Bitget Delivers Critical Aid to Earthquake-Affected Families in Myanmar

BANGKOK, May 12, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Bitget, the leading cryptocurrency exchange and Web3 company, has mobilized relief efforts for vulnerable communities in Myanmar following the devastating 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck the Sagaing region on March 28. The disaster, which sent tremors as far as Bangkok, compounded existing hardships in an area already grappling with civil unrest and economic instability.

In coordination with local partners, Bitget delivered 150 Emergency Resilience Kits to high–risk families, including those who lost homes, were caring for infants or elderly relatives, or had received minimal aid. Each kit provided comprehensive support: hygiene essentials to prevent disease, sleeping mats and blankets for displaced families, cooking tools to restore daily routines, water filters for safe drinking water, and basic medicines to address urgent health needs.

The operation was not without its challenges. Navigating security risks, logistical hurdles, and the potential for aid diversion in a conflict zone required meticulous planning and deep community trust. Bitget’s partners on the ground leveraged their local expertise to ensure equitable distribution, reaching families whose needs might otherwise have been invisible in the chaos of crisis response.

“True humanitarian action isn’t just about meeting urgent needs—it’s about seeing the unseen,” said Bitget CEO Gracy Chen. “As the second–largest crypto exchange ecosystem, we believe that real growth in our industry must be matched by real responsibility. Crypto was built on the ideals of empowerment and global connection. In times of crisis, these ideals must be translated into action. Our support for Myanmar’s affected communities is a reminder that innovation must go hand–in–hand with human impact. As we help build the future of finance, we are equally committed to building a future where no one is left behind,” she added.

The impact extended beyond material relief. For displaced families living in overcrowded temporary shelters, the kits alleviated pressure on shared resources. For others, they represented the first semblance of stability since the disaster struck, a signal that they had not been forgotten.

As recovery efforts continue in Sagaing, Bitget’s initiative serves as a small reminder that effective crisis response begins with listening and learning. By combining swift action with deep local understanding, we were able to offer support where it was needed most—one family, one community at a time.

About Bitget

Established in 2018, Bitget is the world's leading cryptocurrency exchange and Web3 company. Serving over 120 million users in 150+ countries and regions, the Bitget exchange is committed to helping users trade smarter with its pioneering copy trading feature and other trading solutions, while offering real–time access to Bitcoin price, Ethereum price, and other cryptocurrency prices. Formerly known as BitKeep, Bitget Wallet is a world–class multi–chain crypto wallet that offers an array of comprehensive Web3 solutions and features including wallet functionality, token swap, NFT Marketplace, DApp browser, and more.

Bitget is at the forefront of driving crypto adoption through strategic partnerships, such as its role as the Official Crypto Partner of the World's Top Football League, LALIGA, in EASTERN, SEA and LATAM markets, as well as a global partner of Turkish National athletes Buse Tosun Çavuşoğlu (Wrestling world champion), Samet Gümüş (Boxing gold medalist) and İlkin Aydın (Volleyball national team), to inspire the global community to embrace the future of cryptocurrency.

For more information, visit: Website | Twitter | Telegram | LinkedIn | Discord | Bitget Wallet

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Former Energy Ministers from Saint Lucia and Uruguay Named REN21 Renewable Energy Champions

Dr. James Fletcher (left) and Ramón Méndez Galain (right) at the launch of the REN21 Renewable Energy Champions Initiative in Miami. Credit: Alison Kentish/IPS

Dr James Fletcher (left) and Ramón Méndez Galain (right) at the launch of the REN21 Renewable Energy Champions Initiative in Miami. Credit: Alison Kentish/IPS

By Alison Kentish
MIAMI, Florida, USA, May 12 2025 – The Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21), a global network that advances renewable energy through collaboration and knowledge sharing, has named Dr James Fletcher of Saint Lucia and Dr Ramón Méndez Galain of Uruguay as its first Renewable Energy Champions.

The accomplished former energy ministers were introduced as REN21 RE Champions on May 9, at the 17th Caribbean Renewable Energy Forum in Miami. They were recognised for their exemplary leadership in driving energy transition in their respective countries and region.

The RE Champions Initiative will connect experienced policymakers with peers globally to share knowledge, practical guidance, and successes and inspire much-needed action.

Fletcher, who led Saint Lucia’s Ministry of Sustainable Development and Energy, described joining the initiative as “one of the easiest decisions I ever had to make.”

He reiterated the urgency of energy reform in the Caribbean, where electricity costs often go as high as 35 to 40 U.S. cents per kilowatt-hour – a major barrier to competitiveness.

“If we can crack that, if we can get that transition to happen quickly, every single economic sector in our region becomes competitive on all of our islands,” he said.

“If we can crack that, if we can get this transition to happen quickly,” Fletcher told IPS, “every single economic sector in our region becomes competitive.”

Dr. Méndez Galain, a physicist who was the architect of Uruguay’s transformation to a grid powered by 98 percent renewables, spoke to IPS about that country’s journey. He emphasised the importance of political consensus in achieving lasting change and said he is happy to share his experience and expertise with peers.

“One of the first and most important things we succeeded in doing was to have a long-term agreement that was backed by the entire Uruguayan political system. This was crucial and allowed us to have continuity in the process,” Méndez Galain said. He added, “We proved that a power system can work only thanks to the complementarity of different resources. It was a technical issue, but it was not rocket science. At the end of the day, it was relatively simple to solve.”

Uruguay’s transition, he noted, slashed electricity production costs by half and created 50,000 jobs, about 3 percent of the country’s workforce. “We proved that energy transition can work, but it would not happen spontaneously. You have to really make changes in the policies, regulations, laws, and institutional framework in the markets. This is what we are trying to share with our current ministers and officials from our region,” he said.

Fletcher, the Caribbean Community’s Climate Change envoy, pointed to Uruguay’s success as proof that even grid systems reliant on intermittent sources like wind and solar can remain stable and efficient. “What Ramón has been able to show is that it can be done with intermittent renewables, because one of the things that keeps being hammered at us is that if you only have intermittent sources of electricity, you cannot do this. He’s shown in Uruguay that he can do it. That it can be done,” he said.

Both champions emphasised the power of South-South collaboration and the need to scale this model to other regions.

“Establishing these partnerships through an organisation like REN21—with its global reach—was a no-brainer,” Fletcher said. “At the end of the day, our goal is to ensure that we see a complete phase-out of fossil fuels.”

Méndez Galain expressed enthusiasm for collaborating with his Saint Lucian colleague and the REN21 network.

“Having the chance to work with people like Fletcher – it’s incredible to me because he is an inspiring guy,” he said. “REN21 is a powerful network that embraces and boosts everything that we can say with tremendous potential links to organisations that can help governments to do their jobs.”

REN21’s Senior Advisor, Laura Williamson, told the launch that the RE Champions Initiative bridges the gap between technology, policy, and leadership.

“It is built around champions who bring real-world experience, who have overcome challenges to achieve remarkable results in their own countries and can offer strategic partnerships to accelerate energy transition.”

“We have the technology; we have the resources. But what is really missing is the exchange of knowledge, the capability of partnerships, and the connections,” she said in a sit-down with IPS. “It’s really to demonstrate how connecting the decision-makers to the data, to the stories, to the experiences, can drive energy transition. Also to demonstrate that this is possible, so let’s do it.”

The initiative is fully funded by philanthropic contributions and champions volunteer their time and expertise. REN21 plans to expand the programme to include experts from Asia and Africa, strengthening cross-regional collaboration and unlocking shared solutions across the Global South.

The REN21 Champions say while a sustainable energy future is within reach, accelerating progress will require greater urgency—and connection and collaboration will serve as the catalysts to drive it forward.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 


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