Environment
Libya’s unlearnable lessons
In the face of some depressingly stiff competition, Libya could be the unluckiest country in the world. Appalling as the current environmentally driven catastrophe may be, it’s…
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…
The crucial role for the Green Climate Fund – and why Australia should contribute
Countries will decide next month how much they will pledge to the Green Climate Fund (GCF). The summit in Bonn, Germany could determine billions of dollars of financial support…
Climate change: Counting the costs and opportunities
A principle isn’t a principle until it costs you something, the adage goes.
Since 2015, successive Lowy Institute polls have found that the majority of Australians support…
Weeks of living dangerously in Jakarta, all over again
The 1978 novel by Australian author Christopher Koch, titled The Year of Living Dangerously, set primarily in the Indonesian capital Jakarta, describes events leading up to…
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,…
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…