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Published daily by the Lowy Institute

  • 2 days ago
    • 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 Ras
    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.
  • 3 Apr 2025
    • Trade
    • Climate change
    • Sustainability

    Troubled waters, polluted skies: Will a global shipping tax finally take off?

    Georgia Hammersley
    A historic levy on ship emissions is within reach, but disagreements over its size and use threaten to sink the deal.
  • 2 Apr 2025
    • Asean
    • Global Issues
    • Sustainability

    With 121 million smokers, Southeast Asia should turn to AI to help quit the habit

    Mochammad Fadjar Wibowo , Muhammad Daniel Azlan Mahadzir , Elyssa Liu
    Technology advances give ASEAN the opportunity to enhance tobacco controls and encourage a healthy way.
  • 21 Mar 2025
    • Indonesia
    • Sustainability
    • Technology

    Indonesia’s EV gamble: Green on the surface, dirty underneath

    Robert Walker , Hilman Palaon
    Efforts to capitalise on nickel dominance has carried an environmental cost.
  • 21 Mar 2025
    • Climate change
    • Sustainability
    • Technology

    The Asia-Pacific is heating up – literally

    Akash Sahu
    The law of the concrete jungle is testing humanity’s survival instincts.
  • 20 Mar 2025
    • Asia
    • Indonesia
    • Vietnam
    • Climate change
    • Sustainability

    Southeast Asia’s critical role as a green industrial leader

    Trang Nguyen , Jannata (Egi) Giwangkara
    The region’s industrial transformation remains the key for long-term economic prosperity – and the world’s climate goals.
  • 14 Mar 2025
    • Maritime Security
    • Trade
    • International law
    • Sustainability
    • Pacific Islands

    Sunk costs: Pacific shipwrecks and the urgent call for the Nairobi Convention

    Sheridan Ward
    An international accord to clean up shipwrecks and other waste from commerce on the high seas already exists. The region should get on board.
  • 12 Mar 2025
    • Energy
    • Sustainability
    • Technology

    Energy security: Lead, don’t lag

    Patricia Schouker
    The fundamental problem – insufficient domestic production – hasn’t been solved.
  • 12 Mar 2025
    • Asia
    • Asean
    • Japan
    • Singapore
    • Australia
    • Climate change
    • Sustainability
    • Technology

    Artificial intelligence and sustainability in the Asia-Pacific

    Melinda Stuart
    With the right strategies, AI and clean energy can work in harmony, driving progress without compromising the planet.
  • 7 Mar 2025
    • Diplomacy
    • Human rights
    • International law
    • Multilateral Institutions
    • Sustainability

    The realists and their limits in the world today

    'Alopi Latukefu
    A belief in “might is right” is not set in stone – rules in global affairs are shaped by the choices we make.
  • 7 Mar 2025
    • Asia
    • Sex and Gender
    • Sustainability

    Getting dads to care: A key to equality in Asia

    Ramona Vijeyarasa
    Declining birth rates, growing elderly populations and notable gender gaps in workforce participation are just some reasons for reform across the region.
  • 27 Feb 2025
    • Environment
    • Sustainability
    • Transnational Challenges

    Is it too late for the pangolin?

    Mohd. Yunus
    The race to save the world’s most trafficked creature is more of a national security challenge than solely a conservation question.
  • 7 Feb 2025
    • China
    • Australia
    • Foreign Policy
    • Climate change
    • Multilateral Institutions
    • Sustainability
    • Technology
    • United States

    The old theories don’t fit the new world order

    David Morris
    A workable and sustainable internationalism will need to grapple with questions of diversity and multipolarity.
  • 6 Feb 2025
    • Bangladesh
    • China
    • India
    • Sustainability

    China’s Medog county mega-dam is bad news for India and Bangladesh

    Neeraj Singh Manhas
    The downstream implications of a water conflict underscore the need for better regional cooperation.
  • 24 Jan 2025
    • Global Issues
    • Environment
    • Sustainability

    Why shared governance could save our oceans

    Mohd. Yunus
    Meaningful conservation requires genuine restrictions, not symbolic protections.
  • 20 Jan 2025
    • Indonesia
    • Sustainability

    Indonesia: The downstreaming dilemma

    Hilman Palaon , Robert Walker
    The nickel boom in Southeast Sulawesi is a paradox – reshaping the region while sidelining locals.
  • 9 Jan 2025
    • Australia
    • Sustainability
    • Africa

    Responsible mining and Australia’s leadership opportunity in Africa

    Christopher Burke
    Ensuring environmental, social and governance standards isn’t just good practice – it’s an advantage commercially and in foreign policy.
  • 8 Jan 2025
    • Afghanistan
    • Central Asia
    • Sustainability

    Water tensions under the Taliban

    Ali Mahaqi
    A new type of conflict is brewing in Central Asia.
  • 30 Dec 2024
    • China
    • Australia
    • Energy
    • Free Trade
    • Trade
    • Sustainability
    • United States

    Whether EVs or solar panels, protectionism has the same distorting effect

    John Edwards
    Biden is playing election politics with tariffs on China’s electric cars, while Albanese’s solar subsidy plans might end up costing Australia.
  • 24 Dec 2024
    • Asia
    • Environment
    • Sustainability

    Beyond borders, beyond loss: How regional cooperation can safeguard Asia’s biodiversity

    Mohd. Yunus
    The threats to migratory species is urgent and can only be tackled together.
  • 9 Dec 2024
    • Environment
    • Sustainability

    The opportunity wasted to advance a global plastic treaty

    Alex P Dela Cruz
    Negotiations have stalled and that’s a rubbish result for countries of the Indo-Pacific.
  • 28 Nov 2024
    • Energy
    • Climate change
    • Environment
    • Sustainability

    Is it time to change the clocks to harness the power of solar?

    Joseph Webster , Frank Willey
    Shifting to “solar alignment time” could lower energy costs, enhance supply reliability, and mitigate climate change.
  • 26 Nov 2024
    • China
    • Environment
    • Sustainability

    China’s food safety crises: Some oils just shouldn’t mix

    Genevieve Donnellon-May
    Beijing has pledged to tackle food hygiene issues, with the Communist Party’s legitimacy at stake if it fails.
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