Few would now remember how Gordon Wu, a Hong Kong-based businessman, played a transformative role in pioneering Asian infrastructure, particularly in the 1990s.
Mr Wu named his venture Hopewell after the turnpike near Princeton University, a place he was very proud of having attended.
One of the countries he had greatest impact on was Indonesia, with his projects laying the basis for economic growth in parts of the archipelago. That’s even though the 1997-98 Asia Financial Crisis wrested his prized power plants from his control.
I mention Wu as a transformative figure because something very significant, with similar long-term potential, is taking off and sparking a new era in Indonesia right now.
The development is important because the run-up to Cop28 opening in Dubai on November 30 could see two coal-heavy economies, Indonesia and Poland, making some of the most significant progress in the battle against climate change.
Indonesia has already announced ambitious plans to increase its renewable energy mix. The South-east Asian giant is a developing economy but has still been able to pledge to reach net-zero emissions by 2060 or sooner.
The nation has already committed to a 29 per cent cut in its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. In fact, it is ready to commit to a 41 per cent reduction with greater international support.
The run-up to Cop28 could see two coal-heavy economies making some of the most significant progress
Last week, a leading Indonesian official told The National the country would announce at Cop28 it is advancing its plans to actively start phasing out coal in 2040. The exit plan could be brought forward by a decade after an innovative deal with advanced economies to unlock $20 billion to accelerate the green transition. Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said she had pushed “very hard” for a new commitment. “It’s already in the pipeline,” she said. “We are preparing and are going to announce it. If it fails, it’s something beyond me.”
Her boss President Joko Widodo recently launched the country’s first carbon exchange, a platform for companies looking to offset emissions, the first tangible outcome of the Just Energy Transition Partnership. He says the scheme has valuable lessons for the global community to replicate progress. And cutting coal use is the most likely place for the fast-growing Indonesian economy to prove itself.
The UAE renewables powerhouse Masdar is helping Indonesia with the infrastructure investments to take the strain away from coal-powered stations. It is a development that fits in with the tradition of tapping overseas investment and expertise for the country’s infrastructure. Masdar launched the first phase of what will be a more than 500-megawatt floating solar power plant in Indonesia.
Masdar is also an active investor in Poland, where it has used the capital to build more than 50 megawatts of wind-power capacity from turbines in the north of the country.
Poland is the EU’s sleeping giant when it comes to the climate battle but a new report from the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) points to the potential for a great leap forward.
The starting point is certainly one from which to play catch-up. It is estimated that 85 per cent of Poland’s energy is derived from fossil fuels. As much as 70 of electricity is generated from coal. The figure compares to a European average of less than 16 per cent. The country is to date committed to closing its last coal mine in 2049.
Yet behind this dependency, Poland is starting to shift dramatically. It accounted for 60 per cent of the European emissions reductions last year, according to ECFR. Renewables such as wind rose to almost 21 per cent of electricity production last year.
Even the current government, which has been somewhat reluctant to openly embrace what’s known as the green agenda, has brought in some innovative schemes that are making a difference. Its clean air programme for cities and energy for villages has encouraged switching to renewables and the sales of environmentally friendly heat pumps place the country eighth in the EU league table.
Industry is starting to tap the Polish market. Bosch is set to build a large heat pump factory in the country.
Meanwhile, a scheme called My Electricity has promoted the rise of the “prosumer” (producers and consumers) with half a million households fitting solar panels to both power their homes and feed the grid. All this is laying the groundwork for a more dramatic transformation. If the government does make new commitments on coal, the ECFR report says it could be done as a “national mission” comparable to the drive to join Nato and the EU.
In recent weeks we have seen what it means when major countries flirt with backsliding on the commitments that make up their net-zero plans. The UK is one that has lurched to the wayside. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has retained the 2050 deadline but pushed back the phasing out of diesel and petrol cars from 2030 to 2035.
Last week, The National’s poll of the UK public showed the reaction, with support for the 2050 deadline rising to 57 per cent from 53 per cent just before the announcement. Our poll also showed that people appear to have confidence that renewables can deliver clean and cheap electricity.
The UAE’s investment in renewables in the UK was endorsed by 47 per cent of the population. In a separate question, 48 per cent backed increasing renewable energy production at lower cost.
As in so much else, it is the potential for new progress on the front line of the energy battle that is set to be one of the most exciting elements of Cop28 this year.
SOUTH%20KOREA%20SQUAD
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F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
The Gentlemen
Director: Guy Ritchie
Stars: Colin Farrell, Hugh Grant
Three out of five stars
The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer
Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000
Engine 3.6L V6
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm
Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
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THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
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MATCH INFO
Fixture: Thailand v UAE, Tuesday, 4pm (UAE)
TV: Abu Dhabi Sports
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
UAE cricketers abroad
Sid Jhurani is not the first cricketer from the UAE to go to the UK to try his luck.
Rameez Shahzad Played alongside Ben Stokes and Liam Plunkett in Durham while he was studying there. He also played club cricket as an overseas professional, but his time in the UK stunted his UAE career. The batsman went a decade without playing for the national team.
Yodhin Punja The seam bowler was named in the UAE’s extended World Cup squad in 2015 despite being just 15 at the time. He made his senior UAE debut aged 16, and subsequently took up a scholarship at Claremont High School in the south of England.
The five pillars of Islam
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Scotland 59 (Tries: Hastings (2), G Horne (3), Turner, Seymour, Barclay, Kinghorn, McInally; Cons: Hastings 8)
Russia 0
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
What's in the deal?
Agreement aims to boost trade by £25.5bn a year in the long run, compared with a total of £42.6bn in 2024
India will slash levies on medical devices, machinery, cosmetics, soft drinks and lamb.
India will also cut automotive tariffs to 10% under a quota from over 100% currently.
Indian employees in the UK will receive three years exemption from social security payments
India expects 99% of exports to benefit from zero duty, raising opportunities for textiles, marine products, footwear and jewellery
SPEC SHEET
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SIM: single nano, or nano and SIM, nano and nano, eSIM/nano and nano
Colours: burgundy, green, phantom black, phantom white, graphite, sky blue, red
Price: Dh4,699 for 128GB, Dh5,099 for 256GB, Dh5,499 for 512GB; 1TB unavailable in the UAE
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
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