Drone sighting temporarily disrupts traffic at Norway's Oslo airport
Norway's Oslo Airport temporarily paused one or several landings early on Monday (6 October) after a report of a drone sighting near the airport, its ...
Despite pledging to halt fossil fuel funding at the 2022 G7 summit, Japan has continued pouring billions into LNG projects, prompting accusations of greenwashing and undermining its climate leadership in Asia.
Japan has invested $93 billion in oil and gas projects between 2013 and 2024—$56 billion of which funded overseas liquefied natural gas (LNG) development—according to a new report by Solutions for Our Climate (SFOC). This figure starkly contrasts with the $24.5 billion Tokyo allocated for clean energy during the same period.
The investments raise questions about Japan’s climate commitments, especially following its 2022 G7 pledge to end public financing for fossil fuels. Critics argue the country is exploiting loopholes to continue supporting gas infrastructure under the guise of energy security and carbon capture technologies.
"Japan's international influence in energy financing is enormous," said Walter James, an energy policy consultant. "It spans the entire fossil fuel supply chain." The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) reports that Japan has shifted from being a major LNG consumer to a reseller, with Australian LNG topping its re-export supply.
Japan justifies its LNG push by framing it as a “transitional fuel” for partner countries in the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC), a regional initiative launched after the G7 pledge. AZEC, which includes nations such as Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam, focuses heavily on natural gas, ammonia, and carbon capture despite being billed as a net-zero initiative.
Environmental experts have expressed concern. Hiroki Osaka of Friends of the Earth Japan said the government’s tactics are “a form of greenwashing,” pointing out that projects deemed “abated” through carbon capture or essential for diplomacy are exempt from the G7 commitment.
Meanwhile, critics warn that Japan’s actions are locking countries like Indonesia into long-term fossil fuel use. Despite its vast renewable potential, Indonesia continues to expand LNG infrastructure, with a $1.5 billion project announced in March.
“Japan should skip gas and invest directly in renewables,” said Wicaksono Gitawon of CERAH, an Indonesian energy NGO. “More LNG means another infrastructure lock-in, and that stalls the energy transition.”
As Japan prepares for the third AZEC summit in Malaysia this September, its dual role as a green energy advocate and fossil fuel financier remains under increasing international scrutiny.
Video from the USGS (United States Geological Survey) showed on Friday (19 September) the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii erupting and spewing lava.
At least eight people have died and more than 90 others were injured following a catastrophic gas tanker explosion on a major highway in Mexico City’s Iztapalapa district on Wednesday, authorities confirmed.
At least 69 people have died and almost 150 injured following a powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Cebu City in the central Visayas region of the Philippines, officials said, making it one of the country’s deadliest disasters this year.
A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on 13 September with no tsunami threat, coming just weeks after the region endured a devastating 8.8-magnitude quake — the strongest since 1952.
Authorities in California have identified the dismembered body discovered in a Tesla registered to singer D4vd as 15-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who had been missing from Lake Elsinore since April 2024.
On the second day of Baku Climate Action Week (BCAW), attention centred on strengthening international cooperation, accelerating the transition to clean energy, and ensuring a fair and inclusive approach.
Super Typhoon Ragasa lashed Hong Kong with hurricane-force winds and torrential rain on Wednesday.
When Climate Week kicks off in New York City on Sunday (21 September), it will mark the largest event of its kind yet, with organisers reporting a record number of companies participating and more events than ever before.
Rising temperatures are taking a mounting toll on Bangladesh, with heat-related illnesses and productivity losses costing the economy up to $1.78 billion - about 0.4% of GDP - in 2024, according to a World Bank report released Tuesday
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