Greenpeace to set up SE Asian HQ

Greenpeace to set up SE Asian HQ

BANGKOK (AFP): Environmental watchdog Greenpeace announced on Monday it would set up a Southeast Asian headquarters in Bangkok as part of a new focus on the region.

Regional project director Lyn Goldsworthy said in a statement that the office would boost the lobby group's efforts to promote the use of cleaner energy sources in target countries Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

"Southeast Asia has emerged as a key arena in the battle to save the planet," said Greenpeace executive director Thilo Bode.

The Rainbow Warrior, the Greenpeace flagship, steamed into Bangkok on Sunday as part of a "Toxics-Free Asia Tour."

Bangkok is notorious for its polluted air and waterways, the result of rapid economic development during the 1980s and 1990s.