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Akshat Rathi
For Akshat Rathi's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Fatih Birol, executive director of the IEA
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Feb 21, 2024
How to reinvent yourself at 50: An IEA guide
It would be an understatement to say that the energy industry has gone through a lot of change.
The Keppel Marina East Desalination Plant in Singapore on July 21. Public Utilities Board, which is responsible for Singapore's water management, has a long-term goal of reducing the energy use of water desalination to 1 killowatt-hours per 1,000 liters.
ENVIRONMENT
Aug 3, 2023
Singapore is building the technology it needs for new climate era
Building renewables like solar and wind requires a lot of land, one thing Singapore doesn’t have.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 21, 2023
Unlocking climate trillions with a global plan from a sinking island
A summit in Paris this week will bring together the heads of government from more than 100 countries to grapple with financial scarcity as the single-biggest impediment to climate action.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 31, 2023
Long-awaited rules for carbon offset market disappoint experts
Fear of greenwashing has hamstrung the growing market, with data suggesting fewer offsets are being claimed against emitters’ carbon footprints.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 13, 2023
Competition from the U.S. is forcing Europe to up its green game
Despite initial complaints about the Inflation Reduction Act, the EU has not reached for the panic button, even as companies shift their postures in response to competing incentives.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 23, 2023
How Europe ditched Russian fossil fuels with spectacular speed
The transition has been painful, with Europeans getting hit by a roughly $1 trillion energy bill last year, only cushioned by government subsidies.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 17, 2023
Boston startup raises $40 million to develop new low-carbon cement technology
The cement industry makes as much as 8% of the world's emissions — meeting global climate goals would require reducing that to zero.
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 21, 2022
A breakthrough on climate compensation and seven other takeaways from COP27
The deal included a historic provision to set up a fund to help poorer countries face the harm caused by climate change.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 5, 2022
Lack of scrutiny on 'green' bonds offering firms cheap finance while derailing climate action
That firms set their own objectives to evade interest penalties incentivizes them to aim low, as so-called greenwashing enters a $22 trillion corporate bond market.
Japan Times
WORLD
Aug 10, 2022
The U.S.-China rift moves climate politics into an era of competition
The next three months before countries meet in Sharm El-Sheikh for COP27 will show whether the era of cooperation has given way to competition.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 31, 2022
Egypt vows to fight against backslide of climate goals at COP27
The annual United Nations-sponsored Conference of Parties is scheduled for November in the Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 13, 2022
India preparing to submit new climate targets to U.N. in September
The official commitment would come close to a year after countries were told to submit updated targets by the U.N. before a summit last November.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
May 15, 2022
What it’s like to live through India’s nonstop heat wave
Extreme heat has afflicted India since March, where temperatures in a region home to over 1 billion people broke a 122-year record.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 1, 2022
Ukraine climate scientist fears for Russian peer who apologized for war
Russian researcher Oleg Anisimov took the unexpected step of apologizing for the Russian military invasion during a virtual IPCC meeting.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 8, 2022
Net-zero plans of the biggest global companies do not add up to net zero
A new report found that 25 of the world's most valuable companies have climate goals that are weaker than how they've been marketed so far.
Japan Times
WORLD / FOCUS
Nov 8, 2021
Protesters expose the stark reality of climate progress at COP26
The message from the thousands carrying placards around the venue of the meeting is one most insiders would agree with: The progress is still not enough to avoid catastrophe.
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 2, 2021
Why the global methane pledge is a big deal for the climate
Methane traps more heat than carbon dioxide, but it degrades rapidly, meaning that action taken now to reduce its emission can have an immediate cooling effect.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 6, 2021
Iron battery breakthrough could eat lithium’s lunch
As the world's electric grids struggle to find ways to produce clean energy, the innovative iron battery may provide a solution.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 16, 2021
Japan’s ‘carbon neutral’ liquefied natural gas shipments may not offset emissions
Measures such as preventing deforestation or supporting renewable energy projects actually do little to extract additional carbon from the air, and shouldn't contribute to net-zero claims.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Aug 12, 2021
The fictitious world of 'carbon neutral' fossil fuel
Climate experts say some offset deals do virtually nothing to decrease carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, falling far short of neutral.

Longform

High-end tourism is becoming more about the kinds of experiences that Japan's lesser-known places can provide.
Can Japan lure the jet-set class off the beaten path?