Green bond bonanza in Singapore: The city-state of Singapore raised SGD 2.8 bn (USD 2.1 bn) from green bonds issuances by reopening an existing 50-year maiden note it sold last year, surpassing a target of SGD 1.8 bn, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. While the majority of the funds raised came from institutions, SGD 50 mn was made through a public offering, the business news information service said citing a source with knowledge of the matter. The country’s new round of green financing pushes the total amount of global issuances of green bonds to over USD 344 bn in 2023, 18% higher than last year, Bloomberg-compiled data showed. Singapore plans to raise as much as SGD 35 bn of environment-focused financing by 2030.

Indonesia issues rules for carbon market set to launch next month: Indonesia’s carbon market exchange will allow cross-border trade, use certificates that show the volume of greenhouse gas emission reduction per ton of CO2, and allow 20% of the operator’s shares to be owned by an overseas firm, new regulations issued by Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority revealed, Reuters reported last week. A number of companies have shown interest in taking on operations, but no decision has been made yet, the authority said. The carbon trading platform is planned to launch in September, according to the regulator. The trading will use a cap-and-trade system where the volume of permitted emissions is limited and allowances can be traded by businesses.

Indonesia is making strides in green policy: A final plan for Indonesia’s USD 20 bn climate package could be in place by the end of October, Bloomberg reported last week, quoting the head of the coordinating body for the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) Edo Mahendra. Indonesia initiated the partnership last year with a group of wealthy nations — including EU countries, the US, and Japan — and a coalition of global financial institutions. The benchmark JETP program will provide incentivized financing to help speed up Indonesia’s transition toward renewable energy and away from coal.

IN OTHER INDONESIAN NEWS- The country’s tropical glaciers may vanish: Two of the world's few tropical glaciers — ice caps located high in the equatorial mountain ranges that serve as a major water source for some communities — in Indonesia are melting and their ice is under threat to vanish by 2026 or sooner, Reuters reported last week. The start of the El Niño phenomenon this year could make Indonesia’s dry season the most severe since 2019, putting the country’s 12k-year-old tropical glaciers in danger.

OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING ABOUT THIS MORNING-

• India is prioritizing green mobility: India’s finance ministry is considering a proposal to include electric vehicles in the national priority sector for loans, making it cheaper to raise funds. (Reuters)
• China team up with Namibia in clean energy: China’s President Xi Jinping is looking to expand cooperation with Namibia and encourage Chinese businesses to invest in the country’s clean energy sector (Xinhua)
• Falling solar and wind prices threaten Africa’s hydropower: 67% of Africa’s future hydropower plants on the continent may not be worth the investment as price tags for solar and wind energy components continue to drop, rendering hydroelectric less attractive. Mitigation efforts to offset the impact of prolonged droughts on the back of climate change are also driving up hydropower project costs. (International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis)
• Japan is localizing supply chains for green hydrogen: Japan is planning to spend over JBY 2 tn (c. USD 14 bn) to advance the local manufacturing of batteries, semiconductors, and equipment needed to produce hydrogen under a plan to cut dependency on global suppliers. (Reuters)