Asia

Asia pushes ahead on carbon markets

Friday - Despite the economic challenges posed by Covid-19, the past year was marked by a growing number of pledges from Asian countries to reach carbon neutrality.

Japan and China back coal despite Paris pledges

22 Mar 21 - Japan and China remain among the world’s top coal industry lenders and underwriters, says a report, despite both countries declaring intent ions to go carbon-neutral as part of their commitments to climate target set out in the Paris Agreement.

Climate work suspended in wake of coup

9 Mar 21 - The United Nations has suspended climate projects that require working with Myanmar’s military government following the February 1 coup and other international donors may follow suit.

Climate legal cases on the rise in Asia

3 Mar 21 - Asian governments and industries have increasingly been facing legal action for climate change-related harms over the past two years, a report by a United States-headquartered law firm has revealed.

Japan's emissions at record low

9 Dec 20 - Japan's greenhouse gas emissions fell 2.7 per cent to a record low in the 2019 financial year that ended March 2020, government figures showed on Tuesday, thanks to growing use of renewable energy and lower energy consumption by manufacturers.

Petronas Asia's first oil company to set zero-emissions target

2 Nov 20 - Malaysian state-owned energy firm Petronas has declared that it will be carbon neutral by 2050

Philippines declares moratorium on new coal power plants

30 Oct 20 - The Philippines Government will no longer accept proposals to build new coal power plants, in a significant policy shift designed to boost the deployment of renewable energy.

South Korea joins Japan in making 2050 carbon-neutral pledge

29 Oct 20 - South Korea is the latest country to pledge to be carbon-neutral by 2050.

India's cities look to become climate-smarter

28 Oct 20 - India's southern city of Hyderabad is known as a high-tech hub - but its infrastructure is looking increasingly dated in an era of strengthening climate change impacts.

Japan to be carbon-neutral by 2050

27 Oct 20 - Japan’s prime minister, Yoshihide Suga, has said the country will become carbon neutral by 2050, heralding a bolder approach to tackling the climate emergency by the world’s third-biggest economy.

South Korea sets net-zero goal

1 Oct 20 - South Korea has declared a climate crisis, and established a non-binding goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, making it the second East Asian nation this week to set a tougher climate target.

Young activists go to court over climate change

7 Sep 20 - Six young Portuguese activists are taking a European human rights case against 33 countries in the latest legal effort to force governments to step up their fight against climate change.

Doubts over green bonds’ impact in Asia’s low-carbon transition

28 Aug 20 - A new study has uncovered scant disclosure by green bond issuers of their environmental impact, and a lack of social safeguards to protect communities from unintended consequences of financed...

Coronavirus forces tourism rethink in world's most visited city

24 Aug 20 - With the outlook for urban tourism deeply uncertain, Thai authorities have a chance to adopt a more sustainable model.

Industry push-back delays Japan's decarbonisation

18 Aug 20 - Fossil-fuel producers and high greenhouse-gas emitters in Japan are fiercely lobbying against more ambitious emissions and energy policy that would imperil their carbon-heavy, energy-intensive...

Vietnam’s energy policy marks turning point for coal

23 Jul 20 - As other countries pull out of Vietnam’s coal sector, Chinese banks have become the lender of last resort for struggling projects.

South Korea backtracks on green promise

20 Jul 20 - For South Korea it seems, climate care is a case of going green at home – and doing the opposite overseas.

Japan to launch ‘green recovery’ platform

4 Jun 20 - Japan wants to bolster global momentum for climate action by hosting an online platform and high-level political event on greening the post-coronavirus economic recovery.

Green New Deal turns South Korea from climate villain to model

25 May 20 - The country’s youngest MP is on a mission, inspired by Greta Thunberg, as climate moves up political agenda.