Asean haze agreement must show its teeth
IT may have taken much longer than some would have liked, but Indonesia's Parliament finally voted on Tuesday to ratify the Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution, 12 long years after Indonesia first signed the pact together with the other nine Asean member states, including Singapore.
The breakthrough could not have come at a better time, especially with the recent escalation of hot spots in Sumatra and Kalimantan. The haze also made its unwelcome return to Singapore this week as the National Environment Agency's Pollutant Standards Index reading briefly crossed into the unhealthy range on Monday morning due to increased hot-spot activity in Sumatra.
Indonesia has been the target of much criticism of late for its failure to ratify the Asean agreement, particularly last year when vast forest fires in Indonesia caused the worst pollution crisis in the region in a decade. Indonesia, the largest economy in South-east Asia, was the last Asean country to ratify the treaty because of fears among some of its parliamentarians that certain clauses in the agreement would infringe on the country's sovereignty.
BT is now on Telegram!
For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes
Columns
Relative measures can be absolutely wrong
Without a game changer, Sentosa Cove condos will continue underperforming
ST Engineering focuses on synergies from US$2.7 billion acquisition to reach greater heights
‘Competition for talent’ a poor excuse to keep key executives’ pay under wraps
OCBC should put its properties into a Reit and distribute the trust’s units to shareholders
Why a stronger US dollar is dangerous