Showing 1 - 10 of 52
When infrastructure meets AI
Oped, Bertrand Badré & Saurabh Mishra, Published on 16/01/2026
» Infrastructure investment is booming. Around the world, governments are pouring trillions of dollars into roads, power grids, data centres, water systems, and housing, with many responding to intensifying climate shocks and the growing need for adaptation. Yet the construction industry -- the single largest force physically reshaping the planet -- is among the last major sectors to unlock all the benefits that digital technology offers. As a result, it accounts for about 21% of greenhouse-gas emissions, produces half of global landfill waste, and overspends by US$1.6 trillion a year.
Market still 'wrong' on climate
Oped, Fiona Watson, Published on 01/10/2025
» As business, government and nonprofit leaders debate the future of climate action ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Brazil, the global economy remains vulnerable to acute and chronic climate-driven shocks whose impact could be more severe than that of the 2008 global financial crisis. At a time when many governments and businesses continue to underestimate and underprice physical climate risk, we must remember that neither financial markets nor regulators are always right. What if their current complacency about climate risks is catastrophically wrong?
Historic preservation needs you and me
Oped, Kanitha Kasina-Ubol, Published on 29/09/2025
» Thais deeply revere our heritage. Millions of us visit museums, temples, old towns, and monuments every year.
India's power sector needs reform
Oped, Arvind Subramanian, Navneeraj Sharma, Abhishek Anand & Praveen Ravi, Published on 06/08/2025
» As the use of energy-guzzling AI grows, the countries that embrace renewables will gain an obvious competitive advantage. And on this front, China has established a substantial lead. According to the Financial Times, the country is on track to source 50% of its power from renewables (mainly solar and wind, but also nuclear, hydro, and battery-storage systems) by 2028.
ABOUT POLITICS: A sound bit of advice
Oped, Published on 10/05/2025
» A message has been conveyed by a former finance minister to an aspiring one -- don't be too agreeable with the government when it comes to money matters.
Asia must unite to survive Trump 2.0
Oped, Lee Jong-wha, Published on 01/04/2025
» US President Donald Trump has raised the spectre of economic and geopolitical turmoil in Asia. While individual countries have few options for pushing back against Mr Trump's transactional diplomacy, protectionist trade policies, and erratic decision-making, a unified region has a fighting chance.
Tariff man doubles down on his passion
Oped, Anne O. Krueger, Published on 27/03/2025
» US President Donald Trump has long been a staunch advocate of import tariffs, proudly calling himself "Tariff Man" and asserting that tariff is "the most beautiful word in the dictionary."
Agent of insurrection Trump's 'Cultural Revolution'
Oped, Orville Schell, Published on 21/02/2025
» When US President Donald Trump's factotum, JD Vance, held forth on Europe's "threat from within" at the recent Munich Security Conference, his audience was left struggling to make sense of America's confounding new approach to foreign policy. Chinese President Xi Jinping, for his part, has been relatively silent since Mr Trump's return to the White House -- but that doesn't mean he is any less vexed by what it portends. Nor could he have been reassured by Mr Trump's brazen response to a question last October about what he would do if Mr Xi blockaded Taiwan: "Xi knows I'm f***ing crazy!"
Farms and solar energy can co-exist
Oped, Rapeepat Ingkasit, Published on 08/01/2025
» At first glance, the idea of combining agriculture with solar energy seems far-fetched. How can crops and solar panels compete for the same sunlight? My view changed after I visited the Sosa Mega Solar Sharing site in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, last month. As part of a media tour organised by Mekong Watch, a Japanese non-profit conservation group, I had the opportunity to see first-hand how "agrivoltaics" -- an innovative integration of agriculture and solar energy -- are reshaping rural landscapes and revitalising communities.
Spot-on words
Oped, Postbag, Published on 28/12/2024
» Re: "No more excuses", (PostBag, Dec 26) and "Shrinking the naughty list", (Editorial, Dec 24).