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Climate change

Brazil’s Economy Minister Fernando Haddad arrives for a press conference in Rio de Janeiro on Friday. Photo: AFP

G20 pledges to work together to tax ultra-rich

The thorny topic of tackling tax-dodging billionaires dominated the two-day meeting of finance ministers in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro.

The thorny topic of tackling tax-dodging billionaires dominated the two-day meeting of finance ministers in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro

27 Jul 2024 - 6:46AM

Towngas enlists HSBC, vendors in its efforts to cut supply-chain emissions

26 Jul 2024 - 8:30AM

Ethiopia landslide death toll rises to 257, could reach 500: UN

25 Jul 2024 - 7:27PM

Super Typhoon Gaemi heads to mainland China

25 Jul 2024 - 7:15PM

02:13

China, Russia bombers enter Alaska air defence zone in military first: Norad

The two countries’ warplanes entered the area at the same time and were intercepted in international airspace, the joint US and Canadian military command said.

26 Jul 2024 - 2:02AMvideocam

Mainland China braces for super typhoon after it hits Taiwan, soaks Philippines

It could be among most destructive typhoons on record in terms of wind and rain damage, adding pressure to disaster prevention efforts.

25 Jul 2024 - 7:18PMvideocam

Climate change: green steel adoption in buildings and cars is a low cost switch

The construction and automotive industry which consume 62 per cent of the global steel production can make the switch to green steel at a relatively lower cost

25 Jul 2024 - 2:00PM

Aerial photo taken on October 29, 2023 shows workers working at the construction site of the electric furnace green energy saving and quality improvement technical transformation project of Jiangsu Shagang Group Huigang Special Steel in Huai ‘an city, Jiangsu Province, China. Photo: Getty Images

Letters | Don’t rely on incinerators to fix Hong Kong’s waste problem

Readers discuss concerns over the city’s first waste-to-energy incinerator …

25 Jul 2024 - 11:30AM

Opinion | Britain can deliver on its domestic goals by working with China

As Britain’s new government seeks to revamp the nation’s politics, there are key opportunities to adopt a similar approach on foreign affairs.

24 Jul 2024 - 8:30PM

Earth breaks record for hottest day ever … again

Scientists said it was possible that Tuesday or Wednesday of this week could again surpass Monday’s record, as temperature peaks generally happen in clusters.

24 Jul 2024 - 8:20PM

The setting sun illuminates the clouds over the Rocky Mountains. The World set a milestone for hottest day ever recorded for the second straight day. Photo: AP

Opinion | Asian Development Bank must craft policy that truly protects people and planet

Draft changes to the bank’s environmental and social policy suggest a weakening of standards that will affect frontline communities.

24 Jul 2024 - 4:32PM

Women take photographs of a coal power plant from a hill in Cilegon, Indonesia, on January 8, 2023. Photo: AP

World registers hottest day ever on Sunday amid global warming challenges

Every month since June 2023 – 13 months in a row – has now ranked as the planet’s hottest since records began.

23 Jul 2024 - 8:20PM

PetroChina joins world’s top producers in industry vow to reach net zero by 2050

China’s largest oil and gas producer has joined the Oil & Gas Decarbonisation Charter, a pledge signed by more than 50 firms to reach net zero by 2050.

23 Jul 2024 - 7:08PM

China seeking hi-tech solutions to disaster relief challenges

Satellite technology was used to help rescue teams when heavy flooding struck the centre of the country earlier this month.

23 Jul 2024 - 4:26PMvideocam

Rescuers work to fix a breach in a dyke at Dongting Lake in Hunan province. Photo: Xinhua

Climate change: German plastics firm in alliance to recycle parts in China

German plastic materials maker Covestro is stepping up efforts to collaborate with vehicle makers and recycling partners to reuse plastic car parts in China to reduce the carbon and resource footprint of its products.

23 Jul 2024 - 1:53PMvideocam

The materials will be reused for interior vehicle applications such as instrument panel trim and exterior applications like spoilers. Photo: Xinhua

China orders infrastructure checks after another deadly highway collapse

Ministry of Emergency Management says lessons must be learned after 15 die in Shaanxi bridge failure.

22 Jul 2024 - 7:41PMvideocam

Letters | How the UN can spark corporate action on sustainable development goals

Readers discuss the need for clarity on what is expected of businesses in relation to the SDGs, and Chinese women’s indomitable spirit in the face of life’s challenges.

22 Jul 2024 - 11:30AM

China’s extreme weather raises alarm about its disaster insurance gaps

China’s insurers need more financial tools to mitigate risks from the economic damage wreaked by the growing number of droughts, floods and landslides across the country.

22 Jul 2024 - 12:26PM

Water gushes out from the Three Gorges Dam through nine of its flood discharge gates to spare more capacity for incoming floods from upper reaches of the Yangtze River, in central China’s Hubei Province, July 15, 2024. Extreme weather triggered is setting off alarm bells in China’s insurance sector, the world’s second largest, which urgently needs more financial tools to mitigate risks from the economic damage wreaked by the growing incidents of droughts, floods and landslides across the country. Photo: Xinhua

Japan talks with Pacific islands focus on climate, security issues take back seat

Among the areas of concern highlighted by Pacific island nations was Japan’s release of treated radioactive water.

20 Jul 2024 - 1:45PMvideocam

Global airline traffic forecast to double in 20 years led by Asia, Middle East

Growth in the Asia-Pacific will be propelled by India, China, Thailand and Vietnam, the International Air Transport Association says.

19 Jul 2024 - 1:03PM

Will Tibet’s ‘Heavenly Lake’ reveal past climate data and clues to the future?

Chinese-led international research team says record-setting drill project at Nam Co could provide ecological information vital to future planning.

19 Jul 2024 - 9:00AM

Crews on a platform on Nam Co in Tibet have drilled to a record depth of 510 metres to extract core samples that could be vital to understanding what the future holds for the region. Photo: Xinhua

How summer heat affects medications in ways that can threaten your health

Excess heat can affect different medications in different ways, from making them less effective to amplifying their side effects and causing dehydration. Experts share tips to avoid these problems.

19 Jul 2024 - 4:15AM

Extreme heat can affect medications, making some less effective and amplifying others’ side effects, and causing dehydration. Experts share tips to stay safe. Photo: Shutterstock

Hong Kong raises US$3.2 billion via multicurrency green bond

Hong Kong’s government raised US$3.2 billion via green bonds denominated in US dollars, euros and offshore yuan in the city’s latest push to establish itself as a sustainable finance hub.

18 Jul 2024 - 8:45PM

Opinion | The push for sustainable palm oil isn’t going far enough

Smallholders in Southeast Asia are too often left out of sustainable oil palm initiatives due to unaffordable costs and a lack of technical support.

17 Jul 2024 - 8:30PM

Scorching heat wave in China overpowers Great Wall’s car plants

Great Wall Motor, mainland China’s largest SUV maker, will suspend production of its “Tank” branded vehicles for a week at the end of this month, citing extreme weather as the country’s northwest and eastern regions grapple with a brutal heatwave.

17 Jul 2024 - 6:59PM

Great Wall Motor, mainland China’s largest sport-utility vehicle (SUV) maker, will suspend production of its Tank-branded vehicles at the end of July, citing safety reasons amid an expected summer heatwave. Photo: Weibo

China’s carbon market trading volumes seen growing as scheme covers more sectors

The cost of emitting carbon dioxide in China has nearly doubled over the past three years, as the world’s largest polluter drives to peak emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060.

17 Jul 2024 - 4:41PM

The Wujing Power Station in Shanghai, China, on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024. Photo: Bloomberg

3 Chinese clean-energy firms to set up solar, wind plants in Saudi Arabia

Jinko Solar, TCL Zhonghuan and Envision Energy will join Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and a private firm to expand their global footprints amid US and EU trade barriers and competition at home.

17 Jul 2024 - 4:14PM

How China’s industrial supply chain may help give rise to the ‘artificial sun’

Could a recent breakthrough in nuclear fusion be the start of a new global race to dominate the ‘holy grail’ of clean energy?

17 Jul 2024 - 12:04AMvideocam

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Climate change

The Earth is warming at an alarming rate in recent years due to cumulative excessive heat-trapping emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane to the atmosphere. Agriculture and other human activities that require fossil fuels combustion since industrialisation started in the mid-1850s were the main drivers for the emissions. This has contributed to more frequent extreme weather events like rainstorms, heatwaves and hurricanes, posing major environmental and social damages such as loss of lives, assets, habitats and work hours, as a result of droughts, floods, sea level rise and ice sheets melting.