Southeast Asia haze returns as peatland fires fan global warming fears

In this photo taken on Oct. 10, 2023, a man looks at a forest fire as it approaches houses in Ogan Ilir, South Sumatra in Indonesia. Al Zulkifli | AFP | Getty Images With El Nino in full force, officials are bracing for the worst transboundary haze in southern Southeast Asia since before the pandemic … Read more

Indonesia’s China-backed high-speed train sparks concerns of debt trap

Indonesia is starting trial runs for its first high-speed train, which will connect the capital Jakarta to a neighboring city of Bandung, after years of delays and cost overruns plagued the project. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images A $7.3 billion high-speed electric rail line between Indonesia’s two biggest cities is set to be launched … Read more

Plastic pollution credits could be the new carbon offsets

Humanity has produced over 9.5 billion metric tons of plastic. That’s over one metric ton, aka 2,200 pounds, per each of the Earth’s 7.9 billion inhabitants. That plastic doesn’t go away. “All the plastic we’ve ever produced since the inception of the material is still here,” said David Katz, Founder and Chairman of Plastic Bank, … Read more