author

 
 

Meta

Akshat Rathi
U.S. President Donald Trump holds a letter to the U.N. stating the U.S.' withdrawal from the Paris Agreement during the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena, in Washington, on Jan. 20.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jan 31, 2025
The global climate order teeters under a second assault from Trump
Inflation and threats to energy security have eroded the political strength of climate-forward leaders and emboldened Trumpian populists around the world.
Bosses at artificial intelligence companies are concerned about finding enough electricity to keep servers running at data centers.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 31, 2025
AI’s electricity demand means new tech is coming to grids
Startups have an opportunity to develop and deploy grid-enhancing technologies, including pumping more power through cables.
A charred chimney is all that remains at a fire-ravaged ocean front home in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles on Jan. 16.
WORLD
Jan 22, 2025
After the fire, should some parts of Los Angeles never rebuild?
Researchers warn that wildfires pose very different risks from more predictable events like sea-level rise and riverbank flooding.
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.
An oil pump jack and drilling rigs in an oilfield on the shore of the Caspian Sea, near the Aquatic Palace stadium in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Thursday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Nov 23, 2024
At a climate conference in oil country, progress remains elusive
More than a third of Azerbaijan’s gross domestic product comes from fossil fuels, and about 90% of its exports are linked to oil and gas.
A slogan reads "Accelerate Industrial Transformation With AI" at the Microsoft booth at the Hannover Messe 2024 trade fair in Hannover, Germany, on April 22.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 16, 2024
Microsoft’s AI push imperils climate goal as carbon emissions jump
The company’s total planet-warming impact is about 30% higher today than it was in 2020.
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.

Longform

Tokyo Koon stands at the forefront of tackling the so-called 2025 issue, also known as the “Magnetic Tape Alert.”
The race to save 20th-century history