Tag - environment

 
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June 30, 2026
 

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ENVIRONMENT

A drone view shows waste, including plastic bottles, used tires and various nonorganic waste, floating on the Drina river, creating a floating rubbish dump, in Visegrad, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on Friday.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Feb 8, 2026
Chile’s climate summit chief to lead plastic pollution treaty talks
“Plastic pollution is a planetary problem that affects everyone: every country, every community and every individual,” career diplomat Julio Cordano warned after being elected.
A worker arranges baskets of acai fruit at the Ver-o-Peso wholesale market in Belem, Para state, Brazil, on Nov. 5. Brazil has declared the berry a national fruit, though experts say the law is largely symbolic.
WORLD
Feb 3, 2026
Brazil declares acai a national fruit to ward off ‘biopiracy’
Cases like a Japanese company trademarking the use of the name acai in 2003, which took Brazil four years to cancel, drove the law declaring acai a national fruit in Brazil.
Greenlanders near the shore in Nuuk, Greenland, on Jan. 29. Greenland is warming fast, and its massive ice sheet contains enough fresh water to raise global sea levels by 7 meters (23 feet).
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Feb 2, 2026
Trump’s Greenland threats put crucial climate change research at risk
The U.S. president’s vows have chilled relationships between American and Greenlandic researchers, halting some projects and making collaborations uncertain.
The sun rises by the Eiffel Tower and the Sacre Coeur Basilica in Paris on July 1.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jan 27, 2026
World not ready for rise in extreme heat, scientists say
Nearly 3.8 billion people could face extreme heat by 2050, and while tropical countries will bear the brunt, cooler regions will also need to adapt, scientists said Monday.
A large-scale solar project near Hokkaido's Kushiro Wetlands is driving a surge in land donations to a local environmental trust, as residents try to keep their property out of the hands of developers.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Jan 26, 2026
Land donations surge near Kushiro Wetlands amid megasolar controversy
A local environmental trust has seen a large uptick in land donations from residents seeking to keep their property out of developers’ hands.
A flooded area in Sultan, Washington, in December last year
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jan 24, 2026
What one year of Trump’s climate censorship reveals
The administration has methodically removed references to climate change and environmental justice from government resources.
Flags flutter during the 56th annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting, in Davos, Switzerland, on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 20, 2026
Global leaders gather in Switzerland to ponder the future of a messy world
Among the range of likely topics at the World Economic Forum lies one central question: What will U.S. President Donald Trump do next?
Firefighters try to extinguish a burning house during a wildfire in Concepcion, Chile, on Sunday.
WORLD
Jan 19, 2026
Chile declares emergency as wildfires kill at least 18
Wildfires have severely impacted Chile in recent years amid growing signs of the impact of climate change in the country, including extreme weather, droughts and floods.
A Chinese flag is seen near a fishing boat off the coast of Qingdao, China, following an oil spill in the Yellow Sea in April 2021.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 17, 2026
China bids to host secretariat of new high seas treaty
The surprise bid underscores Beijing’s desire to have greater influence over global environmental governance.
The Microsoft data center campus currently under construction in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, last year.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 15, 2026
Microsoft in record deal for soil carbon credits as data centers surge
The company has agreed with Indigo Carbon to buy a record 2.85 million soil carbon credits linked to regenerative agriculture in the United States.
A Honda CR-V in California. Honda is planning to increase production of cheaper gasoline-fueled vehicles in the United States this year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 15, 2026
Honda to boost output of cheaper, less fuel-efficient vehicles in U.S.
The move comes as many American car-buyers are struggling to afford new-car prices that average nearly $50,000.
An annual ranking of corporate climate efforts has put Japanese firms ahead of those from the United Kingdom, the European Union, China and others.
BUSINESS
Jan 14, 2026
Japanese companies ahead on climate leadership, data shows
Japan took the lead in an annual ranking with 22% ‍of companies achieving what CDP defined as “climate leadership,” followed by the U.K. with 17%.
The Eaton Fire, which ravaged part of Los Angeles in January 2025, was one of the most destructive wildfires in California history.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jan 14, 2026
Scientists confirm 2025 was third-hottest year on record
2025 saw a cooling phase in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, yet heat from greenhouse gases countered that cooling enough that the year still was among the warmest.
People involved in tree-planting activities under the profit-sharing afforestation program in March in Kagoshima Prefecture
JAPAN
Jan 11, 2026
Japan to quantify companies’ forest conservation efforts
The agency’s goal is to encourage corporate participation in forest conservation by making it easier for companies to gain recognition from customers and the market.
Chef Kiyoshi Fujimoto seasons bear meat at his restaurant in Sapporo in December.
JAPAN
Jan 8, 2026
From predator to plate: Japan’s bear crisis sparks culinary craze
Although far from an everyday dish, bear has long been eaten in mountainous villages across Japan.
The United Nations headquarters in New York. U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered his government to withdraw from 31 U.N. entities.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 8, 2026
Trump withdraws U.S. from 31 bodies in U.N., already in fiscal peril
The U.S. leader also directed the government to cease participating in 35 non-U.N. organizations because they “no longer serve American interests.”
A bear warning sign is displayed in Shirakawa-go, Gifu Prefecture, in November.
JAPAN
Jan 8, 2026
Japan sees record 47,000 Asian black bear sightings over eight months
The April-November figure nearly doubled from the previous annual record high of 24,348 marked in fiscal 2023.
A young local Fijian walks on flooded land in her village in February 2016. The ocean is nearing a dangerous tipping point, but 2025 marked a shift from incrementalism toward meaningful global action.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 7, 2026
A decisive year for ocean conservation
The ocean’s decline is not inevitable. It is our choice whether to deliver a healthier, more abundant oceans for future generations.
In Japan, key stakeholders, including corporations and industry groups, are working to make ESG investment a pillar of sustainable growth despite global headwinds.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 31, 2025
Japan strives to sustain ESG investment amid global retreat
Corporations and industry groups are pushing back against the global headwinds and working to make ESG investment a pillar of sustainable growth.
Women use a pipe to fill water from a bore well in a village in Alwar, Rajasthan, India.
BUSINESS
Dec 30, 2025
India’s water crunch brews risks for beverage giants
The challenges for the brewers in Rajasthan mirror a wider crisis across India, which holds 17% of the world’s population but just 4% of its freshwater.
Uruguay federation reportedly cancels charter flight after World Cup exit
Uruguay's Jose Maria Gimenez reacts after the team's loss against Spain at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
India’s gig workers pay the price for exposure to New Delhi’s hazardous air
Rohit Kushwaha waits for a customer as he delivers his last parcel of the day, in New Delhi in January. His work as a delivery driver has helped pay the family’s bills, but has had a significant impact on his health.
Chinese and Russian bombers and fighter jets stage joint patrol near Japan
A Chinese Air Force H-6 bomber is seen during a joint patrol with Russian military aircraft on Saturday.
U.S. missile moves in Japan send China clear message: A new era has arrived
Soldiers conduct the first Typhon midrange capability live-fire exercise outside of the continental United States, firing an SM-6 missile in July last year in Australia's Northern Territory during Exercise Talisman Sabre.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.
‘The colors speak for themselves’: How Japan’s chroma bible went global
“A Dictionary of Color Combinations” is meant to function as a quick-reference guide for artists, designers and anyone with a passing interest in aesthetics as a quantifiable pursuit.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

New Logistics Consortium baton to accelerate trucking efficiency
New Logistics Consortium baton to accelerate trucking efficiency

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