Page 10 - AsiaElec Week 24

AsiaElec
NEWS IN BRIEF
AsiaElec
e latest MDB climate nance gures
are detailed in the 2018 Joint Report on Multilateral Development Banks’ Climate Finance, which combines data from the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDBG), and the World Bank Group (WBG).
hese banks account for the vast majority of multilateral development nance globally. e 2018 report also summarizes information on climate nance from the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), which joined the MDB climate nance tracking groups in October 2017.
e report shows that $30.2 billion, or 70%, of the total nancing for 2018 was devoted
to climate change mitigation investments
that aim to reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions and slow down global warming.
e remaining $12.9 billion, or 30%, was invested in adaptation e orts to help address mounting impacts of climate change, including worsening droughts and more extreme weather events from extreme ooding to rising sea levels.
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK
USAID, ADB Partner to push
sustainable energy in Asia-
Pacific
e United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has launched a partnership with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to accelerate the transition to a more sustainable, secure, and market-driven
energy sector in Asia and the Paci c. USAID Asia Bureau Acting Assistant
Administrator Gloria Steele and Director General of ADB’s Strategy, Policy, and Review Department Tomoyuki Kimura signed the partnership agreement at the Asia Clean Energy Forum (ACEF).
USAID and ADB will work to mobilise $7 billion of investment for energy projects in Asia and the Paci c, boost the capacity of clean energy systems by 6 GW, and increase regional energy trade by 10% over the next ve years.
is agreement will promote energy e ciency, energy sector reform, and good governance of Asia and the Paci c’s energy sector.
is new partnership follows decades of USAID–ADB development collaboration
and comes as the US government next month marks the one-year anniversary of Asia Enhancing Development and Growth through Energy (Asia EDGE), one of the key initiatives contributing to the US government’s Indo- Paci c vision.
In 2018, the ADB made commitments of new loans and grants amounting to $21.6bn. ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK
Taiwan launches offshore trade body
Ørsted is leading the creation of a new trade body promote o shore wind in Taiwan.
e Taiwan O shore Wind Power Industry Association has a mission to “integrate
and invest in Taiwan’s o shore wind power industry, establish a platform for dialogue
and exchange between industry, government and research, and communicate with the
government to the public”, the body said at its launch.
Membership of the new body includes Ørsted, CIP, Northland Power, Yushan Energy, Woshen Energy, Jera, Macquarie Capital and Dade Energy Group, said Semi.
Among the most promising new markets for o shore wind globally, the sector’s relations with the island’s government hit
a bump this year in a row over permitting delays and feed-in tari s.
In April, Ørsted reached nal investment decision (FID) for 900 MW of o shore capacity at thethe Changhua 1 and 2A projects.
Present at the launch was Taiwanese Minister without Portfolio Kung Ming-hsin, who said the development of o shore wind power, which has set a goal of reaching 5.5 GW of installed capacity by 2025, could boost economic growth in Taiwan.
e government said that o shore wind power development could help reduce air pollution from thermal power plants and cut carbon emissions by 10 million tonnes per year by 2025.
“We need a stable framework, we need to make sure that we can rely on the law and the regulation, and that there is broad support across party boundaries,” said Matthias Bausenwein, general manager Asia Paci c Ørsted and chairman of Ørsted Taiwan.
Ørsted, which operates ve wind farms in Taiwan, including the country’s rst o shore wind project at Formosa 1 in waters o Miaoli County, nearly withdrew from the local market earlier this year due to a cut in the wind power rate in January.
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Week 24 18•June•2019