The People’s Party (PP) has called on the government to tackle arsenic contamination from foreign mining, spreading from northern rivers to the Mekong in the Northeast. It is urging immediate talks with China, Myanmar and Laos.

PP deputy spokesman and Chiang Mai MP Phattarapong Leelaphat posted on Facebook on Saturday, accusing authorities of ignoring the toxic contamination. Arsenic levels in Mekong River passing Loei, Bueng Kan, Nong Khai and Nakhon Phanom provinces exceeded safety standards, yet officials withheld the information from the public, he said.

The pollution originates from neighbouring countries’ mining operations, but the government has failed to act. While contamination in northern rivers such as the Kok, Sai and Salween has long been known, the problem is now spreading to the Northeast, he added.

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The Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) is gearing up to join forces with its ASEAN counterparts to combat air pollution, specifically honing in on the issue of fine particulate matter PM2.5. This announcement took flight during the annual ASEAN Air Chiefs Conference in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, which concluded today, with a mission to ‘clean up’ the skies.

The conference serves as a platform for air force leaders from the ten-nation bloc to deliberate on defence cooperation, counter-extremism measures, and disaster relief strategies. This year, the conference has also zeroed in on environmental cooperation efforts.

The RTAF’s commander-in-chief, ACM Alongkorn Wannarot, highlighted the force’s initiatives to combat the PM2.5 problem, largely attributed to widespread crop burning across Southeast Asia. He revealed that the RTAF, in association with the Department of Royal Rainmaking and Agricultural Aviation, established the Royal Rainmaking operation unit in 2015. The unit’s mandate is to extinguish wildfires, mitigate PM2.5 pollution, and augment water levels in Thai dams.

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HCM City (VNA) – An energy transition seminar on Norwegian-Vietnamese business partnerships opened in Ho Chi Minh on September 13, hosted by the Norwegian Embassy in Vietnam in collaboration with the Oil, Gas and Coal Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

According to experts, the participation and collaboration of the private sector will play a vital role in the implementation of the Vietnamese government’s Power Development Plan VIII with priority to be given to the development of renewable energy.

They also said that the plan is an opportunity for business communities both home and abroad to introduce their expertise and competitive advantages, particularly technology. Specifically, Norwegian energy firms boast strengths in offshore wind power, clean hydro, carbon storage, and liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Deputy Ambassador Mette Møglestue said Norway and Vietnam share a determination to become countries with low carbon by 2050. Energy transition is an inevitable process and all countries on the globe must take efforts to achieve this goal.

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Cambodia on December 30 submitted its                                                egy (LTS4CN) to the Secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) , according to the Ministry of Environment.

The ministry said that the strategy aimed to provide a roadmap based on comprehensive analysis and scenarios related to key economic sectors as well as priority mitigation activities to achieve future carbon-neutral development. The strategy included an analysis of the balance between greenhouse gas reduction, economic growth, social justice and climate resilience.

In a press release on December 31, the ministry stated that the submission of the strategy was in line with the commitment that Prime Minister Hun Sen made at the UN Climate Summit 2020 to be implemented by the end of the year 2021. The development of the strategy was an important step for Cambodia as a country that supports multilateral activities in climate change to demonstrate leadership through practical implementation of climate action.

Cambodia is one of just 49 UNFCCC Parties that have submitted this strategy to the UNFCCC Secretariat to date.

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To the surprise of many, Thailand announced at the recent COP26 climate summit in Glasgow that it would increase its long-term ambition on climate action — pledging to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 and to achieve an economy with net-zero GHG emissions by or before 2065.

While this was a welcome and serious declaration of climate ambition, these sorts of commitments are so far out in the future that they are hard to place in a tangible context. What do the plethora of recent commitments — by governments — to achieve net-zero emissions by mid-century mean for the average person in Thailand, or in any country?

When you dig into most of these mid-century commitments — whether by governments or corporations — there is often little, if any, detail presented on how the current ways in which we live and do daily business will change next year, or within five years, in order for the realisation of these promises to begin. And writers on this editorial page have recently criticised Thailand for avoiding any potentially painful commitments to joint international action at COP26 on deforestation, methane reduction, and coal phase-out. In this context then, what does the recent Thai pledge to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 mean for Thailand?

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The post How Asean’s Covid-19 recovery measures are missing opportunities for a green future first appeared on Open Development Mekong.

Born in Bac Giang, near a thermal power plant which emits smoke all year round, Khanh witnessed many people suffering from cancer and understood the misery of not living in a clean environment.

In 2011, the government of Vietnam made public the energy development plan for 2011-2020 with a vision until 2030, or Plan No 7, which estimated that 75,000 MW of electricity would be generated by coal firing until 2030. In the same year, Khanh set up Green Innovation and Development Center (GreenID) to enhance the use of green energy in Vietnam.

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The Capital is  sick, being choked with PM 2.5, the fine dust composed of various cardiovascular and respiratory carrier toxins.

Since early this week, the dust particles with the diameter less than 2.5 microns or “PM 2.5” have started to surge in the city, and the trend has continued until today.

Yesterday, their concentrations touched the higest level addressed by the government as the “crisis” with the particle concentration measured above 100 micrograms per cubic meter. This is not to mention that several measurement stations in the city saw the concentrations of the dust particle well passed the safety standard that is set at 50 micrograms per cu m.

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A Vietnamese woman has made it to the global list of 100 most influential people in climate policy for her sustainable energy solutions. Nguy Thi Khanh, founder and director of Green Innovation and Development Center (GreenID), has become the first Vietnamese ever that makes it to the annual list which this year also honors Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old Swede who started a school strike for climate outside the Swedish parliament, and David Attenborough, a renowned English broadcaster, natural historian and environmental advocate.

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The Integrated Coastal Management Programme (ICMP) in the Mekong Delta region has brought about marked economic benefits to targeted localities, heard a conference in Can Tho city on July 24. The programme was launched in 2011 at a cost of 23 million EUR (26.9 million USD) funded by the German and Australian governments via the German Development Cooperation Organisation. 

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The post Programme helps raise Mekong Delta’s resilience to climate change effects first appeared on Open Development Mekong.