Across a quarter century of United Nations (UN) climate conferences tasked with saving humanity from itself, one was deemed a chaotic failure (Copenhagen/2009), another a stunning success (Paris/2015), and the rest landed somewhere in between.This year's COP26 inspired all these reactions at once.Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, leading a 100,000-strong march through the streets of Glasgow, dismissed the two-week meet as a "greenwashing festival".But dedicated experts in the ne

Epidemiologists tell us that COVID-19 was not a “black swan.” In our lifetime, there will be pandemics that are equally if not more severe. And when the next one comes, China, Singapore, and maybe Vietnam will be better prepared because they have learned from this terrible experience. Pretty much everyone else, including most of the G20, will be just as vulnerable as they were when COVID-19 hit. But how can that be?

Almost 200 nations pledged Wednesday to tackle ecological destruction at a key United Nations (UN) conservation summit in China, but environmentalists criticised the proposal as vague and lacking accountability.Delegates from some 195 countries said they would support the 'Kunming Declaration' – working to tackle issues around biodiversity and species protection – in the first segment of the two-part COP15 summit in the southern Chinese city Kunming.The pledge is expected to pave th

As the debate continues over the origins of the coronavirus, a heated political battle is taking place over virus research carried out in China using United States (US) funds.It's linked to the unproven theory that the virus could have leaked from a lab in Wuhan, the Chinese city where it was first detected.A report released by Republican lawmakers cites "ample evidence" that the lab was working to modify coronaviruses to infect humans and calls for a bipartisan investigation i

Many rich countries have at times failed to provide enough personal protective equipment (PPE) for their health-care workers during the coronavirus pandemic.

Cities are home to most of the world’s population and where problems and solutions meet. They are centres of economic growth and innovation. However, the high concentration of people and economic activities in cities make them most vulnerable to various disasters, epidemics and pandemics.  In several countries, the COVID-19 pandemic emerged in cities and spread to rural areas via peri-urban and transport corridors.

Research to develop a safe, effective, and widely available COVID-19 vaccine is advancing rapidly. But when it will happen is not clear. Much depends on how we govern the production and distribution of new drugs.

The COVID-19 pandemic has to a considerable degree exposed the Philippines to several vulnerabilities, which include the knock-on effect of the pandemic on the country’s economy, weakness of the country’s existing health care system and infrastructures, and threats to food security because of the fragile agriculture and food systems of the country.

Rapid economic development over the past two decades has transformed the Southeast Asian region to the point where it is able to participate in international production networks which allows more exports of manufactured products, textiles and other primary high-quality valued-added products.

While the world focuses on the COVID-19 crisis, climate change continues to advance. The consequences are devastating and becoming more so – and that includes for the pandemic response itself.There is no doubt that natural disasters are increasing in frequency and intensity as a result of climate change. This year alone, Australia grappled with its most destructive bushfires on record. East African countries have been battling the worst outbreak of desert locusts in decades.