Green news from Asia.

According to Bi-Me, Middle East private equity and venture capital investors are set to play a crucial role in increasing global moves towards green technology and alternative energy.
“The region has amassed new fortunes from the rising worldwide price of oil and gas and now sees huge opportunities in green investing,” said Swati Taneja, Director of [...]

Remember the article where a 16 year old Canadian teenager found out a way to disintegrate plastic bags in 3 months? Well this time round, two students from Indonesia, Vici Riyani and Adrienne Trinovia Sulistyo, have found a waste treatment solution for styrofoam.

In Japan, the Ministry of the Environment has introduced the Eco First Program. In order to become an Eco First Company under the Eco First Program, a company must commit (Eco First Commitment) to the Ministry of the Environment that it will undertake certain voluntary environmental protection initiatives in accordance with the following standards.

Based on [...]

A plan aimed at cultivating high-yield and pest-resistant genetically modified (GM) crops for China to achieve agricultural sustainability has been approved, the Chinese authorities have said.
The State Council announced on its website on Wednesday the approval of the plan, one of the 16 key State plans marked by the central government to achieve breakthroughs in [...]

Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on Wednesday announced a loan to Indonesia of US$300m dollars in the first batch of aid under Tokyo’s new initiative on fighting climate change.
Fukuda met with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in the Japanese northern resort of Toyako on the sidelines of the Group of Eight summit.

Fukuda “highly praised” Indonesia’s [...]

With the recent increase in oil prices and also with the demand of energy increasing due to a sharp increase in population and an expanding economy, Philippines is considering the feasibility of restarting a nuclear energy programme.

To accelerate research and development efforts to help drive the growth of the clean energy industry in Singapore, the Clean Energy Programme Office has given out S$10m to eight research teams to fund their projects on clean energy.
The projects span a wide range of technologies in the solar energy field.

Now for some local news, Sungei Ulu Pandan is set to be the next hotspot for urban freshwater research in Singapore. It will have a new Aquatic Science Centre by the end of 2009, the first of its kind in Asia.
Besides training and research, the joint initiative by the Singapore-Delft Water Alliance (SDWA) will also [...]