law-flaw

🛢️ Riding on the coattails of Singapore’s oil spill in mid-June, we are now witnessing a couple of additional oil spills across ASEAN, one in the Philippines that was triggered by the recent Super Typhoon Gaemi/Carina, as well as one in Malaysia that was dumped by a Singaporean palm oil tanker 🚢…

📢 Other Voices

Peatlands and the Climate: This year’s COP29 must build on COP28

Carbon-rich peat ecosystems hold great potential to mitigate climate change, and help meet Southeast Asian national climate targets. The increased priority and action on peatlands must be continued from COP28 into this November’s COP29

fulcrum.sg/peatlands-and-the-climate-this-years-cop29-must-build-on-cop28

🌴 As we had discussed extensively in our 23rd issue on land use, managing peatlands is critical to climate mitigation. It’s worth repeating a quote from that issue here:

❝

Peatlands only cover 2 to 3% of the Earth’s land surface, but store around 25% of its terrestrial carbon. This makes peatland management, and prevention of peat fires, a critical part of carbon sequestration and storage.

The Battle for Indonesia’s Environmental Future: Youth Movements Against Systemic Challenges

Environmental activism remains a cottage industry for the youth who champion Earth’s cause in Indonesia. Besides financial pull, they will need organisational evolution before any significant green movement can break the cosy ties between state and dirty business.

fulcrum.sg/the-battle-for-indonesias-environmental-future-youth-movements-against-systemic-challenges

Singapore's climate tech startups are set to clean up

While facing various hurdles, the city-state is well positioned to become a global hub

https://asia.nikkei.com/Opinion/Singapore-s-climate-tech-startups-are-set-to-clean-up

✌🏻 It’s great to have these couple of articles published around the same time because it illustrates the importance of both levers for enacting positive action against climate change: 1. activism and 2. innovation (on top of the third leg of the stool of course: policy)…

🎬 In the same aforementioned land use issue, we featured a youth-led conservation project in the Philippines called Masungi Georeserve that has seen success thanks in no small part to their charismatic leader, Ann Dumaliang. Such work, alongside other pioneering activists who we’ve covered in previous issues serves as an inspiration for youth movements across the region.

🧑🏻‍🔬 Lastly, in terms of innovation, Singapore has been a driving force in promoting ClimateTech ventures to drive innovative climate solutions and—based on what we experienced at Ecosperity a few months ago (covered in this wrap-up issue)—we share Rod Bristow of Investible’s enthusiasm.

❓ Did you enjoy this week’s issue? If yes, please do forward to your friends who would enjoy the read as well.

📧 Also, feel free to let us know what you thought by giving us feedback at [email protected].

🌊 SEA you next week!

Karina & Massimiliano