Business

G7 countries pledge to end fossil-fuel financing abroad

Published

2 years ago

27/05/2022

MNN

The pledge still allows for some “limited” exceptions of fossil-fuel financing so long as they are consistent with the 2015 Paris pact to curb global temperature increases.

Japan for the first time joined fellow members of the Group of Seven industrialised nations in pledging to end public financing for fossil fuel projects abroad by the end of the year to help combat global warming.

“We commit to end new direct public support for the international unabated fossil fuel energy sector by the end of 2022,” G7 energy and climate ministers said in a joint statement following talks in Berlin on Friday.

The term “unabated” refers to projects that do not employ techniques to offset some of the pollution caused by carbon dioxide emissions.

Ending subsidies for the international fossil fuel energy sector was already part of a series of commitments agreed to by around 20 countries at last year’s COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.

Six of the G7 club of rich nations were among the signatories at the time Britain, Canada, Germany, France, Italy and the United States – but Japan had resisted until now.

“It is good that Japan, the world’s largest financier of fossil fuels, has now joined the other G7 countries in making a shared commitment to end overseas fossil fuel financing,” said Alden Meyer, senior associate at climate policy think tank E3G.

Friday’s pledge still allows for some “limited” exceptions of fossil-fuel financing so long as they are consistent with the 2015 Paris pact to curb global temperature increases. But Meyer said countries wishing to do so would face “a very stiff bar to clear”.

At their G7 talks, ministers also committed to largely end the use of fossil fuels in their electricity sectors by 2035, despite heavy tensions in the power market over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“We further commit to a goal of achieving predominantly decarbonised electricity sectors by 2035,” they said.

Clean energy transition

To achieve this, member states promised to ramp up “the necessary technologies and policies for the clean energy transition” and accelerate the phase-out of coal.

The pledge was welcomed by environmental campaigners, at a time when the war in Ukraine has sent energy prices soaring and Western countries are scrambling to wean themselves off Russian imports.

“In a very difficult geopolitical situation, the G7 are united behind an end to fossil fuels by 2035 in the power sector. This is significant progress,” said David Ryfisch of the Germanwatch environmental group.

Speaking at the closing press conference, German Energy Minister Robert Habeck welcomed the pledges made by G7 nations, saying they sent a “strong signal for more climate protection”.

As well as a pledge to stop bankrolling fossil fuel projects abroad by the end of the year, Habeck highlighted the club’s agreement to ditch all “inefficient fossil fuel subsidies” by 2025.

Source: TRT World

Business

Council to issue 14 plots in Hanimaadhoo for tourism development

Published

13 hours ago

15/04/2024

Haa Dhaalu atoll Hanimaadhoo island council has announced a 50-year lease on 14 plots from the island for tourism development purposes.

In the announcement put on gazette by the council, it has opened bid opportunity for interested bidders to lease the plots from Hanimaadhoo’s tourism zone.

The council has announced lease of 5,000 square feet plots for a 50-year lease period, for which interested proponents are required to register for the bids before 13:00hrs on April 30th, 2024.

For proponents wishing to mail the bid registration form, they can mail it to info@hanimaadhoo.gov.mv.

Proponents must furnish a bid registration, non-refundable, fee of MVR 1,000 for the 5,000 square feet plots. If proponents wish to acquire more than one plot, then they must pay MVR 1,000 per plot.

If the council annuls the announcement, it said the registration fees will be refunded to the proponents, and added the proponents will receive bid books upon registration.

Bid acceptance and opening are scheduled for April 30th, 2024 as well.

While the Hanimaadhoo International Airport is under an expansion project, the island has been putting efforts to increase its local tourism activities as well.

During his last month visit to Hanimaadhoo, President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu said the airport’s expansion will contribute towards increased tourism activity in the island.

He also said sustainable development cannot be achieved without individual development of key regions which include Hanimaadhoo as well.

Source(s): sun.mv

Business

Maldives signs with Chinese firm for Laamu Integrated Maritime Hub Project

Published

4 days ago

12/04/2024

Agreements pertaining to the Laamu Integrated Maritime Hub Project have been signed with a Chinese company, aiming to accomplish the commitments made by President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu. The contract laying groundworks for this transformative endeavor was signed by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Maldives Ports Limited (MPL) Mohamed Wajeeh and the General Manager of CAMC Engineering Li Wei Wei.

Outlined within the agreement are details of six subprojects:

Launching offshore bunkering services
Developing a cruise terminal
Establishing a super yacht marina
Developing Gaadhoo as an Eco-resort
Establishing a facility to store regionally produced food items
Building a transshipment port

Providing insight into the developmental project, CEO Wajeeh underscored MPL’s ongoing efforts to secure a relevant market. He envisioned attracting international shipping lines to the transshipment port, anticipating a significant economic boost from even a single shipping line. Discussions are also underway with cruise operators to initiate cruise terminal operations.

MPL disclosed proposals from two companies to assist in providing bunkering services. While Vitol Bunkering, currently involved in developing bunkering facilities in Haa Alif Atoll, is one of them, the second company expressing interest hails from Dubai.

The establishment of a commercial port and a harbor including logistics is a commitment outlined in the governments’ manifesto.

Source(s): PsmNews

Business

India approves highest-ever export quotas for essential commodities to Maldives

Published

1 week ago

06/04/2024

India has approved highest-ever export quotas for essential commodities to Maldives for the year 2024-25, including eggs, wheat flour and onions, as well as river sand and stone aggregates.

In a statement on Friday, the Indian High Commission said the quota for export of essential commodities was renewed at the request of the Maldivian government.

“The approved quantities are the highest since this arrangement came into effect in 1981,” reads the statement.

The quota for river sand and stone aggregates, crucial items for the booming construction industry in the Maldives, have been increased by 1,000,000 MT. There has also been an increase of 5 percent in the quotas for eggs, potatoes, onions, sugar, rice, wheat flour and dal (pulses).

The export quota approved for 2024-25:

Eggs: 427,536,904.20
Potatoes: 21,513.08 MT
Onions: 35,749.13 MT
Rice: 124,218.36 MT
Wheat flour: 109,162.96 MT
Sugar: 64,494.33 MT
Dal: 224.48 MT
Stone aggregate: 1,000,000 MT
River sand: 1,000,000 MT

Despite global restrictions on the export of rice, sugar, and onions from India last year, New Delhi continued to provide these crucial commodities to the Maldives.

The high commission said the move underlines India’s strong committed to supporting human centric development in the Maldives, as part of its ‘Neighborhood First’ policy.

Maldivian Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer on early Saturday said India’s gesture to renew the quota to allow the export of certain quantities of essential commodities signifies the longstanding bilateral friendship, and the commitment to further expand trade and commerce.

“I sincerely thank EAM @DrSJaishankar and the Government of #India for the renewal of the quota to enable #Maldives to import essential commodities from India during the years 2024 and 2025. The newly approved quantities of essentials have been increased under the unique bilateral mechanism between the two countries, even as ties between Male and New Delhi remained tense in recent months,” Zameer said in a post on X.

His Indian counterpart, Dr. S. Jaishankar, responded that “India stands firmly committed to its Neighborhood First and SAGAR policies.”

Source(s): sun.mv