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Published daily by the Lowy Institute

  • 1 day ago
    • Australia
    • Energy
    • Sustainability

    The budget patches an energy system built for a different world

    Al Hynes
    The $14.8 billion fuel package is a serious policy shift – only it retrofits resilience into a system not designed to provide it.
  • 2 days ago
    • South Korea
    • Sustainability

    South Korea’s chance to reel in maritime influence

    Schoni Song
    Seafood is no longer just a sustainability issue but a test of maritime governance, supply-chain integrity and geopolitical seriousness.
  • 11 May 2026
    • China
    • Sustainability
    • Technology

    US “minerals mafia” report reveals the battle with China for the next industrial era

    Lynne O’Donnell
    A US congressional report on Chinese mining practices exposes a supply-chain dominance the West is still scrambling to answer.
  • 5 May 2026
    • Trade
    • Sustainability
    • Technology

    Why your next car most likely to be an EV made in China

    Richard Neumann
    China’s decades-long bet on electric vehicles is paying off – with Australia already riding in the back seat.
  • 5 May 2026
    • Aid & Development
    • Energy
    • Sustainability
    • Pacific Islands

    The Pacific’s fuel problem has a solution – and the sun is shining

    Aquila Van Keuk , Deepak Chand , Paul Munro
    Pacific Island nations are already building the answer to fuel-import dependence, with the Hormuz crisis making the case for scale.
  • 1 May 2026
    • Energy
    • Trade
    • Sustainability

    When the tankers stop, the tractors stop

    Nischal Dhungel
    Asia consumes 80% of Hormuz oil and gas flows – the region’s food and energy systems are one crisis, not two.
  • 30 Apr 2026
    • Australia
    • Energy
    • Climate change
    • Sustainability

    The quiet contradiction at the heart of the energy transition

    Larelle Bossi
    Renewable energy is both an environmental solution and a form of industrial development – and they are increasingly in conflict.
  • 8 Apr 2026
    • India
    • Australia
    • Energy
    • Climate change
    • Sustainability

    India’s clean energy goals set challenges and bring opportunities

    Shanthie Mariet D’Souza
    India’s new Nationally Determined Contribution for 2031 to 2035 set high targets and could reshape trade ties with partners and rivals
  • 26 Mar 2026
    • Australia
    • European Union
    • Energy
    • Trade
    • Sustainability
    • Technology

    The EU–Australia FTA plays the long game on critical minerals with no short cuts

    Brent Jackson
    Australia's minerals sector is world-class at extraction, but refining lags decades behind China – and no trade deal changes that overnight.
  • 24 Mar 2026
    • Trade
    • Coronavirus
    • Sustainability

    The geopolitics of pharmaceutical supply chains

    Vincent So
    Covid exposed the fragility of global medicine supply and national rivalry is making it permanent.
  • 20 Mar 2026
    • China
    • Australia
    • Energy
    • Trade
    • Sustainability
    • Africa

    China’s $120bn minerals blitz – and what Australia stands to lose

    Marina Yue Zhang
    In a world where geopolitical leverage and prosperity accrue to those who process, refine, and manufacture, the window to change course is narrowing.
  • 17 Mar 2026
    • Myanmar
    • Energy
    • Sustainability
    • Technology

    Southeast Asia is paying the environmental price of the rare earth boom

    Mohd. Yunus
    The clean energy transition comes at a cost to regional rivers that sustain tens of millions.
  • 4 Mar 2026
    • China
    • Australia
    • Sustainability
    • Pacific Islands
    • United States

    Deep-sea mining: Australia’s dilemma in the Pacific

    Connor Graham
    As Pacific unity fractures on the controversial practice, Canberra’s inaction risks ceding ground to China.
  • 25 Feb 2026
    • Australia
    • Energy
    • Sustainability
    • United States

    The hard part of net zero: mobilising big emitters behind reforms

    Nikolai Drahos
    Backing from key firms on climate policy, while not unconditional, can help translate net-zero ambition into progress.
  • 25 Feb 2026
    • Trade
    • Sustainability
    • Solomon Islands

    A second gold rush in Solomon Islands but a familiar extractive trap

    Riley Duke
    Gold is replacing logging as a mainstay for the economy but the government must balance revenues with stability.
  • 23 Feb 2026
    • Indonesia
    • Global Economy
    • Sustainability

    Freeport’s Papua mine deal buys time

    Bhima Yudhistira Adhinegara , Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat
    The harder test will be downstreaming, decarbonisation and Papuan equity.
  • 5 Feb 2026
    • Energy
    • Sustainability
    • Technology

    Policy, not tech, is stalling sustainable data centres

    Harris Amjad
    Batteries are the key to powering the global surge in data hubs. So why aren’t governments jumping at the chance?
  • 27 Jan 2026
    • Climate change
    • Sustainability
    • Pacific Islands
    • Fiji
    • Solomon Islands
    • Vanuatu

    The last nautical mile: Pacific Islands’ path to energy resilience

    Aquila Van Keuk , Deepak Chand , Poiongo Lisati
    Remote Pacific communities are pioneering renewable power solutions that prioritise local partnerships.
  • 22 Jan 2026
    • Japan
    • Australia
    • Australian trade, investment & economy
    • Climate change
    • Sustainability

    Japan’s net zero bet needs an Australian hedge

    Ryan Neelam , Reuben Finighan
    Australia can offer Japan what it desperately needs to realise its energy ambitions.
  • 13 Jan 2026
    • China
    • Energy
    • Sustainability

    The green mirage: China’s clean tech built on coal

    Luke Heilbuth
    Beijing’s green credentials rely on fossil fuel. The West prefers not to notice.
  • 20 Nov 2025
    • Energy
    • Climate change
    • Sustainability

    China built the energy transition while democracies debated

    Cristina Talacko
    From solar panels to batteries, the industrial spine of decarbonisation runs through factories the West does not control.
  • 13 Nov 2025
    • Philippines
    • Vietnam
    • Australia
    • Defence & Security
    • Climate change
    • Sustainability

    Preparing for when disaster and conflict converge

    Melissa Jardine , Jarrett Blaustein , Hai Thanh Luong
    What Australia must learn for its defence posture following record flooding and typhoons in Vietnam and the Philippines.
  • 10 Nov 2025
    • Aid & Development
    • Climate change
    • Sustainability

    A new model for forest finance or just more debt?

    Jawad Khalid
    The Tropical Forests Forever Facility promises billions for conservation but ties conservation funding to the debt burdens already crushing developing economies.
  • 28 Oct 2025
    • Indonesia
    • Climate change
    • Sustainability

    Indonesia values the forests, but can it fund the trees?

    Mohd. Yunus
    Jakarta is buying influence in the new climate order.
  • 24 Oct 2025
    • International law
    • Sustainability
    • United States

    Critical minerals: The US bid to bypass international rules on deep sea mining

    Bruno Arpi , Donald R Rothwell
    Unilateral mining permits to bypass established multilateral frameworks may be more costly to the world as a whole.
  • 22 Oct 2025
    • Australia
    • Australian trade, investment & economy
    • Trade
    • Sustainability
    • Technology

    Can rare earths be Australia’s next mining boom?

    Jenny Bloomfield
    Traditional approaches won’t secure Australia’s critical minerals future – or the geopolitical heft on offer.
  • 21 Oct 2025
    • Asean
    • Cambodia
    • Indonesia
    • Laos
    • Malaysia
    • Thailand
    • Energy
    • Trade
    • Climate change
    • Sustainability
    • United States

    The sun is setting on Southeast Asia’s solar exporters

    Robert Walker
    US tariffs are testing whether ASEAN is all talk on regional integration for renewable energy generation.
  • 16 Oct 2025
    • Aid & Development
    • Sustainability
    • United Nations

    Who will salvage the SDGs as Western donors retreat?

    Sunaina Kumar
    Developing nations can forge new coalitions to champion the 2030 Agenda and fill the leadership void.
  • 15 Oct 2025
    • China
    • Malaysia
    • Australia
    • Trade
    • Sustainability
    • Technology
    • United States

    Rare earth showdown: Why the West must learn to pick winners – and partners

    Jersey Lee , Andrew Goledzinowski
    Albanese must convince Trump that only allied cooperation can break China's rare earth chokehold.
  • 9 Oct 2025
    • Global Economy
    • Climate change
    • Sustainability

    Sustainability matters when economic shocks hit

    Adam Arian
    New global evidence shows responsible business is risk insurance.
  • 29 Sep 2025
    • Indonesia
    • Malaysia
    • Sustainability

    The good oil? Helping palm plantations contribute to global biodiversity targets

    Mohd. Yunus
    Indonesia and Malaysia control 80% of global palm oil supply – their conservation choices will determine if the industry can rehabilitate itself.
  • 22 Sep 2025
    • Indonesia
    • Australian trade, investment & economy
    • Sustainability

    Indonesia’s biodiesel push

    Akhmad Hanan
    With an economic reliance on palm oil fuels, Jakarta must balance energy security and global trade.
  • 18 Sep 2025
    • Singapore
    • Australia
    • Australian trade, investment & economy
    • Climate change
    • Diplomacy
    • Sustainability

    The ambitious SunCable project hinges on good neighbours and secure seas

    Pornomo Rovan Astri Yoga
    An Australia–Asia green energy transmission link will test sovereignty, diplomatic leverage, and maritime security.
  • 26 Aug 2025
    • Climate change
    • Sustainability

    Why future wars will be fought over water supply

    Patrick Yeager
    Droughts and water shortages are likely to jeopardise global security far sooner than we think.
  • 25 Aug 2025
    • Defence & Security
    • Energy
    • Sustainability
    • Technology
    • Africa

    Congo’s mineral curse fuels US-China rivalry

    Isel van Zyl
    Boasting about a peace deal is belied by continued suffering on the ground.
  • 25 Aug 2025
    • Climate change
    • Sustainability

    The roots of statehood: Why coastal ecosystems matter for sovereignty

    Mohd. Yunus
    Who are the true protectors of territory, and how much is their service worth?
  • 13 Aug 2025
    • Sustainability

    The unrooted global euphoria of Sustainable Coconut

    Mohd. Yunus
    Branding for ethical sourcing risks ignoring the struggle of smallholder farmers with ageing trees and razor-thin margins.
  • 6 Aug 2025
    • Australia
    • Energy
    • Sustainability

    Australia risks wasting its solar superpower status

    Clare Caldwell
    With a landmass capable of producing enough energy to supply the world, why can’t Australia even meet its own demands?
  • 4 Aug 2025
    • Indonesia
    • Energy
    • Trade
    • Sustainability
    • Technology

    The copper gambit: How Indonesia turned a trade war into strategic leverage

    Akhmad Hanan
    Indonesia’s mineral transformation from raw exports to refined power shows the benefit of resource nationalism.
  • 21 Jul 2025
    • Aid & Development
    • AUKUS
    • Energy
    • Poverty
    • Trade
    • Climate change
    • Migration
    • Multilateral Institutions
    • Sustainability
    • United States

    Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill: A domestic deal with Indo-Pacific consequences

    Shameek Godara
    America’s new act reinforces the reality that internal choices are rarely contained within borders.
  • 9 Jul 2025
    • Australia
    • Australian trade, investment & economy
    • Energy
    • Climate change
    • Sustainability

    Green energy statecraft and Australia’s clean industry future

    Elizabeth Thurbon , Oliver Yates
    A new policy model that removes the risk in clean commodity innovation will put Australia ahead of the pack.
  • 4 Jul 2025
    • China
    • Indonesia
    • Human rights
    • Sustainability

    China isn’t the main culprit in Indonesia’s dirty nickel boom

    Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat
    While Chinese firms capitalise on the country’s resources, the social and environmental damage lies squarely with Jakarta.
  • 4 Jul 2025
    • Bangladesh
    • China
    • India
    • Pakistan
    • International law
    • Sustainability

    The Indus Treaty verdict: When water outlasts war

    Ishaal Zehra
    A Hague ruling against India’s treaty “abeyance” might stop a precedent that could spread from China to Bangladesh.
  • 17 Jun 2025
    • China
    • Russia
    • Global Issues
    • Sustainability
    • Technology
    • Middle East
    • United States

    Brave new interior world: The rise of self-enhancing states

    Roderick Parkes
    Power is shifting inward, not outward, with control and influence the currency of choice.
  • 10 Jun 2025
    • China
    • Climate change
    • Sustainability

    Beijing’s green mirage: How China drives environmental destruction abroad while claiming climate leadership at home

    Mohd. Yunus
    Massive commodity imports drive deforestation in Brazil and Indonesia even as domestic policies win international praise.
  • 27 May 2025
    • Japan
    • Sustainability

    Rice prices soar as Japan rethinks food security

    Yusaku Yoshikawa
    Global instability, climate stress and small-scale farming practices are all putting stress on the market.
  • 26 May 2025
    • China
    • Australian trade, investment & economy
    • Trade
    • Sustainability

    China’s rare earth advantage isn’t just about control

    Walter Colnaghi
    Domestic fixes are compounding global oversupply issues in an era of US-China rivalry and weaponised interdependence.
  • 8 May 2025
    • Aid & Development
    • Climate change
    • Sustainability

    Blue bonds and mangrove protection: Small island nations lead in climate resilience

    Christopher Burke
    Localised approaches to environmental, social and governance standards prove more effective than global models.
  • 24 Apr 2025
    • China
    • Australia
    • Climate change
    • Sustainability
    • Technology

    If Australia is serious about becoming a renewable energy superpower, China must be part of the answer

    Caroline Wang
    A focus on risks shouldn’t blind us to the opportunities in the global green transition.
  • 11 Apr 2025
    • Indonesia
    • Sustainability

    From park rangers to armed guards: Indonesia takes a risky approach to forest protection

    Mohd. Yunus
    A militarised approach to conservation risks creating a climate of fear rather than fostering genuine collaboration.
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