Tag - environment

 
 

ENVIRONMENT

A compressed natural gas station near Chennai on Wednesday
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 20, 2025
Osaka Gas plans to boost sales of city gas in India tenfold
India is developing a city gas network to promote the use of natural gas, which is less environmentally damaging than coal and fuel oil.
A gasoline blend containing bioethanol is sold at a gas station in Illinois in December. The United States and Brazil are keen to expand exports of bioethanol to Japan.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Feb 19, 2025
With 2050 net-zero goal on horizon, momentum builds for biofuel in Japan
Experts hope the increasing push for use of biofuels in gasoline-powered vehicles may help shift public awareness on environmental issues.
The government has made a shift toward nuclear amid predictions of higher electricity demand stemming from semiconductor production and data centers for AI in the decades to come.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 18, 2025
Japan backs nuclear power in climate plan criticized as insufficient
The government is targeting emissions cuts of 60% by fiscal 2035, but environmental groups and businesses have called for more ambition.
A government-hired hunter holds up a captured iguana in Pingtung County, Taiwan, on Feb. 10. Taiwan's iguana population has exploded since the spikey-backed giant lizards were introduced more than 20 years ago as exotic pets. Many escaped or were dumped by their owners and have bred rapidly in the warm climate of southern Taiwan, invading neighborhoods and ravaging farmers' crops.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 17, 2025
Taiwan bounty hunters kill invading iguanas as numbers soar
Taiwan began culling iguanas nearly 10 years ago and this year's target has been set at more than 100,000.
All Nippon Airways aircraft at Haneda Airport in Tokyo in August 2024. ANA has staked a lot on greener kinds of jet fuel, with 70% of the emissions reductions under its net-zero emissions plan coming from them.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Feb 16, 2025
Sky not the only limit for JAL and ANA’s climate goals
The airlines' similar but different carbon neutrality plans highlight the difficulty of decarbonization, especially as the sector is now growing again.
As peckish deer chase delighted tourists in Japan's temple-dotted Nara Park, a quiet but dedicated team of litter-pickers patrols the stone paths, collecting plastic waste that threatens the animals' health.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Feb 15, 2025
New street patrol helps Nara's deer clean up their act
Garbage dropped by tourists can pose a serious risk to Nara's famous deer, but a new group is cleaning up the town.
U.S. President Donald Trump holds a signed executive order in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 12, 2025
As Trump hits delete, the race is on to save LGBTQ+ and climate data
Thousands of U.S. government web pages are being altered or deleted following a slew of executive orders from President Donald Trump.
Nancy Gordon, Australia's commissioner-general for the Osaka Expo, in Canberra <i>on Monday</i>
JAPAN
Feb 12, 2025
Australia aims to use Osaka Expo to work more with Japan on decarbonization
Canberra also aims to promote collaboration in the field of space technology, with its expo pavilion slated to hold an event with JAXA.
President Donald Trump shows a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) forecast track of Hurricane Dorian that was altered with a black marker in Washington on Sept. 4, 2019.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Feb 11, 2025
NOAA told to make list of climate-related grants, setting off fears
Staff members were given a list and told to identify which could be "potentially impacted” by one of U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive orders.
A structure burns during the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, on Jan. 7.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Feb 11, 2025
It’s ‘virtually certain’ the world has already breached 1.5 C
"Every increment of warming above 1.5 degrees Celsius means worse extremes,” said a research scientist.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) headquarters in Washington in 2023. Groups with EPA grants say they have been unable to access funds from the agency.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Feb 5, 2025
Trump’s freeze on climate money sows fear and confusion
A federal judge temporarily blocked the spending pause days later but uncertainty persists, with the full impact of the disruption still coming into view.
A climate change demonstrator takes part in a protest to denounce the impact of U.S. politics on climate change, outside the U.S. Embassy in London on Jan. 11.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Feb 5, 2025
Top climate scientist declares 2 degrees Celsius climate goal 'dead'
A stark new analysis concludes that Earth's climate is more sensitive to rising greenhouse gas emissions than previously thought.
Sea turtles in Amami Oshima, Kagoshima Prefecture. Their nesting activity has continued to decline in recent years.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jan 30, 2025
Amami Oshima sea turtle nesting declines to second-lowest level
Scientists believe declining populations may be a key factor and have warned that a long-term analysis is needed to assess the situation.
The findings on the alarming acceleration of warming have enormous ramifications for ocean health, as rising temperatures impact everything from coral reefs to fisheries.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jan 28, 2025
Oceans are warming faster and faster as the Earth traps more energy
The alarming acceleration helps explain why 2023 and 2024 saw unprecedented ocean temperatures — and more extreme storms.
A solar farm in Lennon, Michigan, in 2021. In an executive order, President Donald Trump pointedly excluded green technology like solar panels from his definition of energy.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 28, 2025
Citi analysts say Trump can’t reverse energy transition
Despite the Trump administration’s determination to shred Biden-era climate protections, there remains a "sense of optimism” that the energy transition will prevail.
U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, via videoconference on Thursday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 27, 2025
The Davos ‘vibe shift’ is no surprise
This year, Davos was different. Significant slices of corporate America have been divesting themselves of the world-saving ideals that Davos is built on.
Thailand's Royal Rainmaking department takes part in an atmospheric modification mission to displace pollution by spraying icy water in the air over the outskirts of Bangkok.
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Jan 27, 2025
Ice in the sky: Thailand's fight against air pollution
The new technique of spraying dry ice or cold water into the air was first used last year and is still in its testing stages.
An oil drilling rig in Midland, Texas, on March 2, 2023
WORLD / Politics
Jan 27, 2025
Trump seizes wartime powers in battle for more fossil fuels
By invoking the country’s national and economic security, the plan lays the foundation for energy projects to move forward with unprecedented speed.
Katsumi Shinagawa prepares to shred cabbage to serve with pork cutlet dishes at the restaurant Katsukichi in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 24, 2025
Climate change cooks up Japanese 'cabbage shock'
It is the latest pain point for shoppers and eateries in Japan already squeezed by inflation.
Strong waves from the Pasig River pummel the shoreline in Manila on Nov. 17 as Super Typhoon Man-yi hits the Philippines.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Jan 24, 2025
Disaster fatigue: When storms drown out compassion
Natural disasters in the Philippines are taking a toll not only on the most vulnerable but also on those whose very job it is to help to them.

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