Search - environment

 
 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 16, 2015

Abe flubs great opportunity to be a green global leader

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe could have stood forward at the Paris climate talks as a world leader in the fight against climate change. Instead, he offered nothing new.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Dec 8, 2015

Once a fixture, climate skeptics say they are being stifled at Paris summit

To be a climate change skeptic in Paris this week means facing heavy odds.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 2, 2015

Pragmatism in climate policy

The top-down approach on display at the Paris climate-change summit is being discarded in favor of a bottom-up model where countries act voluntarily on their own to curb emissions.
EDITORIALS
Nov 6, 2015

COP21 will require serious effort

It's going to take a great deal of effort to make the COP21 climate change meeting a success, and Japan, the U.S. and China and will have to lead the way.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 15, 2015

Paying-to-pollute flourishing with China planning carbon market

The world is coming to terms with the idea that putting a price on carbon emissions is necessary to fight global warming. Now there is a growing consensus on how to make it happen.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 4, 2015

Social sciences touted as climate changers at Kyoto tech forum

The role of social sciences in finding solutions to long-term energy and environmental problems will only grow in importance as the world works to meet its future energy needs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, participants at the opening day of the annual Science and Technology in Society forum said...
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Sep 3, 2015

Obama visits Alaska fishing town fighting proposed mine, has sockeye moment

President Barack Obama headed to remote fly-in native villages of Alaska on Wednesday on a trek the White House hopes will bring attention to how climate change is affecting Americans.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 15, 2015

Colorado mine waste-fouled river reopens for recreation but not for livestock, irrigation

Authorities in southwestern Colorado said on Friday it was safe for people to once again kayak and raft along a stretch of river that was fouled by toxic waste from an abandoned mine more than a week ago.
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 14, 2015

Severe 'food shocks' more likely due to extreme weather, experts predict

Extreme weather such as intense storms, droughts and heat waves will cause more frequent and severe food shortages as the global climate and food supply systems change, British and American experts warned Friday.
Japan Times
WORLD
Aug 3, 2015

Obama's power plan won't save the world, but may save climate talks

On Monday, the administration of President Barack Obama was to release a plan to curb greenhouse-gas emissions from U.S. power plants by almost a third over the next 15 years.
WORLD
Aug 3, 2015

Obama's climate legacy takes shape with move on power plants

The Obama administration on Monday was to issue rules to cut carbon emissions from U.S. power plants, a move designed to secure the president's legacy on climate and one which has already influenced the campaigns of those who want to succeed him.
WORLD
Jul 16, 2015

World leaders strike deal on financing development

Rich and poor countries agreed on Thursday to overhaul global finance for development, unlocking money for an ambitious agenda to end extreme poverty, protect the environment and improve economic opportunity by 2030.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 7, 2015

Saving Tibet's unique heritage

With China's mega-dams, mines and military activities in Tibet set to increasingly affect Asia's environment and security, the world's leading democracies must consider playing a discreet role to help save the Tibetan plateau's unique heritage from becoming extinct.
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Jun 26, 2015

China annihilates ancient coral ecosystems in its island-building: scientists

Concern is mounting among some scientists that China's reclamation work in the disputed Spratly archipelago of the South China Sea has done severe harm to one of the most important coral reef systems in Southeast Asia.
WORLD / Science & Health
May 3, 2015

Limiting global warming to 2 degrees C 'inadequate,' scientists say

Holding global warming to a temperature rise of 2 degrees Celsius — the cornerstone of an expected new global climate agreement in December — will fail to prevent many of climate change's worst impacts, a group of scientists and other experts have warned.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 23, 2015

Ocean output rivals big nations' GDP, but resources eroding

Economic output by the world's oceans is worth $2.5 trillion a year, rivaling nations such as Britain or Brazil, but marine wealth is sinking fast because of overfishing, pollution and climate change, a study said on Thursday.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 12, 2015

California learns from Australia on coping with long-term drought

Australian farms and cities manage almost every drop of available water to make the most of supplies on the driest inhabited continent. No wonder California is looking Down Under for help with its record drought.
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 8, 2015

Europe submits U.N. climate pledge, urges U.S., China to follow

The European Union has submitted its formal promise on how much it will cut greenhouse gas emissions to the United Nations ahead of climate change talks starting in November, and called on the United States and China to follow its lead.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 16, 2015

Your toothpaste is destroying Asia's rainforests

You probably had some palm oil today, which is found in roughly half of the products sold in modern supermarkets. It is the cause of one of the world's biggest environmental catastrophes, the decimation of Southeast Asia's rainforests.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 16, 2015

Uniqlo vows reforms as NGO deplores factory conditions in China

Fast Retailing moves to improve poor working conditions at Uniqlo's clothing plants in China after being confronted by an NGO in Hong Kong.
EDITORIALS
Jan 10, 2015

Proactive emissions plan needed

Although Japan is the world's fifth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, there doesn't seem to be the prospect that Tokyo will submit its COP20 emissions cut plan before the March 31 deadline.

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat