Sustainability
Beijing’s plan for Taiwan challenges its offshore wind push
Military considerations are slowing China’s offshore wind energy deployment. The coastal province of Fujian, just opposite Taiwan, is critical to the Chinese People’s Liberation…
More than just rice: Asia’s food supply anxieties
Rice shortage fears are intensifying across Asia – a region where 90% of the world’s rice is produced and consumed – due to an ill-fated combination of rice production shortfall,…
Stepping on the gas: Boosting Australia’s climate diplomacy in the region
The Australia’s women’s soccer team the Matildas may have gone down in the World Cup semi-final this week, but they certainly won over the fans – perhaps none more surprising,…
Economic diplomacy: Hard labour managing geo-economic fragmentation
Catching a wave
The Biden administration’s loosely named Inflation Reduction Act has flowed through the global economy like a tsunami engulfing everything from the reshoring…
Something fishy about China’s anger over the Quad’s open ocean plans
Some international issues should be non-sensitive and uncontroversial. One of these is the regulation of fishing fleets to prevent overfishing and ensure the sustainable use of…
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…
What Norway might learn from Nauru after a massive phosphate find
The recent announcement of a high-grade phosphate deposit of at least 70 billion tonnes in Norway by Norge Mining has sparked excitement that it could meet global demand for…
The cost-benefit of turning “dirty” shipping clean
What do you value more – stopping climate chaos or keeping global shipping cheap? That was the dilemma many developing countries faced at the wood-panelled London headquarters of…
Charting new paths for Antarctic protection despite China’s resistance
Calls to renegotiate the agreements that govern the Antarctic, out of frustration at China’s and Russia’s opposition to establishing new areas for protection, would only put at…
Economic diplomacy: Power shifts with Jakarta
Trading places
It’s now half a century since Australia and Indonesia signed a bilateral investment agreement leading to serial government initiatives mostly on the Australian…