Indonesia negotiating funding cooperation for energy transition

The Indonesian government is negotiating cooperation with the International Partners Group (IPG) for the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) program, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan informed on Tuesday.

“We plan to announce a joint statement on JETP within the G20 Presidency with IPG countries in Bali on November 15, 2022,” he said during the “Energy Transition on Achieving Net Zero Emission a High Call for Urgency” talk show at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP-27) in Egypt, which was streamed online on Tuesday.

Indonesia is ready to implement the JETP program, he added.

The program will involve the phase-down of coal power plants and a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

The Indonesian government has said that the energy transition should be just and affordable to improve clean energy transition driven by a sustainable financing mechanism, Minister Pandjaitan stressed.

It has also formulated a presidential regulation on the development of renewable energy for the provision of electricity, he added.

This action will create a framework that broadly allows a clean energy transition. It is also in line with the road map and guidelines for expediting the transition from coal to clean energy, the minister said.

The road map considers the post-retirement plan for decommissioning or repurposing coal plants using low carbon emission technology to ensure energy security for the growth of the Indonesian economy, the minister explained.

Energy transition funding schemes, such as the JTP, have become one of the main tools for supporting Indonesia’s energy transition.

This is because Indonesia requires investment worth US$25 million–30 million until 2030 to expedite the energy transition.

The JETP program is capable of supporting Indonesia by providing real value through donations, soft loans, or market investments, Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment deputy Nani Hendiarti said, according to the ministry’s website.

Fair transition is a mitigation action for reducing CO2 emissions to help Indonesia become worthy of receiving international support and make its Nationally Determined Contributions target more ambitious, she stressed.

She said she believes that, through JETP, Indonesia will be able to achieve the carbon emission reduction target of 31.9 percent without conditions and 43.2 percent with international support.

“The presidential regulation on renewable energy development acceleration has been signed,” she added.

“We are ready to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the energy transition, including early retirement of coal power plants and the development of renewable energy,” she said.

 

Source: Antara News

OPES Insurance partners with IMS for Mobile Telematics Insurance in Vietnam

Policyholders to benefit from cheaper auto insurance through SDK-based behavior scoring system created by IMS for Vietnamese market

London, UK and Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, Nov. 07, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — OPES, the first digital-only insurer in Vietnam, has teamed up with IMS, the global connected insurance solutions business, to supply smartphone app-based telematics insurance to car drivers in Vietnam. The new product, “O∙Car”, using the IMS One App SDK to deliver its core capabilities, launched to market earlier this month>.

OPES is owned by Vietnam Prosperity Joint-Stock Commercial Bank (VPBank), and according to Paul Stacy, Chief Executive Officer at IMS, the product will be the first wholly digital, telematics-based insurance offering in Vietnam, and it is aimed at the country’s ~3 million car drivers.

Paul said: “O∙Car leverages the IMS One App SDK along with our patented IMS Wedge (IMS’s patented BLE IOT sensor add-on) which helps identify the insured’s vehicle. Together, this connected insurance technology evaluates driving style and the resulting data is used to personalize the insurance product offered to OPES customers.” Paul said that OPES will also run competitions and other campaigns outside the app to reward good driving behavior.

He continued: “We’ve been working with OPES and their parent VPBank to trial the app among their own employees and customers. Because the traffic in Vietnam is highly congested and slow moving, the IMS analytics team had to develop a whole new driver behavior scoring system that is unique to the Vietnamese market. OPES and IMS tested with thousands of drivers and more than 60,000 trips to develop the scoring criteria.”

Mr. Dang Hoang Tung, Chief Executive Officer of OPES said: “This is a ground breaking opportunity for telematics-motor insurance in Vietnam and we are very excited to be pioneering the new OPES insurance app in partnership with IMS after a successful trial. Not only are we excited to join the motor insurance market with this innovative, new product but we also want to help promote and build a safe driving culture among Vietnamese drivers to help reduce the accident rate in the long run.”

Paul Stacy continued: “Having developed the process for Vietnam, we think something very similar will apply to other Southeast Asian markets where traffic flow is very different from the West.” He also noted that there are around 76 million registered car drivers in ASEAN nations, representing a huge untapped market for telematics and connected insurance.

Turning to the OPES deal, Paul said “OPES will be working with IMS to offer a number of different services using our core technologies, including our ‘try-before-you-buy’ functionality and behaviorally based rewards program.  We are also expecting to help OPES in introducing mileage-based insurance to their policyholders in the future.”

Paul Stacy said the OPES deal underscored IMS’ growing international presence beyond the UK, Europe and North America. “Our approach to deal making is consultative and leverages our own deep insurance expertise. We prefer to work collaboratively with clients, such as OPES, and implement solutions that achieve the insurer’s desired outcomes – for the present day, but also with an eye to the future.”

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Ben Welsh
Certus Communications
07568 382040
benwelsh@certuscc.com

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8666376

Australian business leaders are confident that Australian governments are making progress on climate policies but want more on climate action; finds the inaugural ‘Sustainable Future Poll’ from Confident Strategy Group and YouGov.

– 6 out of 10 Australian leaders were confident that Australia was making meaningful progress on each of the nine levers of climate change/resilience surveyed.- 7 in 10 senior business leaders of medium to large companies believe that the federal and state governments should do more in sustainability and climate action.- In a deep dive, we found agreement across the political divide that solar should be increased as an energy source. While 7 in 10 believe coal as a source should be reduced or kept at the current level.

Canberra, Australia, Nov. 07, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — This week, government and climate experts are meeting at the United Nations Conference of Parties, COP27, in Egypt. At COP27, governments will report their progress and make agreements to take further action to achieve the Paris Agreement’s outcomes (2015). Confident Strategy Group and YouGov polled over 500 Australian business leaders to determine their confidence level in the Australian Federal and State Government’s sustainability policies. The poll assessed business leaders’ confidence across nine levers of climate change while also considering Australia’s unique environment and biodiversity impacts. This year the poll also did a deep dive into business leaders’ attitudes towards energy sources suitable for Australia.

In this inaugural poll, we also found the following:

  • Confidence was at its highest amongst younger business leaders (only 16% of leaders 50+ years are very confident). However, only half were confident that Australia was progressing on ‘Building sustainable future food systems that prevent food insecurity.’
  • Confidence was at its highest amongst those who voted Labor and Green at the most recent election (76%, 69% versus 51% for the Coalition).
  • Business leaders 50+ years were less confident across all sustainability policy areas, with only 4 to 5 out of 10 leaders confident in each area. Reflecting older business leaders’ lower overall confidence in sustainability policies, fewer than two in ten said they were very confident in addressing each area.
  • Business leaders identifying as female tended to be less confident overall regarding policy progress across all areas (women 49% v men 69%).
  • Those in the asset-based industries (i.e. manufacturing, construction, utilities) are much more likely to be confident (79%) compared to those in service (i.e. retail, transport, health, education) 46% or knowledge-based industries (professional, financial, ITC services) 63%. Those in manufacturing are particularly confident (88%).
  • 2 in 10 Australian business leaders were not confident deforestation was being addressed.
  • While 8 in 10 business leaders believe solar as a source of energy should be increased, 7 in 10 also believe hydroelectricity and wind should be increased, and 4 in 10 believe natural gas and nuclear should be increased.
  • Business leaders are split in their opinion on whether the responsibility for setting climate policies should reside with the Federal Government (45%) or be shared equally with the States (46%).

This year’s poll results may reveal a “green bucket” effect as there was little differentiation in confidence levels across all of the policy lever areas. Albeit there are some clear differences by age, headcount, industry and political affiliation, there is still uniformity that reinforces this finding. This may mean more specific education is required regarding what actions are needed to achieve sustainability and mitigate climate impacts in Australia. It may also indicate that transparency on current and future policy performance and measures is required.

Confident Strategy Group will continue to track this critical policy area annually. Dr Jeanette Fielding, Group CEO of Confident Strategy Group, said, “Australia’s ability to transform at pace to meet the sustainability and climate challenges is vital to Australia’s future success and the economic welfare of all Australians. While many stakeholders have a role in addressing climate impacts, governments set the roadmap for the country through policies they deliver and the ones they don’t.” She further highlighted, “This year’s Sustainable Future Confidence Poll indicates optimism exists after the most recent Federal election, and we look forward to continuing to track business leaders’ confidence in the years ahead”.

The full report is available here: Sustainable Future Confidence Poll

About the poll

The poll was conducted online between 8-16 September 2022. The sample comprised 510 senior business leaders in Australia from organisations with 50+ employees. Confident Strategy Group set the policy levers to be explored, and YouGov designed the questionnaire. After the interviews, the data was weighted by age to reflect the latest ABS population estimates for managers and professionals.

About the Policy Levers

The policy levers were chosen based on Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports that identify levers of climate change and consider Australia’s unique environment and biodiversity. The poll confidence is highest in Waste Reduction (69%), Building green/renewable energy systems for the future, and Taking the initiative to address sustainability/climate resilience through innovation/research and development (68%). Others include Protecting Australia’s unique wildlife and ocean life, Building sustainable future food systems that prevent food insecurity (both 66%), Building green infrastructure for transportation (65%), Building a regenerative and sustainable agriculture system (64%), Mitigating climate impacts (64%), and Addressing the cause of deforestation in Australia (62%).

Confident Strategy Group

Confident Strategy Group is the confident confidants of change-making leaders. We help you resolve the world’s biggest challenges to transform the planet, society, and humanity for the better. This is our passion. Let us put it into practice for you. CSG clients are passionate about health, food, consumer goods, sustainability and women’s peace and security. We are experts in the following practice areas: strategic policy, ESG/sustainability, strategic communications and advocacy. Confident Strategy Group is based in Canberra, Australia and New York, USA and serves national and global clients worldwide. Contact us at www.confidentstrategygroup.com.

Media Relations Contacts:

Dr Jeanette Fielding, Founder and Group CEO at Confident Strategy Group.

contactconfident@confidentstrategygroup.com

Jeanette Fielding
Confident Strategy Group
contactconfident@confidentstrategygroup.com

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8691105

Synchronoss Adopts Verizon’s Next Generation Private Cloud Infrastructure     

The Combination of Advanced Storage and 5G Network Gives Verizon Cloud Subscribers Fast Access and Powerful Features to Manage, Organize, and Share All Types of Digital Content

BRIDGEWATER, N.J., Nov. 07, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Synchronoss Technologies, Inc. (SNCR), a global leader and innovator in cloud, messaging and digital products and platforms, today announced that it is expanding its adoption of Verizon’s (NYSE: VZ) private cloud infrastructure to efficiently manage all digital content on the Synchronoss Personal Cloud platform. Utilizing Verizon’s next-generation technology, Verizon Cloud subscribers can store photos, videos, and other digital files managed by Synchronoss Personal Cloud.

Aside from content storage, Synchronoss will maintain key aspects of the Verizon Cloud offering, including hosting of critical solution components supporting access control, authentication, and customer lifecycle management. Additionally, it will expand its technology investments toward innovation and delivery of key functionality using artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve photo and video curation as well as the customer’s ability to share, tag and search their content.

“We’re pleased to further expand our long-standing relationship with Synchronoss via Verizon’s private cloud infrastructure,” said Brian Higgins, Senior Vice President, Device Marketing and Consumer Product at Verizon. “Verizon Cloud provides a robust, feature-rich experience to store and manage all types of files from an array of devices, more critical than ever before as more and more customers take advantage of the best 5G Unlimited plans – packed with tons of content and entertainment perks – all on America’s most reliable network.”

“The growth of 5G and the various offerings introduced by Verizon, such as Verizon 5G Home, offers a unique opportunity for Synchronoss,” said Jeff Miller, President and CEO of Synchronoss. “Migrating the storage will enable our team to focus on developing new features and functionality that will utilize the increased speed and scalability of Verizon’s 5G network and next-generation private cloud infrastructure.”

Earlier this year, Verizon introduced its Ultra Wideband service that bundles Synchronoss Personal Cloud as part of the new Verizon 5G Home Plus internet plan. The offering includes unlimited Verizon Cloud storage, with more than 40 million households covered by fixed wireless in third-quarter 2022, including over 30 million households covered by 5G Ultra Wideband.

For more information on Synchronoss Personal Cloud, visit: https://synchronoss.com/products/engagex/cloud/. For more information on Verizon’s 5G Home service, visit https://www.verizon.com/5g/home/.

About Synchronoss

Synchronoss Technologies (NASDAQ: SNCR) builds software that empowers companies around the world to connect with their subscribers in trusted and meaningful ways. The company’s collection of products helps streamline networks, simplify onboarding, and engage subscribers to unleash new revenue streams, reduce costs and increase speed to market. Hundreds of millions of subscribers trust Synchronoss products to stay in sync with the people, services, and content they love. Learn more at www.synchronoss.com

Media Relations Contact:
Domenick Cilea
Springboard
dcilea@springboardpr.com

Investor Relations Contact:
Matt Glover / Tom Colton
Gateway Group, Inc.
SNCR@gatewayir.com

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8690974