International: Asia
Singapore launches new carbon marketplace for nature conservancy projects
17 Jun 2021
Singapore is launching a carbon trading marketplace focused on nature conservancy projects, a move that could protect at-risk tropical forests in the region while unlocking a ready source of carbon credits for businesses.
'No time to waste' warns Japan climate activist
17 Jun 2021
Kimiko Hirata has spent nearly half her life fighting to wean Japan off its dependence on coal, and now isn't the time to slow down, the award-winning activist warns.
Switzerland to offset in Thailand
16 Jun 2021
Switzerland has agreed in principle to offset part of its carbon emissions reduction target by supporting green projects in Thailand.
Kyrgyzstan aims to increase meat production and cut emissions
15 Jun 2021
Kyrgyzstan has plans to increase meat production by 4 per cent while cutting GHG emissions by 17 per cent.
Traditional Indian housing well suited to climate change
14 Jun 2021
Traditional Indian housing is more suitable to climate change than its modern replacements, a new study has found.
Climate change could cost India 10% of GDP by century's end
10 Jun 2021
India may lose anywhere around 3 to 10 per cent of its GDP annually by 2100 and its poverty rate may rise by 3.5 per cent in 2040 due to climate change, according to a new report.
Carbon tax planned for Indonesia
9 Jun 2021
The Indonesian government is working on amending the country's tax law, which will include a new carbon tax scheme aimed at increasing state revenue from several industries.
Climate change contributes to food wastage
3 Jun 2021
Climate Change is contributing to the five to six per cent of food wasted in New Zealand and Australia and the 20 to 21 per cent wasted in central and southern Asia, according to the Food and Agricultural Organisation.
Melting Himalayas point to problems worldwide
3 Jun 2021
In April, mountaineers began tackling Everest for the first time since the pandemic began, but climate change in the Himalayas and other mountain ranges around the globe is making climbing more dangerous.
Seoul climate summit kicks off with call for cleaner planet
31 May 2021
A virtual climate summit got underway in South Korea on Sunday with pledges to play a bigger role in the drive towards a greener global economy.
Singapore to launch global carbon exchange
24 May 2021
A new Singapore-based global exchange for high-quality carbon credits will be launched by the end of the year.
Indonesian president slammed for ‘wait-and-see’ approach on climate
21 May 2021
Experts have criticized Indonesian President Joko Widodo for not announcing a more ambitious climate target at last month’s leaders’ summit.
Asia’s cities are worst hit in warming world
18 May 2021
Climate change, water shortage and pollution are worst for Asia’s cities, researchers say. The rest of us have a lucky escape.
Funeral smoke adds to South Asia’s woes
11 May 2021
With the sub-continent battling a vicious Covid onslaught, the worst fires in years are adding to South Asia’s woes.
Shareholders chide Toyota president over climate comments
11 May 2021
Some Toyota Motor shareholders have criticized its President Akio Toyoda for questioning Japan's plans to ban conventional cars only days after the firm said it was reviewing its climate lobbying and aimed for carbon neutrality by 205
NGOs call on Asian Development Bank to end fossil-fuel loans
3 May 2021
A group of non-governmental organisations called on the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Monday to end loans to the fossil-fuels sector, as the international lender holds its annual meeting this week with a focus on a green economic recovery.
Japan's visionary climate target
3 May 2021
Japan has just raised its target for reducing carbon emissions from 26 percent to 46 percent (by 2030 from 2013 levels). But how was this figure arrived at, environment minister Shinjiro Koizumi was asked? Through a careful analysis of the threat and a realistic assessment of what could be achieved, taking all relevant factors into consideration? Well, er no, according to Koizumi, the number 46 just appeared to him in ‘silhouette’ in a sort of vision.
Monsoon changes set to cause havoc
20 Apr 2021
As the world warms, monsoon changes are set to cause havoc across a huge and densely populated swathe of the planet. The great South Asian summer monsoon will become both stronger and less reliable.
Indian government country's biggest investor in coal-fired generators
19 Apr 2021
Government support and public money investment into coal is the only factor keeping India away from shrinking its coal capacity. The latest data shows that private sector has taken a step back and almost all coal-fired power plants which are under construction belong to the public sector.
Asia pushes ahead on carbon markets
16 Apr 2021
Despite the economic challenges posed by Covid-19, the past year was marked by a growing number of pledges from Asian countries to reach carbon neutrality.
Japan and China back coal despite Paris pledges
22 Mar 2021
Japan and China remain among the world’s top coal industry lenders and underwriters, says a report, despite both countries declaring intent ions to go carbon-neutral as part of their commitments to climate target set out in the Paris Agreement.
Climate work suspended in wake of coup
9 Mar 2021
The United Nations has suspended climate projects that require working with Myanmar’s military government following the February 1 coup and other international donors may follow suit.
Climate legal cases on the rise in Asia
3 Mar 2021
Asian governments and industries have increasingly been facing legal action for climate change-related harms over the past two years, a report by a United States-headquartered law firm has revealed.
Japan's emissions at record low
9 Dec 2020
Japan's greenhouse gas emissions fell 2.7 per cent to a record low in the 2019 financial year that ended March 2020, government figures showed on Tuesday, thanks to growing use of renewable energy and lower energy consumption by manufacturers.
Petronas Asia's first oil company to set zero-emissions target
2 Nov 2020
Malaysian state-owned energy firm Petronas has declared that it will be carbon neutral by 2050
Philippines declares moratorium on new coal power plants
30 Oct 2020
The Philippines Government will no longer accept proposals to build new coal power plants, in a significant policy shift designed to boost the deployment of renewable energy.
South Korea joins Japan in making 2050 carbon-neutral pledge
29 Oct 2020
South Korea is the latest country to pledge to be carbon-neutral by 2050.
India's cities look to become climate-smarter
28 Oct 2020
India's southern city of Hyderabad is known as a high-tech hub - but its infrastructure is looking increasingly dated in an era of strengthening climate change impacts.
Japan to be carbon-neutral by 2050
27 Oct 2020
Japan’s prime minister, Yoshihide Suga, has said the country will become carbon neutral by 2050, heralding a bolder approach to tackling the climate emergency by the world’s third-biggest economy.
South Korea sets net-zero goal
1 Oct 2020
South Korea has declared a climate crisis, and established a non-binding goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, making it the second East Asian nation this week to set a tougher climate target.
Young activists go to court over climate change
7 Sep 2020
Six young Portuguese activists are taking a European human rights case against 33 countries in the latest legal effort to force governments to step up their fight against climate change.
Doubts over green bonds’ impact in Asia’s low-carbon transition
28 Aug 2020
A new study has uncovered scant disclosure by green bond issuers of their environmental impact, and a lack of social safeguards to protect communities from unintended consequences of financed projects.
Coronavirus forces tourism rethink in world's most visited city
24 Aug 2020
With the outlook for urban tourism deeply uncertain, Thai authorities have a chance to adopt a more sustainable model.
Industry push-back delays Japan's decarbonisation
18 Aug 2020
Fossil-fuel producers and high greenhouse-gas emitters in Japan are fiercely lobbying against more ambitious emissions and energy policy that would imperil their carbon-heavy, energy-intensive business, undermining the country's response to the climate crisis, new research has revealed.
Vietnam’s energy policy marks turning point for coal
23 Jul 2020
As other countries pull out of Vietnam’s coal sector, Chinese banks have become the lender of last resort for struggling projects.
South Korea backtracks on green promise
20 Jul 2020
For South Korea it seems, climate care is a case of going green at home – and doing the opposite overseas.
Japan to launch ‘green recovery’ platform
4 Jun 2020
Japan wants to bolster global momentum for climate action by hosting an online platform and high-level political event on greening the post-coronavirus economic recovery.
Green New Deal turns South Korea from climate villain to model
25 May 2020
The country’s youngest MP is on a mission, inspired by Greta Thunberg, as climate moves up political agenda.
Bangladesh to double fossil fuel imports
15 May 2020
Bangladesh is expected to double its imports of fossil fuels in the coming decade and will miss its 2020 clean-energy target.
Plastic piles up as covid sidelines pollution fight
12 May 2020
Green groups worry about a plastic "onslaught" in Southeast Asia as home deliveries during lockdowns add to mountains of waste.
South Korea backs $2b bailout of coal company
8 May 2020
The South Korean government is backing a $2 billion bailout of the country’s biggest coal plant manufacturer, despite promises to end coal financing.
Indonesia puts new jungle capital on hold
28 Apr 2020
The Indonesian government’s plan to relocate the country’s capital from Java to the jungles of Borneo has hit a wall.
South Korea to implement Green New Deal
17 Apr 2020
South Korea is on track to set a 2050 carbon neutrality goal and end coal financing after its ruling Democratic Party won an absolute majority in the country’s parliamentary elections on Wednesday.
Asia Pacific degradation worries UN
2 Apr 2020
A surge in Asia Pacific carbon emissions and the degradation of its environmental resources is alarming, says the UN.
Campaigners attack Japan's 'shameful' climate plans
31 Mar 2020
Japan has laid out its plans to tackle greenhouse gas emissions under the Paris agreement in the run-up to UN climate talks this year, becoming the first large economy to do so.
Southeast Asian mangrove destruction is rampant
20 Mar 2020
Southeast Asia’s aggressive development to spur economic growth are stripping the region’s coasts of mangrove forests at rates faster than anywhere.
India finally takes climate crisis seriously
19 Mar 2020
With financial losses and a heavy death toll from climate-related disasters constantly rising, India is at last focusing on the dangers of global warming.
South Korea wants Green New Deal
18 Mar 2020
South Korea's ruling party has announced its ambition for the nation to adopt a Green New Deal and deliver net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Bali does battle with plague of plastic
24 Feb 2020
Indonesia is the world’s second-largest ocean plastic polluter, after China.
Singapore joins drive to phase out fossil fuel vehicles
24 Feb 2020
Climate-vulnerable Singapore will part ways with fossil fuel vehicles within the next two decades and throw its weight behind cleaner vehicles.
Australian Labor Party under internal pressure to commit to at least 70% emissions reduction by 2035
Fri 12 Sep 2025
The party’s grassroots campaigners have urged its leadership to ignore business warnings about the cost of setting an ‘ambitious’ target.
US warns nations to reject ship fuel emissions deal or face tariffs
5 Sep 2025
The United States has warned countries to reject a United Nations plan aimed at cutting fuel emissions from ships or face retaliation in the form of tariffs, port levies, and visa restrictions, according to U.S. and European officials.
China on course to peak fossil fuel power as soon as this year, reports say
Thu 11 Sep 2025
The Asian nation’s energy transition is entering a new phase, with soaring renewables reducing demand for fossil fuels, analysis shows.
Why mega-polluters have little to fear from the European Central Bank and its new climate policy
Fri 12 Sep 2025
The European Central Bank plans to raise borrowing costs for climate offenders – but a new FTM analysis shows that big polluters such as Shell will barely feel it.
Ex-actor Zack Polanski's unusual path to become UK Green Party's new leader
Tue 9 Sep 2025
Zack Polanski has stormed to victory in the Green Party leadership election on a platform promising bold communication and "eco-populism".
Carney government noncommittal about Canada meeting 2030 climate goals
Tue 9 Sep 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney would not say Monday whether Canada will meet its climate goals under the Paris agreement by 2030, as his government faces criticism over his emission-reduction plans.
Australian PM says Vanuatu security, climate agreement delayed
Thu 11 Sep 2025
PM Anthony Albanese says he won’t sign Nakamal Agreement in Vanuatu, despite recent high-level talks on the pact.
Iconic Antarctic species at risk amid 'regime shift', with 'rapid and self-perpetuating changes'
22 Aug 2025
Scientists say there is emerging evidence of abrupt and potentially unstoppable changes in the Antarctic environment.
Second Africa Climate Summit seeks to jump hurdles to green industrialisation
Wed 10 Sep 2025
A report on progress since the first summit in 2023 says financial, infrastructure and trade obstacles are hampering “climate-positive growth” on the continent.
Brazil implores businesses to attend COP30 climate summit, despite 'second thoughts' amid Trump backlash
5 Sep 2025
November's COP30 summit comes at a precarious time for climate action, as companies back away from environmental initiatives, and attacks on green energy by President Trump.
UN pushes countries for new climate targets this month
Tue 9 Sep 2025
The United Nations urged countries on Wednesday to set more ambitious climate plans during this month, seeking to pressure major economies including the EU and China ahead of this year's U.N. climate summit.
