Thailand bans coral-damaging sunscreens in marine parks
The Thai Department of Conservation said four ingredients commonly found in sun creams were shown to destroy coral larvae, obstruct coral reproduction and cause reef bleaching.
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia spans more than 600 million people across diverse nations, cultures, and ecosystems. This archive gathers milestones and solutions stories from the region — covering health, environment, governance, and more. Follow the progress happening across countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and beyond.
Indonesia sees lowest rates of deforestation in 30 years
In 2020, Indonesia, home to one third of the world’s tropical rainforests, achieved its lowest forest-loss rates since monitoring began, totaling a 75% drop year-over-year.
Indonesia commits to all-electric vehicle sales by 2050
In an effort to accelerate the global transition to all-electric transportation, Indonesia has announced that it will end the sale of combustion engine motorcycles by 2040 and combustion engine cars by 2050.
West Papua revokes quarter of a million hectares of land from palm oil
The local government Indonesia’s West Papua province has revoked permits for 12 oil palm concessions that cover an area twice the size of Los Angeles.
Vietnam sees a 100-fold increase in solar capacity over the last two years
In 2020, the only countries that installed more solar than Vietnam were the U.S. and China.
Nissan electrifies Philippine car market with the LEAF
Nissan introduced the LEAF to the Philippines on May 9, officially plugging the country into the electric vehicle era.
Indonesian campaigners triumph against a coal mine in top court
Indonesia’s Supreme Court has rejected a final appeal from a coal company after it and the ministry of energy and mines lost a lawsuit filed by the Indonesian NGO Walhi three years earlier.
4 major Asian nations cancel 80% of planned coal power projects
Indonesia, Vietnam, Bangladesh, and the Philippines have canceled nearly 45 gigawatts of proposed coal power projects, a figure equal to more than one-quarter of the total installed capacity of Germany.
In a world-first, Singapore restaurant begins serving lab-grown meat
The meat, created by US-based startup Eat Just from chicken cells, was approved for sale in Singapore earlier this month.
Eat Just’s lab-grown chicken gets world’s first cultured meat approval
The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) has declared that the U.S.-based company Eat Just can sell its cultured “chicken bites” in the country, The Guardian reported Wednesday.