Environment
Understanding “loss and damage” from climate change across the Indo-Pacific
Floods in Southeast Asia, severe tropical cyclones in the Pacific, islands and coastal settlements threatened by sea level rise and millions of displaced people as a result. The…
Existential risk is a whole-of-society challenge
Existential risks have been in the news recently. In May, a group of prominent artificial intelligence experts and industry leaders warned that “Mitigating the risk of extinction…
The looming fate of Fukushima’s contaminated water
In the coming months, Japan will be in a position to enact its long-announced plan to release contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific…
Hydro-hegemon? Complexities of shared rivers between China and India
Transboundary river governance has long been a headache for governments in Asia. One of the region’s most complex cases is the bilateral governance of the Yarlung Tsangpo…
Indonesia’s nickel superhighway
Indonesia currently has the most significant nickel deposit in the world, putting it in a prime position to build advanced industries such as renewable energy, in which rare…
2022: A global turning point
Tectonic shifts in world affairs are underway as 2022 draws to a close.
With the Ukraine war drawing a line under the familiar post-Cold War period, the world has entered a…
Europe must fully embrace nuclear energy
Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine stripped away many naive assumptions. War in Europe is not a thing of the past. Greater economic integration will not deter a madman. And…
Strengthening disaster resilience in the Pacific
Climate change is compounding disaster risk around the world. Recent reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) make clear that the growing effects of…
Can China build a “community” for shared oceans?
While China’s growing naval presence has garnered much attention, awareness about its global maritime governance model remains limited. President Xi Jinping has spoken about …
Water scarcity challenges China’s development model
Southern China’s longest drought on record is the latest manifestation of a slow-burning but increasingly severe water crisis. Left unchecked, it has the potential to act as a…