Tag - climate-change

 
 

CLIMATE CHANGE

A maintenance worker inspects solar panels at a power plant in southern India.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jan 6, 2025
Where the smart climate tech venture money is going in 2025
The prospect of more trade wars is scrambling the economy in ways that will determine which climate tech sectors to bet on.
Then-economy minister Yasutoshi Nishimura marks the opening of the carbon credit market at the Tokyo Stock Exchange in October 2023. The GX League, which includes the emissions trading system, already covers over half of Japan’s emissions.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 3, 2025
Japan poised to lead in a brighter carbon market era
The patchy, voluntary nature of carbon markets around the world is finally changing after world leaders agreed to a new system for trading emissions reductions across borders.
Although meat consumption has been dropping, it's not happening quickly enough to meet climate targets, something to keep in mind over the holidays.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 30, 2024
Why are my vegan friends going back to meat?
Helping people eat healthier diets with more fruit, vegetables and fiber would have enormous benefits for human well-being and the planet.
Thaleon Tremain, chief executive of Pachamama Coffee, holds a cup of coffee beans in Sacramento, California, on Feb. 27. Wholesale coffee prices are trading near a 50-year high because of shortages related to extreme weather and increased global demand.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 30, 2024
Why coffee prices are soaring (again)
The wholesale price of beans has jumped more than 30% just since the start of November.
Climate demonstrators protest against investments in fossil fuels during the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Washington on Oct. 21.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Dec 30, 2024
After a year of hard climate talks, ‘minilateralism’ is an alternative
Global environmental agreements have never been simple, but a variety of factors, such as political polarization, make countries less willing to compromise.
Indonesia's plan to increase biodiesel mandates to 50% by 2028 could require clearing 5.3 million hectares of forest for palm oil plantations by 2042, an area larger than Denmark.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 30, 2024
The year’s worst climate news you haven’t heard about
Not enough floodwaters for dams, more coal burning and demand for Indonesian palm oil show efforts to slow global warming are flagging.
People cover themselves with umbrellas during a hot summer day in Tokyo's Ginza district in August. Temperatures shot up in early July, even before the official end of the rainy season, and the high temperatures persisted well into the fall.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / OUR PLANET
Dec 29, 2024
Japan’s weather in 2024: Record temperatures hurt people’s health and wallets
Average temperatures across the nation and surrounding seas exceeded last year’s record-breaking levels "by a significant margin," affecting everything from well-being to farming.
Storage tanks at the BP Cherry Point Refinery near Blaine, Washington
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 27, 2024
Big Oil backtracks on renewables push as climate agenda falters
The likes of BP and Shell this year sharply slowed their plans to spend billions on wind and solar power projects.
Greenpeace activists protest nuclear power in Berlin in April 2023, just as Germany was shutting down its three remaining nuclear power plants. 
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 26, 2024
It's time for Germany to admit its mistake on nuclear energy
The main thing standing in the way of Germany rebuilding its nuclear sector is a stubborn insistence that it can’t be done.
Volunteers place eelgrass seeds on slabs of agar gel with tweezers during an event in Shiogama, Miyagi Prefecture, on Nov. 9.
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2024
Seagrass bed restoration work spreads in Miyagi Prefecture
Seagrass and seaweed beds are capturing global attention as they absorb carbon dioxide.
China's solar industry, hit hard in 2024 by overcapacity and financial losses, is expected to recover in 2025 with tighter market conditions and a 25% revenue growth forecast.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 24, 2024
Here’s the best climate news you missed this year
There are plenty of positive trends out there once you peer past the alarmist headlines.
Steam rises from a geothermal plan in Yuzawa, Akita Prefecture. Despite its long history and potential, geothermal provided just 0.3% of Japan's overall energy mix in the fiscal year from April 2023
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Dec 22, 2024
Is Japan finally ready to tap its abundant geothermal energy potential?
Japan boasts the world’s third-largest potential supply of geothermal energy, but this renewable energy resource has mostly been untapped.
China’s solar industry is seeking to emulate OPEC’s cartel model, but differences in technological innovation, market dynamics and centralized control by Beijing complicate such efforts.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 20, 2024
An OPEC for solar power isn’t going to work
Geological advantages are perpetual, but technological advantages can quickly become obsolete.
Rivers and canals meander through many of the townships in Ningbo, with some homes built close to the water.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 19, 2024
Can China shield the biggest uninsured economy from floods?
Only about 10% of Chinese families have a home insurance policy, compared to nearly 90% in the U.S.
Barclays has been a top target for British climate protestors in recent years because of the volume of its lending to the fossil-fuel industry.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 19, 2024
Why Barclays is one of the main targets of U.K. climate activists
Barclays has provided more bonds and loans to fossil fuel companies than any European rival over the past three years.
The entrance of the Sodegaura LNG Terminal, operated by Tokyo Gas, in Sodegaura, Chiba Prefecture
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Dec 18, 2024
Japan's draft climate strategy spurs calls for bolder cuts in carbon emissions
The government last month presented a draft plan to aim for a 60% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2035 from 2013 levels.
People remove snow from a sidewalk in Sapporo after a heavy snowstorm in January 2022. A team of Japanese scientists has concluded that global warming was what caused Hokkaido to receive up to 20% more snow than usual in December 2021.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Dec 18, 2024
Japanese study links heavy Hokkaido snowfall in 2021 to climate change
Global warming caused Hokkaido to receive up to 20% more snow in December 2021 than usual, a team of Japanese scientists concluded.
The Energy Powerwall Home Battery charging station in Brussels in 2023
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 17, 2024
New EU emissions rules drive petrol car price hikes and EV discounts
Analysts say major carmakers have adjusted their pricing strategy to curb demand for heavy emitters and make pricier electric models appealing.
A worker walks along the partially snowless slope at the William F. Rogers Ski Area at Massachusetts' Blue Hills in January.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Dec 17, 2024
Companies challenged by fewer weeks of winter
Warmer winters also impact everything from sports to drinking water and even seasonal allergies.
India has the most steelmaking capacity under development in the world, surpassing even China.
BUSINESS
Dec 16, 2024
A booming and coal-heavy steel sector risks India’s green goals
India is the world’s third-largest emitter and the rate at which it can decarbonize will have a major impact on global climate efforts.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami