TheJakartaPost

What did countries agree to at COP30?

In a win for developing countries at COP30, the final agreement "calls for efforts to at least triple adaptation finance by 2035." ...

4 days ago

New tech could help COP30's Amazon rainforest protection goals

Using drones to survey land that can be hard to access, a company harnesses AI and other tech to analyze which areas would yield the best returns from restoration in terms of biodiversity, climate and local communities. ...

5 days ago

The Latest

On the line: Trucks park near an oil palm plantation at a village located close to the projected new capital city Nusantara in Sepaku, East Kalimantan, on March 8, 2023.

New EU sustainability rules will impact ASEAN industries

These directives rely on the assumption that the EU will have significant market power to increase the bar on environmental and human rights standards for developing-country businesses that are connected to it.

2 years ago

Visitors hike on the ice during a guided tour on the Matanuska Glacier, a 43.5km long valley glacier feeding water into the Matanuska River, on July 10, 2022, about 161km northeast of Anchorage near Palmer, Alaska, US.

Americas

Biden bars drilling over vast swath of Alaska

The move comes a little over a year before the 2024 election, as Biden seeks to shore up his green credentials that were damaged by a decision earlier this year to greenlight a project by US energy giant ConocoPhillips in the same area.

2 years ago

A newborn Javan hawk-eagle sits in its nest after being spotted by officials from the Mount Gede Pangrango National Park and the Raptor Conservation Society in Cibodas National Park in Cianjur, West Java, on June 3, 2023.

Archipelago

Javan hawk-eagle chick hatches in Bogor

A Javan hawk-eagle has hatched in the Mount Gede Pangrango National Park in Bogor, West Java, according to a report by park officials on Monday.

2 years ago

Vehicles are seen departing the Burning Man festival in Black Rock City, Nevada, US, September 4, 2023.

Art & Culture

Burning Man festival road reopens, allowing thousands to escape muddy trap

Unexpected summer rain turned the weeklong, annual counterculture arts festival into a muddy nightmare.

2 years ago

Adding value: A nickel smelter operated by Virtue Dragon Nickel Industry (VDNI) in Morosi, Southeast Sulawesi, is seen from the air on Feb. 10, 2023. Indonesia has banned exports of mineral ores, while pushing its downstreaming policy.

IMF, WTO criticisms, nickel-plated colonialism

Sadly, many people in the former colonized countries are also proud when they can wear branded names.

2 years ago

Officers exchange electric motorcycle batteries at Public Electric Vehicle Battery Exchange Station (SPBKLU) in Electrification Director General building, Jakarta, on Monday, August 31, 2020. The testing of battery exchange devices was conducted to encourage people to choose electric vehicles than oil-powered motorcycle and it is hoped that many private companies will support the establishment of SPBKLU so it can be installed in many places across the town.

Positive tipping points to place ASEAN as a global center of green growth

Accelerating low-carbon solutions would be central in strengthening ASEAN’s centrality and its role as a global center of green growth.

2 years ago

A man carries a woman on his back as he wades through the water in a flooded area of Batabano, Mayabeque Province, Cuba, on August 28, 2023, as Tropical Storm Idalia approaches the western tip of the island nation.

Extreme climate event almost led to human ancestors’ extinction: Study

Scientists have grown weary over the rising temperatures on the planet and extreme weather from heat waves to typhoons that have swept across the globe in the past years.

2 years ago

Coal power: Smoke and steam billow from a coal-fired power plant owned by Indonesia Power in Suralaya, Banten province, on July 10, 2020. Indonesia is committed to energy transition toward net zero in 2060.

Pursuing a coal-to-liquids boon despite the costs

The domestic mining and energy industry say the indirect coal subsidies in their current format are insufficient to incentivize investment in coal gasification.

2 years ago

President Joko 'Jokowi’ Widodo (right, in foreground) speaks to Keerom Regent Piter Gusbager (left, in foreground) after harvesting corn at a food estate in Wambes village in Keerom’s Mannem district on July 6, 2023. The first harvest at this particular estate has managed to produce 7 tonnes per hectare of produce, higher than the national standards of 5.6 tonnes per ha and enough to reach corn sufficiency in eastern Indonesia.

Editorial

Food estate for thought

These are two serious accusations made in public that should not be easily dismissed. One is the destruction to the environment caused by the food estate program, and the other about possible embezzlement and other financial irregularities.

2 years ago

The McDougall Creek wildfire burns in the hills in West Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, on August 17, 2023, as seen from Kelowna. Human-caused climate change made 2023's severe, months-long “fire weather“ conditions that drove Canada's record-breaking blazes at least seven times more likely to happen, according to a new scientific analysis published on August 22, 2023.

Tech

Meta faces backlash over Canada news block as wildfires rage

Meta on August 1 started blocking the distribution of news links and articles on its Facebook and Instagram platforms in response to a recent law requiring digital giants to pay publishers for news content.

2 years ago

A fisherman works at Matsukawaura fishing port in Soma, Fukushima prefecture, Japan on August 24, 2023, in this photo taken by Kyodo.

Regulations

More than 700 Japanese exporters hit by China's seafood ban: Report

Japan exported about $600 million worth of aquatic products to China in 2022, making it the biggest market for Japanese exports, with Hong Kong second.

2 years ago

A general view shows the facilities of the Tokyo Electric Power Company's (TEPCO) crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (back), as seen from Ukedo fishing port in Namie, Fukushima prefecture on August 24, 2023. Japan began releasing wastewater from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean on August 24 despite angry opposition from China and local fishermen.

South Korean PM urges transparent info-sharing as Japan releases treated water

South Korea is scrambling to carry out a budget of 64 billion won ($48.5 million) to prop up the consumption of seafood, adding more funds could be allocated if needed. The size of the budget is to double next year.

2 years ago

Activists take part in a protest against Japan releasing treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean, in Busan, South Korea, August 24, 2023.

Fukushima wastewater released into the ocean, China bans all Japanese seafood

China reiterated its firm opposition to the plan and said the Japanese government had not proved that the water discharged would be safe.

2 years ago

An aerial view shows the storage tanks for treated water at the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima prefecture, Japan on Feb. 13, 2021.

Explainer: How Japan will release treated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant

Japan and scientific organizations say the released water is safe, but environmental activists argue that all the possible impacts have not been studied. Japan says it needs to start releasing the water as storage tanks are full.

2 years ago

Members of South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party chant slogans during a candlelight vigil against Japan's plan to release treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean, at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, August 23, 2023.

Japan set to release Fukushima water amid criticism, seafood import bans

China's foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin has called the move "extremely selfish", saying that the country was deeply concerned about the decision and had lodged a formal complaint.

2 years ago

Unhealthy air: Haze resulting from air pollution blankets the Jakarta skyline on Aug. 23. Thousands of public employees in the capital were told to start working from home on Aug. 21, 2023 in a two-month trial aimed at improving the city's air quality.

Cap and trade to deal with carbon emission conundrum

Even the popular carbon tax scheme still has "loopholes" that allow polluters to emit as much as they can afford to pay in terms of carbon taxes.

2 years ago

Agriculture Ministry biofuel researcher Dibyo Pranowo displays kemiri sunan (Aleurites trisperma) fruit in front of a prototype biodiesel reactor he invented at the ministry’s research center in Sukabumi, West Java, on Jan. 16, 2019.

Carbon trading: A catalyst for diversified, sustainable bioenergy development

The current carbon-trading mechanism may inadvertently exclude remote indigenous communities from participating in carbon trading even though they have safeguarded the forest for generations.

2 years ago

Carvings are seen on the historic Banyan tree seen on the aftermath of a wildfire in Lahaina, western Maui, Hawaii, US, on August 11, 2023. A wildfire that left Lahaina in charred ruins has killed at least 55 people, authorities said on August 10, making it one of the deadliest disasters in the US state's history. Brushfires on Maui, fueled by high winds from Hurricane Dora passing to the south of Hawaii, broke out August 8 and rapidly engulfed Lahaina.

Ashes and sadness under scorched Lahaina's banyan tree

All of that is now gone, subsumed in flames that killed at least 80 people and destroyed hundreds of houses.

2 years ago

Drying up: A man carries his catch on Aug. 8, 2023 after fishing the receding waters of the Tandon Reservoir in Selogiri district in Wonogiri regency, Central Java. The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency has forecast that the drought in the regency will peak either this month or next month.

Enough panicked fear-mongering on climate change

Politicians and pundits call en masse for net-zero policies that will cost far beyond $100 trillion, while producing benefits a fraction as large.

2 years ago

Model dream: The final design of the presidential palace by sculptor Nyoman Nuarta for the Nusantara Capital City (IKN) development project in North Penajem Paser regency, East Kalimantan, is seen in this illustration uploaded to the artist’s Instagram account in June 2022.

Nusantara: Building a lean, green engineering machine

The Nusantara development project presents an opportunity to build a model green city not only for the well-being of Indonesia, but also for the entire world.

2 years ago

An aerial photo showing the US embassy complex (foreground) and the reclamation site (upper left) off Manila Bay on August 2, 2023. US diplomats have raised security and environmental concerns with the Philippines over the involvement of a Chinese company in a land reclamation project in Manila Bay, a US embassy spokesman said August 2.

US says concerned over Chinese reclamation in Manila Bay

A subsidiary of China Communications Construction Co, which was blacklisted by Washington in 2020, has been contracted to reclaim 318 hectares in waters fronting the US embassy and Philippine Navy headquarters..

2 years ago

Smoke on the water: Haze blankets the Marina Bay Sands hotel and resort in Singapore on Sept. 18, 2019. Toxic haze from Indonesian forest fires at that time closed thousands of schools across Singapore and in neighboring Malaysia.

After 21 years, ASEAN transboundary haze pollution laws still not forthcoming

According to the AATHP, ASEAN member states are under an obligation not to cause harm to the environment of other states, or to areas beyond their national jurisdiction.

2 years ago

Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar (center) and Norwegian Climate and Environment Minister Espen Barth Eide (left), alongside Foreign Minister Retno L.P. Marsudi, pose with a new memorandum of understanding between Indonesia and Norway on Indonesia’s greenhouse gas-reduction efforts during a signing ceremony on Sept. 12, 2022 in Jakarta.

Shared values for sustainable progress: Learning from Norway

Norway's economic development coincides with improved wealth distribution and environmental consciousness.

2 years ago

Zhuhai wows tourists with its mountain-sea connection and leafy green spaces.

Sponge cities beating urban heat in China

Infrastructure to prevent urban flooding has benefits for preventing urban heat.

2 years ago

This photo taken on June 20, 2020 shows the Leuser rainforest in Subulussalam, Aceh.