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
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.
Trash trap gets to work removing plastic waste from Vietnam’s Red River
The trash traps have already collected more than 18 tons of floating waste. Now, thanks to additional funding, more are being rolled out Nam Dinh province over the next two years.
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.