Sep 24, 2008

Facing a rise in sea level

SINGAPORE — As policymakers plan ahead in Tokyo, Osaka-Kobe and other major port cities in Japan, one of the most vexing questions they face is how much will the sea level rise in coming decades? The stakes are high. By the 2070s, the number ...

Sep 12, 2008

Water management for the Mekong basin

SINGAPORE — China says it remains a developing country despite its rapid rise in the league of global power. By some measures, it is now the world’s third-biggest economy and second-largest exporter. However gauged, China is clearly a nation with increasing impact and influence, ...

Aug 13, 2008

Water shortage: China's looming problem

SINGAPORE — The Chinese government has made a huge effort to improve air quality and beautify Beijing for the Olympics. But it cannot apply a short-term “fix” to another problem that visitors to the Games will not see — the steady depletion of underground ...

Jul 25, 2008

Alternatives to Iranian oil

SINGAPORE — Talks to defuse the brewing crisis over Iran’s nuclear ambitions ended inconclusively last weekend. The discussions in Geneva involving China, Russia, the United States and leading European powers were followed by a warning to Tehran that it had a fortnight to respond ...

Jul 7, 2008

Tensions strain 'strategic' Russia-China ties

SINGAPORE — To judge from the recent exchanges between the leaders of China and Russia, all is sweetness and light in the strategic partnership between the two leading Eurasian powers. But beneath the surface, problems over military sales, trade and energy are weakening Sino-Russian ...

Jun 26, 2008

Energy use stands to soar

WASHINGTON — What will happen to the price of oil and its supply if Asia’s emerging economic giants, China and India, continue their quest to raise living standards and catch up with rich nations by emulating the West’s energy-intensive growth model? And what will ...

Jun 20, 2008

Burden of subsidies grows

SINGAPORE — As the price of oil has surged ever higher in recent weeks, Asian countries that subsidize energy prices have been hit hard. India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Taiwan have been forced to raise fuel prices by cutting their subsidies, despite ...

Jun 12, 2008

Another looming food crisis

SINGAPORE — The United Nations held a summit in Rome earlier this month to find solutions to the global food crisis. The focus was on grain shortages and high prices that have recently roiled countries around the world, causing mass protests and political instability ...

Jun 3, 2008

Shaking Japan to the very core

Singapore — As aftershocks from China’s devastating earthquake continue to cause havoc, atomic safety experts from around the world are preparing to meet in Japan this month to scrutinize seismic standards at nuclear plants. Because they contain lethal sources of radiation, the plants are ...

May 14, 2008

Russia's oil treasure shows signs of decline

SINGAPORE — In the eight years of Vladimir Putin’s presidency, Russia’s energy riches were used as a lever to rebuild the country’s influence and power. As his successor, Dimitry Medvedev, took over last week and Putin became prime minister, both leaders will worry about ...

Apr 28, 2008

Combating climate change

SINGAPORE — Two recent news reports have underscored China’s voracious appetite for oil and the impact of unrestrained burning of coal and other fossil fuels on global climate change. Both point to the need for Japan, the United States, Canada, South Korea, Australia and ...

Apr 12, 2008

Gambari's battle in Burma

SINGAPORE — The United Nations special envoy to Burma is coming under fire for failing to nudge the country’s military rulers in the direction of real political reform. But it is wrong to blame the envoy, Ibrahim Gambari. After all, his mandate is from ...