Eco-Business

Japan launches programme to cut data centre emissions as AI power demand surges

Government-backed scheme will fund low-carbon cooling and optimisation technologies as rising AI-driven electricity use raises concerns over emissions, water consumption and grid strain.

The country's environment ministry tells Okinawa Electric new gas plant must reduce overall emissions, warning project near coral and seagrass ecosystems could face curbs if it fails to align with climate goals.

Vietnam wants to open its first nuclear power plant by 2031, but experts question the timeline and villagers fear for their livelihoods.

A new ‘corporate scorecard’ reveals the gap between steelmakers' climate ambition and action.

By Taejun Kang

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Despite calls for mediation, the grouping has remained fragmented, highlighting its role as a ‘club’ like the G7 rather than a forum for collective action.. By Carlos Frederico Pereira da Silva Gama

The Covid-19 pandemic and the wars in Ukraine and Iran have reframed the issue of sustainability, which is now as much about sovereignty and economic security as it is about planetary health. Countries and companies that fail to recognise this have everything to lose in the coming years. By Bruno Bouygues and Bertrand Badré

Instead of allowing external powers to dictate their development, China, India, Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam have balanced strategic international engagement with domestic capacity-building and decision-making. This model has become newly relevant for Canada, the United Kingdom, and other middle powers. By Ashok Lavasa and Roli Asthana

Landslide election win strengthens push to link decarbonisation with economic security, boosting nuclear, domestic clean tech and state-led industrial strategy while keeping climate targets intact. By Taejun Kang

By Carlos Frederico Pereira da Silva Gama

By Lee Chean Chung and Steph Hodgins-May

By Vaibhav Chowdhary, Animesh Ghosh and Debraj Bhattacharjee

By Shi Youwei

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EB Studio There are vast mineral riches lying on the ocean floor that could help to power the energy transition, but is the environmental cost of extracting them worth the risk?

Toyota will partner Japanese car-sharing service operator Park24 for a six-month experiment leasing the i-Road concept vehicle, with …

New ad takes aim at Tepco’s lack of transparency on the water contamination at Fukushima’s nuclear site. Watch the video here:

The Japanese conglomerate is developing technologies that can power smart communities, including electric buses equipped with GPS and fast-charging batteries.

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Some data sources indicate that greenwashing could be declining after years of rising incidences of problematic sustainability claims.

Despite a decline in cases of greenwashing, academic Kim Schumacher tells the EB Podcast that the problem isn't going away, it's just taking on a different form as companies roll back sustainability commitments.

A protest for climate justice in the Philippines

The new head of Japan and Southeast Asia for ClientEarth tells the Eco-Business Podcast how the law can be used to hold polluters to account in the world's biggest emitting region. She also says it's time the legal profession faced scrutiny for greenwashing.

Japan-based academic Kim Schumacher, who coined the term "competence greenwashing", believes that the pursuit of societal harmony might be standing in the way of Asia calling out greenwashing. He tells the Eco-Business Podcast how exaggerated ESG claims are likely to be tackled in 2023 and beyond.

Eco-Business talks to Peter Kiernan, lead energy analyst for the Economist Intelligence Unit, to unpack a new landmark report from the International Energy Agency, which proposes an immediate ban on fossil fuels extraction to curb global warming.

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