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Lack of climate action could cut developing Asia’s GDP by 17% by 2070: If emissions remain high, developing Asia — counted as 46 Asia-Pacific countries from Georgia to Samoa but not including Japan, Australia, and New Zealand — could see a 17% loss in GDP by 2070 and a 41% loss by 2100, Reuters reported, citing a report by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The losses would mainly stem from rising sea levels and insufficient labor productivity. Developing Asia has managed to reduce emissions by 50% since 2000 but still produces almost half of global emissions due to increasing energy demand and consumption. The report estimates that USD 102-431 bn will be needed annually for regional countries to adapt to climate change.
Defense concerns halt Sweden’s offshore wind ambitions: Sweden rejected applications for 13 offshore wind farms it previously planned in the Baltic Sea, citing defense vulnerabilities, Reuters reported. The farms planned on the country’s eastern coast would undermine the country’s air defenses’ ability to detect and intercept missiles, halving reaction time to just one minute, the country’s Defense Minister Pal Jonson said. This would be an acceptable risk for Sweden, whose capital is 500 km away from Russia’s exclave of Kaliningrad. Meanwhile, the country has greenlit its Western coast offshore farms.
Falling behind: The move sheds doubt over Sweden’s ambitious plan to double its electricity generation to about 300 TWh in the next two decades. Despite favorable conditions for offshore wind power in Sweden, the clean energy source has already seen limited development due to financial concerns over grid connection costs.
Chinese-owned solar factories relocate to Indonesia to avoid US tariffs: Major Chinese-owned solar factories in Vietnam are shifting operations to Indonesia and Laos to avoid the expanded US tariffs targeting China-linked solar imports from Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and Cambodia, Reuters reports. The companies want to use the new facilities in Indonesia and Laos to supply nearly half the solar panels installed in the US last year.
ICYMI- The US Commerce Department announced preliminary tariffs on solar imports from Southeast Asia last month on the claim that the panels are benefiting from illegal foreign subsidies to supply products at prices lower than their cost. The general rates are 8.25% for Cambodia, 9.13% for Malaysia, 23.06% for Thailand, and 2.85% for Vietnam, while company-specific rates will be 14.72% on Hanwha Q Cells Malaysia imports, 3.47% on imports from JinkoSolar Malaysian entities, 0.14% for Trina Solar, and 2.85% for some JA Solar Technology operations in Vietnam.
OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING ABOUT THIS MORNING-
- An environmentalist group is suing the US to block a Nevada lithium mine they say will wipe out the threatened flower species Tiehm’s buckwheat. The Center for Biological Diversity — representing a group of native American plaintiffs — blasted the federal government for granting the mining license just two years after it classified the flower as an endangered species. Tiehm’s buckwheat is endemic to the exploration area in Nevada — which hosts the only known population of the species. (AP)
