Features
Domestic Banks Are Propping Up Indonesian Coal Despite Climate Risks
Despite global financiers halting support for coal power, Indonesia's major domestic banks are filling the void by funnelling billions into new coal projects. This continued investment risks locking in decades of pollution, making the country's climate goals impossible to achieve and hindering the uptake of cleaner energy alternatives.
UBS Quits the Net-Zero Banking Alliance: The Consequences
The mass exodus of UBS and other leading banks from the NZBA has made the coalition a thing of the past, sending a clear signal to the market that climate change has become even less of a priority for financial institutions. For Southeast Asia, one of the most climate-vulnerable regions and a hotspot for fossil fuel expansion, this outlook leaves little room for optimism.
Renewable Energy
Is Renewable Energy Expensive? Or Is It the Cheapest Power Source on Earth?
For years, sceptics questioned the cost of renewable energy, but the data now tells a different story. Renewables are not only the cheapest source of new electricity but also the fastest-growing, having decisively outcompeted fossil fuels on price. This surge is driving down energy bills and has led to renewables overtaking coal in the global power mix for the first time.
China’s 2035 NDC: Emissions to Drop 7-10%, Analysts Concerned
There are targets, and then there’s reality, and China’s 2035 NDC perfectly embodies this. While the targets are weak, it is hard to imagine that they weren’t set on purpose, just to be broken afterwards — a habit China has demonstrated over the years.
Fossil Fuel
Natural Gas in Australia: A Shrinking Role in a Renewable Era
Australia’s looming gas shortage and the push to expand LNG exports risk locking in a fossil-fuel-heavy path just as renewables and storage capacity rise. A renewables-led transition, supported by grid modernisation and strategic storage, offers a lower-cost, more secure path to energy independence and climate goals. Policymakers face a defining choice: double down on gas or accelerate a diversified, zero-emissions future.
Why Global Plastics Treaty Talks Failed?
The failure of the INC-5.2 Geneva talks highlights how vested interests, particularly petrostates, continue to block meaningful global action on plastic pollution. With plastic production surging—contributing nearly 5% of global emissions—and microplastics infiltrating ecosystems and human health, urgent leadership and policy shifts are critical.
Region
Smog in India: A Nation Struggling to Breathe
India’s air quality crisis has reached crisis levels, with PM 2.5 concentrations far above WHO guidelines and city skies routinely choked by smog from biomass burning, vehicle emissions, industry and crop burning. Short-term fixes like cloud seeding and emergency measures mask deeper, systemic failures. Lasting improvement requires stronger emissions controls, sustained policy action and equitable access to clean air.
CREA: Indonesia’s RUPTL Plan Puts Fossil Fuels First, Renewable Energy Later
According to CREA, Indonesia’s RUPTL 2025-2034 reveals major discontent between the ambitious climate pledges and public commitments of the country’s leadership and the real plans, which see a projected growth and a pivotal role for fossil fuels.
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