Retail in Asia
Source : Redd
The core consumer price index in Japan is predicted to rise 2.1 percent from last May, marking the second month in a row that it has risen above the central bank’s 2 percent inflation target. “Although there was a lull in the growth of energy costs due to an expansion of subsidies and a peaking out of recent fuel prices gains, increases in food product prices likely drove consumer prices higher,” reported analysts from Mizuho Research & Technologies. In April, the nationwide core consumer price index (CPI),  excluding volatile fresh food expenses but including energy costs, increased by 2.1 percent. This is the first time in seven years that it exceeded the Bank of Japan’s objective. Consumer inflation is expected to remain around 2 percent in the next few months, according to analysts. The Bank of Janpan (BOJ) held interest rates ultra-low last week, sticking to its guidance to keep borrowing costs “present or lower,” putting it even farther at odds with other major central banks, who are aggressively tightening policy to combat growing inflation. Analysts estimate business mood for big manufacturers to be somewhat less upbeat in the BOJ’s tankan quarterly survey results. According to a poll of 16 economists, the headline index is predicted to fall to plus 13 in June from plus 14 three months earlier, owing to supply delays caused in part by China’s tight COVID-19 lockdowns. However, the mood among large non-manufacturers is predicted to improve to plus 14 from plus 9, indicating that service-sector businesses are overcoming the effects of the coronavirus outbreak. Analysts predict the index for big manufacturers to return to plus 14 in the next three months, while the index for big non-manufacturers is expected to rise to plus 17.

Consumer inflation in Japan is expected to be higher in May

I write about the global energy business. New!Follow this author to improve your content experience. Got it! JANSCHWALDE, GERMANY - NOVEMBER 24: A loan wind turbine spins as exhaust plumes from cooling towers ... [+] at the Jaenschwalde lignite coal-fired power station, which is owned by Vatenfall, on November 24, 2009 in Janschwalde, Germany. The CO2 emission will be one top of the agenda and will be discussed at the summit in December in Copenhagen. (Photo by Carsten Koall/Getty Images)
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to Delta Airlines are pledging to become net-zero — to offset their carbon emissions using energy efficiency, renewable energy, or carbon credits. But the market for carbon credits is varied, and not all credits are alike. What’s a company to do? If the Paris climate agreement has adopted the credits, they are safe for businesses to buy. That implies that they have been scrutinized and verified. Critically, it ensures that the money will be distributed to the rainforest nations preserving trees. Companies want to avoid purchasing proprietary credits that do not fully disclose how they dole out the money. Voluntary markets, generally, lack that oversight, tarnishing their image. Rainforest nations may end up getting pennies on the dollar. “If they are voluntary, nothing has been agreed to by the governments in need of the money,” says Federica Bietta, managing director of the Coalition for Rainforest Nations , in an interview. “They are trying to push these into the Paris agreement, but they are often unverified and substandard.”
Her organization has developed a verifiable credit called ’Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation,’ or REDD+ . It rewards a country for saving its forests and is a nature-based solution. The Paris agreement adopted that financial mechanism in 2015. Governments account for their forest lands and how they are monitored — an evaluation of the whole country. In contrast, voluntary credits are tied to specific projects. The difference is relevant. Natural Capital Partners released its third annual study last September that assesses what the Fortune 500 companies are doing to manage their climate risks. It says that 38% of them have delivered a significant climate milestone or are publicly committed to doing so by 2030, up by eight percentage points from 2020. MORE FOR YOU
Generally, companies cannot achieve carbon neutrality by generating all of their electricity using renewable energy onsite or by increasing their energy efficiency strategies. They have to enter into power-purchase agreements. And they have to buy carbon credits — things that can offset their emissions. For example, they buy credits from a rainforest nation agreeing to save their trees or refurbish their land. The challenge with replanting is that there is no guarantee anyone is watching to ensure success. If the biodiversity is lost, the animals don’t come back. “Companies will coalesce around the Paris agreement that focuses on maintaining the forests,” says Bietta. “They can’t achieve net-zero emissions with just renewables. They will be looking for the right products: Redd+ is a critically important part of the climate solution. The private sector needs to be educated.”
An Honest Exchange
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The rainforest nations have put a lot of effort into slowing their rate of deforestation. The trees suck CO2 out of the atmosphere. If the trees live on, they will continue to do that. It is nature’s solution and the cheapest remedy to fight climate change — even more affordable than renewables. Since 2009, the developed world has promised financing to make those trees worth more alive than dead or used for timber or farming. But that has not materialized. Consider Liberia in West Africa, part of the Upper Guinea Forest that covers 10 nations; Liberia represents 43% of that. Many competing interests want access to those forests — from loggers to farmers. The people need jobs, and they need money to eat. Wilson Tarpeh, executive director of Liberia’s Environmental Protection Agency, told this writer in Bonn, Germany, at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change meeting in June that the country has received a grant from Norway — “but not a penny from anyone else.”
“Liberia is a rainforest nation that makes it possible for most of the world to breathe,” adds Tarpeh. “We want to keep it. But we need assistance. The private sector is needed.” Liberia endorses REDD+ carbon credits — not voluntary credits that are difficult to verify. Voluntary credit exchanges now achieve the vast majority of carbon offsets. Rather than fight that, the Americans and the British chose last November to let voluntary credits become part of the Paris agreement — if they are audited. But those evaluations are done by private groups — not parties of the Paris climate agreement, yet. How does trading work? Governments set emissions limits, and companies that exceed them can sell credits to those unable to do so. As the boundaries become more stringent, CO2 levels fall. But such trading platforms only work when financial transparency and enforcement mechanisms exist. Sometimes, companies buy credits because it makes for good public relations. In other circumstances, they don’t understand the differences. Rigorous Process
Paula Swedeen, a forest policy specialist for the Washington Environmental Council, walks through ... [+] forest land adjacent to Mount Rainier National Park on Monday, Nov. 23, 2015, near Ashford, Wash. The land is part of a new project of 520 acres on private timberland that allows the private nonprofit Nisqually Land Trust to sell so-called "carbon credits" to individuals and companies - including Microsoft Corp. - who are hoping to offset their carbon footprints. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
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Kevin Conrad, executive director of the rainforest coalition, points to Bolivia, where nongovernmental organizations gave communities money to save their forests. While they prevented the deforestation of hillsides, they still cut down trees on the plains. The carbon impact ultimately trumped the carbon credit, allowing the communities to sell the wood and get paid to preserve some trees. “Under REDD+, there is a rigorous process: a country must prove it has protected its rainforest, and it has made carbon reductions before credits can be sold,” adds Consuela Paloeng, National Forest Monitoring System Program manager and Reporting specialist from Suriname, who spoke to this writer in Bonn. “Compare this to the voluntary market that promises this, that, and the other to landowners.”
Gold mining is the South American country’s major economic driver. And it could conflict with forest management. But under REDD+ there is a national strategy that defines land use — and limits the mining to certain areas. Most of the land is maintained and used for tourism. In fact, 93% of the country is rainforest, and the country has one of the lowest deforestation rates in the world. The Dominican Republic has the same economic and environmental pressures. The island nation is suffering from climate change — weather events affecting agriculture, tourism, and housing. Nathalie Flores, director for climate change adaption and mitigation at the ministry of environment and natural resources, told this writer that rainforest preservation is the “only way we can reverse climate change and protect our economy so that people can thrive. But we need compensation to protect the environment.”
Enter the corporate world, which is increasingly vowing to achieve net-zero goals: it must understand that the market for carbon credits is diverse. If national governments issue the credits, the process is transparent, and the trees get saved. Importantly, the people get the money. If they are privately negotiated, those assurances do not exist. Bloomberg filed a report that says that companies are sometimes paying to preserve trees that have already been ‘saved.’ It says that Delta, Alphabet, and Disney are among the biggest buyers of carbon credits. Those companies purchased 7.8 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent, 3.5 million, and 2.5 million, respectively, between 2017 and 2019. In some cases, they buy from environmental groups like the Nature Conservancy that make a lot of money off them. If a company can spend millions of dollars buying carbon credits, it can afford to do the due diligence to ensure that the credits they buy have an impact. Now businesses can buy directly from the source — the government trying to protect the rainforest. With that, businesses should ask whether the credits are Paris compliant and if the money goes to saving the entire rainforests — not enriching certain parties. Also by this Author:

Not All Carbon Credits Are Created Equal. Here’s What Companies Must Know

Taking place over 5-7th July, ESI Singapore is Esports Insider's first in-person event in the Asia Pacific region, bringing together industry experts and decision makers, as well as brands, media, investors and more. - The event signifies a joint venture from ESI and Redd+E, with both companies committing to a closer and wider long term collaboration for esports and gaming business and activities in the region
- ESI Singapore will see 200+ attendees, 50+ speakers and two jam-packed days of in-person learning, discussion, networking and entertainment
- There will be a focus on Web3 applications in esports, the wider commercial challenges and opportunities, investment, esports ecosystem deep dives and more
- The Clutch, ESI's prestigious pitch investment competition, returns in a physical format
- Tickets are available now with an Early bird promotion until 27th May
Singapore, May 30, 2022 - (ACN Newswire) - Leading global B2B esports and media company, Esports Insider (ESI), is excited to announce its second Major flagship event of the year, ESI Singapore taking place on 5-7th July. Alongside the announcement ESI is delighted to unveil a long term commitment with Redd+E, resulting in the event becoming an exciting joint venture. ESI Singapore will connect some of the largest global brands with decision makers and industry leaders in and around the esports industry. Taking place at Chijmes, a historic 160-year-old convent in the heart of Singapore's Civic & Cultural District, the event is set to showcase ESI's established blend of top notch networking, education and content to the Lion City for the very first time. Confirmed speakers include individuals from the likes of MOONTON, AFC Ajax, ESL Gaming and more. The in-person event promises to combine the best of traditional esports conferences with exciting new ways to network and entertain. There'll also be the chance to connect with well-known global brands and esports stakeholders, ranging from teams and tournament operators to game developers, publishers and everyone in between through unrivalled networking opportunities. Alongside ESI Singapore, Esports Insider's pitch investment competition The Clutch ( https://esportsinsider.com/the-clutch/ ), will also make its return in a physical format and will be integrated into the esports business event. With applications now open (bit.ly/3z6hMtt), esports focused startups can enter to take part in this prestigious competition taking place on July 7th. Redd+E, an esports-focused subsidiary of Singapore-based marketing agency Reddentes Sports, will work alongside ESI to deliver the first event of its kind and stature in the APAC region. Yip Ren Kai, Co-Founder and Managing Director at Redd+E, said, "Esports in the Asia Pacific region is creating momentum, expanding influence and rising in economic value. To host a conference, especially to develop an in-depth understanding of the industry is what we are hoping to kick-start and value-add. So we are really excited to partner with Esports Insider to bring their signature esports conference to the region for the very first time, and to showcase the opportunities esports can bring to the market." ESI Singapore will feature 50+ speakers, over 200 attendees, a collective of panels, keynotes and brand showcases, which combine to create two days of in-depth discussions covering key topics at the heart of esports. The themes covered at ESI Singapore on 6-7th July will be:-
Day One:
Day Two:
- A look into how SEA can welcome international esports entities into its space
ESI and Redd+E will also reveal a more detailed agenda for ESI Singapore soon. Sam Cooke, Managing Director and Co-Founder at Esports Insider, said, "As we look to bolster our events business, Singapore was a no-brainer when it came to deciding where to expand to next. Southeast Asia is a hotspot for esports. So, we can't wait to provide panels and networking opportunities at ESI Singapore that help showcase this ever growing sector. Having Redd+E on board also provides a great opportunity for us to deliver the best event we can do in APAC. I can't wait to see some of you there!" Follow Esports Insider on Twitter ( https://twitter.com/esportsinsider ) for the latest updates, and sign up to the twice-weekly ESI Dispatch Newsletter, https://esportsinsider.com/newsletters/ . About Esports Insider
Based in London and founded in 2016, Esports Insider is an industry-focused esports news platform, B2B agency, media and events company. ESI runs a world-leading and international esports industry news site, operates The Esports Journal magazine and has run more industry events than any other company globally, from London to Los Angeles. Other arms of the company include ESI Media, as well as ESI Connect, its agency arm which offers services across Brokerage, Consultancy and Campaign Activation.

ESI and Redd+E Announce Partnership; Schedule ESI Singapore in July

by Sandy Nofyanza and Bimo Dwisatrio, The Conversation
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain
Indonesia is home to the world's third-largest tropical forest area and since 2009 has operated a forest-based climate action project developed by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Degradation ( REDD+ ) allows people who protect forests to receive payments. The intention is to make saving forests more economically attractive than deforestation and forest degradation activities. Since implementing the framework, Indonesia has reformed its forestry sector governance. Indonesia has enacted a permanent forest and peatland moratorium and reduced the annual rate of deforestation over the last 20 years . It has facilitated payments from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to local actors who carried out REDD+ activities. But we've observed that REDD+ still struggles to meet the intended "transformational change" —pushing economy-wide policies away from business-as-usual trends that cause deforestation and forest degradation. For instance, large-scale agricultural and urban area expansion still occurs in Indonesia. Developing its agriculture industry and providing housing and infrastructure is essential for Indonesia to reduce poverty. But this vision should also align with its pledge to reach carbon neutrality in the forestry and other land-use sectors by 2030. REDD+ remains an important tool in reaching this target. We identified that expanding the REDD+ network beyond the forestry sector, including private sector initiatives in the REDD+ national tally, and including women's voices in REDD+ activities can contribute to effective, efficient, and equitable REDD+ outcomes. Expanding network surrounding REDD+
Indonesia needs to address various deforestation drivers beyond the forestry sector, such as the urban and agriculture sectors, to pursue transformational change. Therefore, the network of actors exchanging information and collaborating on REDD+ activities should come from a wide range of sectors. We observed changes in the Indonesian REDD+ policy network from 2012 until early 2019. REDD+ information exchange networks initially were separated into disconnected group of government and civil society , but over time moved to a more connected exchange of information of various actors (state and non-state) in the forestry sector. Lately, key central government agencies (such as the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, the Ministry of National Development Planning, and the Ministry of Finance) and funding organizations have dominating roles and lead REDD+ implementation in a way that satisfy diverse sectoral and political interests , focus is placed on technical implementation. But as REDD+ moves and focuses on technical implementation, we see decreased cross-sector information sharing . The domination of a few powerful actors may prevent transformational change from happening. It may also limit other groups' ability to voice their opinions and raise their concerns. Setting up broker positions such as a liaison role for different stakeholder groups could be a solution to bridge communication and boost coordination between actors. This is not to say that the government should not lead REDD+ implementations . But a broker can enable policy actors to collaborate beyond government networks. The national government can learn from East Kalimantan's success in establishing in 2011 the Regional Council for Climate Change (DDPI) as a venue to coordinate climate change -related action and policies. The DDPI secretariat is led by reputable academics, and involves government and non-government actors. DDPI was key to East Kalimantan's selection as a pilot province for the ongoing regional REDD+ program . It supported the administrative and technical preparation process and facilitating cross-sectoral coordination —a feat that would have been more challenging if left only to existing government agencies. Better accounting of REDD+ activities
As private sector interest in REDD+ projects increases, the government needs to ensure REDD+ actions at local sites and subnational levels are accounted for at the national level to avoid double counting of emission reductions. This also ensures that local proponents can be appropriately rewarded. Currently, collated data from the National Registry System by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry shows only emission reduction activities managed by the national and subnational governments and state-owned companies. The database needs to expand to include all entities carrying out REDD+ activities. Include women in REDD+ initiatives
At the grassroots level, REDD+ is associated with an increase in overall well-being (e.g. good health and education, sufficient food and income) of both men and women if its benefit is well-distributed, especially if tied to interventions that support women's employment and livelihood . However, only a few early REDD+ initiatives explicitly aimed to elevate women as a goal of their initiatives. The current regional REDD+ in East Kalimantan adheres to the mandate of the 2014 Village Law to consult all local stakeholders in the preparation of any grassroots-level interventions, including women and indigenous groups. To realize its potential, REDD+ implementers on the ground must be able to address any imbalance of power between stakeholders involved and ensure equitable benefit-sharing. Explore further

How can Indonesia improve the REDD+ project to stop deforestation?

ISI Emerging Markets Group, a London based data and analysis provider of information on emerging markets, has acquired…
The post ISI buys REDD data appeared first on Flashes & Flames.

ISI buys REDD data

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REDD owns a modern platform that is a source of deep, comprehensive insight for real estate professionals. By combining big data and AI tools, the company provides a large inventory of verified information about real estate for sale and rent. The company was founded in 2018 and is based in Warsaw, Poland.

Date	4/21/2022
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Valuation
Revenue	0 FY undefined
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