22 Sep 2023
Libya’s unlearnable lessons
Many of the world’s current crises didn’t need to happen. Why the least responsible are still paying the price.
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15 Sep 2023
Beijing’s plan for Taiwan challenges its offshore wind push
Fujian’s coast hasn’t kept up with wind power in other provinces – and military strategy seems to be blowing the other direction. -
13 Sep 2023
The crucial role for the Green Climate Fund – and why Australia should contribute
It’s vital to international climate solidarity and Australia rejoining is key to unlocking more global funding for the Pacific. -
29 Aug 2023
Climate change: Counting the costs and opportunities
Australia needs to think beyond the price of transition and move quickly to become a renewable energy superpower. -
28 Aug 2023
Weeks of living dangerously in Jakarta, all over again
Air pollution is crippling Indonesia’s capital just as the country prepares to host regional leaders. -
18 Aug 2023
Stepping on the gas: Boosting Australia’s climate diplomacy in the region
Opponents of carbon capture plans need to look past ideology and think about the development costs to friends and neighbours. -
24 Jul 2023
Understanding “loss and damage” from climate change across the Indo-Pacific
A concept that will become ever more familiar – in the courts, too – with more action needed to avoid irreversible consequences of climate change. -
11 Jul 2023
Existential risk is a whole-of-society challenge
From climate change and pandemics to nuclear war and extinction by AI, collective action will be imperative. -
30 Jun 2023
The looming fate of Fukushima’s contaminated water
Environmental concerns in the Pacific also come with political risks for Japan’s prime minister. -
9 May 2023
Hydro-hegemon? Complexities of shared rivers between China and India
Alarm about China building dams upstream of Brahmaputra River must be tempered by India’s own record on water-sharing. -
20 Mar 2023
Indonesia’s nickel superhighway
There are vast opportunities to build new industries when you’re sitting on the globe’s largest reserve of rare earth. -
15 Mar 2023
A jurisdiction over the high seas
Australia will be a key player in the new agreement governing the globe’s largest natural habitat. -
28 Feb 2023
Vietnam’s challenge to wean off coal
Fossil fuels have driven rapid growth but the country has pledged – with global help – to be carbon neutral by 2050. -
13 Dec 2022
2022: A global turning point
Looking at trends and contours that have coalesced this year to make international politics more contested and unpredictable. -
22 Nov 2022
Europe must fully embrace nuclear energy
With Russia’s stranglehold on the region’s energy, it is time to add a second shade of green. -
18 Nov 2022
Strengthening disaster resilience in the Pacific
The aftermath of Tonga’s massive volcanic eruption holds valuable lessons as climate change risks also grow. -
14 Oct 2022
Can China build a “community” for shared oceans?
Amiable talk about safeguarding partners and protecting marine environment hasn’t allayed suspicions. -
29 Sep 2022
Water scarcity challenges China’s development model
With its industry and agriculture reliant on diminishing H2O, a crisis looms for the world’s most populous country. -
27 Jul 2022
The Quad needs a futures focus
A better – and public – understanding is needed of the cascading effects of regional challenges. -
28 Jun 2022
A minute to midnight: reversing environmental tipping points
Planetary boundaries and the role they play in global security are not as remote as they sound. And it’s time to listen. -
27 Jun 2022
Indonesia-Australia climate change cooperation begins with the ocean
Mangroves, reefs and fish stocks – the building blocks of stronger approach by both countries to address global warming. -
16 May 2022
Diplomacy is indispensable to manage the Mekong
The goal of a healthy river won’t be helped by misreading the shared mission of the Mekong River Commission. -
17 Mar 2022
Defence’s bullet for disaster isn’t silver, it’s brass
Rushing in with troops in emergency response could make matters worse at home and muddle efforts to engage the region. -
16 Mar 2022
Climate change: less space between one disaster and the next
Simple mathematical errors and a hesitancy to open the wallet are just the beginning of the world’s climate problems. -
23 Feb 2022
Transforming Australian diplomacy for climate leadership
Practical measures will foster enduring regional ties beyond the immediate challenge of responding to global warming. -
14 Jan 2022
Australia should build its green infrastructure presence
The region is taking an increasingly dim view of efforts seeking to protect the fossil fuel trade. -
27 Dec 2021
A climate changed – Best of The Interpreter 2021
An economic shift ahead of crucial negotiations, yet still the world struggled with the consequences of global warming. -
23 Nov 2021
Glasgow delivered, but what, exactly?
Not a miracle, certainly. But hard and messy negotiations secured a commitment to bring the temperature down. -
11 Nov 2021
What climate change means for mosquito-borne diseases
Already the most lethal creature to humans, environmental and urban changes may spread the danger to billions more. -
29 Oct 2021
Just how serious is Xi about climate change?
China should have much to gain from a decarbonising global economy yet displays a confusing ambivalence to the question. -
26 Oct 2021
Protecting people who lose their homes to climate change
King tides, cyclones, floods and drought are already displacing large numbers of people each year – where will they go? -
25 Oct 2021
Glasgow: a tipping point for serious action
Worrying signs suggest these most consequential of climate change talks are being set up for failure. -
20 Oct 2021
Australia, Indonesia and climate change
As the immediate pandemic crisis begins to recede, both countries should refocus the relationship on climate change. -
19 Oct 2021
The right climate for central planning
Not exactly a popular sentiment. But combating global warming might need to take a radical turn. -
18 Oct 2021
Coming up for air: global action to stop pollution
Most nations will breach new air quality guidelines from the World Health Organisation. Better coordination is a must. -
12 Oct 2021
Line in the sand: How sea-level rise is challenging international law
For island nations climate change poses not only a physical threat but a legal dilemma, too. -
17 Sep 2021
Safeguarding Pacific Island seas starts with indigenous knowledge
A new declaration by Pacific leaders on maritime zone preservation helps, but must also allow for cultural dialogue. -
10 Sep 2021
The right climate for Indonesia-United States cooperation
If Washington is to judge its trade partners on environmental measures, Jakarta actually has a good story to tell. -
2 Sep 2021
Australia’s potential as a “green” hydrogen superpower
As the hydrocarbon era wanes a new energy source could be a potent geopolitical asset. -
4 Aug 2021
Preparing Australia to respond to disasters – at home and abroad
The military should be restructured with a dedicated element to better tackle relief operations full-time. -
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4 Jun 2021
Finding a new approach to water security in Southeast Asia
Disaster governance systems can help overcome barriers to securing water across the region. -
26 May 2021
Paying the price: Australians want action on climate change
New Lowy Institute polling reveals a growing public appetite to tackle environmental concerns – even at a cost. -
25 May 2021
South Korea’s green goals
A little-heralded summit this month will test how governments – and big private companies – match promises with action. -
19 May 2021
Lessons from the recent cyclone in Timor-Leste
Without a vision for sustainable development and action on climate change, there can be no “building back better”. -
3 May 2021
The Davis aerodrome and Australia’s leadership in the Antarctic
How can Australia pretend to uphold the ATS while pursuing a project that risks unprecedented ecological impact?