New Delhi: Parties have started debating as to how the latest science on climate change can be framed in the COP30 decision. Activists participate in a demonstration for climate finance at the COP30 UN Climate Summit in Belem, Brazil, on Thursday. (AP) It is now virtually impossible to prevent an overshoot of the Paris Agreement’s…
The world has changed dramatically in the decade since leaders celebrated a historic climate agreement in Paris a decade ago, but not quite in ways they expected or wanted. Earth’s warming climate has gotten nastier faster than society has been able to wean itself from burning the coal, oil and natural gas that emits carbon…
Five years ago, China’s longtime leader Xi Jinping shocked and delighted the world by declaring in a video presentation to the United Nations that his country would peak its carbon emissions this decade and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. He tried to rekindle that magic late last month in another virtual address to the UN,…
Hong Kong has once again displayed its resilience. The city retained its No 3 ranking in the Global Financial Centres Index, just behind New York and London, while initial public offerings surged eightfold in the first half of 2025. For the first time since 2019, Hong Kong held the top spot in global IPO fundraising….
Despite frictions on trade and geopolitics that hang over their bilateral ties, leaders from the European Union and China vowed to work together to tackle global challenges on Wednesday, a day after US President Donald Trump ridiculed the “green scam” of climate change. Europe wants to work more with China on climate and biodiversity, even…
The United States remains the most important export market for Japan’s core industry, the automobile sector. In a welcome development, the recently concluded Japan–US tariff negotiations saw tariffs on cars and auto parts reduced from 27.5%, a rate imposed by Donald Trump’s administration earlier this spring, down to 15%. This comes as a relief for…
US President Donald Trump’s signature budget bill, signed into law earlier this month, marked a startling pivot towards fossil fuels and nuclear power, reigniting a fierce debate over how best to balance the country’s energy future with its national security. The act, known officially as the One Big Beautiful Bill, rolls back Joe Biden era…
Americans have a style and personality all their own, which isn’t a bad thing. It’s just noticeable when they travel aboard. Americans often stand out because of their outgoing personalities. They are friendly and enjoy having casual conversations with strangers. This is an endearing trait to a lot of people in more reserved cultures, although…
Denis Simon is one of the leading experts on US-China science and technology cooperation as well as China’s innovation system. He has held senior roles including executive vice-chancellor at Duke Kunshan University and director of the US-China programme at Pennsylvania State University. He is teaching a graduate course on China science and technology policy at…
A former UN secretary general has called for an overhaul of the United Nations to better confront global challenges as “some powerful nations” seek to undermine the institution. Ban Ki-moon, who was secretary general of the United Nations from 2007 to 2016, said in Hong Kong on Tuesday that the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza…