Greg Watson’s Post

"Indonesia is set to 'advance mutually beneficial cooperation' with Australia in developing electric vehicle (EV) and battery supply chains. The collaboration will involve mapping the supply chains, joint scientific and research studies, as well as fostering new business-to-business links between the two countries. ... The question arises: Does this strategic partnership between Indonesia and Australia offer a solution to address the climate challenge that is both geopolitically advantageous and environmentally friendly?" UTS:ACRI Associate Professor - Research Marina Zhang discusses in The Diplomat.   Read: https://bit.ly/3N6Qt8z

"Small is beautiful" aka we bought all of the important things we needed and we kept our traditional industries going. The updated Belt Road Initiative (BRI) is now looking for projects to consolidate the earlier gains by adding more targetted pieces. Given their importance as sources of mineral resources and agricultural land, the African countries were at the forefront of the mid-life stage of BRI. Over the next 10 years, China might shift focus to Central and South East Asia. Whether that will result in (smaller?) hydroelectric, wind and solar energy projects, or more islands on the South China Sea, the time will tell. Obviously, interconnecting the African economies with roads and railways for the benefit of their own growth may not see or attract as much attention as in the past. This may be good for the countries (less unsustainable debt related to overpriced/underused infrastructure), but also bad (slower progress of building continental interconnectivity). Again, time will tell. #infrastructure #development #investment #africa #capital #project

“…Delegates also participated in thematic panel sessions focusing on agriculture and food security, mining and metals #industry, development and #infrastructure, #renewable and #greenenergy. Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry, the Governor of the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) Renat Bekturov, noted the strategic importance of intensifying cooperation between the public and private sectors of the two regions. In his remarks, he emphasized the enormous potential of the Gulf market for strengthening trade and economic relations with Kazakhstan, as well as the unlimited prospects for expanding investment partnerships. With regard to other sectors, Bekturov spoke of the significant opportunities for Central Asian and #GCC countries to expand collaboration in #greenenergy, #foodsecurity, #transport and #logistics, #mining, #petrochemicals, #agriculture, #finance, and #tourism…”

Required reading for CEO's and Business Development professionals. The EU's new trade strategy identifies Africa as a key priority for future opportunities. Articles like this one provide excellent context for where these opportunities will come from in terms of Africa's relationship with the EU. Germany, in particular, can benefit tremendously from future trade and investment between the two regions, thanks to a focus on industrialization and value addition in Africa. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) creates a massive market that can foster increased trade flows and investment opportunities, benefiting both regions economically and socially. At Africa Deployments, we are uniquely positioned to help German firms access these opportunities through our solutions. Let's strengthen partnerships and boost investment between the EU and AU countries. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/dACBWnME

Trade and Investment Minister Joe Szakacs is this week leading a South Australian government mission to Japan and Korea, exploring #trade and #investment opportunities with two of our state's key regional partners. 🌏📈 The Department of State Development is supporting Minister Szakacs and a delegation of SA CEOs to strengthen international connections and deliver local projects in key industries.   #Japan and #Korea are major export markets worth nearly $1B combined to the state’s economy, and are key purchasers of South Australian #wine, #meat, #tuna, and #canola.   With South Australia leading the world in #RenewableEnergy, the promotion of opportunities in our #GreenHydrogen industry - including green iron and steel - will form a major focus for the trip as Korea and Japan look to accelerate their transitions towards net zero.   Read more: https://bit.ly/3YcDhnu   Chris Wood | Tim White | Taliessin Reaburn | Edit Mucsi | Sally Townsend | Myungjin (MJ) Kim | Minister Joe Szakacs | Kane Salisbury | Glen Chipman | Tim Dobson | Gemma Brosnan | Adam R. | Kyu Hong Lee | Robert Saunders | Christine Park | Benjamin Zammit | Department for Energy and Mining, South Australia | Office of Hydrogen Power South Australia

European strategy to address the challenges posed by China’s dominance in cleantech industries #BatteriesRawMaterials #BatteryFactory #China #ElectricalVehicles #Eu #EuClimatePolicies #EuropeanMining #RawMaterials #RawMaterialsMining https://lnkd.in/dgjhivAi

"𝗜𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝘀, 𝘄𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗽𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗶𝗹 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀," said David Broadstock, a senior research fellow and energy transition research lead with the Sustainable and Green Finance Institute at the National University of Singapore. This is why 𝗔𝗦𝗘𝗔𝗡 "𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆" from its dependence on fossil fuel, said Broadstock. This article addresses the theme of needing to appreciate the importance of ensuring energy system resilience in conducting our energy transition. The message is that geopolitics matters. This is by no means a new insight, but we occasionally lose focus on the importance of geopolitics, especially when all is well and stable. However these are not the conditions we have been graced with in recent years, and a sequence of events and ongoing narratives display geopolitical tensions. Some of these are spilling over into conflict, and in areas close to some of the energy resources we still depend upon. One solution to this might be to accelerate the energy transition, to reduce dependence on existing energy supply chains, and create cleaner and more resilient solutions domestically where feasible. This is the nature of the discussion in this piece by Prime Sarmiento featuring in China Daily, and I enjoyed discussing the issue together. My thanks for the quote! #energysystems, #energymarkets, #geopolitics, National University of Singapore, Sustainable and Green Finance Institute (SGFIN)

African and European decision-makers can achieve mutual benefit on #criticalrawmaterials but #EU must clarify its role in its value chain. It should finance projects to support local production. Regional collaboration is vital. #Africa #Energy #Security European Council on Foreign Relations https://lnkd.in/da3nxP5g

European strategy to address the challenges posed by China’s dominance in cleantech industries #BatteriesRawMaterials #BatteryFactory #China #ElectricalVehicles #Eu #EuClimatePolicies #EuropeanMining #RawMaterials #RawMaterialsMining https://lnkd.in/dgjhivAi

I spoke with the South China Morning Post SCMP about the new behavior of Chinese investments in Brazil and Latin America. In recent years, mega-infrastructure projects decline in popularity while initiatives in sectors like electric vehicles, green energy and information technology are emerging. The story was written by Igor Patrick Silva. https://lnkd.in/dxKmgND6