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Rising China, domestic demand for durian prompts Mindanao farmers to hike yield

RECLAIMS THRONE

D

Bright spot

By Manuel T. Cayon

From unkempt and weedy farms of yore when traders in shiny sedans and pickup trucks would force durian fruit farmers to sell their fruit for as low as P5 per kilo, lucky farmers now are keeping their farms clean and orderly, and some have been expanding, too.

The bright shining star here is the spark of hope created in April, when China officially opened its doors for the direct importation of the “king of fruits”—meat, pulp and thorns, all included.

The industry and the Department of Agriculture (DA) are yet to give an exact or even a ballpark figure on the income derived from the fruit export since April.

However, exporters and some growers who were lucky to ride into the exportation euphoria are keeping their fingers crossed for still better opportunities ahead, including increasing their production to fill an unmet demand from China, the world’s largest market today.

Invigorated

JOSE CUBOL rued the days when his durian trees were only wasting the space of his five-hectare farm lot to earn only as much as P40 per kilo of fruits during better days, but peak season of harvest from all the other durian growers was not one of them.

An abundant harvest may be good for Davao City, especially to mark the annual Kadayawan Festival, a festive season to commemorate the fruit harvest season.

For durian growers, a bountiful harvest of durian, even lanzones, marang and mangosteen, spells a bottom-line income of as low as P5 a kilo.

“On good days, especially during the first batch of harvest, durian would be bought at P40 a kilo direct from our farms. Frequently, it would be averaging at P20, or P10, and during the full fruiting season, for as low as P5,” he said.

“Who would be happy with that?” he told the BusinessMirror.

Then, the farms were a messy sight of untended trees, tall weeds and clingy vines that form foliage that is not so pleasing to the sight.

In April and forward, a kilo of durian was fetching as much as P100 a kilo for the type A (good export quality), averaging a weight of two kilos.

The fruit that weighs upward of three kilos would be priced at P80, still qualified to be exported for the type B category or classification. Fruits weighing six kilos are classified as oversized and more than 6.5 kilos are called rejects, and have to be opened and their meat repacked in plastics to be sold locally or to Metro Manila.

“There was fruit reaching 18 kilos that was now entered into the books,” Cubol said.

“It should be round, weighing between two kilos and 3.5 kilos.

That’s how we size up the fruits for export,” he said.

The first shipment was rushed on a Holy Thursday after the General Administration of Customs

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URIAN now reeks of fortune.

From a discouraging bottomlow farm-gate price every festival season of August, farmers now are returning to their farms in earnest.

of the People’s Republic of China (GACC), the headquarters of China Customs, confirmed Beijing’s approval to receive the durian from the Philippines. This, following a series of farm inspections here and business-to-business negotiations since December last year.

Abel James I. Monteagudo, director of the Davao regional office of the DA, said the initial shipment was bought at a farm-gate price of between P65 and P80, already a big improvement from the much lower buying price in the past decades, which could be as low as P20 on peak harvests.

The volume was accounted for mainly by Eng Seng group of companies, one of the city’s biggest growers and consolidators, and the rest by the members of the Durian Industry Association of Davao City.

Emmanuel Belviz, president

of the association, said export activities have been going on as frequently as three or four times a week, because several individual growers or companies are exporting their products on their own.

One exporter he did not name was able to export as much as eight 40-footer container vans each week; and one multinational company, which traditionally exports bananas and pineapples, is already exporting four container vans of durian each week.

Two other big exporters and a small one each export two tons to four tons of durian.

Expanding

NOT only are durian farmers returning to their durian farms and adapting the standard good agricultural practices, some are expanding their areas and putting up plant nurseries.

Cubol said he has acquired or rented some areas that now total 13 hectares, from only five hectares of his own.

Dario Divino, the designated focal person on industrial crops at the City Agriculturist Office, said that last year, 4,408 farmers planted durian as a crop to 3,388.65 hectares. They harvested 12,929.63 metric tons (MT) from 2,176.32 hectares also last year.

Belvis said the Davao Region has planted durian to 8,700 hectares; and Davao City growers annually produce 41,145 MT, accounting for slightly half of the country’s production reaching 79,000 MT. Besides Davao Region, Belviz said the other production area is in North Cotabato. Before durian, the Davao Region is known for its banana export to Japan, South Korea, the Middle East and China.

RUBY BERNALES, another durian grower, said there are still durian farmers “who do not know proper handling.” Before, she said, “we just harvest, transport them to the market, and it’s done.”

Belvis said many farmers are backyard growers of as many as only 10 trees. “We have to upgrade and help them appreciate entrepreneurship to increase income,” he added.

“When we speak of farmers, they are the same, whether they are in the Philippines, Malaysia, or Indonesia,” Belvis remarked. “However, in Malaysia and Indonesia, farmers return home in their Hi-Lux pickups, while Filipino farmers return home on their carabao.”

Malaysia, Belvis added, “is known for its sustainability practices in agriculture, and Thailand, for its high-density farming.”

Arlene Tiwan, agricultural technician from the Department of Agriculture’s High Value Crops division, announced the plan of the regional office to distribute 64,000 seedlings of the Puyat variety, the most indemand variety for its meat volume per fruit and for its milder taste and acceptable taste register to first-time and non-durian eaters.

The seedlings will be given to farmers’ associations to cover a total of 60,000 hectares. Free fertilizers will also be given as an incentive package for farmers to plant.

She said the regional DA office has given P50 million to durian planters from 2017 to 2021. For next year alone, the fund assistance is as much as P30 million.

Belvis said the new interest in durian came after the Philippines, Davao City in particular, broke through the China front door, and “there is now a huge market for durian.”

“It is really a big challenge because the market for durian is not only local. We also have China now,” he said.

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 56.8640 n JAPAN 0.3797 n UK 69.0727 n HK 7.2681 n CHINA 7.7791 n SINGAPORE 41.4370 n AUSTRALIA 35.9665 n EU 60.1905 n KOREA 0.0420 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.1605 Source: BSP (October 20, 2023)

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‘KING OF FRUITS’

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A2 Sunday, October 22, 2023

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Communities can’t recycle or trash disposable e-cigarettes. So what happens to them?

By Matthew Perrone

W

AP Health Writer

ASHINGTON—With the growing popularity of disposable e-cigarettes, communities across the US are confronting a new vaping problem: how to safely get rid of millions of small, battery-powered devices that are considered hazardous waste. For years, the debate surrounding vaping largely centered on its risks for high school and middle school students enticed by flavors like gummy bear, lemonade and watermelon.

But the recent shift toward ecigarettes that can’t be refilled has created a new environmental dilemma. The devices, which contain nicotine, lithium and other metals, cannot be reused or recycled.

Under federal environmental law, they also aren’t supposed to go in the trash.

US teens and adults are buying roughly 12 million disposable vapes per month. With little federal guidance, local officials are finding their own ways to dispose of e-cigarettes collected from schools, colleges, vape shops and other sites.

“We are in a really weird regulatory place where there is no legal place to put these and yet we know, every year, tens of millions of dis-

posables are thrown in the trash,” said Yogi Hale Hendlin, a health and environmental researcher at the University of California, San Francisco.

In late August, sanitation workers in Monroe County, New York, packed more than 5,500 brightly colored e-cigarettes into 55-gallon steel drums for transport.

Their destination? A giant, industrial waste incinerator in northern Arkansas, where they would be melted down.

Sending 350 pounds of vapes across the country to be burned into ash may not sound environmentally friendly. But local officials say it’s the only way to keep the nicotine-filled devices out of

LAW enforcement members of New York Sheriff’s Joint Compliance Task Force (SJCTF) confiscate and bag illegal vaping products, during raid of a tobacco shop, Wednesday September 27, 2023, in New York. Communities across the US are confronting a new vaping problem: how to get rid of millions of disposable e-cigarettes that are considered hazardous waste. The devices contain nicotine, lithium and other materials that cannot be reused or recycled. AP

sewers, waterways and landfills, where their lithium batteries can catch fire.

“These are very insidious devices,” said Michael Garland, who directs the county’s environmental services. “They’re a fire risk and they’re certainly an environmental contaminant if not managed properly.”

Elsewhere, the disposal process has become both costly and complicated. In New York City, for example, officials are seizing hundreds of thousands of banned vapes from local stores and spending about 85 cents each for disposal.

Hazardous waste

VAPING critics say the industry has skirted responsibility for the environmental impact of its products, while federal regulators have failed to force changes that could make vaping components easier to recycle or less wasteful.

Among the possible changes: standards requiring that e-cigarettes be reusable or forcing manufacturers to fund collection and recycling programs.

New York, California and several other states have so-called extended product responsibility (EPR) laws for computers and other electronics. But those laws don’t cover vaping products and there are no comparable federal requirements for any industry.

Environmental Protection Agency rules for hazardous waste don’t apply to households, meaning it’s legal for someone to throw ecigarettes in the garbage at home.

But most businesses, schools and government facilities are subject to EPA standards in how they handle harmful chemicals like nicotine, which the EPA considers an “acute hazardous waste,” because it can be poisonous at high levels.

In the US, the push to manage disposable e-cigarettes has chiefly come from schools, which can face stricter regulation if they generate more than a few pounds of hazardous waste per month.

Monroe County schools pay $60 to dispose of each one-gallon container of vapes. More than two thirds of the e-cigarettes collected by the county come from schools.

“Our schools were very relieved because they had confiscated so much of this material,” Garland said.

“If you think of all the high schools across the country, they are in a very difficult place right now.”

Lithium in e-cigarette batteries is the same highly sought metal used to power electric vehicles and cellphones. But the quantities used in vaping devices are too small to warrant salvage.

And nearly all disposable e-cigarette batteries are soldered into the device, making it impractical to separate them for recycling.

Disposable e-cigarettes currently account for about 53 percent of the multibillion US vaping market, according to US government figures, more than doubling since 2020.

Their rise is a study in unintended consequences. In early 2020, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned nearly all flavors from reusable e-cigarettes like Juul, the cartridge-based device blamed for sparking a nationwide surge in underage vaping. But the policy didn’t apply to disposables, opening the door to thousands of new varieties of fruit and candyflavored vapes, almost all manufactured in China.

In recent months, the FDA has begun trying to block imports of several leading disposable brands, including Elf Bar and Esco Bar. Regulators consider them all illegal, but they have been unable to stop their entry to the US and the devices are now ubiquitous in convenience stores, gas stations and other shops.

FDA’s tobacco chief, Brian King, said in a statement that his agency “will continue to carefully consider the potential environmental impacts” of vaping products.

Cost of confiscating disposable e-cigs

IN 2020, New York City outlawed the vast majority of e-cigarette types, banning flavors that can appeal to youngsters.

City employees conduct thousands of inspections annually, and last year issued more than 2,400 citations to corner stores and bodegas selling illegal flavored products. Adding to the challenge are THC vapes sold at hundreds of unlicensed marijuana shops, a separate but related problem that has mushroomed since New York’s legalization of recreational pot.

Since November, officials have seized more than 449,000 vape units, according to city figures. New York City is spending about $1,400 to destroy each container of 1,200 confiscated vapes, but many more

remain in city storage lockers.

“I don’t think anyone ever considered the volume of these in our community,” said New York Sheriff Anthony Miranda, who leads a task force on the issue. “There’s a tremendous amount of resources going into this effort.”

A recent lawsuit against four large vaping distributors aims to recoup some of the city’s costs.

For now, New Yorkers who vape can bring their used e-cigarettes to city-sponsored waste-collection events.

Ultimately those vapes meet a familiar fate: They are shipped to Gum Springs, Arkansas, to be incinerated by Veolia, an international waste management firm.

The company has incinerated more than 1.6 million pounds of vaping waste in recent years, mostly unsold inventory or discontinued products.

Veolia executives say burning e-cigarettes’ lithium batteries can damage their incinerators. “Ideally we don’t want to incinerate them because it has to be done very, very slowly. But if we have to, we will,” said Bob Cappadona, who leads the company’s environmental services division.

Veolia also handles e-cigarettes from Boulder County, Colorado, one of the only US jurisdictions that actively tries to recycle e-cigarette batteries and components.

Historically, Boulder has had one of the highest teen vaping rates in the country, peaking at nearly 33 percent in 2017.

“It was like someone flicked the switch. Suddenly e-cigarettes were everywhere,” said Daniel Ryan, principal of Centaurus High School.

Beginning in 2019, county officials began distributing bins to schools for confiscated or discarded e-cigarettes. Last year, they collected 3,500.

County staffers sort the devices by type, separating those with removable batteries for recycling.

Disposables are packed and shipped to Veolia’s incinerator. Shelly Fuller, who directs the program, says managing vape waste has gotten more costly and labor intensive with the shift to disposables. “"I kind of miss the days when we had Juuls and I could take each battery out and recycle them very easily,” Fuller said. “No one has time to dismantle a thousand Esco Bars.”

TheWorld

www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Sunday, October 22, 2023

A3

Will Xi Jinping’s gamble on Vladimir Putin pay off?

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By Rebecca Choong Wilkins & Colum Murphy

HE last time Vladimir Putin set foot on Chinese soil he went home with the promise of a “no limits” partnership from President Xi Jinping. Less than a month later he launched the invasion of Ukraine. He returned to Beijing this week in a diminished state, needing the economic support of China and a route out of his self-inflicted political isolation.

T he meet i ng bet ween t he two presidents was inevitably overshadowed by Israel’s conflict with the Gaza-based militant group Hamas, designated a terrorist organization by the US and the European Union. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged China at the weekend to use its friendly ties with Iran—which supports Hamas—and broader inf luence in the Middle East to prevent the conf lict from escalating. The pressure on Xi, and indirectly Putin, who is also close to Tehran, to act over the crisis is likely to intensify.

Growing relationship

FOR now, the two leaders are e x pec ted to foc u s on t hei r growing relationship. Russia’s reliance on China has reached into every facet of its economy in the 20 months since the invasion of Ukraine. With the West severing trade ties, China’s exports to Russia have jumped 57 percent so far this year. The yuan accounted for almost half of the value of all foreign exchange trading in Moscow in September—up from just 0.4 percent in January 2022, according to data compiled by Bloomberg Economics. China is now the largest importer of fossil fuels from Russia, with coal shipments more than doubling since 2020.

The Russian leader’s attendance at Xi’s Belt and Road Initiative Forum on Tuesday was his first trip abroad—aside from visiting former Soviet states—since the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against him in March for alleged war crimes in Ukraine. The visit allowed Russia to cement this critical economic support and apply pressure on Beijing to sign agreements on a new gas pipeline.

For his part, Xi is seeking a reliable Russia to be a powerful partner in building his vision of an alternative world order. One based on an age-old mutual distrust of the West —especially the US and its military allies—and a desire to reinforce its own position on the

island of Taiwan, which it views as a breakaway province, but which Washington has committed to support.

Putin is a key par t of t h at. I ndeed , i f C h i n a were to invade Taiwan—a prospect that is unlikely anytime soon— Russia could prove crucial in ensuring supplies of food and fuel and potentially providing politica l cover at the United Nations Security Council.

Has Beijing gambled too much?

But there is disquiet among some experts and academics in Beijing who think China is getting little from the relationship beyond a new market for some of its cars, televisions and smartphones and knock-down prices for Russian oil and gas. This has led to questions over whether Beijing has gambled too much on the Russian leader.

“I think Putin is not an ideal partner for Xi Jinping—he hoped for muc h more,” sa id Ja k ub Jakobowski, deputy director at the Centre for Eastern Studies in Warsaw. “He’s increasingly a burden for Xi internally for those parts of the Chinese elite that don’t want to subscribe to this big affair that Russia has started.”

Xi is looking to strike a balance, which has become more difficult t he longer t he con f l ic t h a s dragged on. He hasn’t provided any major military aid to Russia that would provoke US sanctions against China, and he’s warned against both the use of nuclear weapons and attacks on civilians.

Unlike Putin, who is treated as a pariah by the West, Xi wants a stable relationship with the US and appears likely to meet President Joe Biden in November. But his refusal to explicitly condemn the invasion has undermined Beijing’s claim to neutrality and reinforced skepticism among some Group of Seven countries of its 12-point peace proposal to resolve the Ukraine crisis.

The Chinese leader’s peace push did win him some credibility among emerging economies like

RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin, right, attended President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative Forum on Tuesday. The growth in bilateral trade with Russia is a rare bright spot for China. BLOOMBERG

Brazil. Indeed, he spent the early part of the year trying to act as a global peacemaker helping longtime rivals Saudi A rabia and Iran reach a diplomatic truce. He later proposed an Israel-Palestine peace conference, which is why he is now being urged to take a role in calming the conflict with Hamas. Beijing has called for a ceasefire, but beyond that its influence is unclear. For Putin, the conflict could be useful if it means Western powers and public attention are distracted away from the fighting in Ukraine.

Potential for social unrest

XI has more immediate worries at home. An economic slowdown raises the potential for more social unrest. Both the foreign and defense ministers appear to have been ousted in recent months, and there has been an overhaul of the generals responsible for China’s Rocket Force, which manages the nation’s nuclear arsenal.

The US is tightening export curbs on advanced technology, the EU is probing China’s electric vehicle subsidies and some Asian neighbors have ramped up military spending amid a rise in tensions over Taiwan. The EU’s chief trade negotiator, Valdis Dombrovskis, has warned that China’s stance on Ukraine is hurting the appetite of businesses to invest in the world’s second-biggest economy.

Beijing is “wary that as long as people continue to put China and Russia in the same category, they will actually burn the bridge to Europe, the US and others,” said Ngeow Chow Bing, director of the Institute of China Studies at the University of Malaya, who has written extensively on Chinese politics. “China wants to present itself as someone that both sides can rely on.”

Putin was the first foreign leader that Xi visited after he

became China’s president in 2013.

And over the past decade the two have often been described as having a close relationship, despite not sharing a common language. In 2019 they celebrated Xi’s birthday together in Tajik istan: Putin gave the Chinese leader a gift of a box of ice cream popsicles. The two presidents—who have both changed their country’s rules to allow them the opportunity to extend their time in power— last met in Moscow in March, just days after the ICC issued its arrest warrant against Putin. In an interview broadcast on Russian TV on Monday, Putin said of his relationship with Xi: “If we agree on something, we can be sure that both sides will keep their end of the bargain.”

‘Red line’ for Beijing

Y E T, t here a l so e x i st s, sa id a Europe-based diplomat, an element of sibling r iva lr y in the dynamic between the two leaders, a nod to a time when the Soviet Union was regarded as the “big brother” in the relationship.

That is no longer the case.

Relations between the countries have often been strained— sometimes openly hostile. In 1969 border clashes prompted the Soviet Union to threaten the use of atomic weapons against China. That “nuclear blackmail” is one reason Beijing will oppose any similar Russian threats in Ukraine, according to Wang Yiwei, a former Chinese diplomat to the EU. Another “red line” for Beijing, he added, is the principle of territorial sovereignty enshrined in the UN charter. That’s something China reg u l a rly uses to bolster its claim to Taiwan. And although Xi appears to share Putin’s concerns about the expansion of Nato, that doesn’t signal all-out support for Russia.

Those backing Moscow, said Wa n g , a r e n o t “s u p p o r t i n g Russia’s territorial seizure” but rat her celebrat ing “Russi a ns w it h t he i r be h av ior a g a i n st Western hegemony.” Wang, now a n i nf luent i a l ac adem ic a nd director of Renmin University’s Institute of International Affairs added: “Many people hate Russia and criticize Russia.”

One area of tension has been China’s Belt and Road initiative— X i ’s landmark foreig n polic y prog ra m to e x pa nd Beijing’s influence through projects now valued at $1 trillion—which has made inroads into Central Asia, Russia’s backyard.

Fo r n o w, R u s s i a c a n d o l it t l e a b o ut t h e i m b a l a n c e i n re l at ions. “ Moscow bad ly needs Beijing’s co-operation to keep its economy af loat,” said Alexander Isakov, an economist who covers Russia at Bloomberg Economics. “Moscow will have to shoulder most of the costs.”

The growth in bilateral trade with Russia is a rare bright spot for China, as policymakers try to kickstart growth in the sluggish economy. Increased exports to Russia are partly attributable to C h i nese con su mer good s companies filling the gap vacated by western brands that fled the countr y after sanctions were imposed. Shipments of madein- China vehic les, par ts and accessories jumped to about $14 billion in the first eight months of this year, a more than five-fold increase from the same period in 2021, according to data from China’s General Administration of Customs.

Longer-term, Moscow needs Beijing to invest in domestic manufacturing. Sectors like the automobile industry need help to fill the gap left by Western companies. Just eight out of Russia’s 14 passenger-car plants

are operational. Smaller Chinese ca r ma nu fact u rers a l ready produce in Russia, but to return output to pre-invasion levels of about 1.4 million cars, from 451,000 in 2022, another two or three major companies would need to set up assembly lines in Russia, according to Bloomberg Economics analysis.

“For Russia, closer integration with China is a necessity—it needs to find a replacement for tec hnolog y, c apit a l t h at h a s previously been provided from the EU and other G-7 countries,” said Isakov. “For China, the risk is that capital invested in Russia may lose value when and if sanctions on Moscow are relaxed or lifted and its producers will have to compete for the market share with G-7 car manufacturers again.”

Beijing is providing respite for Moscow ’s most pressi ng financial worries. It has become the main buyer of cheap Russian oil and gas in the absence of Eu ro p e a n c u s t ome r s . C h i n a bought about $37.5 billion of crude oil from Russia in the first eight months of 2023 according to Chinese trade data. At the end of 2022, coal shipments had risen to over 64 million tons, an annual record that’s set to be shattered this year after imports topped 70 million tons between January and August.

At the same time as providing this financial lifeline, Beijing is holding out for a more favorable dea l f rom Moscow over t he proposed natural gas pipeline, Power of Siber i a 2. Moscow frequently talks up the prospects of an imminent agreement, but Beijing has been far more reticent and no contracts have been signed.

Analysts expect Russia to push for more deals and cooperation agreements this week.

The internationalization of the yuan, which makes up just 3 percent of the world ’s foreign exchange reserves, is viewed by Beijing as another front in its efforts to challenge US dominance of the global financial system.

Russia’s use of the yuan in export payments surged to 29 percent in August from zero prior to the invasion, while it made up 38 percent of imports versus 4 percent over the same period, the data show.

But Beijing can’t press its advantage too hard, according to Yun Sun, senior fellow and codirector of the East Asia program at the Stimson Center thinktank. “Russia’s current strategic quagmire will not last forever,” she said. “For Beijing, the focus is not necessarily how much Russia is ready to give, but what costs China has to carry.” With assistance from Clara Ferreira Marques, Sarah Chen, Jason Rogers, James Mayger, Linda Lew, Lucille Liu, Jill Elaine Disis, Tom Orlik, Chang Shu, Jennifer Welch, Fran Wang and Xiao Zibang/Bloomberg

China’s stance on Hamas is key point of division, US envoy says

By Bloomberg News

T

HE United States’ top diplomat in China called on President Xi Jinping’s government to denounce terrorism

by Hamas, citing Beijing’s stance toward the group as yet another challenge in fraught ties between the world’s biggest economies.

In an interview with Bloomberg Television on Thursday, Ambassador Nicholas Burns said the US and China had differing views on the Israel-Hamas war. President Joe Biden affirmed the US’s strong support for Israel during a visit to

the country this week, while China has aligned with the Palestinian cause and avoided condemning Hamas, which the US considers a terrorist organization.

“We do not have identical views on this particular position,” Burns said when asked whether he saw the Middle East tensions as an opportunity to improve relations between the US and China. Hamas’s support for the destruction of Israel ran counter to China’s vision for a lasting resolution, he added.

“China has taken the position of supporting the two state solut ion—as has t he United

States—and so obviously, the focus here should be directed against Hamas,” Burns said.

When asked about the ambassador’s remarks Friday at a regular press briefing in Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said “major countries, when dealing with hotspot issues in the region, should be objective and just.”

With Israel air strikes bombarding Gaza following Hamas’s deadly incursion into the country earlier in the month, leaders around the region and across the world are seeking to prevent the conflict from spreading. The US in

particular has urged China to use its influence with Iran to prevent a wider escalation.

Tensions ratcheted up further after a blast at a hospital Tuesday in Gaza that Palestinian officials said killed hundreds. Israel and Hamas have issued rival claims about who was responsible.

US congressional leaders confronted Xi earlier this month over his country’s failure to condemn Hamas and show support for those killed in Israel. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer asked China to stand with Israel and condemn the attacks, hours

after he blasted Foreign Minister Wang Yi for showing “no sympathy or support for Israel during these tough, troubled times.”

China later said it condemns actions that harm civilians and that it’s willing to work with the international community toward peace talks. On Thursday, Xi called for an immediate ceasefire while offering to coordinate with Egypt and other Arab nations “to push for a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the Palestinian issue as soon as possible.”

Xi earlier this year sought to play global peacemaker, proposing

a ceasefire in Ukraine and helping long-time rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran reach a diplomatic truce. He later proposed an Israel-Palestine peace conference.

China’s initial response to the Israel-Hamas war was similar to its reaction to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine: It has avoided naming an aggressor and failed to offer any specific offer of immediate assistance. Wang last week said that China is pushing for “a more authoritative, influential and broad-based international Continued on A4

A4

TheWorld BusinessMirror

Sunday, October 22, 2023

www.businessmirror.com.ph

The trading tycoon steering Russia’s global oil business

By Ben Bartenstein

I

GOR SECHIN, the boss of Russia’s state oil company and longtime associate of Vladimir Putin, celebrated New Year’s Eve on a yacht anchored off Palm Jumeirah, the man-made Dubai island dotted with oligarch-friendly beachfront villas.

Sechin spent most of 2022 grappling with the impact of the invasion of Ukraine on Russia’s oil exports and finding new customers in the wake of sanctions. His most important guest that night was one of the men who helped him do it: oil trader Murtaza Lakhani, according to four people with direct knowledge of the matter.

A veteran of crude oil deals from Baghdad to Caracas, the Karachi native made a name for himself navigating some of the most challenging jurisdictions. Now, in alliance with Sechin, he’d helped set up a web of oil traders and shipping firms to steer Russian barrels around the globe amid a nuanced response from the West—sanctions and a price cap intended to restrict revenues alongside prodding from Washington to keep the flow going.

This story is based on interviews with several dozen people familiar with Lakhani’s business empire and the Russian oil trade, including people who’ve recently worked for his companies. They didn’t want to be identified discussing confidential business dealings.

Most of Lakhani’s Russia-related operations take place in countries not implementing the G-7’s price cap on exports, designed to block oil sold above $60 from critical Western-provided services such as shipping insurance. Having worked with Rosneft PJSC for nearly a decade before the invasion, he was also in a good position to help the state oil giant navigate an increasingly complex sanctions regime.

A lt hou g h L a k h a n i ’s m a i n trading firm, Mercantile & Maritime Group, has done deals with Rosneft in the past, the network formed in the wake of the war in Ukraine relies on recently created companies, many of them in the United Arab Emirates, according to six people with direct knowledge of the matter and the internal assessment of a leading Western intelligence agency seen

by Bloomberg News.

The people said that even if he doesn’t own them on paper, Lakhani was involved in setting up the firms and plays a role directing their activities. Prominent among them are Tejarinaft FZCO, Fossil Trading FZCO and Amur II-FZCO, according to the people.

The law firm Schillings, which represents Lakhani, said he has no involvement in any of those companies.

Those firms, which appear in invoice data over the past year as some of the biggest traders of Russian oil, have bought tens of millions of barrels of the country’s

crude, loaded them onto ships and sold them to customers in India and China. It’s helped Moscow minimize the impact of sanctions and earned a big windfall for both Rosneft, which pays billions in dividends to the Kremlin, and Lakhani, four of the people said.

Until now, the White House has prioritized preventing a surge in crude prices rather than penalizing every actor involved in sidestepping the Russian oil restrictions, according to five US officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. More recently, that thinking has shifted, though, as data suggests much more of the trade happening above the cap, the people said.

Through his lawyers, Lakhani said neither he nor any business in which he has an interest is trading Russian oil or oil products.

His companies stopped trading or shipping Russian oil in accordance with all applicable sanctions, his lawyers wrote in a letter.

Rosneft and Sechin d idn’t respond to written requests for comment.

“Before the war, Rosneft had links with a number of traders in Europe,” said Agathe Duparc, a Geneva-based researcher at Swiss non-governmental organization Public Eye, who closely follows the commodities industry and spoke in general terms. “These days, it’s mostly smaller firms controlled by a few individual traders working with the Kremlin. They change their names and set up in Dubai, making their deals more opaque than ever before.”

Sechin relationship

BORN in Karachi in 1962 but raised in England and Canada, Lakhani catapulted himself into the upper echelon of the commodities trading world with a risky bet several decades ago.

After the first Gulf War he called himself Glencore’s “man in Baghdad.” At the time, Iraq could only sell its crude via a system known as the oil-for-food program, administered by the United Nations. Saddam Hussein found a workaround—later revealed in a UN probe. Lakhani’s role was to move bags of cash for the trading firm, dropping them off at the Iraqi diplomatic mission in Geneva, according to the UN report.

That investigation, which never alleged any wrongdoing on Lakhani’s part, acquainted him with a slew of officials in Washington. He’d later build that network out—bringing on grandees to the boards of his firms, including Simon Murray, the former Glencore chairman, and Charles Guthrie,

THE Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) building, center, stands among commercial and residential properties on Al Maryah Island in Abu Dhabi. BLOOMBERG

who’d been the most senior general in the British army. Lakhani also became a major donor to the UK’s Conservative Party, records from the Electoral Commission show.

Then, not long after Sechin’s appointment as Rosneft CEO in 2012, the Russian oil boss got in touch with Lakhani, according to four people familiar with the matter.

A former Soviet interpreter and intelligence operative, Sechin served as Putin’s chief of staff at the Saint Petersburg mayor’s office in the 1990s and later rose to deputy prime minister. The Russian official forged a close bond with Lakhani after the trader helped Rosneft expand into Iraq, four of the people said, and he was soon advising the firm on a range of issues.

Lakhani’s word began to carry such weight that Rosneft employees were regularly told to turn to him for guidance rather than handle a transaction in house, according to two of the people and emails seen by Bloomberg.

The trader then appointed Daniel Richard, a lawyer who served on Rosneft Trading’s board, to the board of his flagship firm Mercantile & Maritime, which he founded in 2014. (He’ s since stepped down.)

A Glencore spokesperson declined to comment. Murray, Guthrie and the UK Conservative Party didn’t respond to requests for comment. Richard confirmed his former board role but declined to comment further.

‘Extensive’ network

LAKHANI’S Russia relationship only deepened with time, according to M&M’s financial filings and its own public statements.

A 2021 advertisement that he bought in The Energy Year noted how M&M’s “extensive and highend trading network is key to its success-boosted by collaborative relations with key players such as Rosneft, ExxonMobil, TotalEnergies, Shell, Repsol, BP and MOL.” The firm said in the advert it was the biggest shipper of the Russian state oil giant’s seaborne oil-product exports in 2020.

Spokespeople for Exxon, Total, Repsol and MOL didn’t respond to requests for comment. A representative at Shell said it doesn’t have a relationship with M&M. A BP spokesperson said it’s never traded with Lakhani or his companies.

After Bloomberg’s requests for comment, the old advert removed references to every company except Rosneft, the archival Wayback Machine website shows.

While his Russia business flour-

ished in the years before the Ukraine invasion, Lakhani also burnished his contacts in Washington and London.

After jetting into countries navigating sanctions, such as Venezuela, he made a habit of updating US and UK officials on his discussions, six people familiar with the matter said. As a result, colleagues and confidants said Lakhani remained confident that he could earn significant profits from his businesses in these jurisdictions while avoiding the blow-back of sanctions.

L a k ha ni ’s role behind t he scenes became even more relevant this year as White House and US Treasury officials urged trading heavyweights in private meetings to keep Russian oil flows going in an effort to avert a supply shock that could prompt a surge in prices at the pump, people with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Lakhani and Sechin have grown even closer in the past year, following an exodus of senior Rosneft staff, including Didier Casimiro, Eric Liron and Zeljko Runje, four of the people said.

Lakhani’s network also includes Emirati bankers as well as Indian refiners, Lebanese traders and Russian lawyers, who’ve helped Rosneft forge an alternative payment method that largely bypasses the US dollar, some of the people said.

Meantime, Azeri, Greek and UAE shipping interests have been tapped to move Rosneft’s crude, they said.

The state oil giant accounts for nearly half of the output in the world’s No. 2 crude exporting nation, giving the company a particularly significant role in global flows.

Lakhani’s network of firms trading Russian oil is centered on the UAE, according to people familiar with the matter. One of them, Fossil Trading, has a direct link to Rosneft: It also owns Energopole SA, according to Energopole’s website.

The Swiss trading unit had been set up by Rosneft following the imposition of US sanctions in 2020 on Rosneft Trading SA. It became part of Fossil in 2022.

Other firms in the network trade large volumes of the state oil giant’s cargoes, according to detailed trade and shipping data compiled by KSE Institute, a part of the Kyiv School of Economics.

Amur handled 120,000 barrels per day of Russian crude in the first half of 2023 while Tejarinaft took 55,000 barrels per day in that period, ranking fifth and eighth overall, excluding the trading units of Russian producers, the trade and shipping data show.

Key Lakhani associates have

been involved.

One is Edward Ghazal, a Lebanese oil trader who worked for two years at Lakhani’s M&M in Singapore before becoming a founding director at Tejarinaft in April 2022, according to documents seen by Bloomberg.

A second is Hicham Fizazi, a Moroccan national, who helped Lakhani incor porate multiple firms, some of the people said. He appears in UAE corporate records as a director at both Tejarinaft as well as multiple Amur entities in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Ghazal declined to comment, while Fossil Trading, Energopole, Amur, Tejarinaft, and Fizazi didn’t respond to emails and LinkedIn messages seeking comment. Officials at Dubai Silicon Oasis, the free trade zone where Fossil Trading, Amur and Tejarinaft are registered, also didn’t return calls and e-mails seeking comment.

Formed in September 2022, Amur Investments Limited sits on the 12th floor of Al Sila Tower in Abu Dhabi Global Market, the emirate’s international financial center. Its listed shareholder is Dubai-based Amur II FZCO, an offshore crude oil trading firm, which opened a month earlier, according to Emirati corporate records.

On a recent Friday afternoon, Amur’s ADGM office was humming. Just around the corner, an office assistant pointed out an empty desk for a firm that she said was run by the same man. The recently formed special purpose vehicle, called Invest Co Holdings Limited, appears in ADGM records with just one shareholder, director and secretary: Lakhani.

On October 3, Lakhani also set up a new firm in the same tower called Mercantile & Maritime Terminals Ltd., ADGM records show.

Hamad Al Mazrouei, CEO of the ADGM Registration Authority, said the financial center requires its firms to comply fully with all applicable rules and that it keeps close watch of global regulatory developments, including applicable sanctions.

In response to questions posed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a UAE official said the Gulf state is fully aware of its responsibilities in protecting the integrity of the global financial system.

M&M operations

M&M said it stopped trading Russian-origin oil products in February, according to company filings, and that chief financial officer Sergey Geller, who was previously its head of Russia, resigned as director at the end of July. That coincides with a big increase in trade by the newer Middle Eastern and Asian entities that people familiar with the matter say are linked to Lakhani.

Geller didn’t respond to requests for comment.

People familiar with the trader’s travel say he’s constantly on the go. His luxury real estate portfolio spans Europe, the Middle East and North America. In the UK, he prefers to fly private through airports northwest of London. Until last year, he held a controlling interest in his own yacht broker firm Yachting Partners International Limited,

UK corporate records show.

In a given week, Lakhani will meet the leadership in Somalia to ensure the safe passage of crude through the Gulf of Aden, dine at some of London’s most exclusive social clubs and then huddle with Sechin in Moscow to discuss business, three of the people said.

While part of the billionaire’s support staff still works from London, he’s spending more time in the Persian Gulf these days to build out operations from Dubai to Manama, the people said.

European sanctions have made it riskier for firms involved in the Russia trade to operate from the UK and Rosneft has also demanded greater discretion for intermediaries involved with shipments.

He recently moved some operations away from his long-time office around the corner from the Saatchi Gallery in London’s upmarket Chelsea neighborhood, according to UK corporate records. Lakhani had told people involved in the deal that the country was no longer a suitable jurisdiction for his trading operations.

Washington’s strategy

BACK in Washington, Biden officials say they’re confident the price cap has mostly been successful—maintaining market stability while reducing oil revenues that trickle back to Moscow—but now is a chance to tighten the screws on some traders skirting the rules.

“Coalition compliance and enforcement authorities take allegations of intentional price cap violations extremely seriously and will exercise appropriate authorities to take action where appropriate,” Eric Van Nostrand, US Treasury’s acting Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy, wrote in response to questions.

Four US officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that Washington has benefited from market intelligence provided by commodity traders active in Russia, with some of the information proving more accurate than the government’s own internal forecasts.

But Lakhani’s ongoing relationship with Sechin, who has been under sanctions since 2014, has prompted concerns from some officials pushing for a maximum pressure strategy by Washington, London and Brussels, according to three of the people.

Meantime, the recent oil rally has presented a conundrum for both policy makers and the intermediaries involved in the Russian trade. With most barrels of the nation’s flagship Urals selling above the $60 cap, the question is how aggressively might Washington crack down on noncompliance, just as tensions in the Middle East also risk sending crude prices higher, four of the people said.

In recent weeks, Lakhani has privately voiced his desire to forge ahead with the Russian oil trade, three of the people said. He’s told some colleagues that the recent market disruptions mark an opportunity to turn his organization into an industry leader, the people said. With assistance from Chanyaporn Chanjaroen, Stephanie Baker, Anthony Di Paola, Hemal Savai, Laura Hurst, Francois de Beaupuy, Thomas Gualtieri and Veronika Gulyas/Bloomberg

China’s stance on Hamas is key point of division, US envoy says Continued from A3

peace conference” hosted by the United Nations to find a lasting solution to the issue.

No concessions

MORE broadly, China and the US have sought to stabilize relations that deteriorated in recent years

over issues ranging from the selfruled island of Taiwan to espionage concerns. Biden has dispatched a flurry of cabinet-level officials to Beijing since June to smooth ties, ahead of an expected meeting with Xi next month in San Francisco.

The US has accepted China’s invitation to attend a top security forum in Beijing this month.

Burns said efforts over the past several months to create cabinet-level contact between the two have yielded results.

“Where we didn’t have that sustained high-level contact, we now have it,” he said.

T he ambassador sa id C hinese ministers will be traveling to Washington in the coming

months. “We need this kind of interaction, but the US is not going to fundamentally make concessions just to have meetings,” he said.

Military advantage

EVEN as there are signs that ties are starting to normalize, the countries continue to compete on major issues including security,

technology and human rights, according to Burns. He said a recent tightening of export controls on high-tech products were needed to close loopholes.

“We are serious about preventing any kind of military advantage to the People’s Liberation Army here because of the export of advanced dual-use American

technology,” Burns said.

He repeated calls for a reopening of military-to-military communication channels that were shut down after former US Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.

“The last thing that we should want in this relationship is the absence of communication,” Burns said. Bloomberg News

Science Sunday

Sunday, October 22, 2023 A5 BusinessMirror DOST, NEW ZEALAND’S MBIE HOST THE 2023 GLOBAL RESEARCH COUNCIL ASIA-PACIFIC REGIONAL MEET

www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

DOST provides ₧435M to 22 R&D projects

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HE Philippines’ Science department is currently supporting 22 research and development (R&D) projects with a total funding of approximately P435 million.

Science Secretary Renato U. Solidum Jr. said this at the threeday 2023 Global Research Council (GRC) Asia-Pacific Regional Meeting held at a hotel in Pasay City that started on October 18.

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) co-hosted with New Zealand’s Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) the 2023 Global Research Council (GRC) meeting. It was attended by over 120 delegates from the Asia Pacific region.

Centering on the theme, “Sustainable Research,” the 2023 GRC Meeting promoted data sharing and best practices among its members, as well as the expansion of public support for research and development (R&D), the DOST said.

International organizations and research institutions from across the globe shared their views and ideas on top current and emerging regional issues.

The Global Research Council is a

virtual organization, composed of the heads of science and engineering funding agencies from around the world, dedicated to promoting the sharing of data and best practices for high-quality collaboration among funding agencies worldwide, the DOST said.

In his keynote message, Solidum said: “Sustainable research is the key to addressing the most pressing global challenges of our time like health, climate change, social inequality, and the degradation of landscapes and ecosystems. By investing in R&D, we have access to problem-solving approaches that include considerations of economic and social sustainability.”

The Science Chief cited the DOST’s initiatives in R&D. Among them are to create a supportive and sustainable environment for antimicrobial resistance (AMR) research through the mobilization of resources and prioritization

SCIENCE Secretary Renato U. Solidum Jr. delivers the keynote address at the three-day 2023 Global Research Council (GRC) Asia-Pacific Regional Meeting held at a hotel in Pasay City on October 18. The DOST co-hosted the event with New Zealand’s Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. DOST PHOTO

of R&D initiatives for diagnosis, surveillance, and control of AMR. Currently, the DOST and its Councils are supporting 22 R&D projects with a total funding of approximately P435 million, he said.

One of the R&D programs to address AMR is the Inter-Regional Network through One Health Approach to Combat AMR Program (1NetAMR).

This ongoing program aims to establish an inter-regional network to combat AMR using a One Health framework in the country.

It also aims to determine the magnitude of AMR contamination in various settings along with the socio-cultural and socio-economic factors affecting these contaminations, in selected areas in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao through collaborations among higher edu-

cation institutions, the DOST said.

The DOST is also at the forefront of providing support to research, development, and innovation initiatives on the circular economy, ensuring wastes generated are reduced.

In promoting a circular economy, the Science department funded the Center for Environmental Technologies and Compliance, which provides innovations in environmental technologies and supports the local industries to comply with the environmental standards.

St ud ies f rom t h i s w i l l be used to determine proper waste management technology appropriate for the National Capital Region.

The sustainable DOST project under the IM4ManilaBay Program is the Project IWASTO, which aims

DOST’s ‘Happy Senior Citizens’ food program making the elderly healthy

A

SNACK food and beverage fit for the nutritional requirements of Filipino senior citizens, and the lowering of the glycemic index (GI) of rice for those with diabetes.

These are among the current researches being developed by researchers at the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), including those in the program tagged, “Healthy Aging Program for PinoY [Happy] Senior Citizens,” in response to the needs of the country’s growing number of senior population.

There are 9.22 million Filipinos 60-year-old and older, or 8.5 percent of the population as of 2020, which is double that in 2000, the Philippine Statistics Authority said.

Happy Seniors: One beverage, one snack

THE Happy Senior Citizens Program aims to develop food products that have the recommended nutrients needed by Filipino senior citizens, and to determine the effects of consuming the products on muscle strength and physical performance, the DOST said.

The program aims to develop one beverage and one snack food, using mature green tomatoes (MGTs) which are known to contain Gamma-aminobutyric acid (Gaba).

G a b a , a n i n h i b it or y ne u rotransmitter, is known to prov ide severa l hea lth benef its, such as providing support to the immune and nervous systems.

The program is monitored by the DOST-Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (DOST-PCHRD) and is being implemented by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI).

Initiated in September 2022, the Happy Senior Citizens Program is expected to be completed

by August 2024.

The project team has already tested the use of MGT powder on several food products, such as biscuits, chicken nuggets, skinless longganisa, and tomato sauce.

Experiments have also been conducted for the development of a high-protein beverage that can be used as an enteral formula, or administered into the gastrointestinal tract including orally or through a tube, the DOST added.

Rice with low GI

TO develop healthier rice variants, the DOST-Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development has funded the Philippine Rice Research Institute to develop rice varieties with low Glycemic Index (GI) value to help provide a better option for Filipinos.

With low GI, these rice varieties have the potential to minimize the impact on blood sugar levels, providing individuals, especially seniors, with a healthier option to enjoy rice.

Using gamma-irradiation and chemical mutagenesis techniques, several mutant rice populations were induced from the well-known rice variety, Tubigan 14 (NSIC Rc160).

Currently, these mutant lines have been identified as potentially low-GI rice and are undergoing further crop improvement processes, the DOST said.

The study team also surveyed customer perceptions of low-GI rice to assess its market potential.

Results revealed that low-GI rice has a potential market in highly urbanized cities where people in upper-income brackets have more disposable income and have a higher demand for healthier food options.

Nutrition tools

ANOTHER DOST R&D Program to aid seniors on healthy living and nutrition is the Nutrition Tools, Guides, References and Standards.

Produced by the DOST-FNRI, the nutrition tools include the Philippine Food Composition Tables, Philippine Dietary Reference Intakes, and the Food Exchange Lists (FEL) for Meal Planning, fourth edition.

The development of these nutrition tools is aimed at improving the quality of life of Filipinos.

The FEL provides equivalents to Filipino food staples, like a half cup of rice is equivalent to a half piece of corn or a whole piece of suman sa Ibos (glutinous rice cooked in coconut milk and wrapped in leaves).

Each of the three foods contain 100 calories, 23 grams of carbohydrates and 2 grams of protein, the DOST said.

Similarly, the FEL similarly c ha racter i zes one -a nd-a-ha lf pieces of pan de sal as equivalent to one-and-a-half pieces of a loaf bread or a half -a-cup of pasta.

The pan de sal, pasta and loaf bread equally measure to contain 108 calories, 23 grams of carbohydrates and 4 grams of protein.

The FEL is especially relevant to the aging population, given their food intake restrictions and v ulnerability to lifestyle diseases like diabetes, hypertension, and other cardiovascular diseases, the DOST said.

Science Secretary Renato U. Solidum Jr. said: “We are proud of these cross-collaboration initiatives among DOST agencies working as one DOST toward development of synergistic public health strategies that will generate positive impact on the health and general well-being of our elderly population.”

Searca holds photo contest on restoring agri-ecosystems for climate resilience

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HOTOGRAPHERS from Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, are invited to join the 17th Photo Contest being initiated by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (Searca) with the theme “Regenerating agri-ecosystems, lowering global boiling.”

Searca Director Dr. Glenn Gregorio said the competition draws inspiration from United Nations (UN) Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who declared: “We are past the era of global warming, and we are now experiencing global boiling.”

This declaration on July 21 strongly underscores the gravity of the climate crisis, Gregorio said.

Gregorio elaborated: “’Global boiling’

serves as a metaphorical depiction of the escalating climate crisis, and it resonates with Searca’s pivotal mission to confront the urgent challenge of climate change and its effects on agriculture.”

He said Searca is on the lookout for photos showcasing agricultural technologies and practices that combat climate change and alleviate the strain on natural resources.

“These images may feature farming methods that support recycling, waste reduction, and a minimal carbon footprint.

Moreover, they could highlight sustainable approaches promoting water conservation, soil enhancement, reduced postharvest losses or the use of renewable energy,“ Gregorio explained.

S earca encourages submissions that capture farmers, farming families, researchers, inventors, students and youth actively engaging with these technologies and practices in the field.

The photographic subjects may include a wide range of agricultural activities, including crop cultivation, livestock management, and fisheries.

The competition is open to both seasoned and amateur photographers, who may submit an unlimited number of photo entries as long as they comply with the specified contest guidelines.

All photo submissions must be original, unaltered, unpublished in any prior competition, and free from digital enhancements.

“We invite passionate photographers to take this chance to demonstrate the potency of visual storytelling in tackling the worldwide issue of climate change,” Gregorio said.

The winners with receive cash rewards of $1,000 for the first prize, $800 for the second prize, and $500 for the third prize.

Moreover, special prizes include the Searca Director’s Choice and the Philippine Department of Education Secretary’s Choice, with each receiving $500.

The winner of the People’s Choice Award, determined through Facebook voting, will receive $400.

All submissions must be uploaded to the Searca Photo Contest website by November 30, 2023.

INSTALLATION, training and quality assurance for the accelerated solvent extractor, one of the equipment used in the Inter-Regional Network through One Health Approach to Combat AMR Program. DOST PHOTO

to describe and assess the solid waste management (SWM) activities in selected cities that are part of the Manila Bay watershed.

It also aims to develop integrated solid waste information and technology management system considering current conditions and future scenarios, and to set up appropriate waste utilization technologies to process biodegradable and plastic wastes in selected communities.

Information regarding SWM, such as waste characteristics and available facilities, including forecasted trends, will also be systematized and made available online.

The DOST’s flagship initiative dedicated to addressing the pressing issue of climate change is the Smarter Approaches to Reinvigorate Agriculture as an Industry in the Philippines (SARAI) program.

SARAI’s core mission revolves around the creation of crop advisories that seamlessly integrate local weather data and drought forecasts with farm management practices. Specifically, it focuses on optimizing nutrient and water management while proactively monitoring insect pest and disease threats, the DOST said.

For her part, DOST Undersecretary for R&D Leah J. Buendia said: “We have a big role to play in steering the wheel to the path of sustainability.”

“International and multilateral platforms such as the Global Research Council remain to be largely significant such as in providing an avenue where possible partners from across the world can jointly identify key challenges and collaboratively work on them,” Buendia added.

Car wash foam inventor vies for Mindanao competition

CARLOS DETALO JR.

By Manuel T. Cayon

D

AVAO CITY—An inventor of a car wash foam shampoo goes to the Mindanaowide round of competition after his innovation of the shampoo that inhibits the growth of bacteria causing foul odor earned him the ticket from an awed regional panel of judges.

Carlos Detalo Jr., an inventor based in Tagum City, Davao del Norte, won the regional round with his entry “Tankless Foaming Machine” under the Outstanding Creative Research (Likha Award) Private Funded category.

His invention and prototype that was assisted by the Department of Science and Technology-Technology Application and Promotion Institute (DOST-TAPI) qualified to the Mindanao Cluster Regional Invention Contest and Exhibit (RICE) on October 4 and 5 at a hotel in Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental.

The DOST said the tankless foaming machine has a separate gallon for shampoo in water from which it avoids the growth of the bacteria, which causes foul odor, a common circumstance to the foaming machine with tank.

In the set-up, the DOST said the shampoo is mixed with water before it was oxidized “so foul odor is inevitable if the mixture stayed in the tank for a long time that’s why Mr. Detalo have this invention.”

Detalo obtained funding in 2020 through the Industry-Based Engineering Design initiative of the TAPI after he was hailed as the champion for RICE under Utility Model Category in 2019 with his invention “Span On and Off Handle for 5-Gallon Bottle Container.”

“His inventive acumen has not only contributed to regional recognition but has also garnered attention on the national stage as he was a qualifier of the National Invention Contest and Exhibit last 2020. This year, his

craft marked another significant stride in his inventive journey,” the DOST said.

As he advanced to the Mindanao-wide stage, “his Tankless Foaming Machine invention became an inspiring figure for other aspiring innovators in the region.

His success story epitomizes the power of innovation and the transformative potential of inventors in Davao.”

Detalo said he enjoyed joining prestigious competitions “because this gave me a privilege to meet brilliant inventors from other places and learn from their craft as well.”

RICE is a nationwide activity conducted by the DOST-TAPI in different regions to recognize the indispensability of the Filipino inventors in the society and national economic development.

In another development, the DOST Halal S&T Program here was declared the regional winner of the Civil Service Commission’s (CSC) Presidential Lingkod Bayan Award as part of CSC’s Search for Outstanding Government Workers.

In 2016, DOST XI developed the Mindanao Halal R&D and Extension Plan focusing on science, technology and innovative solutions.

Since its implementation in 2018, the DOST has invested more than P180 million to improve halal verification laboratory testing.

Through the program, 184 “subject matter experts” were added to the country’s existing pool of halal advocates. To date, 12 business establishments were also certified halal-compliant.

The program already established four operational Halal Verification Laboratories (HVL) in DOST XI, DOST 4-A, DOST XII, and in Ministry of Science and Technology Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao-Cotabato City—which are capable of providing porcine DNA detection for products, and alcohol analysis (ethanol).

At the height of the health crisis, the HVL offered testing for the detection of methanol and isopropanol content in alcohol-based disinfectants and sanitizers, protecting the vast majority of consumers from adulterated alcohol.

Dr. Anthony Sales, regional director of DOST XI, served as the program leader and representative of the DOST secretary on Halal Industry Development.

Project members Alma Lamparas, Ma. Rachel Parcon, Dr. Josephine Migalbin, and Agnes Morales were also recognized for their effective coordination in the implementation of the DOST S&T Halal Program.

A6 Sunday, October 22, 2023

Faith

Sunday Editor: Lyn Resurreccion • www.businessmirror.com.ph

Nun: Women’s voices being heard at Vatican’s synod on church’s future

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OME—A prominent Irish nun said that women’s voices are being heard at Pope Francis’ big meeting on the future of the Catholic Church, and said delegates are also acknowledging the hurt caused by the church’s position on homosexuality.

Sister Patricia Murray, executive secretary of the main umbrella group of women’s religious orders, provided an update on the status of discussions halfway through the Vatican’s nearly month-long synod, or meeting.

Francis called the gathering to press his vision for a church that is more inclusive and welcoming, where ordinary Catholics have

a greater say in decision making than the all-male priestly hierarchy.

A central theme has been the role of women in church governance, but other hot button issues are also on the agenda, including acceptance for LGBTQ+ Catholics and priestly celibacy.

Murray is one of the 54 women granted the right to vote for the

WOMEN participate at a synod briefing. VATICAN MEDIA

first time at a synod. She was also elected to the commission that will draft the synthesis document at the end of the meeting, another first for a woman. That document will provide the basis for reflection when a second session is convened next year.

Murray, who heads the International Union of Superiors General, told a Vatican briefing that her

election to the drafting commission was symbolically important and evidence that women’s voices are being heard and considered at the meeting.

“Appointments such as these are symbolic. They’re a statement, and an indication of the desire to have women’s participation in decision making,” she said. Even though women are still in the

minority among the 365 voting members, “as women, we’re well able to make our point and to use our time and space well.”

Murray was also asked about the closed-door discussions on the church’s position on homosexuality, after the working document called for gays and others who have felt excluded from the church to be welcomed. Specifically, she was asked if the synod would in some way atone for the hurt caused to generations of LGBTQ+ Catholics.

Catholic teaching holds that gays must be treated with dignity and respect but that homosexual acts are “intrinsically disordered.”

“I think at many of the tables, if not all, the question of hurt and the woundedness of people both individually and collectively has been dealt with and listened to,” Murray said. “Equally there have been discussions around how to

symbolically, in a sense, represent that hurt. Some people have said ‘Sorry is not enough.’”

She said it was too soon to know how a gesture of forgiveness, or the synthesis document itself, might address the question. But she made clear: “There is a deep awareness of the pain and suffering that has been caused.”

Separately, the Vatican confirmed that the two mainland Chinese bishops who were allowed to attend the synod are going home early. The synod spokesman, Paolo Ruffini, cited “pastoral requirements,” as the reason for their early departure.

The presence of the two bishops had been welcomed by the Vatican as evidence of the church’s universality, following tensions over China’s appointment of a bishop that appeared to violate a 2018 accord with the Holy See. Nicole Winfield/Associated Press

JIL celebrates 45th year

The Jesus is Lord (JIL) Church Worldwide, led by Founder, President and Spiritual Director Bro. Eddie C. Villanueva, celebrates its 45th anniversary at the Quirino Grandstand in Luneta Manila last October 14. In line with year’s theme “Revival: Urgent Call to Action,” Villanueva in his message highlights the church’s vital role toward nation-building. Joining Villanueva on the stage is his son, Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva. JIL was founded in 1978 and currently has over a million members in 82 provinces in the Philippines and 70 countries worldwide. ROY DOMINGO

Pope highlights ‘little greatness’ of Saint Thérèse in apostolic letter R OME—Pope Francis has commended the “little greatness” of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux in a new message focusing on the 19th-century Carmelite’s relevance for the Church today.

Saint Thérèse’s “genius consists in leading us to what is central, essential and indispensable,”the pope wrote in an apostolic letter published on October 15.

The young saint, whose life and writings focused on love and following a “little way” of holiness, “shows that, while it is true that all the Church’s teachings and rules have their importance, their value, their clarity, some are more urgent and more foundational for the Christian life,” he said.

“From heaven to earth, the timely witness of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face endures in all the grandeur of her little way,” Francis wrote.

The pope’s latest in-depth reflection on a saint takes its title, “C’est la Confiance,” or “It is Trust,” from a quotation in one of Thérèse’s letters: “It is trust and nothing but trust that must lead us to Love.”

Doctor of the Church

SAINT Thérèse of Lisieux, also called St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, or “The Little Flower,” was a French Carmelite nun who died in 1897 from tuberculosis at the age of 24.

One of the Catholic Church’s most beloved saints, in 1997 she was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church, an honor to this day granted to only 37 saints.

In her autobiography “Story of a Soul,”

Saint Thérèse recounted her “little way” of holiness and her desire to spend heaven “doing good on earth.” She is a patron saint of missionaries and her liturgical feast is on October 1.

“A century and a half after her birth, Therese is more alive than ever in the pilgrim Church, in the heart of God’s people,” the pope wrote.

“She accompanies us on our pilgrim way, doing good on earth, as she had so greatly desired,” he continued.

“The most lovely signs of her spiritual vitality are the innumerable ‘roses’ that Thérèse continues to strew: the graces God grants us through her loving intercession in order to sustain us on our journey through life,” the pope added.

“Dear Saint Thérèse, the Church needs to radiate the brightness, the fragrance and the joy of the Gospel,” he wrote. “Send us your roses!”

The pope’s letter on Saint Thérèse is punctuated by frequent citations of the saint’s own words as written in letters and in her autobiography “Story of a Soul.”

Marks 150 years of birth

THOUGH 2023 marks 150 years since Thérèse’s birth and 100 years since her beatification, the message was published on the liturgical feast of the Spanish mystic Saint Teresa of Ávila.

Pope Francis said he did not want to publish a letter about St. Thérèse of Lisieux on one of her own anniversaries because the significance of her message goes beyond

these dates.

“Its publication on the liturgical Memorial of Saint Teresa of Avila is a way of presenting Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face as the mature fruit of the reform of the Carmel and of the spirituality of the great Spanish saint,” he wrote.

“From Saint Teresa of Avila, Thérèse inherited a great love for the Church and was able to plumb the depths of this mystery,” he wrote.

Patroness of the missions

POPE Francis said Saint Thérèse also invites us to greater missionary outreach.

About her missionary focus, despite being a cloistered nun from the age of 15 until her death at 24, Francis said, “she wrote that she entered Carmel ‘to save souls.’”

“In a word, she did not view her consecration to God apart from the pursuit of the good of her brothers and sisters,” the pope wrote.

“She shared the merciful love of the Father for his sinful son and the love of the Good Shepherd for the sheep who were lost, astray and wounded. For this reason, Thérèse is the Patroness of the Missions and a model of evangelization,” the pope said.

The pope also recalled Saint Thérèse’s “spiritual closeness” with a man who was on death row for committing a triple homicide.

Before she entered the Carmelite monastery, Thérèse offered Mass for this man, Henri Pranzini, and prayed for his salvation. Though the murderer showed no

signs of being repentant, the girl had total faith that God would forgive him.

“This intense experience of hoping against all hope proved fundamental for her,” Francis wrote, quoting Saint Thérèse’s’s own writing: “After this unique grace, my desire to save souls grows each day.”

Thérèse understood sin in the context of the mystery of Christ, he wrote. “The sin of the world is great but not infinite, whereas the merciful love of the Redeemer is indeed infinite.”

Trust in God

THE Holy Father pointed out the young saint’s total trust in God and his love, which led her to emphasize the primacy of divine action.

Her “‘little way,’ the path of trust and love,” is one of her most important discoveries, the pope said. “Everyone can follow this way, whatever their age or state in life.”

“In place of a Pelagian notion of holiness, individualistic and elitist, more ascetic than mystical, that primarily emphasizes human effort, Thérèse always stresses the primacy of God’s work, his gift of grace,” he wrote.

He said the trust of Saint Thérèse can apply to our whole lives, “where we are often assailed by fears, the desire for human security, the need to have everything under control.”

“Here we see the importance of her invitation to a holy ‘abandonment,’” he wrote.

The message also recalled the great

trial of faith the saint experienced during the last year and a half of her life, starting with the first symptoms of tuberculosis, the illness that would eventually take her life at the age of 24.

“Her account reveals the heroic nature of her faith, her triumph in spiritual combat with the most powerful temptations,” he wrote.

“She felt herself a sister to atheists, seated with them at table, like Jesus who sat with sinners. She interceded for them, ever renewing her own act of faith, in constant loving communion with the Lord,” he said.

“Even in her darkness, she experienced the complete trust of a child that finds refuge, unafraid, in the embrace of its father and mother.”

Lessons for the Church

POPE Francis’ letter also emphasized the Carmelite saint’s humility and her spiritual revelation that her “vocation is Love.”

“This heart was not that of a triumphalistic Church, but of a loving, humble and merciful Church,” he wrote.

“Therese never set herself above others, but took the lowest place together with the Son of God, who for our sake became a slave and humbled himself, becoming obedient, even to death on a cross,” he added.

“This discovery of the heart of the Church is also a great source of light for us today,” the pope said.

“It preserves us from being scandalized by the limitations and weaknesses of the

ecclesiastical institution with its shadows and sins, and enables us to enter into the Church’s ‘heart burning with love’, which burst into flame at Pentecost thanks to the gift of the Holy Spirit,” Pope Francis said.

“It is that heart,” he continued, “whose fire is rekindled with each of our acts of charity. ‘I shall be love.’ This was the radical option of Thérèse, her definitive synthesis and her deepest spiritual identity.”

Pointing out the saint’s enduring relevance, Francis wrote that “in an age that urges us to focus on ourselves and our own interests, Thérèse shows us the beauty of making our lives a gift. At a time when the most superficial needs and desires are glorified, she testifies to the radicalism of the Gospel. In an age of individualism, she makes us discover the value of a love that becomes intercession for others.”

“At a time when human beings are obsessed with grandeur and new forms of power, she points out to us the little way,” he continued. “In an age that casts aside so many of our brothers and sisters, she teaches us the beauty of concern and responsibility for one another.”

“At a time of great complexity, she can help us rediscover the importance of simplicity, the absolute primacy of love, trust and abandonment, and thus move beyond a legalistic or moralistic mindset that would fill the Christian life with rules and regulations, and cause the joy of the Gospel to grow cold,” Pope Francis pointed out. Hannah Brockhaus/Catholic News Agency via CBCP News

Biodiversity Sunday BusinessMirror

Asean Champions of Biodiversity Media Category 2014

Sunday, October 22, 2023 A7

Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

‘Genuine public-private collaboration essential in reforestation’s success’

By Jonathan L. Mayuga

T

HE country’s forest cover increased by 5.65 percent as a result of the massive reforestation program of the government, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

The government has spent around P49 billion in implementing the National Greening Program and the Expanded NGP from 2011 to 2020.

For 2024, the DENR, mandated to manage the country’s natural wealth, is proposing a P24-billion budget.

Some P2.2 billion of which will be for ENGP, including the development of 31,992 hectares of plantation forest and produce 19,157,939 seedlings.

Over the years, the ambitious reforestation program has generated tens of thousands of green jobs and boosted the antipoverty and food security programs of the government.

Private sector participation HOWEV ER, much of the success of the NGP is being attributed to the support of various stakeholders. Since its launch in 2011, big private companies have made tree planting a part of their cor porate social responsibility programs.

Recognizing the power of the private sector in revitalizing the country’s reforestation effort, Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu signed in 2029 DENR Administrative Order 2019-03. It revised the implementing rules and regulations of Executive Order 193 to encourage more private-sector players to participate in the program.

It was implemented through the public-private partnership scheme with the signing of a memorandum of agreement with DENR’s partners under the Community-Based Forestry Management program.

There was also the Reforestation

by Administration scheme, which involves the hiring of individuals not belonging to any people’s organization for implementation in proclaimed areas and critical watersheds not covered by any tenurial instrument.

Saving critical watersheds REFORESTATION helps protect and conserve water, a precious economic resource.

The Million Trees Foundation Inc.

FORESTER Neil Miras of EDC’s Bacon-Manito Geothermal Project shows rows of white lauan and mapilig seedlings inside EDC’s Vegetative Materials Reproduction facility in Manito, Albay. EDC’s VMR facilities are currently propagating endangered native trees to be planted nationwide. COURTESY OF GREGG YAN (MTFI) focuses on planting at least a million trees a year in seven critical watersheds—Angat, Ipo, Kaliwa, La Mesa, Laguna Lake, Umiray, Upper Marikina, and Manila Bay. MTFI President Melandrew Velasco said that last year, with the help and support of its private sector partners, a total of 1,657,481 trees were planted.

“This is a collaborative effort with the DENR, MWSS, Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System], San Miguel [Corp.], Maynilad [Water Services Inc.], Manila Water [Co. Inc.], and other private sector entities, including LLDA [Laguna Lake Development Authority] in seven critical watersheds.

As a foundation, we continue what we have started in the MWSS under former Administrator Rey Velasco,” Melandrew Velasco said in a telephone interview on October 8.

From 2017 to 2022, MTFI, with the support of its private-sector partners, was able to plant a total of 6.8 million trees.

Production, protection and conservation WHILE much of the areas planted through the NGP and ENGP are production forests, which means the trees are to be cut down for fuel and other wood requirements, much private sector-led reforestation is meant for the protection and conservation of the country’s rich biodiversity.

The Philippine Eagle Foundation

(PEF) underscored the importance of private-sector support in its efforts to protect and conserve the country’s national bird, the Philippine eagle, and other birds of prey and their habitats.

“We have several reforestation [projects] funded by corporate partners,” Jayson Ibanez, PEF director for Research and Conservation, told the BusinessMirror via Messenger on October 14.

He said the PEF, so far has three carbon forests funded by corporate partners namely the ALI-Davao Carbon Forest, Monkayo Pag-asa Carbon Forest, and the Mt. Sinaka Carbon Forest.

The Mt Sinaka Carbon Forest, a 21-hectare forest restoration area, is adjacent to a Philippine eagle nest site.

Mining Forest Program EVEN mining companies are helping in reforestation. According to the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, the sector has responded well to the government’s Mining Forest Program.

As of June 2023, the industry has planted nearly 49 million seedlings in nearly 41,000 hectares, with a high survival rate of almost 90 percent.

Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) Chairman Mike Toledo said via Messenger on October 9 that several large-scale metallic mining companies all over the country are ensuring that environmental conditions are sustained during the life of the mine and beyond following the

Warming, habitat loss shrink pollinator numbers; may hit hard coffee, cocoa crops

C

HANGES in the climate and land use are combining to dramatically shrink the numbers of insects pollinating key tropical crops. As those problems intertwine and intensify, it will likely hit coffee lovers right in the mug, according to a new study.

And that one-two punch will melt some chocolate fans’ dreams too, scientists said.

Scientists looked at thousands of species and sites and found when temperatures warmed up beyond the normal range combined with a shrinking habitat of f lowering plants, the number of insects that pollinate those plants plummets by 61 percent, according to a study in Science Advances.

Study authors said bees, f lies, moths and other pollinators are being hit harder than the general insect population.

“We’re seeing the climate change is already having this really strong impact on pollinators,” said study co-author Tim Newbold, an ecologist

at the University College of London.

About 35 percent of the world’s food crop and three-quarters of flowering plants depend on insect and other animal pollinators to reproduce, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

And the study found the pollinator loss problem is bigger in the tropics, a region other research hasn’t focused on as much.

The countries most at risk of crop loss from dwindling pollinators are China, India, Indonesia, Brazil and the Philippines with sub-Saharan Africa also in danger, especially its cocoa and mango crops, the study said.

Taking what’s already happened, researchers said this bodes badly for key tropical crops, especially coffee and cocoa. Those plants rely on bees and flies to help them reproduce and fewer pollinators mean reduced crops, study authors said.

Prev ious st ud ies have show n that insects are dwindling for several reasons, including climate change and habitat loss, and other studies have

shown shrinking number of pollinators, and yet more have shown coffee and cocoa plants themselves are hurt by the interaction.

But the sum of all that is even worse than just the parts, study authors said.

“There will be this double hit of climate change impacting coffee itself, the coffee plants, but also impacting the pollinators on which it depends so that’s quite worrying for those of us who like coffee,” Newbold said.

That doesn’t mean no coffee or chocolate, just more expensive indulgences, said study lead author Joe Millard, a computational ecologist at the Natural History Museum in London.

What makes this study special is that it has a focus on the tropics that other insect studies haven’t had, said University of Delaware entomologist Douglas Tallamy, who wasn’t part of the research.

“We’re not paying enough attention to the tropics,” Tallamy said.

“They are important.”

Newbold said pollinating insects

THIS mountain in the Bicol region was once logged-over. Now managed by EDC’s Binhi Program in collaboration with various partners and community allies, the mountain and its surrounding hills have largely healed through a combination of reforestation, assisted natural regeneration and natural seed dispersion through the help of birds, bats, mammals and insects.

COURTESY OF GREGG YAN

Mining Act of 1995.

“All members of [COMP] are undertaking, among others, revegetation of mined out areas as part of their progressive rehabilitation initiatives, with the end given restoring, as near as possible, disturbed areas, to their original state or a preagreed productive end-use,” he said.

According to Toledo, not too many people know it, but miners have to plant 100 trees to replace each one that is felled.

Private sector-led greening ENVIRONMENTALIST Gregg Yan, for his part, said the Philippines is losing approximately 47,000 hectares of forest cover every year, citing data from the Forest Management Bureau of the DENR. “For Filipinos to better visualize how much of our forestland is cleared, then imagine the size of Quezon City... and multiply it by three,” Yan told the BusinessMirror via email on October 12.

He said government programs, such as ENGP, have planted over a billion seedlings to restore the country’s forests. “ T hese efforts can be augmented by initiatives led by the private sector,” he said.

Recently, Yan, founder of the Best Alternatives Campaign, visited several sites managed by the Energy Development Corp. (EDC), the coun-

in the tropics are likely hit harder than other places because the bugs are already near their temperature limits and insects in temperate areas are more adapted to large temperature swings and they aren’t in the tropics.

“Massive warming in the tropics is pushing those species over the edge,” Newbold said.

Habitat loss is the main driver for the shrinking number of pollinators with less food for them, Millard said. But add to that climate change, worsening parasites, disease and pesticides, he said.

And while all insects are in trouble, pollinators have it worse in warmer temperatures, and scientists are still trying to come up with explanations for why.

It could be because they have hairier legs and bodies that help them carry pollen, Millard and Newbold said.

It’s like “being forced to have a big furry coat and it’s getting hot,” Newbold said.

Delaware’s Tallamy doesn’t buy that explanation. He said the study is good in its data and projections, but he said the authors’ explanation for why these impacts happen is more in the guessing range.

Seth Borenstein, Ap Science Writer

try’s largest provider of clean and renewable energy.

“We toured EDC’s Vegetative Materials Reproduction [VMR] facility in the Bicol Region, where thousands of seedlings are being propagated via cuttings,” he said.

He said EDC’s VMR facilities are currently propagating Philippine native and endangered tree species like lauan, narra, dau, katmon bayani and mapilig to ensure that local tree planting drives aren’t composed of imported and potentially invasive species like mahogany or gmelina.

Residents, who Yan interviewed, recounted how once-denuded mountains recovered over time—reforested by people and natural processes.

Reforestation for who?

PAOLO BUTAR AN PAGADUAN of the Center for Philippine Biodiversity Journalism said while it is indeed encouraging to witness the growing involvement of private corporations in reforestation endeavors across the Philippines, it is vital to maintain a critical perspective on these initiatives.

“It is crucial that these efforts are not merely symbolic gestures, greenwashing their public image, or displacing local communities in the process. A closer examination of the reforestation projects is critical to ensure their effectiveness and true commitment to conservation,” he told

the BusinessMirror via Messenger on October 11.

According to Pagaduan, the full participation and empowerment of local communities in these projects are paramount. He added that genuine collaboration and shared decisionmaking are essential in ensuring that the reforestation initiatives benefit not only the environment but also the livelihoods and well-being of those living in the surrounding areas.

“It is crucial to acknowledge that reforestation efforts should not solely revolve around forests, biodiversity and carbon sequestration. A holistic view must encompass the preservation of local cultures, the sustainability of water resources, and the protection of vulnerable ecosystems. While I applaud the involvement of private corporations in reforestation in the Philippines, it is crucial to maintain vigilance, engage in ongoing dialogue, and hold these entities accountable to high environmental and ethical standards,” he said.

Everybody’s concern PRIVATE-SECTOR involvement in reforestation is not unique in the Philippines. The trend is practiced across Southeast Asia, Asean Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) Executive Director Theresa Mundita S. Lim told the BusinessMirror via Messenger on October 17.

“Forest protection and restoration should be everyone’s concern. We cannot rely only on public funds for greening programs,” Lim said, adding that the private sector has much to gain from investing in reforestation.

“There are services that forest ecosystems provide that benefit the private sector. So they must also contribute toward keeping our forests healthy to sustain the benefits they derive from this ecosystem,” said Lim, an international biodiversity expert.

T he ACB chief added that several industries and businesses are dependent on healthy forests.

“They require the services that natural forest ecosystems provide, such as water, raw materials, aesthetic value, health and wellness, flood control, etc. to ensure the sustainability of their operations,” she added.

“Forest protection and restoration, therefore, should be integrated into their business and investment plans,” she pointed out.

Maynilad’s ‘Clean and Green’ energy solutions cited in 2023 Europa Awards

M

AYNILAD Water Services Inc. (Maynilad) was re c e nt l y re co g n i z e d under the “Clean and Green Energy” category of the 2023 Europa Awards organized by the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP).

Atty. Roel S. Espiritu, Maynilad’s Division Head for Quality, Sustainabi lit y and Resi lienc y, accepted the 2023 Europa Award from ECCP President Paulo Duarte and ECCP Executive Director Florian Gottein during the ceremony held at a hotel in Makati City.

The ECCP hailed Maynilad’s efforts in pursuing clean and green energy solutions through the implementation of technological innovations that minimized energy consumption in its water supply operations.

Some of the West Zone water concessionaire’s energy management strategies include the installation of photovoltaic solar power farms to run several facilities at

La Mesa Compound in Quezon City. The initiative lowered the company’s carbon emissions by 21 tons per month.

Furthermore, the company has started its gradual transition to using electric vehicles in its operations to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

ECCP’s Europa Awards recognizes companies that show exceptional performance and contributions in promoting sustainability in line with global standards and the Philippine Development Plan.

Europa’s C lean and Energ y Categor y Award is given to companies that have successfully incorporated the use of clean and renewable energ y sources in its day-to-day operations, and actively promoted the use of clean energy within the country, thereby aiding the government in its thrust to reduce the countr y’s greenhouse gas emissions by 70 percent by 2030 as stipulated in the Paris Agreement.

Sports

NBA’s $300-M man Brown ready to step into leadership role for retooled Celtics

BusinessMirror

A8 | S

unday, October 22, 2023 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

Wear and tear?

Go ask LeBron LeBron James makes this unprecedented longevity look relatively easy, yet he also smiles and deflects when asked about his endgame.

Becker returns to coaching

D

UESSELDORF, Germany— Boris Becker is returning to coaching for the first time since the six-time Grand Slam tennis winner’s release from a British prison last year, with sixth-ranked Holger Rune.

Becker told broadcaster Eurosport on a podcast published on Thursday that he will work with the 20-yearold Danish player for the rest of the season, starting at the Swiss Indoors next week.

“It makes me a little proud that he asked me. The contact has existed for a long time. Now it was a very good fit,” Becker said. “My calendar allows it and I have always been interested in Holger because he is on the tennis court with so much commitment and temperament.”

Becker signaled he would focus on the mental side of the game and described Rune as “a rough diamond that needs polishing.”

The 55-year-old German previously coached Novak Djokovic from 2014 through 2016. Before his release in December, Becker served eight months in prison for illicitly transferring large amounts of money and hiding assets after he was declared bankrupt.

With a career-high slot of fourth in August, Rune is the highestranked Danish male player ever and has reached the quarterfinals of the French Open and Wimbledon.

Since his loss to Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon quarterfinals in July, he has won just one match, including a first-round loss at the US Open and a loss to Miomir Kecmanovic in Stockholm on Wednesday.

E

L SEGUNDO, California— LeBron James is already the defining figure of this basketball era with his strength, skills, smarts and relentless will to win.

The Los Angeles Lakers superstar now seems determined to redefine how long an elite player can stay on top.

James begins his 21st National Basketball Association (NBA) season next week with his 39th birthday looming in December, yet the top scorer in league history shows shockingly few signs of decline from his peerless standard of performance. From a statistical standpoint, James’ prolific production hasn’t waned in any significant way for two full decades.

James admits he can feel the years. For everybody else, they’re almost impossible to see.

“I feel different. I’m not a 21-year-old, that’s for sure,” James said with a laugh. “Feels a little bit different getting out of bed every day. But as far as my energy level, I feel pretty good.”

From Tom Brady to Kelly Slater, modern athletes across all sports have rewritten the traditional guidelines around age and decline in the 21st century. Few have ever done it like James, whose ascent to the throne of the NBA’s oldest player caught his Lakers teammates by surprise.

“He sure doesn’t play like it,” Austin Reaves said. “He’s still out here making us look bad in practice.”

James makes this unprecedented NBA longevity look relatively easy, yet he also smiles and deflects when asked about his endgame. He says he doesn’t know how long he wants to play, and he admits he thought hard about walking away after last season before he decided to return to the Lakers while even keeping an eye on the Paris Olympics next summer.

“I don’t know what the end is going to look like,” he said. “I have no idea.”

James is the sixth player in league history to make it into a 21st season, but nobody has ever played this many years at James’s current level of performance—with the caveat that James got a jump on his career by entering the league directly out of high school, of course.

That difference gives him more NBA seasons at a younger age, but also more wear and tear on his body from competition against other grown men. It’s still increasingly clear that nobody has ever stayed as good

as LeBron for as long as LeBron, who averaged 28.9 points, 8.3 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game last season.

The other five NBA players to reach 21 seasons—Robert Parish, Kevin Willis, Dirk Nowitzki, Vince Carter and Kevin Garnett—were all markedly diminished from their peaks. Only Carter played a 22nd season, but James currently seems capable of obliterating that barrier if he wishes.

While nearly all NBA players who lasted even to their mid-30s took precipitous declines in effectiveness before hanging up their sneakers, the former teenage phenomenon from Akron is still an elite, All-Starcaliber performer on a strong team.

The Lakers reached the Western Conference finals under James’ leadership last season, and they look capable of contending for his fifth title.

While James’s merciless work ethic is the stuff of NBA legend, he also cites more holistic reasons for his ability keep up in a sport that demands youthlike athleticism now more than ever.

“It’s just staying focused and being passionate about the purity of the game,” James said. “Understanding the ones that came before me, respecting the history of the game, and also understanding that if you want to be great at something, you’ve got to put in the work. There’s no substitution for work. I put in the work on the court, off the court.”

Only injuries significantly slowed James during the end of his second decade in professional basketball.

James has missed 80 games over the past three seasons, sitting out roughly one-third of the Lakers’ regular-season contests.

He was slowed last spring by an injured tendon in his right foot, but he still extended his streak to a jawdropping 282 playoff games without an absence.

James and the Lakers are working harder than ever to keep him healthy this season—and for who knows how many more years to come.

Along with consulting James and Anthony Davis on minute management, the Lakers have complemented their stars with a deep roster containing more playmakers than last season, possibly freeing James from some of the heavier work in initiating the offense.

“That goes into making us more efficient in how we manage [James],” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “Now that we have, top to bottom, what we feel like is a highly balanced,

skilled, younger team of guys who’ve logged a ton of NBA minutes, we can surround both [James] and AD with players that are eager to contribute and impact winning. And Bron does a great job of taking care of himself.”

A player who has done it all and won it all might struggle for motivation, but James always has new worlds to conquer.

A year after he surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s career scoring record, James begins the new year just 549 minutes away from passing AbdulJabbar’s record for the most minutes played in NBA history. With good health, he’ll almost certainly become the first person to score 40,000 points in the NBA. James has another dimension of motivation after he dedicated the season to his oldest son, Bronny. The USC freshman is recovering from a frightening cardiac event, and James is determined to remain an example of hard work and perseverance.

When asked what still inspires him two decades into his career, James immediately mentions his three children. The chance to coach Bryce James’s AAU team during the summer rekindled his own passion for the game after the tumultuous end of the Lakers’ season.

“I just had conversations with my family, conversations with myself,” James said. “I feel like I’ve got a lot more in the tank to give.” AP

B

OSTON—Early in his National Basketball Association (NBA) career, Jaylen Brown was largely viewed as a player who would be a component of the Boston Celtics’ long-term success, rather than a pillar of its foundation.

When big-name stars would become available during free agency, Brown was often a potential trade chip.

As he prepares for his eighth season, his play has forced the narrative to be rewritten.

Last season was defining for Brown, who garnered his second All-Star selection and second-team All-NBA nod while helping lead the Celtics within a game of back-to-back NBA Finals appearances.

In July he cashed in signing a five-year, $304 million extension, the richest contract in NBA history.

It immediately thrust him onto a tier reserved for only the league’s most elite stars.

It comes with expectations and a weight that Brown has yet to experience. Not as the No. 3 overall draft pick in 2016, or even as a teammate of four-time All-Star and teammate Jayson Tatum. But on a new-look Celtics’ roster that has lost some of its loudest locker room voices, Brown says he is ready and willing to be the playmaker and leader the Celtics need to make the most of their current championship window.

“I feel great. I feel poised. I feel ready to have a great year,” Brown said. “I put in a lot of work trying to make plays, trying

LEBRON JAMES: I don’t know what the end is going to look like. AP

to get guys open. Trying to get our offense set. Seeing the game, reading the game. Overall, just being a better basketball player. Can’t wait to show it this year.”

In addition to locking up Brown long-term, Boston dramatically remade its core this offseason, flipping former Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart, reigning Sixth Man of the Year Malcolm Brogdon and rim protector Robert Williams III in a series of trades that netted 7-footer Kristaps Porzingis and defensive stalwart Jrue Holiday.

This all while second-year coach Joe Mazzulla shook up his coaching staff, bringing in assistants Charles Lee and Sam Cassell to help put Mazzulla’s stamp on the team in his second season.

It has required a reset of the locker room culture and called for new voices to step up. For most of their careers Brown and Tatum have been mostly content to let their play speak for them. But Brown acknowledges that this new group will need their voices to be louder than ever.

Still, his approach to this new team dynamic will be straightforward.

“Just stepping into it,” Brown said. “I think we’ve got a lot of voices that are no longer with us—Blake [Griffin], Grant [Williams], Smart. All very vocal guys. So, I think, definitely, hearing my voice, JT’s voice a little bit more this season.”

It’s what will help turn a collection of talent into a formidable team.

“Can’t just throw some guys out there and expect everything to work.

Our habits are going to create our future and our success,” Brown said.

“I’m excited about the journey.”

Last season, Brown averaged career highs in points (26.6), rebounds (6.9) and assists (3.5). The same is true for Tatum (30.1 points, 8.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists).

Yet both should benefit from the defensive length and ability to stretch provided by Porzingis and the defense and floor command Holiday brings.

Neither Brown nor Tatum will also have to facilitate as much on offense with Holiday’s proven ability to create for his teammates.

Still, there will likely be an odd man out at times with a top six featuring Brown, Tatum, Porzingis, Holiday, Derrick White and veteran Al Horford who are all used to garnering a certain amount of playing time.

It’s a good problem to have, Tatum insists.

“Essentially we’ve probably got six starters and we can only play five people. Only five guys can finish a game,” Tatum said. “So, between those six guys, any given night somebody might come off the bench.

Somebody might not finish. And it’s on all of us to understand that whoever’s night it is, it’s for the better of the team. And we really have to buy into that. It’s not easy sacrificing, but at some point we all have to do it.”

It’s a view shared by Mazzulla.

“We’re all going to have to give up little pieces of ourselves until we got to where we want to get to,” he said. AP

Lacrosse at Olympics gives indigenous communities chance to see sport shine

O

NE of the first gifts any member of the Onondaga Nation receives is called a “crib stick”—a small lacrosse stick given to babies that symbolizes the importance of that sport to people who invented it.

Nearly 1,000 years after lacrosse was first played on fields that could sometimes stretch for miles across the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, the sport will be on the Olympic schedule in Los Angeles in 2028.

LOIS GARLOW of the Haudenosaunee Nationals heads toward the sideline during a match against Canada at the World Games in Birmingham, Alabama, on July 24, 2022. AP

Whether players for the Haudenosaunee, a collection of six Indigenous nations whose territory covers upstate New York and adjacent sections of Canada, will be able to suit up in that tournament is a question that will keep the lacrosse world on edge between now and then.

For now, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has ruled out having the Haudenosaunee (formerly known as the Iroquois) play as their own team, the way they have at past world championships and last year’s World Games.

This is because of a rule that only allows teams at the Olympics from countries with a national Olympic committee.

But there are still pathways. A spokesperson for the IOC told The Associated Press it’s up to Olympic committees in the US and Canada, in coordination with World Lacrosse, “to decide if they include athletes from Haudenosaunee in their respective teams depending on the passport they hold.”

Leo Nolan, the executive director of the Haudenosaunee national team, said people associated with the team were excited to see their sport—and hopefully, their nation—represented

on the world’s biggest stage.

“It’s a community spirit, not just a sport,” Nolan said. “It’s an integral part of who we are and what we’re about.

How many other sports have that kind of wherewithal, something that really has a true meaning? I don’t know of many sports that have the same spiritual meaning that this has.”

Working with World Lacrosse, the sport’s international federation, organizers for the Los Angeles Olympics leaned heavily into the Indigenous history of the sport to sell the IOC on bringing lacrosse back to the games as a medal event for the first time since 1908.

The story goes back much further than that—to around the year 1100.

Tribes in northeastern North America often played games involving more than 100 men on a side. Lacrosse was used to help tribes get ready for wars; it was focal point of social gatherings, a religious experience and also sometimes a diplomatic tool used to settle disputes.

As the story goes, Canadian settlers liked what they saw when they first laid eyes on the game. A dentist named George Beers wrote the sport’s first rulebook in 1867.

Established in 1983, the

Haudenosaunee national team has been a regular participant at world championships since 1990.

“I got a glimpse of it, and everybody else did, too,” one of the team’s founders, Rex Lyons, said in an interview on the team website about the feeling of his people being included in a global competition. “We talked about having our ancestors standing right there beside us, and we said, ‘Look where lacrosse has taken us.’”

In 2014, the Haudenosaunee men’s team won its first world bronze medal. Last year, at the Olympicstyle World Games, the men’s team finished fifth (out of eight) and the women finished seventh.

To compete there, it took a signoff from the Olympic committees in both the United States and Canada.

The team from Ireland sacrificed its own spot to allow the Haudenosaunee to play. The Olympics figure to look different given the IOC’s position.

“We know and respect the Olympic charter and the rules that the IOC currently has in place,” said World Lacrosse CEO Jim Scherr.

“We’ll continue to work with LA ‘28, the respective Olympic committees and the Haudenosaunee to find a creative solution.” AP

BusinessMirror

October 22, 2023

Some good news about the planet for a change

2

BusinessMirror OCTOBER 22, 2023 | soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com

YOUR MUSI

PASSION AS PROFESSION Rising boy band Alyson blends nostalgia and innovation Story and photo by John Eiron R. Francisco

“T

HERE’S no set way in terms of the creative process. But it’s more of just finding something you’re happy playing with,” Pio Ligot, Alyson’s vocalist and rhythm guitarist, told Soundstrip.

In an industry where emerging artists strive to meet high standards and follow demanding trends, the rising boy group band, Alyson, takes a different perspective.

The boy group consists of Pio Ligot as the vocalist and rhythm guitarist, Luis Uy as the lead guitarist, Marcus Mababangloob as the drummer and backing vocalist, Miguel Erfe as bassist and Easel Mannes as keyboardist - are set to make big waves in the industry.

Alyson’s creative process is marked by spontaneity. They find something that resonates and follow where the music leads.

“Apart from just the writing, it’s very important to really get every single detail of it in line with your vision,” Marcus told Soundstrip.

From the sound of the drums and guitar to the nuances of vocals, they meticulously engineer and produce their music.

“It’s just one of the freest ways of creating in our lives,” highlighting that their commitment to details extends to recording and mixing their music, done in their own studio to ensure their vision is met.

Alyson’s journey started in 2009 when Miguel,

Marcus, and Luis were classmates in sixth grade.

In which they take this path seriously, as Pio described their music evolving from a punk sound to a more indie vibe.

The band’s determination to make a lasting impact in the music scene was further ignited during the pandemic era.

Pio explained their goal: “We have to make something that will really leave a mark. Something that’s really gonna express ano ba talaga ang gusto namin na sound [what is the sound that we truly want] that we will really enjoy for a very long time.”

Their aspiration is to “make music that will last way beyond.”

A dash of nostalgia

ALYSON draws significant inspiration from the late 70s to early 80s Japanese city pop scene, blending elements of funk, jazz, and pop to create an irresistible sound that encourages listeners to dance and enjoy themselves.

It is synthesized to create a reminiscent vibe of the past, this encapsulates the essence of Alyson’s unique sound.

RISING boy band

Music as profession

WHEN SoundStrip asked the group about how they remain strong as a band, Marcus stated that “We actually kind of see music as not just a passion, but also a profession, a job. “ However, “it may seem a bit crazy (to the outsiders) that we’re putting so many of our chips into making music,” the band members share a deep belief in their musical journey and are willing to invest their passion and effort into creating music that resonates with their audience.

They approach their work with dedication and passion, acknowledging that this shared commitment is what will sustain them, despite the clichéd nature of such dedication.

Luis told Soundstrip the joy they all share in their musical endeavors. He highlighted the importance of having fun during performances and allowing each member to express themselves through their music.

“The process was really enjoyable, and we look forward to what Offshore can do to help us scale and flourish the process,” Luis said.

Marcus echoed this sentiment, emphasizing the significance of loving what they do. He believes that their unwavering commitment to their music is the core reason for the band’s enduring presence in the industry.

Alyson on Offshore Music

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THE boy group had recently signed a contract under Offshore Music headed by OPM icon Ely Buendia.

This development marks a significant milestone in the boy band’s journey spanning over a decade.

For years, the band had been accustomed to handling every aspect of their music career independently – from recording and writing to promotions.

Pio explained, “we all had to do it on our own.”

However, this new partnership with Offshore, a label that values artists’ creative freedom, has them excited about the support they’ll receive.

The band’s vocalist emphasized, “we really feel that we are gonna be taken care of. And it will really put our creativity to the max.”

Marcus chimed in, stating, “We think that we have a very strong creative vision, like internally, when it comes to making our music,” But Ely, the head of Offshore, shared a different perspective during the media launch of new artists under his

management, noting that once you create something, it’s no longer exclusively yours.

Before Offshore, the band had struggled with sharing their music more widely, but they see this as a strength of their new partnership. Marcus explained, “Sharing our music is something we value, and Offshore truly supports us in this aspect.”

Initially, the band were apprehensive, believing that today’s generation preferred independence in music ownership.

However, Pio expressed their confidence in Offshore’s dedication and care, saying, “We really feel that they have our best interests in mind.”

“We are being taken under the wing of people who are like-minded, who also want Alyson as our group to flourish,” he added.

Visual Style

BEYOND the creative process, their unique style extends to their visual presentation.

The band dons suits that evoke nostalgia and a fresh take on fashion, emphasizing the importance of the visual aspect of their performances.

“We learned with the very long time that we’ve been performing. Showmanship,” Pio said.

Particularly when the audience actively participates in their performance, they aim to deliver a captivating show that goes beyond providing an enjoyable experience.

Alyson believes in ensuring that the crowd remains memorable not only in the live experience but also in the visual aspect, including photographs.

Their choice of suits serves as a means to express this sentiment.

“We wanna look the part and play the part for them and really dress up nicely for them so that it’s not just a musical experience, but also a visual one,” Marcus added.

Where they dressed in extra attire to complement their latest album called “Definitely Love,” which is available on various streaming platforms.

Looking ahead, Alyson’s vision extends beyond the Philippines. They also aim to be recognized internationally, particularly in Japan and other countries that appreciate their genre.

Their goal is to spread their music and make an impact on the global music scene. With their distinct blend of Filipino roots and city pop, Alyson is poised to make waves in the music industry.

IC

soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com | OCTOBER 22, 2023

3

BUSINESS

COMING INTO HIS OWN It’s no secret Arthur Miguel has found his niche in music

By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto

I

T’S no secret that Arthur Miguel started as a cover artist before he carved his own path as a singer and songwriter.

Since 2018, Arthur has been uploading videos of himself online belting out his renditions of songs.

But he started to consistently upload content in 2020 when classes were announced to be suspended for two weeks due to the pandemic.

At home, Arthur had all the time in his hands to play the guitar and sing. From less than 10 song covers, he has now over a hundred videos of him singing cover songs uploaded on his YouTube channel.

When he was noticed by TJ Monterde after sharing Arthur’s version of his song “Malay Mo Tayo,” Arthur told SoundStrip that was when people started to get to know him.

Arthur is known for his covers of the songs“Crazier”

by Taylor Swift and “I’ll Never Go” by Nexxuss, which have garnered 72 million views and 25 million views respectively, on YouTube.

From singing other people’s songs, Arthur is now writing and singing his own, and“Lihim”is proof of that.

ARTHUR Miguel (Photo by Reine Juvierre S. Alberto/BM)

‘Mga Lihim ni Arthur’

RECENTLY, Arthur released a new single entitled “Lihim,” adding it to the roster of his own songs.

He was just randomly scrolling on TikTok when videos and slideshows about “situationship” or undefined romantic relationships dominated his For You Page (FYP).

“Yung lihim, para sa mga hindi nila maamin yung tunay na nararamdaman nila,” he told SoundStrip.

[Lihim is for the the people who cannot admit their feelings.]

He described it as acting like there’s something going on between them but they don’t have the guts to admit it to each other.

Sasayaw sa kulog at ulan, iikutin ang tala at buwan Habang tayo ay naliligaw, pakinggan ang puso, ‘wag nang bibitaw‚ Wag nang magtagu-taguan, kita naman sa liwanag ng buwan Ang lihim na pagtingin, kailan aaminin?

“Ang goal ‘ko talaga is i-push ‘ko sila para umamin kasi short lang yung time natin tapos alam mo namang may something sa inyong dalawa bakit hindi mo pa aminin? Wala namang mawawala sa inyo kung parehas naman kayong inlove,” he declared. [My goal is to push them to confess their feelings because our time is short and they know there’s something going on between them so why not confess? Nothing will be lost if both are inlove with each other.]

In this heart-warming hit going viral on TikTok, Arthur motivates his listeners to say how they truly feel for someone and to not keep it a secret to themselves anymore.

It looks like people will be finally confessing how they truly feel for someone because the song is in the second spot of Spotify’s Tatak Pinoy playlist, while No. 8 in Top Songs Philippines.

Every Friday this October, Arthur will hold a gig series entitled “Mga Lihim ni Arthur” in intimate venues in Manila for his listeners. Each gig will have unannounced support acts and exclusive tracks.

Songwriting prowess

“DATI kasi, ‘di naman talaga ako kumakanta. Mahilig lang ako makinig ng music,” Arthur revealed to SoundStrip. [Back then, I don’t really sing. I just like listening to music.]

For him, music is just supposed to be a hobby that should be enjoyed, but the songs are just too good not to sing along to.

He explained that every time he covers a song, he wants it to be a different version from the original.

Whenever he’s taken aback by a song, he said he would research on how the song is written and played, studying its lyrics and sounds, and eventually, discover a music style of his own.

“As the time goes by, di ‘ko siya napansin na parang na-apply ‘ko pala sa pagko-cover ‘ko yung techniques nila,” he said. [I didn’t notice that I applied their techniques to the way I cover songs.]

Arthur’s musical influences are Avril Lavigne and One Direction and admitted that he is a big fan of Taylor Swift.

Feeling sad that he missed the premier of The Eras Tour film because of his own gig, he shared,”Masasabi ‘kong naging artist ako dahil sa kanya. Yung songwriting

talaga niya kakaiba at ang galing niya sabihin yung nararamdaman niya gamit yung kanta.” [I can say that I became an artist because of her. Her songwriting is different and she’s good at saying what she feels through a song.]

Arthur’s talent in songwriting is close to his idol Taylor Swift’s. Drawing from his personal stories and of others, he pens his songs with the ability to reflect universal experiences such as falling in love and heartbreak, almost like poetry.

“Gusto ko lang maka-relate yung mga tao sa song ‘ko, pakinggan nila yung story ng song,” he admitted.

[I want the people to relate to my song, listen to the story of the song.]

He sure fulfilled that goal of his. His listeners, specifically the youth, sing along with their hearts out during his gigs.

“Nananakit na naman siya!” A fan from the crowd exclaimed during the “Mga Lihim ni Arthur” gig at Thirsty Barber in San Juan City on October 13.

And it looks like Arthur likely won’t stop hurting other people’s feelings as he will be releasing more music soon. And that is not a secret anymore.

Some good news about the planet for a change

By Leslie Kaufman & Siobhan Wagner

T

Bloomberg

he ninth issue of Bloomberg Green’s magazine is here. After the hottest summer on record, and now with another devastating war, we’re in need of some positive news about the state of the planet and its people.

While the back page of the magazine is focused solely on developments toward a greener world, the issue is mostly about water—which has become an asset and a threat as the planet warms. Take, for example, archaeologists in Virginia who are battling rising seas and flooding to study and save the remains of North America’s first permanent English colony. This story, and some others, are already available to read online.

We’re less than seven weeks away from the UN’s COP28 climate conference (see related story—Ed.). Big-name finance chiefs are expected to return in force to the summit, where lenders will be under pressure to do more than talk.

In Mexico, climate expert Claudia Sheinbaum is one of the top contenders in the race to become the country’s president, though it remains to be seen if her election could help halt the oil-rich nation’s rising emissions. Meanwhile, American airlines—despite their soaring rhetoric—have been falling behind their

Installing solar panels onto the roof of a home in Spain in September. Bloomberg European counterparts in deploying sustainable jet fuel.

Now, on to the good climate news...

Climate Bill: The Gift That Keeps on Giving. A year after President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, the most significant climate law in US history, data show that investments for a new green economy are pouring in: $110b in private investment, 51 new or expanded plants for producing solar panels, 91 new factories for making batteries and about 170,000 clean energy jobs.

China Crushes Renewable Energy Target. China is on track to almost double its current wind and solar capacity by 2025 and blow past the country’s clean power target five years early, according to Global Energy Monitor. The nation has announced or begun construction on enough projects that its total wind and solar capacity is likely reach 1,371 gigawatts by 2025, the research company said in a June report. That would vastly exceed a goal President Xi Jinping set in late 2020 of having 1,200GW of panels and turbines by 2030.

‘Climate Dads’ Show Their Nerdy Love for the Planet. Studies show men are taking on more child-care responsibili-

ties, and as they spend time with their kids, they’re factoring climate change into their parenting decisions. Climate dads are a growing phenomenon: fathers who are obsessed with home solar panels, steer their kids away from plastic toys and campaign for safer biking routes.

Tougher Carbon Offset Rules. It’s getting tougher to greenwash. Companies that buy carbon offsets from the voluntary market to counterbalance their greenhouse gas emissions now have guidelines describing what they can and can’t claim about purchased credits. The rules, published by the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative, aim to tighten the climate claims companies make in the face of sham boasts, abuse and illusory credits.

Green Bonds Take the Lead. For the first time, companies and governments are raising more money in the debt markets for environmentally friendly projects than they are for fossil fuels. Almost $350 billion was raised from green bond sales and loan arrangements in the first half of this year, compared with less than $235 billion of oil-, gasand coal-related financing, according to data compiled by Bloomberg News. The ratio was roughly $300 billion green versus $315 bil-

lion fossil fuels in the same period last year.

Montana Court Sides with the Kids.

Youth climate activists won a lawsuit against Montana in August that could set a sweeping precedent. They challenged a state law that limits climate change considerations during the environmental reviews of proposed fossil fuel projects. The court ruled the law violated the plaintiffs’ right to a clean and healthful environment as guaranteed in the state’s constitution.

Rail Transport Looks to AI to Cut Diesel Use. A Canadian startup has developed artificial-intelligence-enabled software to help locomotive engineers make small driving adjustments that can save diesel fuel.

These sorts of changes could help freight and passenger trains cut into the roughly 100 million tons of planet-warming gases they release into the atmosphere every year.

Africa’s First Gigantic Battery Factory. Morocco inked a deal with a Chinese manufacturer to build an EV battery factory with an annual capacity of 100GW. EVs Are Poised for Mass Adoption. A Bloomberg Green analysis finds that car markets in 23 countries have passed a critical tipping point—5 percent of new sales are fully electric vehicles. This threshold signals the start of mass adoption. The same trajectory has been noted in the past with LED lightbulbs, mobile phones, televisions and other successful new technologies.

America Is Ready for EV Road Trips.

There are now about 4,800 public fast-charging stations in the US. More than a quarter of those stations—around 1,300—were switched on in the 12 months ending on July 31, according to a Bloomberg Green analysis of federal data. A number of these new charging spots are in rural areas, expanding the reach of the Great American Electric Road Trip.

Cover photo by Anna Shvets on Pexels.com

UAE’s COP28 leader: ‘Fight climate change, not each other’

D

UBAI, United Arab Emirates—The United Arab Emirates’ pick to lead the upcoming COP28 climate talks in Dubai called on the world earlier this month to “fight climate change, not each other,” directly addressing the anger activists have felt over his selection.

Sultan al-Jaber, the CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., also described the upcoming United Nations negotiations as an “unprecedented opportunity to engage the energy industry in a technological revolution.”

His speech at the World Government Summit in Dubai sought to present his nominated presidency as a bridge between oil companies and climate activists long suspicious of the industry’s influence on ef-

forts to limit carbon emissions. Whether it will, however, remains in question.

“We need a major course correction,” alJaber said. However, he added: “The strategies we pursue must leave no one behind.

The policies we adopt must be pro-growth and pro-climate at the same time.”

The speech renewed criticism among activists of al-Jaber’s nomination to shepherd the climate talks.

African youth climate activist Eric Njuguna from Kenya termed the remarks “dismissive of valid and merited concerns brought forth by climate activists.” He called on the UN body overseeing the talks to install a conflict-of-interest policy that checks the influence that oil and gas firms have on the climate talks owing to their

4 BusinessMirror

“long history of skewing and watering down important climate decisions. ” Al-Jaber, a 49-year-old longtime climate envoy, is a trusted confidant of UAE leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. He’s been behind tens of billions of dollars spent or pledged toward renewable energy—and also leads an oil company that pumps some 4 million barrels of crude a day and hopes to expand to 5 million daily. That oil money fuels the ambitions of this federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula— as well as the production of more of the heat-trapping carbon dioxide that the UN negotiations hope to limit.

Activists have equated his nomination to asking “arms dealers to lead peace talks”

October 22, 2023

when authorities announced his nomination in January. However, US climate envoy John Kerry and France’s finance minister both have backed his selection by the UAE, a key Mideast ally. The UAE also wants to be carbon neutral by 2050—a target that remains difficult to assess and one that authorities haven’t fully explained how they’ll reach.

“There are moments in history when humanity comes together to fight a common threat. Let’s prove to ourselves that we can do it once again,” al-Jaber said. “Let’s put our differences aside. Fight climate change, not each other.”

COP28 will be held at Dubai’s Expo City from November 30 through December 12. AP