Our planet is facing a triple crisis of climate, nature, and pollution, with one common cause: the fossil-fuel economy. Oil, gas, and coal are at the root of runaway climate disruption, widespread biodiversity loss, and pervasive plastic pollution. The conclusion is clear and must be paramount when political leaders gather in Stockholm this week to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first United Nations (UN) Conference on the Human Environment.

A full 99 percent of people on Earth breathe air containing too many pollutants, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Monday, blaming poor air quality for millions of deaths each year.Fresh data from the United Nations (UN) health agency showed that every corner of the globe is dealing with air pollution, although the problem is much worse in poorer countries."Almost 100 percent of the global population is still breathing air that exceeds the standards recommended by the World Health

Persistently high levels of ozone pollution in Asia are costing China, Japan and South Korea an estimated US$63 billion annually in lost rice, wheat and maize crops, a new study says.While ozone forms a protective layer around the Earth in the upper atmosphere, it is a harmful pollutant at ground level.It is created by a chemical reaction when two pollutants, often emitted by cars or industry, combine in the presence of sunlight and it can interfere with plant photosynthesis and growth.The re

In a landmark victory for Indonesian environment campaigners, a court on Thursday ordered President Joko Widodo to clean up Jakarta's notorious air pollution, ruling that the leader and other top officials had been negligent in protecting citizens.The capital and its surroundings form a megacity of about 30 million people, which routinely ranks among the most polluted cities in the world.Experts have warned for years about the threat posed by Jakarta's smog to the health of resident

A Cambodian court has charged four environmental activists with insulting the king and plotting against the government, an official said Monday, after three of them were arrested for documenting waste run-off into a river.Use of royal defamation laws in Cambodia is a relatively new phenomenon, with the legislation only enacted in 2018.The three activists – Sun Ratha, Ly Chandaravuth and Yim Leanghy of advocacy group Mother Nature – were arrested Wednesday for documenting the draining of waste

Less than a century ago, most products in Asia were made mainly from natural materials, and were built to last or to biodegrade easily.

Plastic consumption has exploded over the years. This has caused plastic waste production worldwide to steadily increased by 10 million metric tons every year in the last 10 years, to reach almost 360 million metric tons in 2018.The plastic crisis is one of the greatest challenges facing planet earth.

United States (US) envoy John Kerry will visit China this week for climate change talks – the first official trip under the Biden administration – in a trip Washington hopes will put aside diplomatic spats and focus on joint environment challenges.Kerry's trip comes shortly after a testy meeting in Alaska between two top Biden administration officials and their Chinese counterparts, with tensions high on a number of fronts.But the former secretary of state has said climate needs "to

Climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution pose a triple threat to human health and prosperity that may be averted only by transforming how we power our economies and feed ourselves, the United Nations (UN) said Thursday. A scientific assessment by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) found that galloping economic growth has come at a devastating cost to the planet and urged governments, businesses and people around the world to act to reverse the damage before it is

A glacial burst that triggered a deadly flash flood in the Indian Himalayas at the weekend was a disaster waiting to happen, and one likely to be repeated in a region transformed by climate change and unchecked infrastructure development, experts warn.Asia is home to some of the world's biggest waterways, from the Ganges and the Indus in India to the Yangtze and Mekong originating in China, that snake for thousands of kilometres.They support the livelihoods of vast numbers of farmers and