And why not when Australia’s current submarines represent a significant potential contribution to any alliance underwater campaign and Australia’s own defences?
Although Australia's current six Collins-class submarines long had bad press, these boats have achieved high levels of operational involvement in exercises and operations in recent years. The numbers of qualified submariners have also increased, an important condition for any future expansion.
Their ability to deploy around the region had public confirmation in early 2020 when HMAS Dechaineux became the first foreign submarine to berth in Malaysia’s submarine base at Kota Kinabalu. Other deployments range even further afield.
Progressive modernisation of sensors and systems has already started, but even now, the Collins-class are among the most capable diesel-electric boats in the world.
They are extremely stealthy when running on battery power. They are armed with the latest variant of the US Mark 48 torpedo as well as the subharpoon anti-ship missile.
The cancelled French design would have been similarly fitted with American systems and weapons. Australia will want its nuclear submarines to share US technology in the same way.
But the much greater carrying capacity of large nuclear submarines such as the US Navy’s Virginia-class, their great speed and long endurance will make them a formidable addition to Australia’s ability to project power well away from Australian territory.
The new submarines also bring gains in military-to-military ties. Though the relationship between Australia’s submarine service and the United States Navy in the Pacific is already close, cooperation with Japan, another regional maritime power with 22 very capable conventional submarines, is likely to develop in the years ahead.
WASHINGTON: US Congress approved a stopgap funding Bill on Thursday (Sep 30) in a rare show of cross-party unity to avert a crippling government shutdown, as Democratic leaders struggle to overcome fierce infighting over President Joe Biden's domestic agenda.
Hours ahead of the midnight deadline, the House of Representatives voted to keep the lights on for another two months with a resolution that had already advanced comfortably from the Senate, with opposition Republicans supporting the ruling Democrats in both chambers.
"This is a good outcome, one I'm happy we are getting done," Chuck Schumer, the top Democratic senator, told colleagues on the chamber floor ahead of both votes, which were never in serious doubt.
"With so many things to take care of here in Washington, the last thing the American people need is for the government to grind to a halt."
The rare example of bipartisan cooperation comes with Democratic leaders trying to hammer out a deal over Biden's faltering US$3.5 trillion social spending package, which has no Republican support, and a bipartisan US$1 trillion infrastructure Bill.
Democratic progressives and moderates are entrenched in a war of words over the programmes, as Republicans enjoy the disarray from the sidelines with one eye on next year's midterm elections.
The Senate-passed bipartisan infrastructure Bill is due for a crucial vote in the House on Thursday that appears to have no chance of passing, with the Democrats' left wing in open revolt.
The progressives don't trust that centrists, who object to the size and scope of the larger spending package, will honour an agreement to pass the legislation once infrastructure is across the line.
West Virginia's Senator Joe Manchin inflamed tensions Wednesday with a statement arguing that trillions of dollars in extra spending was "fiscal insanity", solidifying opposition to the smaller infrastructure Bill.
He told reporters on Thursday that he was unwilling to go above US$1.5 trillion.
'WORKING TOWARDS WINNING'
Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi - who maintains she won't put out a Bill that doesn't have the votes - said she planned to forge ahead, while White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters: "We're working towards winning a vote tonight. We have several hours left in the day."
Despite the optimism, the necessary support remained unlikely to materialise, leaving Pelosi the option of putting the infrastructure package on ice and returning to it when the plan for the larger package is more fully formed.
This would not be a fatal blow to Biden's agenda, although the delay - likely until later in the fall - would be a frustration to White House aides who risk losing momentum after spending the week marshalling lawmakers.
"It is not some major cataclysm if there isn't a vote today ... This will get through. Mark my words," Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told CNN.
"The infrastructure Bill will be passed and a version of the (social spending) Bill will be as well."
A delay would also see the way clear for tempers to cool while Congress focuses on other enormous challenges, such as raising the debt limit.
The US is nerve-janglingly close to defaulting on its US$28 trillion debt, with 19 days to go until the Treasury Department exhausts its ability to obtain new loans.
No one in the leadership of either party has spelled out a clear way to avoid the crisis, which would tank the US economy and roil world markets.
Republicans are demanding that Democrats - whom they regard as profligate over-spenders - carry the political burden of running up the debt on their own as they control Congress and the White House.
But Democrats are against using the an arcane budget process known as "reconciliation" to pass the extension without Republican support. It would take three to four weeks, they argue, making it a non-starter.
The House passed a debt limit hike Wednesday on a party-line vote, but it will be dead on arrival in the Senate thanks to Republican leader Mitch McConnell's opposition.
SINGAPORE: Singapore reported 2,478 new COVID-19 cases as of noon on Thursday (Sep 30) and two more deaths due to complications from the virus.
The fatalities were identified as a 79-year-old Singapore permanent resident and an 87-year-old Singaporean.
Both women had not been vaccinated against COVID-19 and had various underlying medical conditions, said the Ministry of Health (MOH).
The Health Ministry did not provide information on what their underlying medical conditions were.
There have been 40 deaths in September alone, a new monthly record. Singapore's death toll now stands at 95.
Of the new cases, 2,474 were locally transmitted infections comprising 2,022 cases in the community and 452 dormitory residents.
Among these cases were 535 seniors above the age of 60, said MOH in its daily update released to media at 11pm.
There were also four imported cases, with three detected upon arrival in Singapore and one who developed the illness during the stay-home notice or isolation period.
This is the third day in a row Singapore has reported a record number of new infections, after 2,268 new cases were announced on Wednesday.
As of Thursday, Singapore has reported a total of 96,521 COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic.
HOSPITALISATIONS
There were 1,360 patients warded in hospital, most of them well and under observation, said MOH.
Among them were 204 cases of serious illness requiring oxygen supplementation, and 34 in critical condition in the intensive care unit (ICU).
Of those who fell very ill, 197 were seniors above the age of 60.
Over the last 28 days, the proportion of local cases who were asymptomatic or had mild symptoms was 98.1 per cent.
In that period, 443 cases required oxygen supplementation and 52 had been in the ICU.
Of these, 49.9 per cent were fully vaccinated and 50.1 per cent were unvaccinated or partially vaccinated.
ACTIVE CLUSTERS
MOH said it was currently "closely monitoring" 15 active large clusters, including seven added to the list on Thursday.
The latest large clusters comprise six migrant worker dormitories and a care home in Marsiling.
A total of 29 cases have been linked to the COVID-19 cluster at MWS Christalite Methodist Home.
One staff member and 28 residents were infected, MOH said.
The affected dormitories are Jurong Penjuru Dormitory 1, Jurong Penjuru Dormitory 2, ASPRI-Westlite Papan Dormitory, 9 Defu South Street 1 Dormitory, Cochrane Lodge 2 Dormitory and PPT Lodge 1B Dormitory.
The six dormitory clusters currently have a combined total of 475 cases.
MOH said all six clusters were caused by intra-dormitory transmission among residents, with "no evidence" of spread beyond the dormitory.
SINGAPORE - Covid-19 vaccinations will now become a simpler, less tedious process for nurses, with the help of a machine that can automatically fill injection syringes.
The first of its kind in Singapore, the Automated Vaccine Inoculation Dispenser (Avid) system weighs less than 25kg and is able to fill six vaccine syringes in less than five minutes.
This innovative solution uses a combination of robotic parts, smart sensors and digital technologies.
The time taken for a nurse to manually fill six syringes varies, and is affected by factors like how experienced and how tired the nurse is.
The system reduces the workload of the nurses and removes the need for them to manually fill the syringes, allowing them to focus on caring and communicating with the people receiving the vaccines. It also reduces the possibility of human error, especially if the nurse is fatigued.
The machine is currently used to fill the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine but can be customised to fill other vaccines.
Currently, Avid has been deployed at seven vaccination centres islandwide, with the first deployment at Senja-Cashew Community Club in early July. Thomson Medical operates the vaccination centre there.
Vaccination centres should be able to cater to at least 2,000 people a day, it was previously reported.
Avid was developed by researchers from the Agency for Science, Technology and Research's (A*Star) Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Centre and Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology, in collaboration with local systems integrator Sysmatic Global.
The idea was first mooted by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, who challenged the team earlier this year to develop a solution to the tedious process.
A prototype was built in early July, six weeks after the idea was conceptualised. Thereafter, a production machine, which is more compact and cost-effective and had eliminated the teething problems the team earlier faced, was then built.
Some challenges included the fact that the syringes were not precisely identical and there could be slight variations in needle angle. Should the needle angle deviate too much, the system will not fill that syringe.
The team at Sysmatic Global also did not necessarily have a background in biomedical sciences.
Mr Khoo Kiak Nee, director of Sysmatic Global, said: "The A*Star team was very helpful and provided us with a lot of information very quickly. These are the things that we learn from them as a small and medium-sized enterprise, something which we would not have been able to do by ourselves."
The Automated Vaccine Inoculation Dispenser is able to fill up to six syringes in less than five minutes. ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
If needed, new machines can be quickly assembled, taking only about three to four weeks to build from scratch.
Dr David Low, chief executive officer of the Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Centre, said: "After we developed the protoype, we worked with the Health Ministry, and Senja-Cashew CC was selected by (the ministry). We were very fortunate that the Thomson Medical team was very receptive."
He added: "One of the biggest challenges in rolling out automation is not the problem itself, but whether it will be accepted by the people, so we were quite worried at the start. Of course, there was initial concern from the nurses on issues such as whether the machine is safe, and we took all their feedback and incorporated it to make it user-friendly and cost-effective."
Nurses need only less than an hour to learn how to operate the machine, which uses a three-pin plug.
Similar prototypes have been built abroad, with one in Thailand costing around $100,000. The system built here is a few times cheaper.
The immediate focus for the team now is to make sure the seven Avid systems are stable, and to develop more systems if there is a call to expand deployment to other vaccination centres.
"That is our near-term focus - to make sure that Singapore's vaccination exercise is smooth, has sufficient capacity and our nurses are not overstressed, especially with booster shots coming up," Dr Low said.
"We would also not say no if there is an overseas request for Avid, and it will be good to help with the global vaccination exercise. That'll be our mid-term goal, if there is a call to export some of these machines."
Nurse Nellie Tan, 47, fixing a vial of vaccine into the Automated Vaccine Inoculation Dispenser. ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
How the system works:
1. The empty syringes and diluted Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is loaded into the machine.
Typically, nurses will have to extract individual doses of the vaccine (0.3ml for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine) using syringes. One vial contains six doses after dilution.
2. The nurse closes the door of the machine and presses the "start" button.
3. The Avid extracts the vaccine from the vial into the six syringes, tapping each syringe to get rid of the air bubbles trapped inside. It also automatically uncaps and recaps the syringes.
4. After the six syringes have been filled, the nurse removes them and does a visual check on each syringe to ensure it is correctly filled.
5. Pre-filled syringes can be prepared based on the number of bookings received that day.
6. There are two layers of visual checks. The first is done by the nurse operating the machine, and the second is done by the nurse at each station when a person is about to injected.
The 64-year-old also supports beefing up Japan's coast guard, in a nod to the move by China earlier this year to allow its coast guard to use force against foreign vessels in territory that it claims. Mr Kishida is also in favour of passing a parlimentary resolution to condemn China's treatment of the Uighur minority in Xinjiang.
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TOKYO – Elite conservative power brokers defeated public sentiment on Wednesday (Sept 29) as Japan’s former foreign minister Fumio Kishida was elected by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) as its choice for the next Prime Minister.
The 64-year-old will be sworn in next Monday when the Diet convenes to choose Mr Yoshihide Suga’s successor, in a vote that is merely procedural given the LDP coalition’s majority in both chambers of Parliament.
Mr Kishida’s most immediate task will be to unite a divided party with an eye on a general election that must be held by November, as four-year Lower House lawmaker terms are due to expire on Oct 21.
“The LDP leadership election is over. Let us all face the Lower House and (next year’s) Upper House elections as one,” Mr Kishida said in his acceptance speech.
“We must put together a stimulus package of tens of trillions of yen by the end of the year and beyond that important problems are piling up for our nation – a new capitalism and realising a free and open Indo-Pacific, as well as dealing with the low birth rate,” he added.
A moderate party stalwart who was a right-hand man to former prime minister Shinzo Abe, Mr Kishida is seen within the LDP’s conservative ranks as a safe pair of hands, but perceived by the public as boring.
The public’s favourite for the next PM is administrative reform and vaccination minister Taro Kono, 58, who lost to Mr Kishida over two rounds of voting on Wednesday.
Mr Kono is an English-speaking media darling whose maverick reformist credentials do not sit easy with the LDP’s conservative base, even as the public regards him highly on his ability to bash through bureaucratic red tape to get things done.
Both men were neck in neck in the first round, when two former internal affairs ministers were also in the fray. Of the 762 votes cast, Mr Kishida won 256 votes, narrowly edging out Mr Kono by one vote. Ms Sanae Takaichi, 60, a staunch conservative backed by Mr Abe, scored 188 votes while Ms Seiko Noda, 61, whose platform is children- and women-centric, earned 63 votes.
As none of the candidates scored more than half of the votes, the top two finishers faced off in a run-off where Mr Kishida scored 257 votes and Mr Kono, 170 votes, of the 427 ballots cast.
The breakdown of the party rank-and-file votes, however, clearly showed Mr Kono as the favourite in 39 out of Japan’s 47 prefectures. Mr Kono said in his concession remarks that he lost due to “his own lack of ability”, apologising to his supporters and vowing to support Mr Kishida with all his might and pledging to do his best where he is needed.
Political scientist Toru Yoshida of Doshisha University in Kyoto, told The Straits Times: “LDP lawmakers seem to have been quite relaxed to see that the party’s support has received a boost with Suga’s resignation.”
He added: “They might have felt more secure with Kishida, who opts for a more harmonised style of leadership, than with Kono, in their choice to keep the status quo.”
Mr Kishida, in a victory press conference, alluded to his weaknesses and vowed to listen to the voices of the people and win them over step by step. With Mr Abe and Mr Suga having faced flak for being out of touch, he repeatedly said that he will “sincerely explain” the government’s position to the public.
He added that he will continue Suga-era policies on climate change and digital transformation.
On the campaign trail, Mr Kishida also pledged to strengthen Japan’s security ties with its like-minded partners, while saying that Japan must boost its defence spending to cope with growing security threats including around the Taiwan Strait.
But in a move that is bound to upset China, Mr Kishida has vowed to appoint a special ministerial aide on human rights.
He has also pledged at least 30 trillion yen (S$365.4 billion) in stimulus spending to achieve what he has termed a “new form of capitalism” that embodies fairer wealth distribution, noting that Mr Abe’s signature Abenomics policies had catalysed social inequality.
Mr Kishida, whose grandfather and father were Lower House politicians representing their ancestral Hiroshima prefecture, is a ninth-term lawmaker who was first elected in 1993.
He is second time lucky, having competed in last year’s LDP leadership race to succeed Mr Abe, which he lost to Mr Suga.
He is known for his ability to hold his liquor. As foreign minister, he duelled with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov to see how long they could keep a diplomatic conversation going over copious amounts of Russian vodka and Japanese sake.
He has three sons with his wife Yuko. His eldest son Shotaro, 30, is following in his footsteps and is now working as his secretary.
SINGAPORE - Dividing premises into distinct zones for staff and residents and testing for all residents are some of the measures nursing homes have adopted to minimise the spread of Covid-19.
On Tuesday, MOH reported a total of 11 Covid-19 cases at Man Fatt Lam Elderly Joy Daycare Centre in Bedok, while Windsor Convalescent Home in Pasir Panjang reported 39 cases and Woodlands Care Home in Woodlands had 24 cases.
In response to queries from The Straits Times, the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) said nursing homes have stepped up the frequency of Covid-19 testing for their staff from once every two weeks to twice a week.
"Nursing homes have also begun testing for all residents from Sept 27 as an additional safeguard. Frequent testing will enable any infection to be detected earlier and managed," AIC added.
To limit the spread and impact of Covid-19 within nursing homes in the event of a positive case, nursing homes have divided their premises into distinct zones.
Residents and staff are assigned to a zone and must stay within that area, with no intermingling across zones.
While residents diagnosed with the infection are mostly taken to hospitals for treatment and close monitoring, AIC said that suitable residents may be admitted to MOH's community treatment facilities that provide "more comprehensive medical coverage than nursing homes, and can manage seniors who are stable or have mild symptoms".
Containment measures are also in place to prevent more staff and residents being infected, such as an incident response team, which comprises the nursing home, along with public health, laboratory and hospital partners. The team works to detect, ring-fence and care for Covid-19 cases.
If staff members become infected and are placed in quarantine, the Government said it would help bring in more manpower to ensure services are not disrupted in affected homes.
AIC said affected nursing homes can also tap the #StrongerThanBefore fund for their expenses.
"This fund helps community care providers defray additional operational costs incurred as a result of the heightened precautionary measures required. This includes the need for increased cleaning and disinfection of the premises," AIC said.
The Government has also been working closely with nursing homes to facilitate vaccination for seniors. Vaccinations are carried out by either the home's nursing team or by mobile vaccination teams.
As at Sept 24, 80 per cent of residents in nursing homes have received both doses of the vaccine, while 90 per cent have received the first dose, AIC said.
The agency supports about 14,000 residents across 80 nursing homes.
AIC urged all unvaccinated residents to take the jab as soon as possible as they are among the most vulnerable and the vaccine can increase their protection against severe illness.
"For residents and next of kin who are still uncertain about taking the vaccination or booster shot, nursing homes will continue to engage them on a regular basis, and to address any further questions they may have," the agency added.
TOKYO: Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) elected former foreign minister Fumio Kishida its new leader on Wednesday (Sep 29), setting him on course to become the next prime minister of the world's third-largest economy.
The soft-spoken centrist defeated popular vaccine chief Taro Kono in an unusually close race to succeed Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who decided to step down after just a year in office.
Kishida defeated Kono, a former defence and foreign minister, in a second-round run-off vote. Two female contenders, Sanae Takaichi, 60, and Seiko Noda, 61, dropped out after the first round.
The winner of the party poll is almost certain to become prime minister because of its majority in parliament's lower house.
With masks on, the LDP's parliamentary members, including Suga and former prime minister Shinzo Abe, gathered in the ballroom of a Tokyo hotel to cast their votes from 1pm (12pm, Singapore time). Their ballot box was closed about 30 minutes after they voted in lines.
Last year, LDP factions rallied around Suga after Abe quit following his nearly eight-year tenure, citing ill health. But Suga's ratings tanked over his handling of the pandemic, prompting him to announce his departure ahead of a general election that must be held by Nov 28.
While Kono had the highest numbers in public polls, Kishida has a bland image but a stronger support base from party members in parliament.
Hong Kong’s increase was done unintentionally, the agency said on Tuesday (Sept 28).
The city’s status has returned to Level 1, indicating a low risk, on the CDC’s website, a spokesman said. The level is the lowest of the agency's four-tiered travel health notice system.
Singapore remains at a Level 3 after its risk rating was raised this week by the CDC amid the largest outbreak the South-east Asian city-state has experienced since the pandemic began. Anyone who has not been vaccinated should avoid non-essential trips to Singapore given its “high level” of Covid-19, according to the agency.
“All travelers may be at risk for getting and spreading Covid variants,” the agency said when it increased its travel advice for Singapore by one notch to Level 3. The CDC’s highest travel health notice is Level 4.
The CDC’s decision to boost Hong Kong to Level 2 was immediately perplexing. The rating is given to locations with a “moderate level” of coronavirus. It includes a recommendation that non-essential travel to the area be avoided by anyone who is unvaccinated and has a higher risk of severe illness from Covid-19.
But while Singapore has reported almost daily caseloads of more than 1,000 since mid-September, Hong Kong has seen fewer than 10 cases almost every day since late August. There has not been a locally transmitted infection in Hong Kong since mid-August, data shows, and it has yet to experience an outbreak of the Delta variant.
The United States, by contrast, is in the midst of another Covid-19 resurgence as its vaccination rollout stalls. The country added almost 117,966 cases on Monday, and saw more than 2,000 deaths from the virus. The primary criteria for determining CDC travel health notices for destinations as large as Hong Kong and Singapore are the number of recent cases and the trajectory of new cases, according to the CDC’s website.
The threshold for Level 2, for example, is 50-99 new cases over the past 28 days, for every 100,000 local residents. The Level 3 threshold is 100-500, the website said.
Testing data is also assessed, according to the CDC, but there’s room for less-explicit factors to play a role, too. “Additional information such as hospitalizations and imported case counts may be considered when inconsistencies or other concerns are reported,” the CDC site said.
Mr Suga's successor will be chosen on Wednesday by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in an internal party election with four candidates vying for the post. A tight race is expected between vaccination minister Taro Kono and former foreign minister Fumio Kishida.
The Diet will convene next Monday to confirm the new PM, which will be a formality since the LDP's coalition has a majority in both houses of Parliament.
There were 1,723 cases nationwide on Tuesday - down from the peak of 25,868 infections on Aug 20. Tokyo, which is about three times larger than Singapore in size and population, had just 248 cases, down from a high of 5,773 on Aug 13.
Singapore's Covid-19 battle has rarely made headlines in Japan until recently, with domestic media citing the ongoing Delta-linked surge as a cautionary tale against letting the guard down even as vaccinations take off.
Mr Suga, likewise, on Tuesday urged vigilance given that the looming winter months may trigger a sixth wave with indoor heating causing poorer ventilation and as millions are expected to criss-cross the country for homecoming visits.
His year-long tenure as Prime Minister has been marred by plenty of criticism over seemingly never-ending Covid-19 curbs - Friday will only be the 29th day this year that Tokyo is not under an emergency or quasi-emergency - and his inability to communicate with the public.
But he leaves behind a country that is a lot more confident in coping with future waves of Covid-19.
"I know that there were many people who were critical about me, but we can say that these treatments and vaccines are effective, and we do truly see a light at the end of the tunnel," Mr Suga told a news conference on Tuesday.
"From now on we must assume that we will live with the virus, and make our society more resilient so as to balance daily activities and anti-virus measures."
Among other things, Mr Suga stressed that a framework is now in place to ensure that hospital beds can be secured more quickly in case of future Covid-19 waves.
He noted how up to 130,000 people have had to recuperate at home in the fifth wave, while he had taken flak for a controversial policy to hospitalise only the sickest Covid-19 patients. Many, however, died at home after their condition worsened.
Further, despite being slow off the blocks in its vaccination programme, Japan has not only already fully immunised 58 per cent of its population but is on track to double-dose all those who are keen by November.
Mr Suga said that the country has already secured 200 million doses of vaccines for booster shots - which will be more than necessary for its entire population - and will progressively start administering them by year-end.
Meanwhile, Japan has been beefing up its arsenal of Covid-19 treatments with a fifth drug, sotrovimab by Britain's GlaxoSmithKline and the US' Vir Biotechnology, approved on Monday.
On the same day, pharmacies were also allowed to begin sales of self-test antigen rapid test kits that Mr Suga hoped would quell worries of infection.
"The fight will now enter a new phase. Vaccine roll-out is accelerating. The risk of infection was high but we were able to contain this, while neutralising antibody treatments have helped to reduce the number of severe cases," Mr Suga said.
All this has given rise to an optimism that might finally be warranted among a public that has been quick to pass judgment on Mr Suga's missteps, and slow to give him credit for the successful Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics.
Much of Japan has been under a Covid-19 emergency for the most part of the year. Dr Shigeru Omi, who leads the government panel of experts, said that among other things, the "shock factor" of constant bad news including the soaring Covid-19 infection figures could have led to people exercising more awareness, resulting in the steep plunge in cases.
Tokyo had just 248 cases, down from a high of 5,773 on Aug 13, 2021. PHOTO: AFP
What will change from Friday?
Japan's Covid-19 state of emergency or the looser quasi-emergency that is ongoing in 27 prefectures will end as scheduled on Thursday. But Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said restrictions will only be "gradually eased" to prevent a rebound of a sixth Covid-19 wave, with measures subject to another review next month.
Eating out
Food and beverage establishments under emergency areas were requested to observe an all-day alcohol ban and an 8pm curfew on dine-in service. Many ignored these restrictions despite the risk of a fine of up to 300,000 yen (S$3,655).
From Friday, restaurants and bars whose Covid-19 countermeasures have been certified by prefecture authorities may serve alcohol until 8pm and open for dine-in service until 9pm.
Event size
From Friday, event capacity will be capped to either half the size of a venue or 10,000 people, whichever is lower. This has been eased from the maximum 5,000 people under the state of emergency. Events that do not involve loud cheering may proceed at full capacity.
Quarantine measures
Leisure travel is still barred, but from Friday, vaccinated residents or other visa holders will have their quarantine cut from 14 days to 10 days. Japan recognises only its approved vaccines, currently Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca.
LONDON: British drivers expressed frustration on Tuesday (Sep 28) as they hunted for hours or sat snarled in queues to fill their tanks after gas stations in major cities ran dry due to a trucker shortage that has prompted the government to put the army on standby.
Queues of drivers snaked back from those petrol stations that were still serving in major cities, though dozens of forecourts were closed with signs saying they had no petrol or diesel, Reuters reporters said.
A post-Brexit shortage of lorry drivers, exacerbated by a halt to truck-driving-licence testing during COVID-19 lockdowns, has sown chaos through supply chains, raising the spectre of shortages and price rises in the run up to Christmas.
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said a limited number of military tanker drivers had been put on a state of readiness to be deployed to deliver fuel if necessary.
"I can't believe it - it's crazy," said David Scade, a 33-year-old delivery driver who drove for hours searching for fuel in London.
"They keep saying there is no shortage but I suppose everyone is panicking now," said Scade who was filling up at a Shell gas station in London.
Fights broke out at some English petrol stations as drivers jostled for fuel. Medics said health workers should be given priority to fill their cars to keep the health service working.
An air of chaos has gripped the world's fifth largest economy in recent weeks as the shortage of truckers strained supply chains and a spike in European wholesale natural gas prices tipped energy companies into bankruptcy.
Retailers, truckers and logistics companies have warned that prices for everything from energy to Christmas gifts will have to rise.
CHRISTMAS SUPPLY?
British ministers, fuel companies and petrol stations say there are sufficient supplies of fuel but that the lack of truckers combined with panic buying has drained the system.
Such is the gravity of the situation that the British Medical Association has called for health workers to get priority access to fuel to ensure the health service can operate.
The demand for fuel has meant that 50 per cent to 90 per cent of pumps were dry in some areas of Britain, according the Petrol Retailers Association (PRA), which represents independent fuel retailers who account for 65 per cent of all the 8,380 UK forecourts.
The government on Sunday announced a plan to issue temporary visas for 5,000 foreign truck drivers. But some Polish hauliers said that offer was laughable and that few would be likely to take it up.
Hauliers, petrol stations and retailers say there are no quick fixes as the shortfall of truck drivers - estimated at about 100,000 - was so acute, and because transporting fuel demands additional training and licensing.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) urged the government to broaden the size and scope of the scheme to attract the truckers needed to keep Christmas supplies on track.
"To avoid disappointment for millions of households during the festive season we urge the government to rapidly extend this programme, both in size and scope, to HGV drivers in all sectors of the retail industry," Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the BRC, said.
"It will take many months before there are enough new British drivers to cover the shortfall," Opie said.
PARIS: Europe needs to stop being naive when it comes to defending its interests and build its own military capacity, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday (Sep 28) after Greece sealed a deal for French frigates worth about €3 billion (US$3.51 billion).
France was plunged into an unprecedented diplomatic crisis with the United States, Australia and Britain earlier this month over a trilateral nuclear security deal which sank a multi-billion dollar French-designed submarine contract with Canberra.
That has caused much soul searching in Paris over its traditional alliances. Speaking for the first time on the issue, Macron on Tuesday seized the opportunity to urge for more European autonomy as Washington increasingly reorientates its interests towards China and the Indo-Pacific.
"The Europeans must stop being naive. When we are under pressure from powers, which at times harden (their stance) , we need to react and show that we have the power and capacity to defend ourselves. Not escalating things, but protecting ourselves," Macron told a news conference with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
"This isn't an alternative to the United States alliance. It's not a substitution, but to take responsibility of the European pillar within NATO and draw the conclusions that we are asked to take care of our own protection."
Under Tuesday's agreement Athens agreed to buy three frigates with an option to buy a fourth for about €3 billion, a Greek government source told Reuters.
The accord, part of a broader strategic military and defence cooperation pact, comes after Athens had already ordered around 24 Dassault-made Rafale fighter jets this year, making it the first European Union country to buy the fighter jet.
"This will tie us for decades," Mitsotakis said. "This opens the door to the Europe of tomorrow that is strong and autonomous, capable of defending its interests."
When asked whether this deal risked raising tensions in the eastern Mediterranean, Macron said the accord did not target a country specifically, but Greece, as the outer border of the European Union needed to be protected.
"I don't get the feeling that in the summer of 2020 it was Greece that was bellicose in the eastern Mediterranean," Macron said, alluding to Turkish actions in the region.
"As Europeans it is our duty to show solidarity with members states. It is legitimate that we commit to equipping it so it can ensure its territorial integrity is respected and that we commit to cooperating to protect it in case of intrusions, attacks or aggressions," he said.
KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob on Monday (Sep 27) tabled the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) in parliament, with a pledge for Malaysia to “become a carbon neutral country by 2050 at the earliest” listed alongside other measures to accelerate green growth.
In his parliamentary speech, he said although Malaysia only contributes 0.7 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, the government would continue to fulfil its commitment to reduce its greenhouse gas emission intensity of GDP by 45 per cent by 2030.
This would be based on the emission intensity of GDP in 2005, in line with the Paris Agreement in 2015. Greenhouse gas intensity is the ratio of a country’s emission to the economic value it generates.
“Today I am giving my commitment that Malaysia will become a carbon neutral country by 2050 at the earliest,” Mr Ismail Sabri said on Monday.
"Other details for carbon reduction measures will be announced after the strategic long-term review of the low-carbon development strategies has been finalised by the end of 2022,” he added.
Carbon neutrality means that any carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere is balanced by an equivalent amount being removed from it.
On paper, Malaysia’s carbon neutrality pledge appears to be the most ambitious in Southeast Asia.
Indonesia has pledged to achieve net zero emissions by 2060, while Thailand said that it is targeting to achieve carbon neutrality by 2065 to 2070.
Meanwhile, Singapore has announced that it would halve its 2030 peak greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and to achieve net zero emissions "as soon as viable" in the second half of the century.
In tandem with Malaysia’s 2050 carbon neutrality aim, various policies to accelerate green growth would be put in place. Here are the key announcements:
NO NEW COAL POWER PLANTS
The prime minister pledged that the government would no longer build new coal-fired power plants.
He added that a comprehensive National Energy Policy would soon be introduced to provide a long-term strategic direction to support the aspirations of a carbon neutral nation.
"Cleaner electricity generation will be implemented through the operation of several gas power plants in Peninsular Malaysia to replace coal-fired power plants,” he said.
A law related to energy efficiency and conservation would be introduced to regulate energy consumption by high-intensity consumers in the industrial and commercial sectors, Mr Ismail Sabri said.
Renewable energy generation from solar, biomass and biogas is targeted to increase to 31 per cent of the total installed capacity in the country by 2025, he said.
Additionally, a total of 120 cities are expected to achieve sustainable city status by 2025.
CARBON PRICING
Mr Ismail Sabri said that economic instruments such as carbon pricing and carbon tax would be implemented. He did not go into the details.
Earlier this month, Environment Minister Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man was quoted as saying by Bernama that a Domestic Emissions Trading Scheme (DETS) was being developed by the Environment and Water Ministry.
He said that the development of the trading scheme would be carried out jointly with the Finance Ministry, Bursa Malaysia and other stakeholders.
The minister said the government planned to implement DETS in phases and a single business platform would be developed.
State government authorities and the private sector could leverage DETS to execute carbon credit transactions at the domestic level. In comparison, trading in the international market would entail a high cost of transaction and more stringent technical requirements, he said, according to the Bernama report.
Emissions trading, as set out in Article 17 of the Kyoto Protocol, allows countries that have emission units to spare - emissions permitted to them but not utilised - to sell this excess capacity to countries that are over their targets.
Among other carbon pricing approaches, a tax may also be levied on greenhouse gas emissions in order to encourage polluters to reduce the combustion of fossil fuels.
In the case of Singapore for instance, it has imposed a carbon tax rate of S$5 per tonne of greenhouse gas emissions from 2019 to 2023. This is set to be increased in the future.
WASHINGTON (BLOOMBERG) - The United States on Monday (Sept 27) said trips to Singapore and Hong Kong have become more dangerous because of the coronavirus, raising its travel health advice for the Asian financial hubs by one level.
The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said anyone who has not been vaccinated should avoid non-essential trips to Singapore, citing a "high level" of Covid-19.
"All travellers may be at risk for getting and spreading Covid-19 variants," the CDC said, increasing its travel advice for Singapore by one notch to level 3.
Other countries currently at level 3 include Australia, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines.
The CDC also raised its advice to Hong Kong one rung to level 2, citing a "moderate level" of coronavirus. The CDC said unvaccinated travellers with a higher risk of severe illness from Covid-19 should avoid non-essential travel to Hong Kong. The CDC's highest travel health notice is level 4.
The city has seen fewer than 10 cases a day since late August, and there has not been a locally transmitted infection in Hong Kong since mid-August, data show. The hub has also yet to experience an outbreak of the Delta variant.
The US, by contrast, is in the midst of another Covid-19 resurgence, as its vaccination roll-out stalls. The country added over 180,000 new cases on Friday, and saw more than 2,700 deaths from the virus.
Last month, Thailand said it was seeking to borrow 150,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from Bhutan amid a supply shortage in the country.
On Monday, Thailand reported 10,288 new COVID-19 infections and 101 more deaths.
Thai authorities on Monday also announced that it was preparing to downscale its COVID-19 quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated international tourists and reopen the country in four phases, starting from October.
Other countries have received contributions from Singapore over the last few months.
On Sunday, MFA said Singapore has contributed an "assistance package" to Nepal to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
The package consists of medical supplies, including diagnostic tests, masks, polyethylene aprons, thermometers, and a polymerase chain reaction machine.
Malaysia and Brunei are also among other countries to which Singapore has contributed COVID-19 vaccines.
Singapore last month announced that it will send 500,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to Australia as part of a "dose sharing" agreement, with the same amount to be returned in December.
Besides adjusting the quarantine requirements, Thailand has also laid out a plan to reopen to international tourism in four phases.
In each stage, different provinces will be added to the so-called Blue Zone, where travel is not restricted and various social activities as well as gatherings of no more than 500 people are allowed.
The initial pilot phase is from Oct 1 to Oct 31. It covers Phuket and parts of Krabi, Phang Nga and Surat Thani such as the popular islands of Phi Phi, Samui and Pha-ngan.
While parts of these provinces have reopened to international travellers since July, others still need to speed up their vaccination programmes and ensure the COVID-19 situation remains under control for the full reopening next month.
The second phase is from Nov 1 to Nov 30. It covers ten provinces where income from international visitors usually makes up at least 15 per cent of their tourism revenue. They include Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Chonburi, among others.
CCSA's announcement confirmed a change of plan for the Thai capital, where reopening to international tourism was initially scheduled for mid-October.
“We are confident that on Oct 15, Bangkok will be able to reopen to international tourists,” said Tourism and Sports Minister Pipat Ratchakitprakan on Sep 15 after a discussion with Bangkok governor Aswin Kwanmuang.
At least 70 per cent of Bangkok residents were expected to have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by that time. However, based on CCSA’s Monday announcement, its reopening has been postponed to November.
The third phase is from Dec 1 to Dec 31 and the last phase takes effect from January 2022 onwards.
BEIJING: China will reduce the number of abortions performed for "non-medical purposes", the country's Cabinet said in new guidelines issued on Monday (Sep 27), that it said were aimed at improving women's reproductive health.
China has already enacted strict measures aimed at preventing sex-selective abortions, and health authorities also warned in 2018 that the use of abortion to end unwanted pregnancies was harmful to women's bodies and risks causing infertility.
The State Council said the new guidelines would aim to improve women's overall access to pre-pregnancy health care services.
Think-tanks and policy researchers have identified China's declining birth rate as a major social policy challenge in the coming decades.
Although China remains the world's most populous nation, the latest census showed population growth from 2011 to 2020 was the slowest since the 1950s, and was expected to slow even more within a few years.
After years of trying to limit population growth, Beijing is now promising new policies aimed at encouraging families to have more children.
It said in June that it would now allow all couples to have three children instead of two. New policies designed to reduce the financial burden of raising children are also being introduced.
BERLIN - With a strong centre and a weakening of the political fringes, Germans decided not to abandon the path of stability in Sunday's (Sept 26) national elections.
BERLIN: Germany's Social Democrats narrowly won Sunday's (Sep 26) national election, projected results showed, and claimed a "clear mandate" to lead a government for the first time since 2005 and to end 16 years of conservative-led rule under Angela Merkel.
The centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) were on track for 26 per cent of the vote, ahead of 24.5 per cent for Merkel's CDU/CSU conservative bloc, projections for broadcaster ZDF showed, but both groups believed they could lead the next government.
With neither major bloc commanding a majority, and both reluctant to repeat their awkward "grand coalition" of the past four years, the most likely outcome is a three-way alliance led by either the Social Democrats or Merkel's conservatives.
Agreeing a new coalition could take months, and will likely involve the smaller Greens and liberal Free Democrats (FDP).
"We are ahead in all the surveys now," the Social Democrats' chancellor candidate, Olaf Scholz, said in a round table discussion with other candidates after the vote.
"It is an encouraging message and a clear mandate to make sure that we get a good, pragmatic government for Germany," he added after earlier addressing jubilant SPD supporters.
The SPD's rise heralds a swing left for Germany and marks a remarkable comeback for the party, which has recovered some 10 points in support in just three months to improve on its 20.5 per cent result in the 2017 national election.
Scholz, 63, would become the fourth post-war SPD chancellor after Willy Brandt, Helmut Schmidt and Gerhard Schroeder. Finance minister in Merkel's cabinet, he is a former mayor of Hamburg.
Scholz's conservative rival Armin Laschet, signalled his bloc was not ready yet to concede, though his supporters were subdued.
"It hasn't always been the first-placed party that provided the chancellor," Laschet, 60, told the round table. "I want a government where every partner is involved, where everyone is visible - not one where only the chancellor gets to shine," he said in an early attempt to woo smaller parties.
Schmidt ruled in the late 1970s and early 1980s in coalition with the FDP even though his Social Democrats had fewer parliamentary seats than the conservative bloc.
COALITION FOR CHRISTMAS?
Attention will now shift to informal discussions followed by more formal coalition negotiations, which could take months, leaving Merkel in charge in a caretaker role.
Scholz and Laschet both said they would aim to strike a coalition deal before Christmas.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Garneau received the two Canadians on Saturday when they arrived in Calgary, Alberta, after spending more than 1,000 days in solitary confinement.
Spavor was accused of supplying photographs of military equipment to Kovrig and sentenced in August to 11 years in jail. Kovrig had been awaiting sentencing.
Trudeau, who won a third term last Monday after a tight election race, had vowed to improve ties with China after becoming prime minister in 2015, building on his father's success in establishing diplomatic ties with China in 1970.
But even before Meng's arrest, Canada's repeated questioning of China's human rights positions had irked Beijing, and the two countries have failed to come closer.
China has always denied any link between Meng's extradition case and the detention of the two Canadians, but Garneau said that "the immediate return of the two Michaels linked" it to Meng's case in a "very direct manner".
Garneau said he had heard about the deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) several weeks ago, which opened the door to the return of the two men.
Canadian Ambassador to the United States Kirsten Hillman denied Washington had made the release of Kovrig and Spavor a condition for the resolution of the charges against Meng.
"Absolutely not. The DPA and the resolution of the charges against Ms Meng was a completely independent process, and it was proceeding as it did," Hillman told Canadian broadcaster CTV.
Garneau also said he did not think the timing of the men's return had anything to do with that of the federal election.
BERLIN (REUTERS) - Germany’s Social Democrats narrowly won Sunday’s national election, projected results showed, and claimed a “clear mandate” to lead a government for the first time since 2005 and to end 16 years of conservative-led rule under Angela Merkel.
The centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) were on track for 26 per cent of the vote, ahead of 24.5 per cent for Merkel’s CDU/CSU conservative bloc, projections for broadcaster ARD showed, but both groups believed they could lead the next government.
With neither major bloc commanding a majority, and both reluctant to repeat their awkward “grand coalition” of the past four years, the most likely outcome is a three-way alliance led by either the Social Democrats or Merkel’s conservatives.
Agreeing a new coalition could take months, and will likely involve the smaller Greens and liberal Free Democrats (FDP).
“We are ahead in all the surveys now,” the Social Democrats’ chancellor candidate, Olaf Scholz, said in a round table discussion with other candidates after the vote.
“It is an encouraging message and a clear mandate to make sure that we get a good, pragmatic government for Germany,” he added after earlier addressing jubilant SPD supporters.
German Chancellor candidates are seen ahead of a televised discussion in Berlin on Sept 26, 2021. PHOTOS: AFP, EPA-EFE
The SPD’s rise heralds a swing left for Germany and marks a remarkable comeback for the party, which has recovered some 10 points in support in just three months to improve on its 20.5 per cent result in the 2017 national election.
Scholz, 63, would become the fourth post-war SPD chancellor after Willy Brandt, Helmut Schmidt and Gerhard Schroeder. Finance minister in Merkel’s cabinet, he is a former mayor of Hamburg.
Scholz’s conservative rival Armin Laschet, signalled his bloc was not ready yet to concede, though his supporters were subdued.
“It hasn’t always been the first-placed party that provided the chancellor,” Laschet, 60, told the round table. “I want a government where every partner is involved, where everyone is visible – not one where only the chancellor gets to shine,” he said in an early attempt to woo smaller parties.
Schmidt ruled in the late 1970s and early 1980s in coalition with the FDP even though his Social Democrats had fewer parliamentary seats than the conservative bloc.
Era-changing election
Attention will now shift to informal discussions followed by more formal coalition negotiations, which could take months, leaving Merkel in charge in a caretaker role.
Scholz and Laschet both said they would aim to strike a coalition deal before Christmas.
Merkel plans to step down after the election, making the vote an era-changing event to set the future course of Europe’s largest economy.
She has stood large on the European stage almost since taking office in 2005 – when George W. Bush was US president, Jacques Chirac in the Elysee Palace in Paris and Tony Blair British prime minister.
“This has been a once-in-generation election,” said senior Greens lawmaker Katrin Goering-Eckardt. After a domestic-focused election campaign, Berlin’s allies in Europe and beyond may have to wait for months before they can see whether the new German government is ready to engage on foreign issues to the extent they would like.
A row between Washington and Paris over a deal for Australia to buy US instead of French submarines has put Germany in an awkward spot between allies, but also gives Berlin the chance to help heal relations and rethink their common stance on China.
On hearing that the SPD were slightly ahead in polls, US President Joe Biden told reporters in Washington: “I’ll be darned... They’re solid.”
On economic policy, French President Emmanuel Macron is eager to forge a common European fiscal policy, which the Greens support but the CDU/CSU and FDP reject. The Greens also want “a massive expansion offensive for renewables".
“Germany will end up with a rather weak chancellor who will struggle to get behind any kind of ambitious fiscal reform at the EU level,” said Naz Masraff at political risk consultancy Eurasia.
Whatever coalition formation ends up in power, Germany’s friends can at least take heart from an election campaign in which moderate centrism prevailed, and the populism that has taken hold in other European countries failed to break through.
The projected results for ARD showed the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) on track for 10.5 per cent, worse than four years ago when they stormed into the national parliament with 12.6 per cent of the vote, and all mainstream groupings have ruled out a coalition with the party.
Chinese President Xi Jinping warned that relations between Beijing and Taipei were "grim" on Sunday, urging the island's main opposition party to help seek "unification of the country."
China views self-ruled democratic Taiwan as part of its territory and vows to retake it one day, by force if necessary.
Xi has become the most bellicose leader since Mao Zedong, describing the seizure of the island as "inevitable."
In a congratulatory letter to Eric Chu -- the newly elected leader of the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang (KMT) party -- Xi said the Chinese Communist Party and the KMT should collaborate under a "shared political basis."
"In the past our two parties insisted on '1992 consensus' and opposing 'Taiwan independence' ... to promote peaceful developments in cross- strait relations," Xi said in the letter released by the KMT.
"At present the situation in the Taiwan Strait is complex and grim," he said, urging the parties to jointly seek peace and "the unification of the country."
Ties between Taiwan and China improved markedly under former president Ma Ying-jeou of the KMT between 2008 and 2016, culminating with a landmark meeting between Xi and him in Singapore in 2015.
The KMT has side-stepped frictions with China by accepting the so-called 1992 consensus -- a tacit agreement that there is only "one China" without specifying whether Beijing or Taipei is its rightful representative.
In response, Chu said in a letter to Xi that the two sides should "seek common ground and respect their differences" to promote peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
Beijing has stepped up military, diplomatic and economic pressure on Taiwan since the 2016 election of President Tsai Ing-wen, who views the island as a sovereign nation and not part of "one China."
Last year, Chinese military jets made a record 380 incursions into Taiwan's defence zone, with some analysts warning that tensions between the two sides were at their highest since the mid-1990s.
On Thursday, China flew 24 warplanes including two nuclear-capable bombers into Taiwan's air defence zone, the biggest incursion in weeks, after voicing its opposition to Taipei joining a major trans-Pacific trade deal.
TAIPEI (REUTERS) - The situation in the Taiwan Strait is "complex and grim", Chinese President Xi Jinping wrote in a congratulatory letter on Sunday (Sept 26) to the newly elected leader of Taiwan's main opposition party, who has pledged to renew talks with Beijing.
Taiwan's Kuomintang (KMT) elected as their leader on Saturday former New Taipei City mayor Eric Chu, who said he would rekindle stalled high-level contacts with China's ruling Communist Party.
China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has stepped up military and political pressure to force the democratically ruled island to accept Chinese sovereignty, even though most Taiwanese have shown no interest in being governed by Beijing.
In Mr Xi's letter, a copy of which was released by the KMT, he said both parties had had "good interactions" based on their joint opposition to Taiwan independence.
"At present, the situation in the Taiwan Strait is complex and grim. All the sons and daughters of the Chinese nation must work together with one heart and go forward together," wrote Mr Xi, who is also head of the Communist Party.
He expressed hope that both parties could cooperate on "seeking peace in the Taiwan Strait, seeking national reunification and seeking national revitalisation".
Mr Chu, who badly lost the 2016 presidential election to current President Tsai Ing-wen, responded to Mr Xi that people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait were "all the children of the Yellow Emperor" - in other words, all Han Chinese.
Mr Chu blamed Tsai's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for tensions with Beijing after pursuing anti-China policies.
Mr Chu, who met Mr Xi in China in 2015, said he hoped to "seek common ground and respect differences, increase mutual trust and geniality, strengthen exchanges and cooperation so as to allow the continued peaceful development of cross-strait relations".
Under outgoing KMT leader Johnny Chiang's 17-month tenure, high-level contacts with China stalled amid military tensions and suspicion in Beijing the party was not sufficiently committed to the idea Taiwan was part of "one China".
As well as losing the 2016 polls, the KMT were trounced in elections last year after failing to shake DPP accusations they were Beijing's lackeys.
China refuses to talk to Ms Tsai, calling her a separatist.
She says Taiwan is already an independent country called the Republic of China, the island's formal name, and that only Taiwan's people have the right to decide their own future.
The lack of government-mandated climate education has opened the door to education entrepreneurs to fill a gap.
The founders of Earth Warriors, a global early childhood education curriculum, noticed a lack of climate education content available to any children under the age of 11.
Keya Lamba and Shweta Bahri have designed materials suitable for those aged between 3 and 7, which they hope will be adopted by schools around the world. Their courses have been peer reviewed and supported by climate scientists.
“Our whole mission and belief is that if you build these sustainable habits at a young age, then being a conscious citizen that cares about the planet comes as naturally to these kids as brushing their teeth,” Lamba said.
“There’s a lot of evidence that shows this is true. It can also nudge the adults around them as well,” she said.
"We try to show that kids are the ones demanding and making the changes. Climate change education has to be everywhere at every age group. It’s so critical and it’s surprising that it’s not taken very seriously or urgently.”
They aim to challenge assumptions that learning about climate change is too complex or daunting for children, and eventually advocate for governments to include this type of material themselves.
From their research, they say there is no formal inclusion of climate education in Southeast or South Asia. But they first plan to deliberately target schools with higher fees, like those that use international curriculums.
“We made a very conscious decision. Research shows that it’s people from higher income backgrounds that are contributing a lot more to climate change than people from lower income backgrounds,” Bahri said.
Children are already highly exposed to the impacts of climate change. The recently released Children’s Climate Risk Index from UNICEF found that more than 99 per cent of children are exposed to at least one major climate and environmental hazard, shock or stress, “creating a child’s rights crisis”.
Climate impacts such as flooding, cyclones, water scarcity, disease and air pollution overlap and compound in many parts of the world. Children in those often-poor parts of the world face even more future risks.
It is a further reason why experts want to accelerate the ability of young people to contribute to solutions and feel empowered to tackle these inherited issues.
“There’s a growing recognition that we owe something to them, that they have a voice and a seat at the table,” Rajakumar of Climate Governance Malaysia said.
“And there’s no silver bullet. There’s no dashboard, no roadmap, so why not invite the children to the table as well?”
