Malaysia launches $125m clean energy fund

Malaysia launches $125m clean energy fund



Published on Sep 24, 2013

1:07 AM




LONDON

(REUTERS)

-

Malaysia

and

Japan
-
based

Asian

Energy

Investments

Pte

Ltd

have

launched

a

US$100

million

(S$125

million)

venture

capital

fund

to

invest

in

clean

energy

projects

in

South

East

Asia.

Malaysia's

Prime

Minister

Najib

Razak

announced

the

launch

of

the

fund

on

Monday

at

a

meeting

of

sustainable

development

experts

in

San

Francisco

in

the

United

States.

Malaysian

fund

management

company

Putra

Eco

Ventures

Inc

wi
ll

channel

the

fund's

investments

into

small

and

medium
-
sized

companies

and

technologies

such

as

wind,

solar

or

tidal

energy.

It

will

also

help

find

cheaper

biodiesel

feedstocks

for

Malaysian

biodiesel

plants

which

have

been

idled

because

they

rely

on

expe
nsive

crude

palm

oil.

"We

hope

to

(...)

further

transform

Malaysia

into

a

knowledge
-
based,

innovation
-
driven

economy

that

is

environmentally

friendly

while

aiming

to

join

the

ranks

of

developed

nations,"

Prime

Minister

Razak

said.

Separately

on

Monday,

Gen
eral

Electric,

Malaysia's

largest

utility

Tenaga

Nasional

Berhad

and

government

agency

GreenTech

Malaysia

agreed

to

collaborate

on

developing

a

Malaysian

smart

grid.

A

smart

grid

is

a

modernised

electricity

device

which

uses

information

technology

to

colle
ct

data

about

the

energy

use

of

consumers

and

suppliers

to

improve

the

efficiency

of

electricity

production

and

reduce

energy

consumption.

Malaysia

aims

to

reduce

its

carbon

emissions

by

40

per

cent

by

2020

from

2005

levels

and

increase

its

renewable

energ
y

capacity

to

4,000

megawatts

by

2030.



Airline industry calls for CO2 emissions plan



Published on Sep 24, 2013

6:06 AM


An

Airbus

A320

airplane

takes

off

from

a

runway

at

Ronald

Reagan

Washington

National

Airport

in

Arlington,

Virginia,

Sept

23,

2013.

The

airline

industry's

mouthpiece

called

Monday

for

uniform

global

measures

by

2020

to

curb

all

aircrafts'

carbon

emissions,

warning

that

a

patchwork

of

competing

proposals

could

emerge

otherwise.

--

PHOTO:

AFP

MONTREAL

(AFP)

-

The

airline

industry's

mouthpiece

called

on

Monday

for

uniform

global

measures

by

2020

to

curb

all

aircrafts'

carbon

emissions,

warning

that

a

patchwork

of

competing

proposals

could

emerge

otherwise.

And

if

that

happens,

it

could

lead

to

a

proliferation

of

trade

wars,

said

Inte
rnational

Air

Transport

Association

general

manager

Tony

Tyler

said

at

a

meeting

of

the

international

industry

trade

group

of

airlines.

Tyler

said

he

remains

"optimistic"

that

IATA

member

states

will

come

together

on

a

plan.

"We

think

that

a

global

mandato
ry

carbon

offsetting

scheme

would

the

simplest,

easiest

in

the

end

to

implement,"

he

said.

"We

have

seven

years

to

do

it,"

he

added.

"It's

achievable."

But

if

IATA

member

nations

fail

to

reach

a

consensus

on

what

a

global

airline

carbon

tax

might

look

like
,

he

warned,

"We

could

well

see

a

proliferation

of

regional

schemes

of

taxes,

charges,

different

ways

of

penalizing

the

industry.

"This

could

lead

to

overlapping,

duplicating,

sometimes

conflicting

schemes

under

which

we

may

be

paying

twice

for

the

same

em
ission."

Several

nations

have

already

balked

at

a

global

emissions

scheme

for

airlines,

including

the

United

States

and

India.

Late

last

year,

after

running

into

a

storm

of

criticism,

the

European

Union

suspended

its

CO2

Emissions

Trading

Scheme

(ETS)

for

intercontinental

flights

for

2013,

saying

it

wanted

to

give

all

sides

more

time

to

reach

a

global

accord.

Under

the

ETS,

airlines

flying

in

EU

airspace

were

required

to

buy

pollution

credits

to

cover

15

per

cent

of

their

CO2

emissions

for

the

entire

flight
,

wherever

it

originated.

A

European

source

said

earlier

this

month

that

the

EU

is

ready

to

compromise

over

its

tax

if

opponents,

led

by

the

United

States

and

China,

apply

a

similar

levy

by

2016.