Singapore dispatch: Cooling the tropical Garden City

Artificial cooling remains the dominant means of regulating indoor temperatures in Singapore, despite decades of urban greening efforts...

Energy

Despite having one of the world's highest solar power potentials, Saudi Arabia still burns hundreds of millions of barrels of oil to generate electricity, making its power sector one of the most polluting globally.

Saudi Arabia dispatch: Burning oil for electricity

Despite having one of the world's highest solar power potentials, Saudi Arabia still burns hundreds of millions of barrels of oil to generate electricity, making its power....
Scrubbers allow ships to keep burning high-sulphur fuel, but Singaporean waters absorb the consequences. They contain the world’s highest concentration of washwater, a toxic industrial waste.

Singapore dispatch: The externality loop of marine fuels

Scrubbers allow ships to keep burning high-sulphur fuel, but Singaporean waters absorb the consequences. They contain the world’s highest concentration of washwater, a toxic industrial waste.....
Despite the rapid addition of renewable energy capacities, India's electricity has a dark side. Three-quarters of it is generated by burning coal, causing one of the worst air quality in Asia.

India dispatch: Power the 1.5 billion-people nation

Despite the rapid addition of renewable energy capacities, India's electricity has a dark side. Three-quarters of it is generated by burning coal, causing one of the worst....
As electricity consumption rises, nuclear and solar additions have not replaced fossil fuel–fired power plants; they have been added alongside the legacy infrastructure.

United Arab Emirates dispatch: Accumulation over displacement

As electricity consumption rises, nuclear and solar additions have not replaced fossil fuel–fired power plants; they have been added alongside the legacy infrastructure.....

Industry

For each carton boxes and paper sheet produced from recovered material, another is still made from virgin pulp as paper-based products can be recycled only a finite number of times.

Qatar dispatch: Recycling fibres until they fail

For each carton boxes and paper sheet produced from recovered material, another is still made from virgin pulp as paper-based products can be recycled only a finite....
Ship paint incorporate chemical additives that are gradually released into the water to limit marine organisms attaching to the hull. Merchant fleets are also a source of microplastic pollution.

Oman dispatch: The toxic trail of hull coatings

Ship paint incorporate chemical additives that are gradually released into the water to limit marine organisms attaching to the hull. Merchant fleets are also a source of....
Following the Rana Plaza disaster, the clothing industry's environmental footprint remained unaddressed. Bangladeshi tanneries continue to release a cocktail of chemicals into waterways.

Bangladesh dispatch: Fast fashion’s toxic wastewater

Following the Rana Plaza disaster, the clothing industry's environmental footprint remained unaddressed. Bangladeshi tanneries continue to release a cocktail of chemicals into waterways.....

Demography

Vietnam's golden population period that started in 2007 is expected to end in the mid-2030s as the older population nearly doubles over the next two decades. The ongoing ageing of the population underscores the age–emissions relationship.

Vietnam dispatch: Footprint of a demographic transition

Vietnam's golden population period that started in 2007 is expected to end in the mid-2030s. The ongoing ageing of the population underscores the age–emissions relationship.....
One of Asia's most densely populated countries risks losing part of its territory to rising sea levels and coastal erosion by the mid-21st century, mainly along its low-lying southern coastline.

Bangladesh dispatch: Over 200 million on a shrinking land

One of Asia's most densely populated countries risks losing part of its territory to rising sea levels and coastal erosion by the mid-21st century, mainly along its....
The quadrupling of Indonesia's population since the mid-20th century has produced a large consumer class embedded in lifestyles that demand land, energy, and materials.

Indonesia dispatch: Demographic boom, and consumed ecosystems

The quadrupling of Indonesia's population since the mid-20th century has produced a large consumer class embedded in lifestyles that demand land, energy, and materials.....

Habitat

Artificial cooling remains the dominant means of regulating indoor temperatures in Singapore, despite decades of urban greening efforts to incorporate vegetation into its urban fabric.

Singapore dispatch: Cooling the tropical Garden City

Artificial cooling remains the dominant means of regulating indoor temperatures in Singapore, despite decades of urban greening efforts to incorporate vegetation into its urban fabric.....
In Singapore, the past competes with the present for the same finite land. In seeking equilibrium between natural ecosystems and human infrastructure, one of the world’s most densely populated countries introduced a regulation to limit the burial period to 15 years.

Singapore dispatch: The land use dilemma

In seeking equilibrium between natural ecosystems and human infrastructure, one of the world’s most densely populated countries introduced a regulation limiting the burial period to 15 years.....
In the district where coastal villages most affected by Nusantanra are located, the number of people engaged in fishing, nearly halved between 2020 and 2024.

Land monetisation rush pits fishermen against crocodiles

The Indonesian government’s assault on the world’s third largest tropical rainforest to serve industrial interests divides populations and biodiversity, echoing colonial-era patterns. Locally revered as ancestors, crocodiles....

In the district where coastal villages most affected by Nusantanra are located, the number of people engaged in fishing, nearly halved between 2020 and 2024.

Perebutan lahan picu konflik nelayan dan buaya

Pemerintah Indonesia mengeksploitasi hutan hujan tropis terbesar ketiga di dunia demi kepentingan industri. Langkah ini memecah belah masyarakat dan mengancam keanekaragaman hayati. Kebijakan tersebut mengulang pola yang....

The brick industry has underpinned India’s urban expansion at the expense of agricultural topsoil and crop yield. It is also a major source of air pollution across South Asia.

India dispatch: Houses built on coal, degraded farmland

The brick industry has underpinned India’s urban expansion at the expense of agricultural topsoil and crop yield. It is also a major source of air pollution across....
The Balik language, which "encodes environmental knowledge as its vocabulary", is on the verge of extinction as the Nusantara project risks diluting the local identity. Three quarters of Indonesia's indigenous languages are endangered. “Losing someone’s language means losing someone’s identity,” said Rafif Aufa Nanda.

Indonesia dispatch: Urbanisation unroot language from its ecosystem

The Balik language, which "encodes environmental knowledge as its vocabulary", is on the verge of extinction as the Nusantara project risks diluting the local identity. Three quarters....

Food

As it promotes higher fish consumption, Indonesia reauthorised bottom trawling. The method ravages seabed ecosystems, often described as the "ultimate long-term carbon store".

Indonesia dispatch: Back-and-forth over trawling

As it promotes higher fish consumption, Indonesia reauthorised bottom trawling. The method ravages seabed ecosystems, often described as the "ultimate long-term carbon store".....
The average size of farmland in Nepal more than halved over six decades. Low-input smallholder farms, often deemed unproductive, are associated with several environmental benefits that chemical-intensive agriculture leaves outside its productivity metrics.

Nepal dispatch: Farming on half a hectare

Low-input smallholder farms, often deemed unproductive, are associated with several environmental benefits that chemical-intensive agriculture leaves outside its productivity metrics.....
Rice farming households have been courted by the Shinawatra political dynasty, whose battles with the conservative establishment have diverted attention from the heavy reliance on chemical inputs.

Thailand dispatch: Political squabbles mask rice export costs

Rice farming households have been courted by the Shinawatra political dynasty, whose battles with the conservative establishment have diverted attention from the heavy reliance on chemical inputs.....
Masked on land by desalination plants to sustain large-scale human settlement, West Asia's water imbalance has been externalised offshore in the form of discharged brine.

United Arab Emirates dispatch: Water beyond ecological limits

Masked on land by desalination plants to sustain large-scale human settlement, West Asia's water imbalance has been externalised offshore in the form of discharged brine.....
Prabowo Subianto rejected accusations that Indonesia’s palm oil industry, the world’s biggest, is responsible for deforestation. He later described oil palm as a “miracle crop”..... Locally sourced tree and plant leaves have dominated the Indonesian food packaging scene, until plastics supplanted them in the absence of pricing mechanisms that reflect end-of-life costs. Food Indonesia dispatch: Natural packaging pushed off shelves by plastics Locally sourced tree and plant leaves have dominated the Indonesian food packaging scene, until plastics supplanted them in the absence of pricing mechanisms that reflect end-of-life costs..... Indonesian tigers, once relentlessly hunted by Dutch colonists for centuries, now find themselves thrust into human-tiger conflicts as a result of a state-led assault on tropical rainforests. The global tiger population has disappeared from 94% of its historical range. Food Indonesia dispatch: Tigers on the receiving end of palm oil demand Indonesian tigers, once relentlessly hunted by Dutch colonists for centuries, now find themselves thrust into human-tiger conflicts as a result of a state-led assault on tropical rainforests..... PAGEDANGAN, INDONESIA - AUGUST 6, 2025: Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, an advocate for the palm oil industry, denied the role played by oil palm plantations in deforestation in Indonesia. Food Indonesia dispatch: Prabowo Subianto-led oil palm normalisation Prabowo Subianto rejected accusations that Indonesia’s palm oil industry, the world’s biggest, is responsible for deforestation. He later described oil palm as a “miracle crop”.

Indonesia dispatch: Prabowo Subianto-led oil palm normalisation

Prabowo Subianto rejected accusations that Indonesia’s palm oil industry, the world’s biggest, is responsible for deforestation. He later described oil palm as a “miracle crop”.....
Locally sourced tree and plant leaves have dominated the Indonesian food packaging scene, until plastics supplanted them in the absence of pricing mechanisms that reflect end-of-life costs.

Indonesia dispatch: Natural packaging pushed off shelves by plastics

Locally sourced tree and plant leaves have dominated the Indonesian food packaging scene, until plastics supplanted them in the absence of pricing mechanisms that reflect end-of-life costs.....

Consumerism

Beneath the language of heritage and artisanship, the purchase of luxury goods is a material expression of the outsized environmental footprint of affluent consumers. Asia accounted for nearly four in ten luxury goods sold globally in the early 2020s.

Singapore dispatch: The imprint of luxury consumption

Beneath the language of heritage and artisanship, the purchase of luxury goods is a material expression of the outsized environmental footprint of affluent consumers.....
In the pre-synthetic fibres era, clothes were intended to last. With the rise of fast fashion, a third of Singaporeans acknowledged having thrown away a garment after wearing it just once. Singaporeans buy 34 pieces of new clothes per year, while discarding 27.

Singapore dispatch: When Peranakan craft met Mickey Mouse

In the pre-synthetic fibres era, clothes were intended to last. With the rise of fast fashion, a third of Singaporeans acknowledged having thrown away a garment after....
A shopping infrastructure expansion five times faster than population growth has overexposed consumers to a type of retail environment designed to stimulate unplanned purchases.

Qatar dispatch: Over-malling forced impulsive buying

A shopping infrastructure expansion five times faster than population growth has overexposed consumers to a type of retail environment designed to stimulate unplanned purchases.....
india-waste-piles-up-consumerism-edge

India dispatch: Waste piles up at consumerism’s edge

The vast network of landfills absorbing the waste generated by India’s embrace of a throwaway culture release methane into the atmosphere and toxic substances into soil and....
Beauty pageants have long played a role in the construction of beauty standards across Southeast Asia. Yet, they often failed to call out the mounds of waste the fashion industry generates. Garment lifespan fell by 36% during the first 15 years of the 21st century.

Indonesia dispatch: Beauty pageants in the age of disposable fashion

Beauty pageants have long played a role in the construction of beauty standards across Southeast Asia. Yet, they often failed to call out the mounds of waste....
indonesia-digital-age-waste-trail

Indonesia dispatch: Digital age’s waste trail

Indonesia, one of the world's largest consumers of smartphones, recovers less than one five-hundredth of the critical raw material the million tonnes of e-waste it generates contain.....

Mobility

The project to form a regional railway running along the Persian Gulf coastline has been repeatedly delayed, reflecting decades of entrenched distrust between West Asian states.

Saudi Arabia dispatch: Rail across political fault lines

The project to form a regional railway running along the Persian Gulf coastline has been repeatedly delayed, reflecting decades of entrenched distrust between West Asian states.....
Often blamed for their contribution to traffic congestion, cycle rickshaws do not release exhaust and therefore help contain air pollution in Dhaka, a city struggling with heavy pollution levels.

Bangladesh dispatch: Debate over pedal-powered transport

Often blamed for their contribution to traffic congestion, cycle rickshaws do not release exhaust and therefore help contain air pollution in Dhaka, a city struggling with heavy....
The rapid motorisation of India, from 50 million vehicles by the start of the 21st century to more than 350 million in 2022, occurred within an energy system dominated by fossil fuels.

India dispatch: Move 1.5 billion people around

The rapid motorisation of India, from 50 million vehicles by the start of the 21st century to more than 350 million, occurred within an energy system dominated....
Kilometres-long lines at fuel stations in 2022 and halted livelihood revealed how Sri Lanka’s fleet of 8.4 million vehicles has locked the nation into dependence on imported fossil fuel.

Sri Lanka dispatch: Locked into imported fossil fuels

Kilometres-long lines at fuel stations in 2022 and halted livelihood revealed how Sri Lanka’s fleet of millions of oil-powered vehicles locked the nation into dependence on imported....