Articles by Hans Nicholas Jong

KATOWICE, Poland — It’s noon on a Friday in the city of Katowice, Poland, and a teenage girl with her hair braided in pigtails is sitting alone on the floor…

KATOWICE, Poland — “How did you get here?” asked the angry fossil fuel company executive. “Have you ever been to Nigeria?” responded the agitated environmental activist. This was part of…

KATOWICE, Poland — The world has just 12 years left to halve greenhouse gas emissions to prevent catastrophic climate change, but hopes that a solution will come from saving the…

KATOWICE, Poland — Three years ago, then-U.S. President Barack Obama was instrumental in rallying the international community behind a landmark climate deal in Paris. He managed to push through grueling…

KATOWICE, Poland — Concerns about the apparent sidelining of human rights have been aired as the United Nations climate summit in Poland enters its second week. According to the Climate…

KATOWICE, Poland — Joanna Flisowska is a native of the coal-mining city of Katowice in Poland. She says she welcomes her city hosting the latest United Nations climate talks, seen…

JAKARTA — The world’s leading certification body for ethically sourced palm oil has ordered a total ban on deforestation by its members, amid growing pressure from both companies and consumers.…

JAKARTA — Environmental activists in Indonesia have called on South Korean funders to withdraw their support for new coal-fired plants that they warn will be the most polluting in the…

JAKARTA — Central African countries are taking a lesson from the experiences of Indonesia, suffering from one of the world’s highest deforestation rates, as they look to protect their own…

JAKARTA — A new report has linked Mondelēz International, the food giant behind such iconic snacks as Oreo cookies and Ritz crackers, to large-scale deforestation in Indonesia. The investigation by…

JAKARTA — Its name in Indonesian means “hope,” but there seems to be little of that remaining for the Harapan rainforest, a tropical woodland oasis in an ever-expanding desert of…

BOVEN DIGOEL, Indonesia — It’s a hot and humid morning, and birds and insects are chirping deep in a lush rainforest in the eastern Indonesian province of Papua. All of…

JAKARTA — Three executives from one of Indonesia’s biggest palm oil firms were arrested over the weekend by the nation’s anti-graft agency after an employee was caught bribing politicians to…

JAKARTA — The last place on Earth that’s home to wild tigers, rhinos, orangutans and elephants may lose these and countless other species to make way for a $3 billion…

JAKARTA — The developers of a new interactive map hope to shine a light on deforestation in Indonesia’s easternmost region of Papua, where industrial-scale agriculture threatens one of the world’s…

Leaders from 17 countries, including China and India, have joined a new initiative aimed at helping vulnerable nations deal with the fallout from climate change. The Global Commission on Adaptation,…

JAKARTA — A prominent environmental expert in Indonesia faces a lawsuit by a palm oil company after testifying against its practices, in the second case of its kind this year.…

JAKARTA — A planned hydroelectric dam that threatens the world’s most endangered great ape is already having an impact, days after a ringing endorsement from Indonesian officials and academics. On…

JAKARTA — Pledges by major brands to stop buying palm oil from companies known to destroy rainforests have failed to stop the clearance of a total area of forest the…

JAKARTA — Indigenous rights activists in Indonesia have expressed concern that the government is stalling the passage of a long-awaited bill on indigenous rights by tangling the legislative process in…