What's interesting this week...
Develop Impact - Issue 129
Happy Monday!
It’s a new month, and we’re feeling optimistic!
This week, I have selected five articles I found interesting. Hopefully, you'll find some inspiration or useful information for your current or next project!
Feel free to share anything with this community. We want to give this community an opportunity to learn, share, and grow!
Have a great week!
Jesse
What’s interesting…
Panelists Discuss Ethics of Biotechnology at Science, Technology, and Society Symposium
A panel of medical and legal authorities spoke about the ethics and future of biotechnology at a Friday event hosted by the Program on Science, Technology, and Society at the Harvard Kennedy School.
National fintech associations sign MoU to form Asean Fintech Movement
The six national FinTech associations are from Singapore, Cambodia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam:
• Singapore FinTech Association
• Cambodian Association of Finance & Technology
• FinTech Association of Malaysia
• Digital Pilipinas
• Thai FinTech Association
• Vietnam FinTech Club
The MOU was signed on 2 November 2022 during the Singapore FinTech Festival to formalize each national FinTech association's involvement in the formation of the ASEAN FinTech Movement.
Southeast Asia FinTech Association aims to promote Southeast Asia's FinTech market by providing training materials, updates on regulatory developments, networking opportunities, and supporting signature events and programs.
Plastic pollution: Three problems that a global treaty could solve
This week, delegates from 150 countries will meet in Uruguay to begin negotiations for a global agreement to end plastic pollution.
The United Nations Environment Assembly decided to create a legally binding treaty on plastics in March. Negotiators will have to devise and agree on rules for controlling plastic pollution. Nature explores three key issues and how the treaty could tackle them.
Better regional connectivity will help Asia to decarbonize
Improving transport connectivity in Asia will help reverse the trend of rising transport emissions and advance economic development, according to a series of three special issues of the ITF Transport Outlook.
Modelling potential transport connectivity improvements for Asia's three sub-regions reveals tremendous potential for decarbonizing transport. The right policies could halve transport CO2 emissions in all three sub-regions by 2050 compared to 2015, and passenger travel could see its CO2 emissions drop by 15%.
The reports emphasize the need to recognize and build upon regional and sub-regional specificities. Southeast Asia relies on maritime transport for nearly 90% of freight activity, South and Southwest Asia faces rapid population growth combined with massive urbanization, and North and Central Asia has several landlocked countries.
Asia development plan worth considering
The Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia released its third Comprehensive Asia Development Plan, which outlines how Asia can deepen regional economic integration, narrow development gaps, and advance sustainable development.
The third Comprehensive Asia Development Plan examines the role of digitization in supporting integration, innovation, inclusiveness, and sustainability. The separation of production and consumption, the separation of various parts of the production process, and the separation of service delivery and use are the three unbundlings that economist Richard Baldwin has described.