Author: Jordy Leo

07 Apr Top Japan Banks MUFG, SMFG to Stop Financing New Coal Mining Projects

Posted at 16:45 by Jordy Leo

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG) [8316:JP] and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) [8306:JP], two of Japan’s three megabanks, have pledged not to fund new thermal coal mining projects, as reported by Nikkei Asia on April 1. The other megabank, Mizuho Financial Group (MFG) [8411:JP], has...

07 Apr China’s BYD Stops Producing Fossil-Fuels Vehicles

Posted at 16:36 by Jordy Leo

Chinese automaker and power battery manufacturer BYD [002594:CH] announced that it has stopped making combustion engine vehicles last month and it will focus on full electric and plug-in hybrid cars, as reported by Reuters on April 3. The company’s move makes it the world’s first...

07 Apr Thailand State Energy Producer PTT to Divest Coal Mining Business

Posted at 16:17 by Jordy Leo

Thailand’s state-owned oil major PTT [PTT:TB] will separate and sell its coal mining business in Indonesia and focus more on clean and environmentally friendly technologies, as reported by S&P Global on April 2. PTT made the decision because it witnessed the revenue decline in its...

07 Apr Indian Environmental Ministry Launches Initiatives to Combat Plastic Pollution

Posted at 16:08 by Jordy Leo

India’s Environment Minister, Bhupender Yadav, launched several green initiatives for plastic waste management on April 5, as reported by Economic Times on the same day. The minister proposed a state organ responsible for plastic waste management and the elimination of single-use plastic (SUP), together with...

07 Apr China Rolls out Stricter Taxation Rules on Live-Streaming Sector

Posted at 15:46 by Jordy Leo

China has published new rules requiring live-streaming platforms to provide reports on their live-streamers twice a year and to deduct personal income tax from live-streamers’ revenue, as reported by SCMP on March 31. Specifically, the reports need to include information such as personal identity, online...

07 Apr PetroChina Aims for 50% Renewables in Its Energy Mix by 2025

Posted at 15:18 by Jordy Leo

PetroChina [PTR:US], China’s largest oil and gas producer, committed that renewables will account for one-third of its energy portfolio by 2035 and 50% by 2050, as reported by Reuters on April 1. The state-owned enterprise’s chief financial officer, Chai Shouping, stated the company will utilize...

31 Mar Australia’s Woodside Supports Concentrated Solar Power Generation Projects

Posted at 15:10 by Jordy Leo

Australia’s largest oil and gas producer Woodside Petroleum [WPL:AU] will fund Bill Gates-backed Heliogen [HLGN:US], supporting the latter in the full-scale trial of concentrated-solar-power (CSP) technology in Australia, as reported by Reuters on March 28. Specifically, Heliogen’s CSP system uses thousands of mirrors to precisely...

31 Mar CATL Establishes World’s First Zero-Carbon Battery Factory

Posted at 15:06 by Jordy Leo

China’s leading battery producer, Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited (CATL) [300750:CH], established a battery factory featuring net-zero carbon emission in Yibin, Sichuan Province, as reported by PR Newswire on March 25. The plant has been granted the PAS 2060 certification on carbon neutrality from Swiss inspection,...

31 Mar SK Chemicals to Spend USD1.6bn in Green, Biopharmaceutical Businesses

Posted at 14:52 by Jordy Leo

SK Chemicals [298130:KS], SK Group’s [034730:KS] subsidiary, plans to invest more than KRW2tr (USD1.6bn) in eco-friendly material and biopharmaceutical businesses, as reported by the Korean Economic Daily on March 28. SK Chemicals will use the proceeds for establishing production infrastructure for green material and bio...

31 Mar TSMC Pledges up to 2% of Revenue for ESG Initiatives

Posted at 14:51 by Jordy Leo

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) [2330:TT] vows to use up to 2% of its annual revenue for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives, as part of its plan to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, as reported by Nikkei Asia on March 23. The annual ESG...

31 Mar Thai Government Approves USD890m Budget to Subsidize Prices of EV

Posted at 14:32 by Jordy Leo

Thailand’s Excise Department has allocated about THB3bn (USD890m) to a price subsidy plan for electric vehicles (EV) sold in the country, as reported by Bangkok Post on March 26. Under the subsidy plan, consumers who purchase an electric car sold in Thailand could enjoy an...

31 Mar Singapore Releases White Paper on Singapore Women’s Development

Posted at 14:08 by Jordy Leo

The Singapore government published a White Paper on Singapore Women's Development which outlined 25 measures to build a fairer and more inclusive society for men and women in workplaces and at home, as reported by Strait Times on March 28. The white paper suggests that...

31 Mar Indonesia Postpones Carbon Tax by Three Months

Posted at 11:51 by Jordy Leo

Indonesia will delay the enforcement of a tax on coal-fired power plants’ carbon emissions originally due to roll out on April 1 to around July, as reported by Bloomberg on March 28. A finance ministry official stated that Indonesia sees room to postpone the carbon...

24 Mar Singapore to Reduce Power Sector Emission for Net-Zero by 2050

Posted at 11:44 by Jordy Leo

Singapore’s Energy Market Authority (EMA) reported on March 22 that the country could reduce carbon emissions from the power sector to achieve net-zero by 2050, as reported by Strait Times on the same day. The report outlined measures to realize this target, including increasing clean...

24 Mar SK Innovation’s Subsidiary to Buy Net-Zero Oil from Occidental Petroleum

Posted at 11:31 by Jordy Leo

SK Trading International, a unit of South Korea’s largest oil refiner SK Innovation [096770:KS], will purchase up to 200,000 barrels of net-zero oil per year for five years from US oil producer Occidental Petroleum [OXY:US], as reported by Bloomberg on March 22. To achieve net-zero...