Tag - environment

 
 

ENVIRONMENT

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.
An employee of Trex stands with bales of used plastic, which the company recycles into decking material.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Nov 25, 2024
Can the world unite to end the plastic pollution crisis?
The rising toll of plastic in the environment is impossible to ignore.
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.
Sacks of untreated and shredded plastic waste, left unattended, collect at an inoperative recycling site in Asan, South Korea, on Nov. 19.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Nov 25, 2024
South Korea's mountain of plastic waste shows limits of recycling
Seoul says that it recycles 73% of its plastic waste, but environmentalists say the real number is about 27%.
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 resident of Kibichuo in Okayama Prefecture takes a blood test in the town on Monday.
JAPAN
Nov 25, 2024
PFAS blood tests start in Okayama Prefecture town
About 800 residents are expected to take a blood test under the program, which runs through Dec. 8.
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.
A research team that includes government-backed research institute Riken and the University of Tokyo has developed a plastic material that can be dissolved in seawater in just a few hours.
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2024
Riken and others develop plastic material that dissolves in seawater
Unlike earlier biodegradable plastics, the material is strong and easy to process and takes only hours to decompose.
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.
The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station in Niigata Prefecture, the world's biggest nuclear plant, on Aug. 5. Like many others in Japan, the plant is seeking clearance to restart, as the country grapples with how to shape its nuclear future.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 19, 2024
Japan’s nuclear future: Caught between climate goals and reality
Japan is well short of hitting its nuclear power goals by 2030, with the challenging nature of reactor restarts likely impacting its emissions reduction targets.
A drone view shows a tree on fire in Humaita, Amazonas state, Brazil, on Sept. 8.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Nov 19, 2024
Can a COP29 deal clean up scandal-ridden carbon offsets?
Carbon trading is seen as one way for richer countries to meet their emissions reduction targets.
A Sardinian miner helmet, painted with the logo of Sardinia region, in Carbonia, west of Cagliari, Italy. Sardinia relies largely on coal for its electricity.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 18, 2024
Locals revolt against renewables in Italy's coal-fired island, Sardinia
The island a prime location for wind and solar power but intense investor interest has spooked locals who say Sardinia is being exploited.
Demonstrators hold a giant picture of Brazilian environmental activist Txai Surui, to urge world leaders to protect the environment and defend the Amazon rainforest, at Botafogo beach in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 18, 2024
G20 talks in Rio reach breakthrough on climate finance, sources say
The ongoing U.N. climate talks have thrown a spotlight on the G20's efforts to tackle global warming.
Rice fields in the town of Ozu, Kumamoto Prefecture. The water-filled paddies glistening under the sun is a symbol of a long-running effort to preserve the prefecture’s groundwater.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Nov 17, 2024
Japan's chipmaking rush pressures Kumamoto's special water supply
TSMC and others hope that support for existing projects and proper wastewater management can avoid undermining water development efforts lauded by the U.N.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump attends a meeting with House Republicans at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Washington on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 16, 2024
G20 set to back climate goals and global trade in message to Trump
Group of 20 leaders meeting in Brazil next week are set to show unity on climate action and global trade rules.
Youth leaders at the COP29 United Nations climate change conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, which started on Monday and runs until Nov. 22. Youth participation is key to the success of climate diplomacy as the international community strives to limit global warming.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 13, 2024
A blueprint for youth inclusion in climate diplomacy
Youth participation is vital to keeping the 1.5 degrees Celsius target within reach, one under discussion at the ongoing COP29 climate change conference in Azerbaijan.
Donald Trump in the past has netted important victories before the Supreme Court for his policies on trade, immigration and the environment.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 12, 2024
One of Trump’s few checks on power? The Supreme Court he shaped.
The president-elect hasn’t always gotten his way and he may need the court’s help to fulfill his campaign-trail promises.
In 2017, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government became the first among Japan's local authorities to issue green bonds.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Nov 12, 2024
More municipalities tap green bonds as demand makes rates favorable
Green bond issuance by local government authorities in Japan has risen from ¥149.3 billion in 2022 to ¥443.1 billion in 2023.

Longform

Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers