Tag - climate-change

 
 

CLIMATE CHANGE

Elementary school children offer prayers in front of the photograph of Tetsu Nakamura in Omuta, Fukuoka Prefecture, on Nov. 24, five years after his death.
JAPAN
Dec 4, 2024
Nakamura's wishes for Afghanistan live on five years after his death
The Japanese doctor worked in the country for many years providing medical assistance and building irrigation canals.
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley at the COP29 climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Nov. 12.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Dec 3, 2024
Barbados completes world's first debt swap for climate resilience
Barbados' new deal could generate around $125 million to go toward sewage treatment plant upgrades that should boost water supplies and reduce pollution.
Hibiya Park in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on Saturday. Warm weather has delayed the country's autumn foliage season — when tourists flock to see leaves turn vibrant reds and yellows.
JAPAN
Dec 3, 2024
Japan witnesses warmest fall on record
Between September and November, the temperature was 1.97 degrees Celsius higher than usual, delaying the country's popular displays of seasonal foliage.
The plastics issue is particularly difficult due to a lack of viable substitutes and oil producers are increasingly investing in refineries for plastic production as they expect increased demand in that sector.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 3, 2024
Plastics failure is a canary in the climate coal mine
This delay reflects the real-world obstacles these international negotiations face, as a single country can block progress.
Debris from Hurricane Helene on a roadside as residents evacuate before the arrival of Hurricane Milton on Oct. 7 in St. Pete Beach, Florida.
ENVIRONMENT / Earth science
Nov 30, 2024
Atlantic hurricane season ends, leaving scientists to ponder the future
The Atlantic spawned 11 hurricanes this season, above the annual average of seven. Also above average was the number of major hurricanes.
Vehicles pass in front of an Exxon service station in Bethesda, Maryland, on Monday. Material stolen from the company's critics in a hack-and-leak operation continues to be used today to counter litigation claiming the oil giant misled the public and its investors about the risks of climate change.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 28, 2024
Exxon lobbyist probed over hacked papers that disrupted climate lawsuits
The stolen material continues to be used today to counter litigation claiming the oil giant misled the public and its investors about the risks of climate change.
Emissions rise from the Royal Dutch Shell Plc Norco Refinery in Norco, Louisiana, on June 12, 2020.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Nov 27, 2024
How AI and cloud computing may delay the transition to clean energy
The pace of clean-energy deployments is moving too slowly to keep up with the new technology's demands.
Oil drilling equipment on federal land near Fellows, California. Drilling activity on federal lands and waters accounts for about a quarter of U.S. oil production and 12% of gas output.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 26, 2024
Trump prepares wide-ranging energy plan centered on gas and oil, sources say
The plan to roll out the list as early as day one ensures that oil and gas production will rank alongside immigration as a pillar of Trump's early agenda.
A thermal power plant in Takasago, Hyogo Prefecture. Policymakers suggest setting a target of cutting emissions by 60% by 2035.
JAPAN
Nov 26, 2024
Japanese panel suggests 60% emissions reduction target for 2035
Japan already has a goal to reduce 2013-level emissions by 46% by 2030.
The national flag of Saudi Arabia at their pavilion at the COP29 climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Nov. 14
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Nov 26, 2024
How Saudi Arabia turned back climate progress at COP29
After three decades of being the main opposition at the annual climate talks, the Saudis have developed a sophisticated playbook.
Global beef consumption has slowed and the carbon footprint of the global cattle herd may already be declining.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 26, 2024
Peak beef could already be here
Global beef consumption has slowed and the carbon footprint of the global cattle herd may already be declining.
At the United Nations climate conference in Baku, rich nations found that efforts to reduce their own emissions and fund climate programs elsewhere in the world bought them little favor with developing countries most at risk of global warming.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 26, 2024
Clean power must offer more hope to beat fossil fuels
Wealthy nations must treat climate change as a genuine crisis, advocating for bold financing programs to enable poor nations to industrialize with clean energy.
Not one country is on track for a 1.5 C future based on 2030 national pledges for cutting emissions, according to ASCOR.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Nov 26, 2024
Rich countries provide no haven from climate doom, study finds
The review of 70 countries’ emissions and policies shows "no overwhelming trend" that wealthier countries are doing a better job of tackling climate change.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) headquarters in Washington. Since former President Donald Trump’s election victory, investors have dumped stocks associated with high-profile environmental, social and governance (ESG) themes such as wind and solar.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 25, 2024
Trump victory forces ESG investors to regroup
Investment managers targeting climate change say it’s time to start speaking in terms that don’t alienate the millions of Americans who voted for the president-elect.
Attendees walk past the COP29 logo during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Friday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Nov 25, 2024
Climate finance's 'new era' shows new political realities
All sides acknowledge rich countries' promise of $300 billion a year in climate finance is not enough.
A man walks past a gasoline station in Tokyo on Thursday.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Nov 24, 2024
How Japan can exit the fossil fuel subsidies it can’t seem to quit
While offering relief to low-income households, such measures encourage the continued use of the fossil fuels driving climate change.
In developing Asia, where coal dominates and imported liquefied natural gas is expensive, natural gas remains limited in electricity grids.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 24, 2024
Gas got America off coal. Now, it's coming for Asia's oil.
It can work in concert with carbon-free energy to break the hold of the dirtiest sources of power.
Delegates applaud during a closing plenary meeting of COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Sunday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Nov 24, 2024
Developing nations blast $300 billion COP29 climate deal as insufficient
The deal reached at the close of the two-week COP29 summit in Azerbaijan resulted from fractious and at times openly hostile negotiations.
People walk near the entrance of the venue of the United Nations climate change conference COP29, in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 20, 2024
Development banks seek private money for climate change fight
Development banks committed to increasing their lending to poorer countries to $120 billion a year by 2030.
Leaders attending the launch of the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty pose for a group photo after the first session of the G20 Leaders' Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 20, 2024
Brazil urges G20 leaders to move faster on net zero climate targets
Brazil's leader noted this is likely the world's warmest year on record as climate disasters such as flooding and droughts become more frequent and intense.

Longform

The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo is a popular place to foster curiosity in the natural sciences.
Can Japan's scientific community rebound from a Nobel nosedive?