International: Asia
Use plastics in Mumbai and you could go to jail
27 Jun 2018
Mumbai has the become the largest Indian city to ban single-use plastics, with residents caught using bags, cups or bottles facing penalties of up to $NZ530 and three months in jail.
Newest development bank invests in coal
22 Jun 2018
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is backing a coal-fired cement works in Myanmar through an intermediary, in a worrying sign for its climate credentials.
Pollution-recording gear can't cope with off-the-dial Delhi
19 Jun 2018
Smog more toxic than can be measured by monitoring devices blanketing New Delhi, months before the start of the city's traditional pollution season.
India approves massive solar farm
7 Jun 2018
The Indian Government has given planning permission for a huge new solar project which is set to become one of the largest in the world.
Coal's all the rage in Indonesia
1 Jun 2018
Indonesia’s coal industry is enjoying a resurgence, driven both by rising demand from China and a push by Jakarta to build more coal-fired power plants.
Asia-Pacific dragging the chain, says UN
31 May 2018
The Asia-Pacific region is falling behind on climate action and conservation, according to the United Nations.
TEA TROUBLE: Weather changes could put Darjeeling in danger
29 May 2018
Gradual change in temperature and rainfall patterns in India's Darjeeling hills is beginning to affect production of one of the country's most famous teas.
Indian police kill 11 pollution protesters
25 May 2018
At least 11 people were killed and 80 wounded when police fired at protesters calling for the closure of a copper smelter in southern India.
India eyes hybrid solar-wind power plants
18 May 2018
India has released a draft policy for setting up hybrid wind-solar plants where both windmills and panels are put up on the same piece of land.
The true cost of making cities from the sea
4 May 2018
Asia is growing. Literally. From Malaysia to Dubai, luxury developments are rising on artificial islands and coastlines.
Dear sir, I'd like to order some e-vehicles ... 10,000 would do
20 Apr 2018
Indian ride-hailing firm Ola will add 10,000 electric three-wheelers to its fleet over the next 12 months.
Japan has a renewable energy puzzle
20 Apr 2018
As Japan rushes to cut carbon emissions by 26 per cent, campaigners worry that forests and wildlife are being trampled.
'The Beach' off limits as Thais count cost of climate change
5 Apr 2018
Maya Bay, made famous in the film “The Beach”, will be off limits to tourists for part of the year as Thailand seeks to protect eco-systems crumbling from warming seas and unchecked sprawl.
Tokyo admits rainforest timber used for stadium
1 Mar 2018
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics organising committee has confirmed that 87 per cent of the plywood panels used to build its new national stadium come from southeast Asian rainforests.
Singapore will charge carbon tax from next year
21 Feb 2018
Singapore will charge carbon polluters a new carbon tax from 2019.
Korea real cool, but the games are getting warmer
13 Feb 2018
PyeongChang turned on typical freezing South Korea weather for the first few days of the Winter Olympics … but overall the event is getting warmer.
Indonesia has bold plan to rewet the swamps
2 Feb 2018
A controversial Indonesian project to restore 2.5 million hectares of tropical peatland hinges on sustainable farming.
Local people tackle tide of beach plastic
30 Jan 2018
Local volunteers have collected more than 12,000 tonnes of plastic from a beach in Mumbai.
Climate change drives farmers from Mekong delta
24 Jan 2018
Saltwater intrusion and drought are destroying crops in one of the most fertile places on earth, prompting an exodus of farmers.
Thailand gets $1.1 billion for wind power project
15 Dec 2017
Southeast Asia’s leading solar energy nation -Thailand - could be the frontrunner in wind energy after renewables developer WEH secured funding for the region’s biggest wind power project.
Hyundai building battery bigger than Tesla's
8 Dec 2017
Tesla’s South Australia battery system won’t hold the title of world’s largest for long - Hyundai is building one 50 per cent bigger.
India to add 10,000 e-vehicles to official fleet
24 Nov 2017
India has called tenders for 10,000 electric vehicles as replacements for its official fleet.
Indonesia to roll out 1000 eco-mosques
21 Nov 2017
Worshippers in Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, are set to go green with a new initiative that aims to establish 1000 eco-mosques by 2020.
CHOPPER STOPPER: Too much smog for the smog-fighters
16 Nov 2017
An ambitious plan to use helicopters to fight Delhi’s air pollution has been grounded because the aircraft cannot operate in the thick smog.
LEAPING LIZARDS: Giants thrive in wasted oil palm plantations
26 Oct 2017
Of Borneo’s large native scavengers, a giant lizard is the only species that has successfully adapted to the land devastated by oil palm plantations.
How Thailand built a top sustainable stock exchange
20 Oct 2017
Sustainability reporting is not mandatory in Thailand - and yet Thai firms outnumber their Asean peers in the latest Dow Jones Sustainability Indices.
Asean banks need to raise sustainable finance bar
13 Oct 2017
Southeast Asia’s banks have only just started to think about their impact on society and the environment.
India bans Diwali fireworks to tackle Delhi's air pollution
11 Oct 2017
India’s supreme court has banned the sale of fireworks in Delhi during the upcoming Diwali festival, hoping to prevent the usual spike in toxic air pollution levels that accompany the holiday.
Sunny Southeast Asia just doesn't get solar
4 Oct 2017
Southeast Asia has double the solar energy potential of Northern Europe, but the market hype is not living up to the reality on the ground.
Delhi chokes on US exports of tar sands waste
29 Sep 2017
India has emerged as the world’s largest importer of petroleum coke, an oil byproduct that is now a major cause of pollution in the capital.
Palm oil giant makes debut in sustainability index
26 Sep 2017
Singapore palm oil company Golden Agri-Resources has been featured in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices for the first time.
India is about to embark on stupendous e-car changes
21 Sep 2017
India, the world’s fifth-largest car market is readying for a stupendous transformation: moving completely toward electric vehicles by 2030.
Shrinking glaciers threaten water supply of millions
15 Sep 2017
Asia’s mountain glaciers will lose at least a third of their mass through global warming by the century’s end, with dire consequences for millions of people.
Indonesia chases firms to pay for forest damage
31 Aug 2017
The Indonesian government is struggling to collect fines from companies found guilty of damaging the environment, leaving trashed rainforests and peat swamps to stay barren.
Himalayas hold their ground as world weather gets warmer
31 Aug 2017
Asia’s glaciers are holding out against global warming and are melting more slowly than expected.
In these highlands climate change is a death sentence
30 Aug 2017
Climate change should be taken as seriously as fighting insurgents, say those witnessing the savage impact first-hand.
Climate change threatens Pacific Rim farm trade
29 Aug 2017
The United Nations agriculture agency is calling on Asia-Pacific economies to take a leading role in climate change adaptation and mitigation.
Coal to power India for decades, says government
29 Aug 2017
Coal will maintain its dominant share of India’s electricity production for decades to come, according to a major report from the government.
COLOURFUL CANINES: Waste gives Mumbai dogs the blues
24 Aug 2017
Authorities in Mumbai have shut down a manufacturing company after it was accused of dumping untreated industrial waste and dyes into a local river that resulted in dogs turning blue.
Drought legacy can be a lingering death
18 Aug 2017
A climate hazard that doesn’t disappear when the rainclouds gather, drought’s lingering death can delay recovery a very long time.
THE IMRAN EFFECT: Pakistanis plant billion trees for their hero
17 Aug 2017
Inspired by national cricket hero Imran Khan, a province in Pakistan has planted a billion trees in just two years.
China puts Tibet's fragile ecosystem in danger
9 Aug 2017
Rising temperatures on the roof of the world make Tibet both a driver and amplifier of global warming. China’s unchecked mining and dam building has to be reigned in.
HOT AS HELL: These heatwaves will kill even healthy people
4 Aug 2017
Extreme heatwaves that kill even healthy people within hours will strike parts of the Indian subcontinent unless global carbon emissions are cut sharply and soon.
Study links climate change and 60,000 farming suicides
3 Aug 2017
Climate change might have contributed to the suicides of nearly 60,000 Indian farmers and farm workers over the past three decades.
Solar not cheaper than coal, says former mining boss
27 Jul 2017
India’s future is still tied to coal and fixing woeful inefficient plants will create huge new generation at a price solar cannot match.
India diverts $25 billion away from clean energy
26 Jul 2017
The Indian government is diverting $25 billion earmarked for clean energy to an unrelated policy, a national news site has revealed.
Asian temperature rise could be disastrous
24 Jul 2017
Profligate fossil fuel use could cause Asian temperatures to rise by 6deg , bringing floods and food shortages for hundreds of millions.
Hanoi choking on fumes of five million motorbikes
24 Jul 2017
The roads of Vietnam’s capital have been taken over by the two-wheeled horde, but bringing in a ban by 2030 will be a tough ask.
Asia coal boom bankrolled by foreign money
21 Jul 2017
The much-discussed boom in coal-fired power in south-east Asia is being bankrolled by foreign governments and banks, with the vast majority of projects apparently too risky for the private sector.
Japan to export renewable energy expertise
17 Jul 2017
Japan plans to export its expertise in renewable energy technologies such as low-emitting geothermal, solar and hydrogen power.
Forget net zero. We need ‘real zero’ – and these companies prove it’s profitable
Fri 15 Aug 2025
OPINION: Three huge global companies – IKEA, Lendlease and Fortescue Mining – are heading towards real zero. If they can do it, so can everyone.
As Canada wildfires choke US with smoke, Republicans demand action. But not on climate change
Mon 18 Aug 2025
The sternly worded statements and letters are filled with indignation and outrage: Republican U.S. lawmakers say Canada has done too little to contain wildfires and smoke that have fouled the air in several states this summer.
Why China is still building new coal – and when it might stop
Thu 14 Aug 2025
Last year, China started construction on an estimated 95 gigawatts (GW) of new coal power capacity, enough to power the entire UK twice over.
Can the EU be a climate leader and boost its economic competitiveness?
Mon 18 Aug 2025
A recent proposal by the European Commission to set an emission reduction target of 90% by 2040 compared to 1990 level is being criticised by European lawmakers, member states and environmentalists alike.
Climate scientists criticise Ireland over new ‘temperature neutrality’ proposal
Wed 13 Aug 2025
Climate scientists have criticised Ireland over proposed measures that would weaken the country’s commitments to reducing methane emissions.
Challenges persist in bid to mine the deep sea, even after boost from Trump
29 Jul 2025
After years of delay, the deep-sea mining plans of Canadian firm The Metals Company (TMC) now appear to be progressing as it pursues a controversial new path to securing a license to mine in international waters under U.S. jurisdiction.
Rise in dengue fever outbreaks across the Pacific driven by the climate crisis, experts say
Wed 13 Aug 2025
Samoa, Fiji and Tonga among the worst affected amid warning the disease and others will become ‘more common and more serious’ as the planet warms.
Smoke from boreal wildfires could cool the Arctic
Mon 18 Aug 2025
But the damage such blazes cause outweighs their benefits
African $60 billion high-speed rail project takes shape
Fri 15 Aug 2025
One of the largest infrastructure projects in Africa has received a new update that could see construction begin soon.
Brazil's Lula vetoes parts of environment bill pushed by the opposition that could harm the Amazon
Wed 13 Aug 2025
Brazil’s president has vetoed parts of a controversial congressional bill that sought to loosen the country’s environmental licensing rules.
How could the UN climate talks be reformed?
Wed 13 Aug 2025
This year marks a decade since nations successfully negotiated the Paris Agreement, a landmark treaty that has been the guiding force for international climate politics ever since.
