Rachel’s Blogs

For this weeks Eco Ventures I went down to have a look at a plant which converts cooking waste into biodiesel or fuel.

I actually first interviewed Allan Lim Alpha Biofuel’s CEO when I first joined CNA just over a year and a half ago now.

At that point Allan was still cooking fuels out of a university lab. Now with a plant and 7 retail points island wide – there is no question that in Singapore demand for renewable fuels is picking up.

In fact – Alpha Biofuels shared with me that just a few months ago when prices at the pump for regular fuel were beginning to pick up again – Alpha Biofuels retail points had been overwhelmed by taxi drivers – whom in a short period of time pumped the biodiesel dry.

Plus no conversion is needed for vehicles to use the diesel, making it an easy alternative.

The company is also planning to set up mini plants which can be set up within cities in the region – taking on their waste and returning it back to them with fuel.

And a growing number of businesses are tapping onto the potential of converting waste to energy.

Over in the UK for example… poo power which is being experimented with to use methane gas from human waste to supply power to over 500 homes in a pilot project.

Wow what a week!!!

If you remember the first episode of Eco Ventures we discussed increasing pushes in the auto industry toward environmentally friendly vehicles such as hybrids and electric cars.

In the last week it seems like globally players have upped a gear and are pumping in millions if not billions of dollars into development in the sector.

Previously I know a few comments came back to say one of the main reasons deterring many from purchasing hybrid vehicles was the price tag that goes along with it…. But watch this space… I firmly believe that with the number of international players seriously entering the arena prices will come down and selection will come up.

But who will be the front runner… electric vehicles… hybrids… or something else??

OK on another front… ECO VENTURES is up on facebook… for those of you who are interested please feel free to join the group and leave your feedback here, there or via mail J

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/ECO-VENTURES/104855928773?ref=nf

Now I leave you with a random and interesting story…

Shrinking sheep and climate change???

Recently articles highlighted that in islands off Scotland the size of sheep inhabiting the island has actually been shrinking!

Now while larger sheep should be dominant due to ‘survival of the fittest’ when it comes to harsh Scottish winters… in fact… due to warmer winters as a result of global warming… sheep were actually getting smaller…

Over in Australia a similar phenomenon… apparently genetically small sheep have lighter coats..

Investing in Climate Change funds to me is just like investing in anything else. From my perspective most investors will do so not because they are environmentally conscious – but to see some positive returns.

And with growing investments into the industry and power house that’s getting the green train in motion – why not?

It’s important to note that Climate Change funds themselves do not invest directly in preventing climate change- but rather in companies that are taking steps to prevent or deal with the consequences of what could be the inevitable.

Someone said to me this week – “I’m not sure I 100% believe in this whole climate change lark… and even if I did…the way people are guzzling gas is there anything we can do about it anyway?”

Well that said, wouldn’t it be nice to try??

Considering the changes our planet has gone through in the past… ice ages and the rest.. are we just a catalyst to the inevitable?

While many of us could spend hours pondering and debating solutions, possibilities and theories…. climate change is here to stay and whether you want to make a buck or two investing on the back of such vehicles are climate change funds then why not?

One fund expert told me that when you consider the rate of technological advances that man has undergone… I mean look at the time span from when man first took flight.. to first stepping on the moon. Likewise, the rate at which we develop more sustainable energy solutions will be and is phenomenal.

Considering that current renewable energy technologies potentially could be outpaced by a bright new energy source that technology and sciences births to solve all our energy needs. Could it be climate change fund managers with an ear to the ground that would be able to spot early the next climate change Microsoft??

For on the street investors it may be more difficult to keep track of what the last trend – technology and know-how within the climate change arena.

It would be interesting to hear what your perspective is of climate change funds? I have no doubt we will be seeing much much more of them in the not too distant future. So feel free to either leave a comment, or why not drop me a mail at Rachel@channelnewsasia.com

PS. On another note; Over in the UK, H1N1 has reportedly hit Downing Street – infecting Gordon Brown’s Advisor on Climate Change Michael Jacobs.

One to also watch out for this week: The UK is expected to release a emissions cut road map that will reduce British emissions by 80% by 2050. (From the 1990 levels)

Tags: Climate Change Funds; sustainability; alternative energy

The World Bank has just launched an eco2 cities program, the focus of which was to promote sustainability for cities with guidelines.

Almost like a template… so you want to go green and cut costs…here’s how….

Of course it will depend on the cities as to what changes need to be made, and also rely on the municipal bodies within the cities to pull the plan together.

And for developing cities will we start seeing eco cities mushroom up all over the globe?

It would have to be an overall city master plan to connect all the pieces of the puzzle to make it efficient and sustainable.

The World Bank also mentioned a pretty scary statistic.

That if developing countries consume the same way as developed… then we will need 4 PLANET EARTHS to sustain our growth… FOUR PLANET EARTHS!!!

A luxury we really don’t have!!

One thing The World Bank pointed out with its Eco2 cities plan is that massive investments are not needed.. just restructuring and design change – I suppose for developing cities small changes such as recycling implemented early can make a big difference… get it right the first time etc.

As governments continue to launch sustainable options, Obama’s legislation to cap green house gases and other emissions has now been passed – Along with news that China is forming a new energy development plan.

But what more do you think can or needs to be done?