Showing 1 - 10 of 57
The need to address fossil fuels beyond the ICJ
News, Jemilah Mahmood & Adam Farhan, Published on 06/09/2025
» In July 2025, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued a landmark Advisory Opinion: states may be violating international law by facilitating fossil fuel consumption, subsidising production, and issuing permits that enable expansion of extraction and use.
Tiny Vanuatu steps up to protect the climate
Oped, Antara Haldar, Published on 28/08/2025
» Although the International Court of Justice (ICJ) turned 80 this year, there is a sense in which it has never felt younger. In a David-versus-Goliath moment, the tiny Pacific Island state of Vanuatu recently changed international law forever by bringing the world's most important issue before its highest court. The result is an ICJ advisory opinion on "the legal obligations of states in respect of climate change", as requested -- at Vanuatu's urging -- by the UN General Assembly (with 132 states co-sponsoring the resolution).
The world needs a new approach to water crisis
Oped, Mariana Mazzucato, Published on 21/08/2025
» As African leaders gather in Cape Town for the African Water Investment Summit, there can be no equivocation: the world faces an unprecedented water crisis that demands a paradigm shift in how we value and govern our most precious resource.
Lifelines for small island states
Oped, Maya Delaney & Aminath Shauna, Published on 28/01/2025
» Small island developing states (Sids) are on the front lines of climate change, threatened by rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and ocean warming and acidification, despite contributing the least to global greenhouse gas emissions. This now poses an existential risk to our ways of life, our livelihoods, and the very ground beneath our feet.
AI alone cannot save the planet
Oped, Yana Gevorgyan, Published on 21/01/2025
» This year's annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos held during Jan 20-24, where participants will address the theme of "Collaboration for the Intelligent Age," comes at a critical juncture for the planet. Ecosystems are straining under the pressure of climate change, and the interconnected cycles that maintain freshwater availability, soil moisture, ocean health, and plant growth are spinning out of balance at an alarming pace.
Thai waters in peril
Oped, Editorial, Published on 15/01/2025
» Thailand's waterways and seas both face ecological crises that could devastate ecosystems, food security, and millions of livelihoods if left unchecked. Two protests this week reflect the urgency of these issues. Small-scale fishermen and environmentalists have gathered at the Senate to oppose an amendment to the Fisheries Act allowing trawlers to sweep clean the sea. Meanwhile, fishermen and aquaculture farmers from 19 provinces have rallied at Government House, demanding the government address the spread of the invasive blackchin tilapia, or pla mor khang dam in Thai, a fish wreaking havoc in river ecosystems across the country.
Securing the Mekong's water future
Oped, Anoulak Kittikhoun, Published on 18/09/2024
» Today, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and Mekong River Commission (MRC) kick off a second round of talks about water security.
A non-native threat to Thai waters
News, Pimpavadee Phaholyothin & Michael Roy, Published on 31/07/2024
» Thailand boasts some of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet. From the lush forests of the North to the mangroves of the South, this country is a sanctuary for a plethora of wildlife species. These natural systems have evolved over millennia, during which time plant and animal species have slowly moved across the landscape as climatic and ecological conditions changed. These species adapted to their new environments, and the systems adapted to them. But times have changed, and species now move from their native environments across the globe at the speed of shipping, air transport, and rail. This results in the rapid invasion of new species into environments that have few natural mechanisms to keep them in balance with native species or the built environment.
Fishy solutions
Oped, Postbag, Published on 23/07/2024
» Re: “Govt seeks source of alien fish influx”, (BP, July 21). It was with incredulity that I read, “Govt seeks source of alien fish influx”. The source will never be found of course, since a predatory bird could have dropped a pregnant tilapia from high in the air — any newly formed body of freshwater in Thailand will soon be populated with fish in just this manner.
Fishy failures
Oped, Postbag, Published on 20/07/2024
» Re: "Time to solve fish invasion", (Editorial, July 19) and "Really fishy business", (Editorial, July 6). The BP editorial highlights the problem created by an invasive species of freshwater fish called blackchin tilapia. Tilapia are the third world's salmon, a valuable food fish rich in protein and easy to cultivate.