Oil and gas for equipment

The DOF said Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has approved the country's first Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), which sets a 75-percent greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction and avoidance by 2030. "The NDC represents the country's goal of modernizing and pursuing low carbon and resilient development for the agriculture, waste, industry, transport, and energy sectors over the 2020-2030 period," the DOF said in a statement. The DOF said the target is based on the country's projected business-as-usual cumulative economy-wide emission of 3,340.3 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent for the same period. "The NDC will be our tool to upgrade our economy by adopting modern and low carbon technologies and approaches that would help mitigate the climate crisis and make our economy more resilient and our growth sustainable," said Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez, the chairman-designate to the Climate Change Commission which facilitated the NDC formulation process. Of ... » Learn More about Philippines commits 75% greenhouse gas emissions reduction by 2030

* Exports +30.5%, vs forecast of +11.7% * Imports +25.7%, vs forecast of 6% JAKARTA, April 18 (Reuters): Indonesia's exports surged in March due to higher commodity prices and rebounding global demand, while imports also grew by more than expected last month as domestic manufacturing activity improved, officials statistics bureau data have showed. Merchandise exports beat forecast with an annual jump of 30.47% to $18.35 billion on rising shipments of oil, natural gas, palm oil, steel and coal. Shipments were also supported by elevated commodity prices and improving demand from top trade partners like China and the United States, whose economies are recovering strongly from the COVID-19 pandemic. Export growth in March was the highest since July 2017, according to Refinitiv Eikon data, and compared with a Reuters poll forecast of 11.74%. Meanwhile, imports were up 25.73% to $16.79 billion on higher purchases of raw materials and capital goods. This was the strongest growth ... » Learn More about Indonesia’s exports and imports grow more than expected in March

BEIJING: China's exports grew at a robust pace in March in yet another boost to the nation's economic recovery as global demand picks up amid progress in worldwide COVID-19 vaccination, while import growth surged to the highest in four years. The data suggests the world's second largest economy will continue to gather momentum as it emerges from the COVID-19-led slump in early 2020, though a lagging consumer rebound and resurgence in COVID-19 cases in many countries have raised risks for the outlook. Exports in dollar terms soared 30.6% in March from a year earlier, but at a slower pace from a record 154.9% growth in February. The analysts polled by Reuters have forecast a 35.5% jump in shipments. "Strong foreign demand is likely to be sustained throughout the second quarter as the global economy further recovers," said Nie Wen, analyst at Nie Wen, economist at Hwabao Trust. "But with the acceleration in global vaccination efforts, industrial sectors in other countries are ... » Learn More about China’s exports rise at robust pace in March, imports growth highest in 4 years

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, who also chairs the country's Climate Change Commission, described the new target as "ambitious", though some environmental activists called on the government to do more. Breaking down the target, 72.29% is conditional on the support of climate finance, technologies and capacity development provided by developed countries, as prescribed by the Paris Agreement. The Paris Agreement, which came into force in 2016, aims to transform the world's fossil-fuel-driven economy within decades and slow the pace of a global temperature increase to well below 2 degrees Celsius. The Philippines ratified the agreement in 2017, allowing Manila access to the Green Climate Fund, which aims to channel billions of dollars to help poor nations tackle global warming. The remaining 2.71% of the target should be implemented mainly through domestic resources, the Department of Finance said in a statement. Under a "business-as-usual" scenario, the government ... » Learn More about Philippines raises carbon emission reduction target to 75% by 2030

SINGAPORE, April 18 (The Straits Times/ANN): There were 23 new coronavirus cases confirmed as at Sunday noon (April 18), taking Singapore's total to 60,831. They included 22 imported cases who had been placed on stay-home notice or isolated on arrival in Singapore, said the Ministry of Health (MOH). There was also one community case. No new cases were reported within migrant workers' dormitories. On Saturday, four new cases of locally transmitted Covid-19 infection were reported, one of which involved a national serviceman who was due to attend his in-camp training (ICT) at Nee Soon Camp. Two of the new cases are linked to a National University of Singapore (NUS) senior research fellow from India who was confirmed to have Covid-19 on Thursday. On Saturday, MOH said his colleague - a 31-year-old Swiss woman who is also a senior research fellow at NUS - had caught the virus too. She had interacted with him on April 12 and developed a sore throat on April 15 but did not seek ... » Learn More about Singapore: 24 new Covid-19 cases reported – one in community; two bodies found in river near Clarke Quay