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A wind farm in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture. For Japan's future energy roadmap to center on clean sources, the government should reform the institutions overseeing energy policy to avoid vested interests from slowing the transition down.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 24, 2024

It’s time for Japan to set up a climate change agency

The government is currently reviewing Japan's Strategic Energy Plan. But who's shaping this key document for the future? It's mostly older men with vested interests.
A firefighter works in a rural area of Corumba, Mato Grosso do Sul state, Brazil, on Wednesday.
ENVIRONMENT
Jun 27, 2024

'Breathing smoke': Brazil's Pantanal wetlands hit by record fires

In the first half of this year, satellites recorded more than 3,300 fires in the region.
Wind turbines near New Brighton, England. According to the International Energy Agency, Japan could produce over 900% of its energy demand with offshore wind alone.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Jun 30, 2024

Japan looks farther out to sea for overdue wind power boost

A bill enabling development in the country's exclusive economic zone is seen as key to Japan achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
An aerial view of a burnt area in the Amazon rainforest near the Lago do Cunia Extractive Reserve, on the border of the states of Rondonia and Amazonas, northern Brazil, on Aug. 31, 2022. Brazil recorded 13,489 fire outbreaks in the Amazon in the first half of this year, according to satellite data available on Monday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 2, 2024

Brazil's Amazon sees worst 6 months of wildfires in 20 years

They were caused by a historic drought that struck the world's largest tropical rainforest last year, experts say.
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo last Friday ended what was known as Chevron deference, a legal doctrine holding that courts should defer to the technical expertise of agency staff in interpreting unclear laws.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 3, 2024

Supreme Court gives Trump ‘sword’ to slash Biden’s climate rules

Its ruling last Friday ended a legal doctrine holding that courts should defer to the technical expertise of federal agency staff in interpreting unclear laws.
Visitors walk past an Amazon exhibition booth during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai on Friday.
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
Jul 6, 2024

Is AI a major drain on the world's energy supply?

The spread of data centers across the globe is throwing a spotlight on the amount of energy the technology uses as well as its impact on the environment.
A gyrotron, which is used to heat plasma for nuclear fusion reactions, developed by Kyoto Fusioneering
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Jul 7, 2024

Kyoto Fusioneering looks toward a 'Made in Japan' approach for nuclear fusion

Although it recognizes that international collaboration is key, the startup sees the country playing an integral role in the fusion ecosystem.
Coal piles at Jera's Hekinan thermal power station in Hekinan, Aichi Prefecture, in October 2021
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Jul 8, 2024

Japan should phase out coal power by 2035, climate group says

The nation should adjust its national targets and slash emissions by two-thirds by the middle of the next decade, according to the Japan Climate Initiative.
The cooling towers of the Saint-Laurent-Des-Eaux nuclear power plant site near Orleans, France, in 2023. Long a nuclear-power holdout, Australia is now debating a switch that could see the country end its decadeslong resistance to the energy source.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Jul 11, 2024

One of the last holdouts, Australia weighs nuclear power pivot

Australia's potential turn to nuclear power is in line with a global trend amid a rethink about energy security and efforts to reduce emissions across the world.
The Veolia Southwark Integrated Waste Management Facility in London.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Jul 11, 2024

Nestle quietly shifted recycling goals as plastics problem grows

Nestle changing its plastics goal means 280,000 metric tons of additional nonrecyclable plastic waste a year, according to the latest available data for 2022.
A record 219 people were attacked by bears across Japan in fiscal 2023.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 22, 2024

Hokkaido city deploys drones for bear management

The city of Nayoro will use drones — equipped with cameras and speakers — to locate bears when sightings are reported and help direct residents to safety.
Gas and steam rise out of an oil refinery in the Siberian city of Omsk, Russia, on Feb.  8, 2023.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 24, 2024

Russia 'killing' climate, say activists awaiting top rights court ruling

Despite signing the Paris Climate accord, Moscow's fossil fuel extraction and war in Ukraine have spiked its greenhouse gas emissions.
A cyclist cools off at a fountain at Madrid Rio park during a heat wave in Madrid, on Thursday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 26, 2024

U.N. demands action on extreme heat as world registers warmest day

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urges governments to "heatproof" their economies, critical sectors such as health care, and the built environment.
The edge of a wildfire near Mistissini, Quebec, Canada on June 12, 2023
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 30, 2024

World's forests failed to curb 2023 climate emissions, study finds

That means a record amount of carbon dioxide entered Earth's atmosphere last year, further driving climate change.
Trees burn during the Park Fire near Chico, California.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 30, 2024

Massive California wildfire hints at bleak outlook for 2024

Two wet winters in a row covered the state in newly-grown grass and brush, then summer arrived with dry air and back-to-back heat waves, turning vegetation to fuel.
The Maersk Launcher, a ship chartered by The Metals Company, carries seabed samples from the remote Clarion-Clipperton Zone of the Pacific Ocean on June 7, 2021.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Jul 30, 2024

The future of deep sea mining hinges on a contentious election

The vote will determine whether companies can begin strip-mining the world’s oceans for critical metals despite concerns about the impacts.
Avocados hang off a tree at an orchard in Tancitaro, Michoacan state, Mexico
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Aug 7, 2024

Avocado goldrush links U.S. companies with Mexico's deforestation disaster

The U.S. demand for avocados divides communities in Mexico, where it is both a driver of economic growth and a catalyst for environmental crises.
The shadows of workers from EKI Energy Services at a ReGen Powertech wind farm in Dewas, Madhya Pradesh, India, in 2022
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Aug 8, 2024

Climate crisis hinges on green power for those in need, study shows

Some of the poorest nations also have the world’s best solar energy potential, the report stated.
There are now more than a dozen apps aimed at helping users keep tabs on their individual emissions.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Aug 12, 2024

Steps, calories … CO2? Emissions-tracking apps are on the rise

Carbon-tracking services walk a fine line between highlighting purchase emissions and suggesting individuals alone can solve the problem of climate change.
A fisher on his way to inspect fish pens in Laguna Lake in the Philippines. About 13,000 people depend on the lake for their livelihoods, according to the Laguna Lake Development Authority.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Aug 12, 2024

Philippines fishers worry solar farm on lake will hurt incomes

A group of fishers is opposed to the government's plan to place solar panels atop Laguna de Bay, one of the country's biggest sources of freshwater fish.
Stuart McDonald, a fifth-generation farmer, searches for freshly planted seeds coated with Loam Bio’s fungal treatment, near Canowindra, Australia, on April 24.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Aug 12, 2024

Australian farmers are betting on fungi to battle climate change

Fungi act as nature’s carbon traders, pulling it from the roots of plants and giving the plant nutrients in return.
People rest outside Matadero cultural center during the fourth heatwave of the summer in Madrid on Sunday.
ENVIRONMENT
Aug 12, 2024

Experts are fighting over whether to give heat waves names

The arguments against naming heat waves aren’t so removed from the arguments in favor: Heat is complicated, and its threat level tricky to generalize.
Bales of hard-to-recycle plastic waste piled up at Renewlogy Technologies in Salt Lake City, Utah, on May 17, 2021.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Aug 15, 2024

In shift, U.S. backs global target to reduce plastic production, source says

The change away from earlier calls to leave such decisions up to each country puts the U.S. in direct opposition to countries like Saudi Arabia and China.
The Noto Peninsula quasi-national park in 2020, before the area was hit by the the Jan. 1 Noto Peninsula earthquake
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2024

Government to help set up hiking trail in Ishikawa

The environment ministry plans to secure ¥900 million as related expenses in its fiscal 2025 budget request.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a green transformation (GX) conference at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Aug 27, 2024

Japan to discuss 10-step process for decarbonization strategy rollout

The list includes ways to make it easier for businesses to invest in carbon-free power sources such as renewable energy and nuclear power.
Cars are flooded in a local street during the pass of a winter storm in Lodi, New Jersey, on Jan. 10.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Aug 28, 2024

Extreme rain is a growing climate threat to the northeastern U.S.

A warming world will bring more rain-induced flooding to the United States' Northeast, a region of millions who aren't prepared for it.
Waves break against protecting walls as Typhoon Gaemi approaches Keelung, Taiwan, on July 24.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Aug 29, 2024

Climate change fueled deadly Typhoon Gaemi, study finds

Typhoon Gaemi's wind speeds were 7% more intense due to human-caused climate change, and its rainfall was 14% heavier in Taiwan and 9% heavier in Hunan.
Activists attend a news conference after a ruling by the Constitutional Court in Seoul on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Aug 30, 2024

Top South Korean court says climate law doesn't protect basic rights

The court asked the legislature to revise the carbon neutrality act by the end of February 2026.
Torrential rain in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward on Friday as Shanshan brought heavy precipitation to the capital.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Aug 30, 2024

How climate change made Shanshan more likely and more devastating

The devastating winds of Shanshan were 26% more likely due to climate change, a rapid analysis has found, highlighting the impact of warming on severe storms.
Redevelopment of the Meiji Jingu Gaien district has trees in the area marked according to their status — trees marked in red were to be cut down in the original plan while those in blue were to be transplanted. In the updated plan, trees marked in red will no longer be felled, and those in blue will remain where they are.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 9, 2024

Updated Meiji Jingu Gaien redevelopment plan to keep more trees

Fewer trees will be felled and more new ones planted, while construction will also take place further away from the park's iconic ginkgo trees.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?