from the ground Up

by Jessica Cheam, The Straits Times, Jan 29 2009
THE queue of buyers for new Housing Board flats has become shorter and it is moving faster too.
Serious house-buyers are getting the flats they want sooner because a group of “frivolous” buyers, who used to clog up the queue and waste everyone’s time by rejecting flats offered [...]

by Jessica Cheam, The Straits Times, Jan 29 2009
THE grand vision of transforming Punggol into Singapore’s first waterfront public housing town begins in earnest next month when construction gets under way.
A $144.6 million contract for the first part of the Punggol Waterway has been awarded to Koh Brothers Building and Civil Engineering Contractor, said the [...]

[Singapore Budget 2009]
by Jessica Cheam, The Straits Times, Jan 23 2009
One-off 40 per cent rebate means property tax stands at 2.4 per cent for lived-in properties
HUNDREDS of thousands of home owners will get a one-off 40 per cent property tax rebate this year.
The rebate is for owner-occupied residential homes and will cost the Government $75 [...]

[Singapore Budget 2009]
by Jessica Cheam, The Straits Times, Jan 23 2009
FIRST-TIME home buyers were given a leg up on the property ladder yesterday with the expansion of a grant designed to help financially struggling home hunters.
Another 2,700 first-timers will qualify for the additional CPF housing grant every year, due to changes announced by Finance Minister [...]

[Singapore Budget 2009]
by Jessica Cheam, The Straits Times, Jan 23 2009
IN A move that pleasantly surprised industry watchers, Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam yesterday announced that $1 billion will be spent over the next five years on “greening” Singapore’s infrastructure.
He noted sustainable development is “not new to Singapore”.
However, he said, the Government has to invest more [...]

The World Future Energy Summit has come to an end, and today I heard from, notably, Vinod Khosla from Khosla Ventures, Henry Derwent of the International Emissions Trading Scheme, and last but not least, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Here are some soundbites from the press conference with Mr Blair, on which he was quizzed on issues ranging from renewable energy to the Middle East conflict.

(I have only included the renewable energy questions and answers in the session with Mr Blair)

On nuclear power:

“In this region, it’s got a role to play. I think worldwide, my view is there will be a renaissance of nuclear power, we need nuclear power stations to be built in Europe. And for all sorts of reasons, not least reducing co2 emissions, nuclear will be part of the future.

I think if you look toward what China and India is doing, nuclear is a major part of what they’re trying to achieve. There’s a whole new generation of technology that is being used by nuclear power industry. However, we are going to make up for what is a skill gap in the nuclear industry.”

On Masdar city:

“I think this show case is a good idea, it shows what can be done. If it’s a city that is experimenting and sharing new technologies that could be applied elsewhere, I think that’s great.

The purpose of such a city is never to be just a one off, not a place that people come to, it’s supposed to be leading by example and i think in that sense masdar has done a great job. it’s very creative and imaginative idea, if they can do this as one of the oil capitals of the world, that will be a tremendous, persuasive power.”

On the climate challenge:

“When you look at scale and challenge of climate change, it requires a re-engineering of our economies to get anywhere near the targets the world needs. Renewables have to be a major part of it, that’s why I think if you are not keen on nuclear, you have to put it on the agenda, otherwise with the massive expansion of growth, in China and India, how on earth are we going to reduce emissions by 50% by 2050, unless we dramatically change the way our economy works, both micro and macro.”

On whether politicians will act in current economic crisis:

“It’s a good point, but the answer to that is, as part of the investment that governments are going to make anyway, why not invest in the energy of the future. Secondly, let’s not forget a few months ago, the price of oil was very high.. now that the price of oil has come down, let’s not forget about reducing our dependence on carbon… There’s good short-term and long-term reasons for making the investment in reducing co2 emissions, as part of the present policy.

And one final reason, which is extremely important, people can debate the science , and I’m not an expert, but all I know is that all the major scientific advisors for the British govt, all of them, say climate change is a serious problem, and will have a devastating effect if it’s not abated. Now, if you are a responsible policy maker, you cannot ignore that. And yes its true, unfortunately that’s the problem with governments, that the problems can all come at once, but the fact that there’s an economic crisis doesn’t mean climate change has disappeared, so we got no option but to carry on dealing with it… and there are reasons for investors why it’s a sound idea to do it.”

by Jessica Cheam, in Abu Dhabi
FORMER British prime minister Tony Blair has called on the world to “summon the will and wit” to conclude a new deal on climate change, on the closing day of the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi.
Current economic woes should not be “an excuse for inaction, but a reason [...]

It’s been another tiring day. But quite a few insights gleaned from a number of the speakers.

My story on Masdar City was published today in The Straits Times , so was my blog on the summit, which can be found here.

Another one will be uploaded on the ST site tomorrow (Wednesday) - I can’t publish it here before they do.

More on the summit when I get the time to sit down and bang the words out.

by Jessica Cheam, The Straits Times, Jan 20 2009
Households unaffected by Nov incident, while 10% of firms briefly hit
ELECTRICITY prices shot through the roof briefly in November last year, after a severe thunderstorm caused a gas supply shutdown for eight hours.
The Straits Times understands that the disruption, which has now been confirmed by the Energy [...]

by Jessica Cheam, The Straits Times, Jan 20 2009
Talks under way for firms to be involved in futuristic Masdar City
ABU DHABI: Singapore’s expertise in water technology and energy could give local firms a head start for contracts to help build an ambitious eco-city in the United Arab Emirates.
Talks are already under way for Singapore firms [...]