Environment
Southeast Asia’s great haze: Laggards and leaders
Transboundary haze pollution remains a key environmental challenge for Southeast Asia. Only last year, after a drop in forest and peatland fires due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the…
Australia–ASEAN maritime cooperation: A focus on the whole risks losing sight of the parts
Australia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations share aspirations for the future of the region, evident at the March special summit in Melbourne with agreement on a …
Is Australia too late to claim its green economy share?
Australia’s economic future has long been intertwined with fossil fuels, which still make up 20 per cent of its export earnings. Yet the latest global data tells us a new economic…
Without money, the global biodiversity target is just an empty promise
Elephants, often romanticised as gentle giants roaming pristine wildernesses, are emblematic of biodiversity. Their portrayal in popular media has cultivated a strong public image…
Charging up: Europe’s bid for renewable energy independence
Last week saw another step-change in the global lithium market. The ultimate destination is more independence from China in the production of this critical mineral, the “white…
Critical minerals, critical decisions
When we think of the renewable energy transition, we don’t typically associate it with inequality, human rights violations, and environmental destruction.Yet the reality is, as…
The uncertain future for Southeast Asia’s great sea nomads
For the past 4,000 years, the Moken people, a Southeast Asian seafaring group, have travelled between Thailand and Myanmar, spending most of their time on boats known as kabang,…
The carbon sinks of Southeast Asia are in trouble
Southeast Asia contains about 40 per cent of the world’s tropical peatlands. These wetland ecosystems, comprised of centuries-old, partially decomposed organic matter, play a…
The fight for freshwater in the Maldives
Coral reefs, ring-like atolls, attractive beaches and teeming marine life – the Maldives is renowned for its scenic beauty. But these waterside attractions make the pressure on…
Beyond borders, beyond loss: How regional cooperation can safeguard Asia’s biodiversity
Asia, a crucial region for migratory species, is witnessing their alarming decline. A major United Nations report released this year warned that one in five of the world’s…