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July 12, 2026
 

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ENVIRONMENT

Employees work on an electric vehicle production line at a factory in China
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Feb 14, 2026
As Trump shreds climate rules, China’s emissions start to fall
This week’s major climate news played out on a split screen with the world’s two superpowers signaling different paths for the future.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s aggressive moves to roll back emissions regulations and pour funding into the coal-power industry seem unlikely to boost the sector’s long-term prospects.
BUSINESS
Feb 13, 2026
Coal will need more than the army to pull off a U.S. revival
U.S. President Donald Trump is making another major bid to bolster the shrinking U.S. coal-power industry.
The coal industry celebrated the announced U.S. reversal on climate action, saying it would help stave off retirements of aging coal-fired power plants.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Feb 13, 2026
Trump revokes basis of U.S. climate regulation and ends vehicle emission standards
It is the most sweeping climate policy rollback to date, after a string of regulatory cuts and other moves intended to unfetter fossil fuel development.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during the signing ceremony for a coal mining executive order in the East Room of the White House on April 8, 2025.
BUSINESS
Feb 11, 2026
Trump to direct Pentagon to buy coal in bid to revive industry
The move is expected to tap special Cold War-era authorities under the 1950 Defense Production Act that gives the White House sweeping power to direct private industry.
Overturning the legal basis for federal greenhouse gas rules, which will lead to the repeal of vehicle emissions rules, marks the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump's ⁠most sweeping climate change policy rollback to date.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Feb 11, 2026
White House says Trump plans to rescind climate change finding key to auto rules
Overturning the legal basis for federal greenhouse gas rules will mark the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump’s ⁠most sweeping climate change policy rollback to date.
People wade through floodwaters brought by Tropical Storm Penha in Iligan, Lanao del Norte province, Philippines, on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 10, 2026
Climate risk threatens credit ratings for dozens of countries
Several countries, including the Bahamas, Jamaica and the Philippines, face among the highest physical risk pressure on credit by 2050, an analysis shows.
Crown Prince Akishino (left) and Prince Hisahito (second from left) attend a presentation event of a national competition for biotopes held at the Tokyo National Museum in Tokyo on Sunday.
JAPAN
Feb 9, 2026
Prince Hisahito attends biotope competition event
The competition showcases schools and others that develop biotopes, or gardens where various organisms live.
Residential towers beyond the Johor Bahru–Singapore Rapid Transit System Link under construction in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, on Sept. 23, 2024. The state of Johor where Johor Bahru is located is Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing data center hub.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 8, 2026
Malaysia draws first data center protest over pollution and water
The country is emblematic of growing social unease with data centers worldwide, despite their crucial role in powering the internet and ChatGPT searches.
An aerial view of a cleared patch of the Shakarparian forest in Islamabad. Trees across Islamabad are being felled for infrastructure and even military monuments, prompting local anger and lawsuits.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Feb 8, 2026
Pakistan’s capital picks concrete over trees, angering residents
Trees are being felled across Islamabad for infrastructure and military monuments.
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.
China’s demand for Soviet-style apartments shows limits to revival
Apartments built during a Soviet Union-inspired construction drive in the 1970s and 1980s tend to suffer from poor insulation and outdated plumbing, but they are seeing a revival in interest due to their attractive locations.
Japanese scientists identify neural mechanism that may explain why we dislike people
The aggressive mouse (left) used in the experiment and a mouse defending itself
Japanese payment processor’s collapse hits banks and restaurants
Zentoshin served around 200,000 shops, many of which rely on early payments to maintain cash flow, raising concerns over their financial stability following the disruption.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
Lenders seek $700 million after Japanese payments firm’s collapse
The financial failure of Osaka-based Zentoshin has left 63 creditors with claims totaling ¥115.16 billion, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.
Japan’s largest exhibition of women photographers rights a wrong in cultural history
Miwa Yanagi’s “Elevator Girl House” series skewers the superficiality of gender roles through staged images.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
‘Princess Mononoke’ comes alive in Super Kabuki staging
The “Princess Mononoke” adaptation was created under Shochiku’s Super Kabuki initiative, a modern form of kabuki with more technology in staging and open to pop culture collaborations.
The beating heart inside ‘Human Vapor’
Different forms of love and connection form the emotional backbone of Netflix’s “Human Vapor,” says actor Shun Oguri, who plays troubled detective Kenji Okamoto.
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.

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

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