Dewan Rakyat passes Energy Efficiency and Conservation Bill

The Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday passed the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Bill, which provides for compulsory energy audits of larger commercial and industrial electricity and gas consumers.

The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act (EECA), set to be enforced 12 months after it is gazetted, will regulate industrial and commercial users that consume 21,600 gigajoules of energy per year, equivalent to RM2.4m in annual electricity bills, or RM1m in natural gas bills. Compliance is estimated to reduce electricity bills by up to 25%.

The EECA will cover 1,500 out of 27,000 industrial consumers, representing 70% to 80% of industrial consumption, as well as 500 out of 1.7m commercial consumers making up 21% of commercial segment consumption. ─ theedgemalaysia.com

Suriname sets USD30 in carbon sale

Suriname has set a price of USD30 per credit in a bid to raise USD144m, bringing much-needed resources to help fight deforestation in a country 93% covered in forests, Marciano Dasai, Minister of Spatial Planning and Environment told Reuters.

The price of USD30 per credit is high compared to the voluntary carbon market, where different registries set their own standards. Voluntary credits backed by nature-based solutions, such as forest protection, peaked in January 2022 at USD15.75 on the Xpansiv, the world's largest spot market, but have since fallen to around USD3. ─ Reuters

Coal industry could face 1m job losses from energy transition

The global coal industry may have to shed nearly 1m jobs by 2050, even without any further pledges to phase out fossil fuels, with China and India facing the biggest losses, research showed.

Hundreds of mines are expected to close in the coming decades as they reach the end of their lifespans and countries replace coal with cleaner low-carbon energy sources.

US-based think tank Global Energy Monitor looked at 4,300 active and proposed coal mine projects around the world covering a total workforce of nearly 2.7m. It found that over 400,000 workers are employed in mines set to cease operations before 2035. ─ Reuters

Extreme weather could cause USD5t losses, Lloyd's says

Global economic losses could reach USD5t under a "plausible increase" in extreme weather events linked to climate change that cause crop failures and food and water shortages, insurance marketplace Lloyd's of London said on Wednesday.

Adjusting the estimated USD5t over a five-year period, the expected global economic losses were USD711b, Lloyd's said. ─ Reuters

Source: Kenanga Research - 13 Oct 2023