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Environment
Latest news and updates about issues impacting the global environment, including climate change, recycling, pollution and sustainable living.
Flames and smoke billow from the container ship MV X-Press Pearl that sank off Colombo in June 2021 after catching fire. Photo: Sri Lanka air force/AFP
Sri Lanka

Singapore ship ordered to pay US$1 billion over world’s largest plastic spill

The MV X-Press Pearl, which was carrying chemicals, sank after catching fire in 2021. The disaster led to the death of numerous marine species.

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Climate change

World’s top court just changed the game for climate action

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China manufacturing

China’s little-known oversupply problem: too many incinerators, not enough waste

Climate change

World Court states ‘clean environment’ is a human right

The more than 500-page non-binding opinion from the UN’s highest court is seen as a potential turning point in international climate law.

The UN’s top court says failing to protect planet from climate change could violate international law. Photo: Shutterstock
China stock market

China’s mega dam project in Tibet sparks hydropower stock surge

The investment is set to benefit hydropower plant and grid equipment makers, but some analysts warn that market enthusiasm may wane soon.

Vietnam

‘Waves were so strong’: capsized boat survivors recount deadly Ha Long Bay storm

Survivors of the Ha Long Bay shipwreck, which killed 35 people, described how a sudden thunderstorm overturned their tourist boat within seconds.

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Food and Drinks

‘Sexy’ Korean-American fried chicken joint has a deeper message for diners

At the super popular Coqodaq in New York, owner Simon Kim is focusing on delivering more sustainable and environmentally friendly meals.

Coqodac’s “Bucket List” fried chicken uses pasture-raised chicken fried in Zero Acre Farms oil, which is touted as delivering vastly lower emissions than typical alternatives, along with reduced water consumption and land use. Photo: Instagram/coqodaq
Indonesia

Indonesia’s dream of a ‘smart forest’ capital becomes a vice-ridden nightmare

Sex work, cockfighting and illegal gambing are rife in Indonesia’s planned capital city, officials say, raising doubts about its future.

France

Million-strong petition in France demands halt to bee-killing pesticide

Controversial ‘Duplomb law’ permits the reintroduction of acetamiprid, a chemical known to harm pollinators and ecosystems.

Asean

Indonesian haze reaches Malaysia as forest fires rage in Sumatra

More than 140 forest and peatland fires were reported in the Riau province, according to a senior police officer.

A police officer sprays water in a bid to extinguish a fire at a peatland field in Ogan Ilir, South Sumatra, Indonesia, on Sunday. Photo: AP
Thailand

How Thai monks use sacred saffron rituals to save trees

The monks in Thailand’s Chaiyaphum province wrap saffron robes around endangered trees to ‘ordain’ them and protect them from being cut down.

A monk and a villager wrap a large tree in a saffron robe as part of a tree ordination ceremony in Chaiyaphum province, Thailand, on July 11. Photo: Kim Jung-yeop
Japan

Contaminated Fukushima soil sent to Japanese PM’s office to ease radiation fears

The government is desperate to set people’s minds at ease about recycling the decontaminated soil that has been stored near the Fukushima plant.

Hong Kong weather

Typhoon Wipha: Hong Kong issues first T8 signal of year, 500 flights cancelled

T8 signal expected to remain in force for most of Sunday, Observatory says.

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Climate change

Opinion | Is Asia’s cleaner air driving global warming?

Air pollution has held human-induced warming in check for the past century by acting as an artificial sunshade, a new study shows.

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A child holds a portable fan to cool off amid a yellow heat alert in Shanghai, China, on July 4. Photo: Reuters
Science

China’s ‘green great wall’ triggers hay fever misery: scientists

Team finds sand sagebrush has five volatile components that spark allergic reactions – an unintended consequence of greening initiative.

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Artemisia is cultivated in northwestern China to help control desertification. Sage sandbrush has been mass planted since the 1950s but is blamed for causing allergies in northern China. Photo: CCTV
South China Sea

Will the Philippines sue China over coral reef destruction?

Investigators said divers were unable to remove a huge anchor still blocking sunlight from corals near Thitu Island in the South China Sea.

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Fashion

She’s dressed Chappell Roan and Reneé Rapp – with biomaterials

Fashion designer Caroline Zimbalist hopes her experiments with sustainable materials set an example for larger brands to follow.

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Hong Kong environmental issues

Opinion | Will Hong Kong seize the opportunity to get ecotourism right?

The city’s plans for Tsim Bei Tsui and Pak Nai could boost its sustainability credentials, but a dedicated oversight structure is needed.

Conservationists search for horseshoe crabs during a media tour organised by the Ocean Park Conservation Foundation at Ha Pak Nai in Yuen Long, on June 19. Photo: May Tse
Science

Chinese scientists thank Nasa for sharing data critical to deep-sea mining

Chinese oceanographers say information from Nasa satellites is indispensable for determining ‘distribution of mineral resources’.

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Vietnam

Bike ban: Vietnam to phase out fossil-fuel motorcycles in Hanoi

Motorcycles are the main mode of transport for most of Hanoi’s 8 million residents.

Japan

Japan megaquake ... again? Disaster fears re-emerge over rash of island tremors

Japan’s weather agency has logged at least four ‘felt quakes’ in the area with an intensity of 4 on the country’s Shindo scale since Sunday.

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A ferry carrying residents and visitors evacuating from Akuseki island, as multiple earthquakes hit the island, a part of the Tokara island chain in southwestern Japan’s Kagoshima prefecture on July 4. Photo: Kyodo via Reuters
Science

Chinese team says carbon dioxide can be turned into sugar

They say method to turn methanol into white sugar is ‘a promising strategy to address both environmental and population-related challenges’.

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A team of Chinese scientists says its biotransformation system produces the sugar sucrose without the need to grow sugar cane or sugar beets by converting methanol. Photo: Shutterstock Images
Hong Kong society

Hong Kong to add 3 more wheelchair-friendly trails in country parks next year

But people with disabilities and concern groups say more should be done to enhance accessibility.

United States

FEMA loosened flood oversight at Camp Mystic before deadly Texas floods

Federal regulators approved appeals to exclude Camp Mystic’s buildings from the 100-year flood map, reducing oversight as the camp expanded in a flood-prone area.

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Indonesia

Indonesia fights to clean up ‘world’s most polluted river’

Indonesia’s Citarum River is so heavily polluted with rubbish that you can barely see the water.

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Moving rubbish in Java’s Citarum River which is clogged with plastic. Photo: dpa
Japan

Beat the heat: Japan’s Osaka Expo unveils cool solutions

Ice rooms, blackout umbrellas and portable air conditioners are among the measures on offer to combat heat exhaustion.

Tourists visit the Expo 2025 Osaka in Osaka, Japan, on Thursday. Japan has been hit by a searing heatwave. Photo: Xinhua
Hong Kong society

HKU, officials push back against Hongkongers’ development site proposal

Pok Fu Lam residents’ suggestion to build HKU’s innovation centre at Mount Davis site would take up more green belt area, authorities say.

Food and Drinks

Hong Kong chefs turn food waste into delicious dishes for new cookbook

Featuring chefs including Barry Quek and May Chow, Conscious Cooking – Asian Delights aims to help reduce food waste in Hong Kong.

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