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		<title>Conservation news</title>
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		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/electric-cars/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Fri, 09 Oct 2026 13:17:41 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<title>News on Electric Cars</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/electric-cars/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>Indonesia leads global tally of abuses linked to Chinese transition-mineral investments</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/indonesia-leads-global-tally-of-abuses-linked-to-chinese-transition-mineral-investments/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/indonesia-leads-global-tally-of-abuses-linked-to-chinese-transition-mineral-investments/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Aug 2026 10:59:25 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/07/01140403/image_processing20240603-2-tg8aa4-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=326494</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, North Maluku, Southeast Asia, and Sulawesi]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Batteries, Conflict, Critical Minerals, Electric Cars, Energy, Energy Transition, Health, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Conflict, Law, Mining, Natural Resources, Pollution, Social Conflict, Transportation, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Indonesia recorded more allegations of human rights and environmental abuses linked to Chinese investments in transition minerals than any other country between 2023 and 2025, a new report says. It identifies the vast majority of problems with the country’s rapidly expanding nickel industry. The report by the Business &#38; Human Rights Resource Centre [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Indonesia recorded more allegations of human rights and environmental abuses linked to Chinese investments in transition minerals than any other country between 2023 and 2025, a new report says. It identifies the vast majority of problems with the country’s rapidly expanding nickel industry. The report by the Business &amp; Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRC) documented 323 publicly reported allegations across 24 countries during the three-year period, plus three confidential cases involving attacks on human rights defenders. That brings the total to 326 allegations for 2023-2025. The number of recorded allegations has also risen each year, from 51 in 2021 to 148 in 2025, bringing the five-year total to 434. That increase doesn’t necessarily mean the number of abuses themselves have tripled, as changes in reporting, monitoring, and the database can affect the figures. Still, the rising trend comes as investment in the minerals used in electric vehicles, batteries, and renewable energy technologies expands rapidly, raising risks for workers, Indigenous peoples, local communities, and the environment. The report also documented 18 attacks against human rights defenders across all 24 countries between 2023 and 2025, including cases involving judicial harassment, violence, and intimidation. Indonesia Of the 323 allegations analyzed in detail, 96 were in Indonesia, the highest of any country. The Democratic Republic of Congo was second with 52, followed by Myanmar with 36, Serbia with 32, and Zimbabwe with 20. Ninety of the 96 Indonesian allegations involved nickel. Of those, 71 concerned nickel processing, 17 nickel extraction, and two&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/indonesia-leads-global-tally-of-abuses-linked-to-chinese-transition-mineral-investments/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326494</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Nickel expansion puts Indonesia’s biodiversity goals under pressure, study finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/nickel-expansion-puts-indonesias-biodiversity-goals-under-pressure-study-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/nickel-expansion-puts-indonesias-biodiversity-goals-under-pressure-study-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Aug 2026 09:20:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/03/05132334/nickel-processing-facilities-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=326001</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Maluku, North Maluku, Southeast Asia, and Sulawesi]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[30x30 conservation target, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Business, Carbon Dioxide, Carbon Emissions, Climate Change, Conservation, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporations, Deep Sea Mining, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Electric Cars, Energy Transition, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Industry, Marine Conservation, Mining, Natural Resources, Pollution, Protected Areas, Transportation, Tropical Deforestation, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Indonesia’s nickel boom is colliding with its efforts to protect biodiversity and reduce emissions from forests and other land uses. A new study warns that meeting growing global nickel demand could increasingly put some of the world’s most important ecosystems at risk. A study published in Nature Ecology &#38; Evolution focuses on the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Indonesia’s nickel boom is colliding with its efforts to protect biodiversity and reduce emissions from forests and other land uses. A new study warns that meeting growing global nickel demand could increasingly put some of the world’s most important ecosystems at risk. A study published in Nature Ecology &amp; Evolution focuses on the trade-offs between meeting future nickel demand and protecting areas important for biodiversity and carbon storage. The researchers found that 44% to 49% of projected nickel demand between 2025 and 2050 could be met by mines located in the world’s top 10% of terrestrial areas for biodiversity and carbon conservation. “Nickel is in everything from steel in infrastructure to the pots and pans in our kitchens, and demand is surging for clean energy especially to make batteries for electric vehicles,” said lead author Jayden Hyman of the University of Queensland’s School of the Environment in a press release. “But the decisions being made now about where to source nickel could lock in impacts for decades in some of Earth’s most biodiverse and carbon-rich ecosystems.” The findings pose a particular challenge for Indonesia, the world’s largest nickel producer and the source of more than half of global supply. The researchers project that Indonesia could account for as much as 74% of global nickel production by 2040 as demand continues to grow. The country is also committed to expanding biodiversity conservation. Indonesia’s Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (IBSAP) 2025-2045 is aligned with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, including&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/nickel-expansion-puts-indonesias-biodiversity-goals-under-pressure-study-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326001</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Nepal&#8217;s new government bets on tax revenue over clean energy push</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/nepals-new-government-bets-on-tax-revenue-over-clean-energy-push/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/nepals-new-government-bets-on-tax-revenue-over-clean-energy-push/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Jul 2026 11:37:35 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rudra Pangeni]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/01093941/road-in-nepal-traffic-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=322164</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Clean Energy, Development, Electric Cars, Energy, Environment, Governance, and Transportation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — When Balendra Shah took office as Nepal’s new prime minister in March following a landslide victory for his party, he inherited a fuel crisis triggered by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. His government faced a choice between speeding up the clean energy transition or shoring up the public finances needed to sustain it. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — When Balendra Shah took office as Nepal’s new prime minister in March following a landslide victory for his party, he inherited a fuel crisis triggered by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. His government faced a choice between speeding up the clean energy transition or shoring up the public finances needed to sustain it. In its May 29 fiscal policy, it chose the latter. Nepal imports fossil fuels at a cost of 300 billion rupees ($2 billion) a year, including cooking gas that it subsidizes about 9 billion rupees ($59.5 million) annually. On the “clean” side of that equation, nearly all its grid electricity comes from hydropower — so much so that it exports the surplus to India and Bangladesh during the wet season. And on sales of electric vehicles, Nepal ranks second globally, with EVs estimated to account for 73% of new car sales in 2025, thanks to lower import taxes compared to internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. But the new government argues for a shift to raise revenue to fund grid upgrades that would make a clean energy transition possible in the first place. A former bureaucrat and a sitting official both told Mongabay that this logic is backward: that the tax revenue raised will be less than the savings in gas subsidies if it instead encouraged households to switch to electric stoves. In his maiden budget speech, Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle announced a 5% value-added tax on high-consuming electricity users, and fresh new taxes on EV&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/nepals-new-government-bets-on-tax-revenue-over-clean-energy-push/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322164</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Bangladesh unveils sweeping EV incentives to cut emissions and pollution</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/bangladesh-unveils-sweeping-ev-incentives-to-cut-emissions-and-pollution/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/bangladesh-unveils-sweeping-ev-incentives-to-cut-emissions-and-pollution/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Jun 2026 06:28:49 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kamran Reza Chowdhury]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/30061227/pollution-in-bangladesh-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=322071</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Aerosol Pollution, Air Pollution, Cities, Development, Electric Cars, Environment, Environmental Policy, Governance, Law, Pollution, Regulations, and Transportation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In an unprecedented move, Bangladesh has upended its previous policy of heavily taxing electric vehicles (EVs) and promoting fossil-fuel-run transport. While placing the tax and tariff proposals for the next fiscal year starting on July 1, finance minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, in his budget speech in the parliament on June 11, unveiled a set [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In an unprecedented move, Bangladesh has upended its previous policy of heavily taxing electric vehicles (EVs) and promoting fossil-fuel-run transport. While placing the tax and tariff proposals for the next fiscal year starting on July 1, finance minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, in his budget speech in the parliament on June 11, unveiled a set of coordinated tariff structures to promote EVs and solar energy to reduce carbon emissions and combat air pollution. The minister offered zero tariffs for the import of electric buses and trucks, the setting up of vehicle charging stations, and the production of solar energy; hiked tariffs for fossil-fuel-powered transport; reduced registration fees for EVs; and introduced a set of incentives with the target of reducing pollution from the transport sector, which contributes 9% of greenhouse gas emissions. This is the first coordinated government initiative for transitioning Bangladesh’s long-overdue modernization of the transport system, as pollutants from thousands of diesel-run buses and trucks aggravate the air pollution in mega-cities like Dhaka and Chattogram. According to UN estimates, more than 235,000 people die from complications due to air pollution every year in Bangladesh, with hundreds of thousands of people suffering from asthma and other respiratory diseases. Traffic in Dhaka. According to UN estimates, more than 235,000 people die from complications due to air pollution every year in Bangladesh. Image by joiseyshowaa/b k via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0). The tax waiver and concession The government has decided to offer a “full exemption (except value-added tax)” on the import&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/bangladesh-unveils-sweeping-ev-incentives-to-cut-emissions-and-pollution/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322071</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Repeated failures expose gaps in Indonesia’s nickel waste management</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/repeated-failures-expose-gaps-in-indonesias-nickel-waste-management/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/repeated-failures-expose-gaps-in-indonesias-nickel-waste-management/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Apr 2026 05:51:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/13034411/imip_landslide_2026-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317395</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, North Maluku, Southeast Asia, and Sulawesi]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporations, Critical Minerals, Disasters, Earthquakes, Electric Cars, Energy, Health, Nikel, Planetary Health, Pollution, Waste, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — In February 2026, videos circulating on social media showed a mass of mining waste rushing downslope like thick mud, engulfing excavators and bulldozers within seconds as operators scrambled to escape. That landslide of mining waste, or tailings as it’s known in the industry, occurred on Feb. 18 at a storage area in Morowali [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — In February 2026, videos circulating on social media showed a mass of mining waste rushing downslope like thick mud, engulfing excavators and bulldozers within seconds as operators scrambled to escape. That landslide of mining waste, or tailings as it’s known in the industry, occurred on Feb. 18 at a storage area in Morowali industrial area in Indonesia’s Central Sulawesi province, a key hub of the country’s nickel industry. The facility was operated by PT QMB, a tenant of the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP), and the incident left an excavator operator dead. Steven Emerman, a hydrogeologist and mining waste expert who reviewed the videos, concluded that they showed the phenomenon of liquefaction — a failure in which partially dried mining waste suddenly behaves like a liquid. “The video clearly shows liquefaction of a filtered tailings stack,” he told Mongabay. Filtered, or “dry stack” tailings are widely promoted as a safer alternative for storing mining waste than the wet sludge held behind conventional tailings dams. The material is filtered to remove its water content and stacked on land as a damp, soil-like mass. But a new report by U.S.-based environmental NGO Earthworks that Emerman contributed to raises concerns about how the technology is being applied in Indonesia. It says some facilities are being built “taller and contain more waste than they can safely hold,” and cites problems with design, drainage and quality control. These risks are compounded by the rapid expansion of Indonesia’s nickel industry, raising concerns about the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/repeated-failures-expose-gaps-in-indonesias-nickel-waste-management/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-317395</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>US-Indonesia trade deal slammed as ‘extractive colonialism’ over mining, fossil fuels</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/us-indonesia-trade-deal-slammed-as-extractive-colonialism-over-mining-fossil-fuels/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/us-indonesia-trade-deal-slammed-as-extractive-colonialism-over-mining-fossil-fuels/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Mar 2026 01:31:23 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/01/13133048/indonesia-deforestation-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=316400</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Coal, Critical Minerals, Deforestation, Electric Cars, Energy, Forests, Fossil Fuels, Industry, Mining, Renewable Energy, and Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Environmental activists are sounding the alarm over a new trade agreement between the U.S. and Indonesia that they warn could accelerate mining expansion, fossil fuel dependence and forest loss, while offering only weak, nonbinding environmental safeguards. Critics say the deal risks reshaping Indonesia’s development trajectory by prioritizing resource extraction over ecological protection, shifting [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Environmental activists are sounding the alarm over a new trade agreement between the U.S. and Indonesia that they warn could accelerate mining expansion, fossil fuel dependence and forest loss, while offering only weak, nonbinding environmental safeguards. Critics say the deal risks reshaping Indonesia’s development trajectory by prioritizing resource extraction over ecological protection, shifting environmental and social costs onto vulnerable communities. The agreement was signed on Feb. 19 after months of negotiations triggered by the Trump administration’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, which imposed a 32% levy on Indonesian exports. However, a day after the signing, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the tariffs, raising questions about the legal and political basis of any deals negotiated in response to a measure that no longer exists. Despite this, the Indonesian government is pushing ahead with the deal. In a March 14 press statement, officials said the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) would remain the main reference point for bilateral trade ties, describing developments including the Supreme Court ruling as domestic matters for the U.S. “At its core, this is a matter of administrative law in their country, so they must follow that investigation process. But our reference remains the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade, so we will simply proceed,” said Haryo Limanseto, a spokesperson for the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs. The agreement is set to take effect 90 days after all legal processes are completed in both countries. In Indonesia, that includes consultation with the House of Representatives. Framed in part around&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/us-indonesia-trade-deal-slammed-as-extractive-colonialism-over-mining-fossil-fuels/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-316400</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Worries grow for Sulawesi farmers as nickel mining company plans expansion</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/worries-grow-for-sulawesi-farmers-as-nickel-mining-company-plans-expansion/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/worries-grow-for-sulawesi-farmers-as-nickel-mining-company-plans-expansion/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Jan 2026 11:02:44 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Richard Kent]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/01/29093341/Salam-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=313488</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, South Sulawesi, Southeast Asia, and Sulawesi]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Conflict, Conservation, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Electric Cars, Environment, Environmental Law, Industry, Land Conflict, Mining, Politics, Social Justice, Tropical Deforestation, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[LOEHA RAYA, Indonesia — The road to the headquarters of the Loeha Raya Farmers’ Cooperative is inundated from the monsoon, and a baby cayman splashes around in a puddle formed in a natural crater by the side of the road. The forests surrounding the adjacent Lake Towuti, the second-largest freshwater lake in Indonesia, are rich [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[LOEHA RAYA, Indonesia — The road to the headquarters of the Loeha Raya Farmers’ Cooperative is inundated from the monsoon, and a baby cayman splashes around in a puddle formed in a natural crater by the side of the road. The forests surrounding the adjacent Lake Towuti, the second-largest freshwater lake in Indonesia, are rich in plant and animal life only found here on the island of Sulawesi. They include the crested hornbill, babirusa “deer-pig” and spectral tarsier, one of the smallest and most endangered primates on the planet. A land cruiser pulls up to the entrance of the farmhouse, and Rahman steps down to retrieve several 20-kilo (44-pound) sacks of freshly harvested produce from the trunk. Inside the sacks is one of Sulawesi’s most valuable agricultural commodities, the white peppercorn. Rahman, who is of Torajan and Padoe ethnicities, is recognized by his community as one of the main ancestral landholders in this part of Indonesia’s South Sulawesi province. Rahman’s land and the surrounding forest of Loeha Raya, a group of five villages to the east of Lake Towuti, sit within the longest-operating nickel mining concession in Indonesia, the Sorowako Block, operated by PT Vale Indonesia. The onsite smelter and processing facilities were inaugurated in 1968 by then-President Suharto. Today, the block sprawls over 70,566 hectares (174,000 acres) of rainforest and farmland on the lake’s shores. In 2024, Indonesia extended PT Vale Indonesia’s license until 2035. Now the company is looking to expand its operations within the concession, amid an&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/worries-grow-for-sulawesi-farmers-as-nickel-mining-company-plans-expansion/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-313488</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Rise in Chinese off-grid coal plants in Indonesia belies pledge to end fossil fuel support</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/rise-in-chinese-off-grid-coal-plants-in-indonesia-belies-pledge-to-end-fossil-fuel-support/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/rise-in-chinese-off-grid-coal-plants-in-indonesia-belies-pledge-to-end-fossil-fuel-support/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Nov 2025 10:58:39 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jeff Hutton]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/10/05160232/Coal_04_RAB-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=309175</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, China, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Carbon Emissions, Climate, Coal, Conservation, Electric Cars, Energy, Environment, Fossil Fuels, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Mining, and Natural Resources]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A surge in the supply of Chinese-backed coal-fired power plants built to supply electricity to Indonesia’s fast-growing nickel mining and processing sector is undermining Beijing’s efforts to dial back support for fossil fuels, a study released Nov. 3 has found. In his speech to the U.N. General Assembly four years ago, China’s president, Xi Jinping, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A surge in the supply of Chinese-backed coal-fired power plants built to supply electricity to Indonesia’s fast-growing nickel mining and processing sector is undermining Beijing’s efforts to dial back support for fossil fuels, a study released Nov. 3 has found. In his speech to the U.N. General Assembly four years ago, China’s president, Xi Jinping, pledged to end his country’s official financing of overseas coal projects — usually for power plants to supply electricity to tariff-paying customers. In response, new projects backed by Chinese government entities and state-owned companies have shrunk by more than a third worldwide, according to a report released Monday that was co-authored by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air and People of Asia for Climate Solutions. Indonesia’s capacity of newly installed coal-fired power plants nearly tripled to more than 7 gigawatts the year following Xi’s announcement, as work wrapped up on projects already in the pipeline before tapering off. Still, Chinese-backed coal-fired generating capacity is going online. As of July, two coal plants to power nickel processing started operation in Indonesia’s North Maluku province, according to data from Global Energy Monitor. Chinese investment has been flowing into Indonesia’s metal mining and smelting sector in a bid to supply raw materials to electric vehicle battery makers amid a transition to the zero-emission vehicles. That inflow of investment is buttressed by a ban on nickel ore exports that was reestablished in 2020 to develop a local processing industry. Generating capacity among so-called captive coal plants&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/rise-in-chinese-off-grid-coal-plants-in-indonesia-belies-pledge-to-end-fossil-fuel-support/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/rise-in-chinese-off-grid-coal-plants-in-indonesia-belies-pledge-to-end-fossil-fuel-support/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-309175</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Nickel mining threatens Raja Ampat ecosystems, communities &#038; conservation: Report</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/nickel-mining-threatens-raja-ampat-ecosystems-communities-conservation-report/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/nickel-mining-threatens-raja-ampat-ecosystems-communities-conservation-report/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Oct 2025 01:43:07 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/09/12105323/Copy-of-DJI_20241223084456_0019_V-min-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=307396</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, New Guinea, Papua, Southeast Asia, and West Papua]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Conservation, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporations, Critical Minerals, Deforestation, Electric Cars, Environment, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Marine, Marine Conservation, Marine Protected Areas, Mining, Nikel, Renewable Energy, and UNESCO World Heritage Site]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — In a new report, marine activists are demanding restoration efforts from nickel miners and the Indonesian government for affected areas of Raja Ampat while also urging authorities to enforce the ban on mineral extraction in coastal and small island regions. The recently published paper combines geospatial analysis with field evidence to reveal mounting [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — In a new report, marine activists are demanding restoration efforts from nickel miners and the Indonesian government for affected areas of Raja Ampat while also urging authorities to enforce the ban on mineral extraction in coastal and small island regions. The recently published paper combines geospatial analysis with field evidence to reveal mounting ecological risks from expanding nickel mining in Raja Ampat, known as the “Crown Jewel of Marine Biodiversity.” The research maps how concessions overlap with vital coral reefs, forests and community territories within the UNESCO Global Geopark. The findings point to growing pressure on both ecosystems and the livelihoods of Indigenous and local people across the archipelago. “Our research shows that nickel mining in Raja Ampat creates a domino effect of destruction, from direct forest clearing to sediment runoff that suffocates coral reefs to the displacement of marine species that local communities depend upon,” Timer Manurung, chair of the environmental organization Auriga Nusantara, which collaborated with mining watchdog Earth Insight in the research, said in a press statement published Sept. 25. Nickel mining on Manuran Island. Image courtesy of Auriga Nusantara. The research, supported by recent field photos, has revealed how more than 22,000 hectares (54,000 acres) of nickel mining concessions continue to threaten the UNESCO Global Geopark in Raja Ampat. Using the latest geospatial analysis, the researchers mapped overlaps between mining concessions and critical ecosystems, showing risks to 2,470 hectares (6,100 acres) of coral reefs and 7,200 hectares (17,800 acres) of forest, as well as&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/nickel-mining-threatens-raja-ampat-ecosystems-communities-conservation-report/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-307396</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Just as Raja Ampat fetches UNESCO Biosphere Reserve title, nickel mining looms</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/just-as-raja-ampat-fetches-unesco-biosphere-reserve-title-nickel-mining-looms/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/just-as-raja-ampat-fetches-unesco-biosphere-reserve-title-nickel-mining-looms/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Oct 2025 05:29:08 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/01/31195437/raja-ampat_240120005104_0355-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=306953</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Papua, Southeast Asia, and West Papua]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Conservation, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporations, Critical Minerals, Deforestation, Electric Cars, Environment, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Marine, Marine Conservation, Marine Protected Areas, Mining, Nikel, Renewable Energy, and UNESCO World Heritage Site]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Even as UNESCO hails Raja Ampat as a global conservation model, nickel mining threatens to carve up its forests and coral reefs. On Sept. 27, UNESCO designated 26 new biosphere reserves across 21 countries — the highest number in 20 years. Among them is Raja Ampat, strengthening its place as a flagship site [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Even as UNESCO hails Raja Ampat as a global conservation model, nickel mining threatens to carve up its forests and coral reefs. On Sept. 27, UNESCO designated 26 new biosphere reserves across 21 countries — the highest number in 20 years. Among them is Raja Ampat, strengthening its place as a flagship site of global biodiversity conservation and adding to its recognition as a UNESCO Global Geopark earned in 2023. The “dual designation” makes Raja Ampat one of the very few places on Earth honored both for its geological heritage and its biodiversity. Located off the western tip of New Guinea’s main island, the new Raja Ampat Biosphere Reserve spans 13.5 million hectares (33.4 million acres) — about the size of New York state — and encompasses some 610 islands, only 34 of them inhabited. UNESCO calls the archipelago a “living laboratory” of conservation, citing its 400-million-year-old rock formations and extraordinary marine life. Known as the “Amazon of the Seas,” Raja Ampat sits at the heart of the Coral Triangle and hosts 75% of the world’s coral species, more than 1,300 reef fish species and five species of rare or endangered turtles, including the hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata). A coral reef and marine life in the waters off Raja Ampat in Southwest Papua province, Indonesia. Image courtesy of Econusa. Mining threat But this international acclaim comes as mining concessions advance in the same waters and forests. A new report from Indonesian NGO Auriga Nusantara and U.S.-based Earth Insight&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/just-as-raja-ampat-fetches-unesco-biosphere-reserve-title-nickel-mining-looms/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-306953</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Norway fund drops Eramet over Indonesia mine threatening forests, Indigenous tribe</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/norway-fund-drops-eramet-over-indonesia-mine-threatening-forests-indigenous-tribe/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/norway-fund-drops-eramet-over-indonesia-mine-threatening-forests-indigenous-tribe/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Sep 2025 01:40:39 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/09/09060958/Nickel-mining-activity-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=306096</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, North Maluku, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Biodiversity credits, Biodiversity Hotspots, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporations, Critical Minerals, Deforestation, Electric Cars, Endangered Species, Environment, Forests, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Reserves, Indigenous Rights, Just Transition, Land Conflict, Land Grabbing, Land Rights, Land Use Change, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Threats To Rainforests, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Norway’s $1.6 trillion state pension fund has dropped French miner Eramet from its investment portfolio over its role in a vast Indonesian nickel mine accused of destroying rainforest and threatening one of the world’s few remaining uncontacted Indigenous groups. The Government Pension Fund Global, the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, held a 0.44% [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Norway’s $1.6 trillion state pension fund has dropped French miner Eramet from its investment portfolio over its role in a vast Indonesian nickel mine accused of destroying rainforest and threatening one of the world’s few remaining uncontacted Indigenous groups. The Government Pension Fund Global, the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, held a 0.44% stake in Eramet worth $6.8 million as of June 30, according to fund data. The divestment followed a recommendation from the fund’s Council on Ethics, which cited “an unacceptable risk” of severe environmental damage and gross human rights violations from Eramet’s operations in Indonesia. The decision comes as Indonesian authorities revealed that PT Weda Bay Nickel (WBN), the Eramet-operated mine in Halmahera, was running 148 hectares (366 acres) of unlicensed mining inside state forest. Authorities have since seized back the land. Indonesia is the world’s top producer of nickel, is a key ingredient in electric vehicle batteries, making the mine’s output critical to the global energy transition. But the Weda Bay case highlights the mounting tension between demand for “green” minerals and the destruction of tropical ecosystems and Indigenous lands. Eramet&#8217;s Weda Bay Nickel mine on the territory of the uncontacted Forest Tobelo people in Halmahera, Indonesia. Image courtesy of Survival International. Biodiversity hotspot under threat Weda Bay Nickel is the world’s largest nickel mine, located on Halmahera Island, part of the Wallacea Biodiversity Hotspot. A 2024 assessment identified the entire mining concession as critical habitat under International Finance Corporation (IFC) standards — home to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/norway-fund-drops-eramet-over-indonesia-mine-threatening-forests-indigenous-tribe/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-306096</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia reopens Raja Ampat nickel mine despite reef damage concerns</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/indonesia-reopens-raja-ampat-nickel-mine-despite-reef-damage-concerns/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/indonesia-reopens-raja-ampat-nickel-mine-despite-reef-damage-concerns/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Sep 2025 11:04:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/09/12104620/GP0SU5JZQ-min-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=305817</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Papua, Southeast Asia, and West Papua]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Business, Conservation, Coral Reefs, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporations, Critical Minerals, Deforestation, Electric Cars, Environment, Forests, Marine Conservation, Mining, Nikel, Oceans, Pollution, Protected Areas, Supply Chain, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — The Indonesian government has allowed a controversial nickel mine to resume operating in the marine haven of Raja Ampat, despite a company-commissioned study finding the project has harmed the environment and community health in one of the world’s most biodiverse marine ecosystems. State-owned miner PT Gag Nikel resumed working on Sept. 3 on [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — The Indonesian government has allowed a controversial nickel mine to resume operating in the marine haven of Raja Ampat, despite a company-commissioned study finding the project has harmed the environment and community health in one of the world’s most biodiverse marine ecosystems. State-owned miner PT Gag Nikel resumed working on Sept. 3 on Gag Island, a small island in the Raja Ampat archipelago, after the government lifted a moratorium imposed in June. Officials said the company had complied with environmental requirements, citing its “green” rating on the environment ministry’s annual assessment of companies’ environmental and social performance. Tri Winarno, head of mining and coal at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, said the decision was made jointly with the environment ministry and the marine affairs ministry. A green rating, he noted, means a company is “comply[ing] with all environmental governance plus community empowerment.” Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq echoed this, adding Gag Nikel would still undergo increased monitoring. “As directed by the president, even though we did not revoke Gag’s license, the supervision must be layered. We have done this, so we will regularly increase the intensity of visits to Gag,” Hanif said as quoted by Bisnis.com. He added his ministry has introduced “additional components and variables of oversight” into the company’s environmental permit. Deforestation for nickel mining in Gag Island, Raja Ampat, Indonesia. Image courtesy of Auriga Nusantara. But this official assessment contrasts sharply with a 2024 study funded by Gag Nikel itself, which found environmental&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/indonesia-reopens-raja-ampat-nickel-mine-despite-reef-damage-concerns/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-305817</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Nickel boom on an Indonesian island brings toxic seas, lost incomes, report says</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/nickel-boom-on-an-indonesian-island-brings-toxic-seas-lost-incomes-report-says/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/nickel-boom-on-an-indonesian-island-brings-toxic-seas-lost-incomes-report-says/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Jul 2025 10:59:34 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/07/23103932/Screenshot-2025-07-23-172451-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=303014</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, Southeast Sulawesi, and Sulawesi]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conflict, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporations, Critical Minerals, Deforestation, Electric Cars, Endangered Species, Energy, Environment, FPIC, Health, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Islands, Just Transition, Land Conflict, Land Rights, Mining, Pollution, Protected Areas, Public Health, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Threats To Rainforests, Tropical Forests, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Kasman Amir grew up in a fishing family in a small coastal village on Kabaena Island in eastern Indonesia. The family home sat on stilts above the water, and he recalled waking up to the sound of the boat engine. The village, home to the nomadic Bajau sea tribe — whose culture inspired [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Kasman Amir grew up in a fishing family in a small coastal village on Kabaena Island in eastern Indonesia. The family home sat on stilts above the water, and he recalled waking up to the sound of the boat engine. The village, home to the nomadic Bajau sea tribe — whose culture inspired the Hollywood movie Avatar: The Way of Water — was once surrounded by clear waters that allowed children to play freely. “As kids, we loved playing in the water—swimming, paddling canoes. That was our fun,” Kasman told reporters at a recent press conference in Jakarta. But since 2010, the sea has turned red, allegedly due to runoff from nickel mining, which has expanded across the island. “Now, I never see children swim in the sea. They’re afraid of contamination,” Kasman said. “After school, we’d go fishing right in front of our homes. We’d catch ikan baronang [rabbitfish, genus Siganus], and sell them for pocket money. Children today no longer experience that freedom.” Waters off Baliara Village, Kabaena Island, Southeast Sulawesi, polluted by nickel mining. Image courtesy of Satya Bumi. Kasman’s village is one of the many on the tiny island of Kabaena, at the southeastern tip of the larger island of Sulawesi, that have been severely impacted by nickel mining, according to a new report by environmental local NGOs Satya Bumi, Walhi and Sagori. The report follows a 2024 investigation that focused on the environmental and social impact of nickel mining in the northern part&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/nickel-boom-on-an-indonesian-island-brings-toxic-seas-lost-incomes-report-says/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-303014</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Pushback grows against nickel mining in Indonesian marine paradise of Raja Ampat</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/pushback-grows-against-nickel-mining-in-indonesian-marine-paradise-of-raja-ampat/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/pushback-grows-against-nickel-mining-in-indonesian-marine-paradise-of-raja-ampat/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Jun 2025 16:57:23 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/02/07035830/6-pt-ksm-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=300436</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Papua, Southeast Asia, and West Papua]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Conservation, Coral Reefs, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporations, Critical Minerals, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Electric Cars, Environment, forest degradation, Forest Destruction, Forests, Illegal Mining, Indigenous Peoples, Marine, Mining, Pollution, Rainforests, Rays, Threats To Rainforests, and Tropical Deforestation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — The Indonesian government has suspended nickel mining in the Raja Ampat archipelago, citing multiple environmental violations by companies operating in the ecologically sensitive islands. The move follows viral social media posts highlighting the expansion of nickel mines and the attendant environmental degradation in the region famous for its picturesque islets and turquoise waters, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — The Indonesian government has suspended nickel mining in the Raja Ampat archipelago, citing multiple environmental violations by companies operating in the ecologically sensitive islands. The move follows viral social media posts highlighting the expansion of nickel mines and the attendant environmental degradation in the region famous for its picturesque islets and turquoise waters, spurring a public outcry and scrutiny. Located in the heart of the Coral Triangle, Raja Ampat is globally renowned for its marine biodiversity, home to about 75% of the world’s known coral species — earning it the nickname of  the “Amazon of the seas.” A coral reef off the coast of Raja Ampat, Southwest Papua province, Indonesia. Image courtesy of Ronal Mambrasar/Konservasi Indonesia. But the archipelago now faces increasing pressure from Indonesia’s rapidly expanding nickel industry. The country is the biggest producer of the metal, a key component in the batteries used in electric vehicles and energy storage applications. The government has billed its nickel policy as a push toward building a clean-energy future. But critics argue that the rapid development of the nickel industry has driven deforestation and pollution on small islands like those in the Malukus, and warn that Raja Ampat will become the next victim of the government’s ambitions. There are at least five companies with approved nickel mines in Raja Ampat: PT Gag Nikel (PT GN), PT Kawei Sejahtera Mining (PT KSM), PT Anugerah Surya Pratama (PT ASP), PT Mulia Raymond Perkasa (PT MRP) and PT Nurham. Together, they control at&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/pushback-grows-against-nickel-mining-in-indonesian-marine-paradise-of-raja-ampat/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/pushback-grows-against-nickel-mining-in-indonesian-marine-paradise-of-raja-ampat/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-300436</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>EU appetite for EVs drives new wave of deforestation in tropical forests</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/eu-appetite-for-evs-drives-new-wave-of-deforestation-in-tropical-forests/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/eu-appetite-for-evs-drives-new-wave-of-deforestation-in-tropical-forests/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Jun 2025 14:24:36 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Fernanda Wenzel]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandre de Santi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Amazon]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/06/05125817/rick-govic-rLTjEVGXNBA-unsplash-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=300213</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, Europe, European Union, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Critical Minerals, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Electric Cars, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Rights, Mining, Politics, Pollution, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Social Justice, Threats To Rainforests, Tropical Deforestation, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Brazil, which accounts for large reserves of nickel, graphite, rare earths, lithium and niobium, would be one of the most affected countries.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The European Union committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2050, meaning it won’t emit a single ton of carbon dioxide more than it can absorb. To reach this goal, Europeans must upgrade their transport system, which accounts for 75% of EU emissions, with electric vehicles. However, mining activities to supply this may result in new carbon emissions. According to a report commissioned by the European organizations Fern and Rainforest Foundation Norway and produced by the Institute for Ecological Economics and WU Vienna University of Economics and Business, 118,000 hectares (291,584 acres) of forests around the world may be destroyed by 2050 to meet the EU’s green aspirations. That&#8217;s equivalent to 1.8% of the total deforestation registered in tropical forests in 2024, according to the Global Forest Watch. “As some mining activities clear large forested areas, they contribute significantly to increased atmospheric CO2 levels, thereby exacerbating climate change,” the report stated. Brazil alone would account for 11.7% of that — 13,900 hectares or 34,347 acres, a small 3.6% fraction of the total deforestation registered in 2024 in Brazil’s Amazon and Atlantic Forest combined, according to data from Imazon research institute. The actual area, however, would likely be much larger, since experts considered only the direct deforestation caused by mines. Indirect clearances from infrastructure expansion, such as building access roads for heavy machinery, settlement growth or land conversion for agriculture that historically follows new roads are not included in the figures. The impact size varies depending on the type of battery cars&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/eu-appetite-for-evs-drives-new-wave-of-deforestation-in-tropical-forests/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/eu-appetite-for-evs-drives-new-wave-of-deforestation-in-tropical-forests/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-300213</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia’s deforestation claims under scrutiny over ‘cherry-picked’ data</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/indonesias-deforestation-claims-under-scrutiny-over-cherry-picked-data/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/indonesias-deforestation-claims-under-scrutiny-over-cherry-picked-data/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 May 2025 03:38:59 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/05/07153306/Deforestation-Indonesia-Rhett-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=298670</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Coal, Critical Minerals, Deforestation, Electric Cars, forest degradation, Forest Loss, Forests, Logging, Mining, Monitoring, Palm Oil, Plantations, Protected Areas, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Redd, Research, Threats To Rainforests, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Researchers have called out the Indonesian government’s claim of having reduced deforestation by 90% over the past decade, pointing to cherry-picked data and a skewed baseline that paint an incomplete picture of the reality on the ground. In a recently published report, Norwegian and Indonesian researchers at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Researchers have called out the Indonesian government’s claim of having reduced deforestation by 90% over the past decade, pointing to cherry-picked data and a skewed baseline that paint an incomplete picture of the reality on the ground. In a recently published report, Norwegian and Indonesian researchers at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) compared the official data with other satellite-based deforestation data sets from independent sources, such as Global Forest Watch (GFW). They found that while all the independent data sets also showed a decline, these were lower than the 90% figure that the Indonesian government gives for the period 2015-2021. GFW data, for instance, showed a decline of 69% from the period 2016-2023. Ahmad Dermawan, a postdoctoral researcher at NMBU and co-author of the report, said a major issue was the Indonesian government’s choice of 2015 as the baseline year, i.e., the year against which deforestation rates for subsequent years would be compared. 2015 marked an extreme case of El Niño, which in Indonesia results in hotter and drier conditions than usual. This, combined with burning by plantation companies to clear land, led to some of the worst forest and land fires on record across Indonesia. An estimated 2.6 million hectares (6.4 million acres) — an area four times the size of the island of Bali — burned that year, of which more than 1 million hectares (2.5 million acres) were forest loss. That constituted one of the highest deforestation rates in the country’s history, according to official&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/indonesias-deforestation-claims-under-scrutiny-over-cherry-picked-data/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/indonesias-deforestation-claims-under-scrutiny-over-cherry-picked-data/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-298670</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Landslide deaths again highlight safety failures in Indonesia’s nickel industry</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/landslide-deaths-again-highlight-safety-failures-in-indonesias-nickel-industry/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/landslide-deaths-again-highlight-safety-failures-in-indonesias-nickel-industry/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 May 2025 00:39:25 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/05/01003347/n7sdf534xc9ncuh-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=298445</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and Sulawesi]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Batteries, Business, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporations, Critical Minerals, Disasters, Electric Cars, Energy, Environment, Mining, Pollution, Waste, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — A deadly landslide in an Indonesian industrial park has reignited concerns over poor safety and environmental standards in the country’s booming nickel sector, a key supplier of battery metals for electric vehicles. The incident occurred on March 22 in a storage facility for mining waste, or tailings, in the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — A deadly landslide in an Indonesian industrial park has reignited concerns over poor safety and environmental standards in the country’s booming nickel sector, a key supplier of battery metals for electric vehicles. The incident occurred on March 22 in a storage facility for mining waste, or tailings, in the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP), a sprawling estate that covers 5,500 hectares (13,600 acres) and hosts some 50 companies on the island of Sulawesi. The landslide buried four excavator operators under toxic mine waste. One worker survived, while two were found dead. The fourth worker remains missing and is feared dead. The victims were employees of PT Morowali Investasi Konstruksi Indonesia (MIKI), the contractor managing tailings operations for nickel producers PT QMB New Energy Materials and PT Huayue Nickel Cobalt. IMIP, which manages the industrial park, blamed the landslide happened after four hours of heavy rain. However, activists allege that poor tailings management and structural weaknesses may have triggered the deadly collapse. Both Huayue Nickel Cobalt and QMB New Energy Materials use a technology called high-pressure acid leaching (HPAL) to process lower-grade nickel ore to extract battery-grade metal. The issue with this process is that it generates large volumes of waste, up to 100 tons of toxic tailings for every ton of nickel produced. Because they contain hazardous chemical compounds, these tailings need to be stored in tailings storage facility, essentially dams holding back the toxic sludge. A google earth image of the tailings management facility in the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP)&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/landslide-deaths-again-highlight-safety-failures-in-indonesias-nickel-industry/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/landslide-deaths-again-highlight-safety-failures-in-indonesias-nickel-industry/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-298445</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Bolivian communities push back against foreign-backed lithium projects</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/bolivian-communities-push-back-against-foreign-backed-lithium-projects/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/bolivian-communities-push-back-against-foreign-backed-lithium-projects/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Apr 2025 12:00:05 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carla Ruas]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/04/18171259/indranil-roy-F6PtEfUxYY4-unsplash-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=297718</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Bolivia, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Batteries, Community Development, Conservation, Corporate Social Responsibility, Drinking Water, Electric Cars, Energy, Environment, Environmental Law, Freshwater, Global Environmental Crisis, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Conflict, Lithium, Mining, Water, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Dionicio Colque, 42, has fond memories of growing up on the edge of Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia. It’s the world’s largest salt flat, spanning about 10,500 square kilometers (4,050 square miles). His family farmed potatoes on the outskirts of Colcha K, a community of around 1,000 residents in Nor Lípez province. But in around [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Dionicio Colque, 42, has fond memories of growing up on the edge of Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia. It’s the world’s largest salt flat, spanning about 10,500 square kilometers (4,050 square miles). His family farmed potatoes on the outskirts of Colcha K, a community of around 1,000 residents in Nor Lípez province. But in around 2005, the freshwater spring that sustained their ranch ran dry, a loss Colque attributes to the effects of climate change and nearby mining operations. With no water, the family was forced to abandon its ranch and move into the city. “It was heartbreaking to watch our land dry up,” Colque told Mongabay. “Without water, there is no life.” Colque, now a teacher at Colcha K’s main elementary school, is among the residents alarmed by an influx of lithium mining plants that threaten the community’s remaining groundwater. In September 2024, Bolivia’s state-owned lithium company, Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos (YLB), signed a $970 million contract with Russia’s state-owned Uranium One Group to develop a new lithium plant within Colcha K municipality. Just two months later, YLB secured another deal, this time worth $1.03 billion with China’s CBC, a subsidiary of CATL, the world’s biggest manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries, to establish two additional plants nearby.  At full capacity, these facilities are expected to produce almost 90,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate annually for production of lithium-ion batteries — enough to power 3 million electric vehicles. An aerial image of lithium mining in Salar de Uyuni. Image by Oton&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/bolivian-communities-push-back-against-foreign-backed-lithium-projects/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/bolivian-communities-push-back-against-foreign-backed-lithium-projects/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-297718</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>EU parliament calls for end to Rwanda mineral pact over DRC conflict links</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/eu-parliament-calls-for-end-to-rwanda-mineral-pact-over-drc-conflict-links/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/eu-parliament-calls-for-end-to-rwanda-mineral-pact-over-drc-conflict-links/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Feb 2025 14:08:11 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Didier Makal]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Christophe Assogba]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/02/27134641/Miners-interviewed-by-Enough-supported-Dodd-Frank-768x512-2.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=295094</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic Of Congo, European Union, and Rwanda]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[cobalt, Conflict, Conservation, Electric Cars, Environment, Governance, Mining, Resource Conflict, Resource Curse, and Supply Chain]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
											<grant>
							<![CDATA[-1.5507262583252246, 28.87682353768903]]>
						</grant>
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On Feb. 13, the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly to suspend a cooperation agreement with Rwanda on a trio of minerals critical to the clean energy transition, citing their links to the ongoing violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The so-called 3T minerals — tin, tungsten, tantalum — are mined in large volumes in the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On Feb. 13, the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly to suspend a cooperation agreement with Rwanda on a trio of minerals critical to the clean energy transition, citing their links to the ongoing violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The so-called 3T minerals — tin, tungsten, tantalum — are mined in large volumes in the DRC’s eastern provinces of North and South Kivu. Since late January 2025, a rebel group known as M23, widely believed to be backed by Rwanda, has seized key parts of the region, including the two provincial capitals, Goma and Bukavu, with the mineral trade said to be fueling the violence, according to a December 2024 report by a U.N. expert group. “Parliament regrets the European Union’s failure to take appropriate measures to address the crisis and pressure Rwanda to end its support for M23,” the European Parliament said in a statement issued after its Feb. 13 vote. It called on the EU Commission and Council “to immediately suspend the EU Memorandum of Understanding on Sustainable Raw Materials Value Chains with Rwanda, until the country ceases all interference in the DRC, including exporting minerals mined from M23-controlled areas.” French MEP Thierry Mariani, who has spoken out about the heavy toll of persistent instability in the DRC — driven in large part by the illicit exploitation of natural resources and responsible for at least 6 million deaths over nearly 30 years — the EU Parliament’s decision demands concrete action from the EU. “It’s only a resolution! Now&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/eu-parliament-calls-for-end-to-rwanda-mineral-pact-over-drc-conflict-links/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-295094</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>US security think tank warns of China’s grip over Indonesian nickel industry</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/us-security-think-tank-warns-of-chinas-grip-over-indonesian-nickel-industry/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/us-security-think-tank-warns-of-chinas-grip-over-indonesian-nickel-industry/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Feb 2025 02:31:16 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/02/05130450/Coal-fired-power-plant-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=294716</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, China, Indonesia, Maluku, Southeast Asia, Sulawesi, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Carbon Emissions, Climate Change, Coal, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporations, Critical Minerals, Deforestation, Electric Cars, Environment, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Human Rights, International Trade, Just Transition, Mining, Pollution, Supply Chain, Trade, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — More than 75% of the nickel refining capacity in Indonesia, home to the biggest reserves of this critical mineral, is controlled by Chinese companies, many with affiliations to the Chinese government, according to a U.S.-government funded think tank. C4ADS, a Washington, D.C.-based security nonprofit funded largely by the U.S. Agency for International Development and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — More than 75% of the nickel refining capacity in Indonesia, home to the biggest reserves of this critical mineral, is controlled by Chinese companies, many with affiliations to the Chinese government, according to a U.S.-government funded think tank. C4ADS, a Washington, D.C.-based security nonprofit funded largely by the U.S. Agency for International Development and U.S. Department of State, looked at 33 companies involved in nickel refining in Indonesia and traced their ownership structures. It found that most of these firms are ultimately controlled by a small number of Chinese companies, some of them connected to both Chinese defense contractors and government entities. Many of these firms operate through a complex network of Indonesian subsidiaries that are ultimately controlled by parent companies in China, often with ties to Chinese state-backed lenders. Together, Chinese entities controlled about three-quarters of smelting capacity as of 2023. “There has been prior reporting on Chinese influence within the sector, but we believe this is the first time the level of control has been quantified,” C4ADS told Mongabay. The report identified two Chinese companies — Tsingshan Holding Group and Jiangsu Delong Nickel Industry Co. Ltd. — as key players; combined, they accounted for more than 70% of Indonesia’s refining capacity. Both groups were among the earliest investors in Indonesia, at a time when the country had just started pushing for domestic processing of nickel ore. Tsingshan, the world’s biggest nickel producer, holds shares in at least five of the major nickel smelting companies in Indonesia, including&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/us-security-think-tank-warns-of-chinas-grip-over-indonesian-nickel-industry/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-294716</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia rushes mining law amendments, raising environmental and governance alarms</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/indonesia-rushes-mining-law-amendments-raising-environmental-and-governance-alarms/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/indonesia-rushes-mining-law-amendments-raising-environmental-and-governance-alarms/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Jan 2025 13:22:02 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/01/20162052/kaltim_191621-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=293644</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and Sulawesi]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Coal, Critical Minerals, Electric Cars, Energy, Environment, Environmental Law, Just Transition, Law, Mining, Natural Resources, Rainforests, and Resource Conflict]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Indonesia’s parliament is fast-tracking amendments to the country’s mining law, in a move that could reshape the country’s mining landscape for the worst, say activists who warn of environmental catastrophe and democratic erosion. The most controversial provisions in the amendments would allow universities and religious organizations to acquire mining permits without bidding. Bob [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Indonesia’s parliament is fast-tracking amendments to the country’s mining law, in a move that could reshape the country’s mining landscape for the worst, say activists who warn of environmental catastrophe and democratic erosion. The most controversial provisions in the amendments would allow universities and religious organizations to acquire mining permits without bidding. Bob Hasan, who chairs parliament’s legislative committee, said the revisions are needed to speed up the “downstreaming” of critical minerals necessary for Indonesia to be self-sufficient in energy. These include nickel, of which Indonesia is the world’s top producer, along with copper and aluminum, all of which are deemed essential for renewable energy technologies. Civil society groups have lambasted the proposed changes, saying they weaken governance, environmental oversight, and community protections, all in the name of supporting and growing the mining industry and the extraction of critical minerals to make Indonesia a key player in the electric vehicle battery industry. By making it easier for a wider range of players to get into mining, including those with zero experience in the field, the amendments serve as “a catalyst to speed up [environmental] destruction,” said Mareta Sari from watchdog group the National Mining Advocacy Network (Jatam). “In the past, [mining licenses were] given to big companies, but now they’ll be given to religious organizations and universities.” Mining in Indonesia has long been linked to significant environmental degradation impacting forests, water quality, local communities and the climate. A 2022 study of 26 tropical mining countries found Indonesia accounted&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/indonesia-rushes-mining-law-amendments-raising-environmental-and-governance-alarms/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/indonesia-rushes-mining-law-amendments-raising-environmental-and-governance-alarms/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-293644</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Southeast Asia in review: 2024</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/southeast-asia-in-review-2024/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/southeast-asia-in-review-2024/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Dec 2024 04:33:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn CowanGerald Flynn]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/08/08190458/WFFT-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=292507</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Southeast Asia, Thailand, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Carbon Credits, Carbon Market, Climate Change, climate finance, Conservation, Critical Minerals, Deforestation, Ecosystems, Electric Cars, Endangered Environmentalists, Endangered Species, Environment, extractives, Extreme Weather, Flooding, Hydroelectric Power, Impact Of Climate Change, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Industrial Agriculture, Infrastructure, Journalism, Land Conflict, Land Rights, Mining, Murdered Journalists, Protected Areas, Rainforests, Redd, Renewable Energy, Roads, Threats To Rainforests, Tropical Deforestation, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[2024 was a year marked by a COP climate summit so dismal that many governments and analysts questioned whether the annual meetings are even worth holding. While world leaders failed to secure meaningful action, extreme weather events battered Southeast Asia, underscoring the deadly consequences of inaction on climate change and the urgent need for inclusive [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[2024 was a year marked by a COP climate summit so dismal that many governments and analysts questioned whether the annual meetings are even worth holding. While world leaders failed to secure meaningful action, extreme weather events battered Southeast Asia, underscoring the deadly consequences of inaction on climate change and the urgent need for inclusive solutions. An early summer heat wave that climate scientists said would have been “impossible” without the climate crisis saw temperatures soar across the region. Amid the deadly and unprecedented temperatures, farmers faced water shortages and ruined fruit and rice harvests. The onset of the wet season brought no respite, with intensified typhoons and flash floods taking a devastating toll on northern Vietnam, the Philippines and parts of Thailand. The storms left urban centers and farmland in tatters, displacing people, devastating crops and triggering deadly landslides. The Ngao River, a Mekong tributary, burst its banks flooding more than 2,000 Rai of pomelo orchards in late Aug-mid-Sept, photographed on Sept 20, 2024. Image courtesy of Rak Chiang Khong Conservation Group / International Rivers. Carbon market calamities One mechanism aimed at countering global emissions to reduce to the likelihood and severity of these climatic tumults is the carbon market. However, the sale of carbon credits to offset fossil fuel emissions and reduce deforestation has come under increased scrutiny in Southeast Asia. The region is home to a significant portion of the world’s tropical forests, and carbon industry players reported that REDD+ projects here could generate up to $27.7&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/southeast-asia-in-review-2024/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/southeast-asia-in-review-2024/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-292507</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Renewables won’t save us from climate catastrophe, experts warn; what will?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/renewables-wont-save-us-from-climate-catastrophe-experts-warn-what-will/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/renewables-wont-save-us-from-climate-catastrophe-experts-warn-what-will/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Dec 2024 21:23:59 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gerry McGovernSue Branford]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/12/17165845/solar-panels-installation-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=291827</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[China and Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, carbon, Carbon Emissions, Clean Energy, Conservation, Electric Cars, Emission Reduction, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Environment, Fossil Fuels, Global Environmental Crisis, Planetary Boundaries, Renewable Energy, Solar Power, Subsidies, and Wind Power]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In 2022, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres declared that the “lifeline of renewable energy can steer [the] world out of climate crisis.” In saying so, he echoed a popular and tantalizing idea: that, if we hurry, we can erase the climate emergency with widespread adoption of renewables in the form of solar panels, wind farms, electric [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In 2022, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres declared that the “lifeline of renewable energy can steer [the] world out of climate crisis.” In saying so, he echoed a popular and tantalizing idea: that, if we hurry, we can erase the climate emergency with widespread adoption of renewables in the form of solar panels, wind farms, electric vehicles and more. But things aren’t that simple, and analysts increasingly question the naïve assumption that renewables are a silver bullet. That’s partly because the rapid transition to a global energy and transport system powered by clean energy brings with it a host of new (and old) environmental problems. To begin with, stepping up solar, wind and EV production requires many more minerals and materials in the short term than do their already well-established fossil fuel counterparts, while also creating a major carbon footprint. Also, the quicker we transition away from fossil fuel tech to renewable tech, the greater the quantity of materials needed up front, and the higher the immediate carbon and numerous other environmental costs. But this shift is now happening extremely rapidly, as companies, governments and consumers try to turn away from oil, coal and natural gas. “Renewables are moving faster than national governments can set targets,” declared International Energy Agency executive director Fatih Birol. In its “Renewables 2024” report, the IEA estimates the world will add more than 5,500 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity between 2024 and 2030 — almost three times the increase between 2017 and 2023. But this triumph&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/renewables-wont-save-us-from-climate-catastrophe-experts-warn-what-will/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/renewables-wont-save-us-from-climate-catastrophe-experts-warn-what-will/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-291827</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Kenya embraces electric buses to combat air pollution</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/kenya-embraces-electric-buses-to-combat-climate-change-but-rollout-is-bumpy/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/kenya-embraces-electric-buses-to-combat-climate-change-but-rollout-is-bumpy/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Dec 2024 07:30:47 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Stephanie Wangari]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/12/11104202/Image-12-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=291443</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Kenya]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Electric Cars, Environment, and Transportation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[NAIROBI — There are 22,000 buses on Nairobi’s crowded streets, the backbone of commuter transit for the Kenyan capital’s population of 5.3 million. The city’s matatus, privately owned public transport, are famously airbrushed with slogans and portraits of rap stars and English football clubs. Among these garish, growling, diesel-fueled hordes, there are now 35 quiet [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[NAIROBI — There are 22,000 buses on Nairobi’s crowded streets, the backbone of commuter transit for the Kenyan capital’s population of 5.3 million. The city’s matatus, privately owned public transport, are famously airbrushed with slogans and portraits of rap stars and English football clubs. Among these garish, growling, diesel-fueled hordes, there are now 35 quiet newcomers: electric buses assembled by a local company called BasiGo. For the last six years, Isaac Kamau has been a bus driver in Nairobi, ferrying passengers between the central business district and the city’s residential outskirts. In 2022, Kamau was selected by his employer for training to operate an electric bus. “You had to have a good track record to benefit from such an opportunity,” Kamau told Mongabay. Kamau’s training focused on eco-driving and safety, and he has relished driving his new vehicle. “Passengers prefer electric vehicles over traditional fossil-fueled ones. They rarely need convincing to board. EVs are more comfortable, faster, and operate without noise.” Kamau’s is one of 35 electric buses operating in the city, with 14 more expected to hit the streets as 2024 closes. BasiGo, which assembles buses in Kenya from imported parts manufactured by Chinese bus and heavy truck maker CHTC, says it has received 500 preorders from bus operators. Nairobi&#8217;s matatus are more than transportation. Their colorful artwork and loud soundsystems are part of the Kenyan capital&#8217;s cultural signature — they also contribute around 20% of the city&#8217;s transport-related air pollution. Image by CakeForBreakfast via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/kenya-embraces-electric-buses-to-combat-climate-change-but-rollout-is-bumpy/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-291443</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Photos: The lives and forests bound to Indonesia’s nickel dreams</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/photos-the-lives-and-forests-bound-to-indonesias-nickel-dreams/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/photos-the-lives-and-forests-bound-to-indonesias-nickel-dreams/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Dec 2024 17:25:25 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Garry Lotulung]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/12/02164736/1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=291039</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous Peoples and Conservation]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Batteries, Clean Energy, Developing Countries, Development, Economics, Electric Cars, Energy, Forests, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Industry, Land Conflict, Land Rights, Mining, Renewable Energy, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[EAST HALMAHERA, Indonesia — The dense forest near the village of Dodaga in the island district of East Halmahera means the world to Sumean Gebe, 42, who lives here with his wife and their two children. In the island’s forest, they hunt animals such as wild boar to eat, and collect damar resin to sell. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[EAST HALMAHERA, Indonesia — The dense forest near the village of Dodaga in the island district of East Halmahera means the world to Sumean Gebe, 42, who lives here with his wife and their two children. In the island’s forest, they hunt animals such as wild boar to eat, and collect damar resin to sell. “It feels comfortable living here,” he says. Sumean and his small family are among the contacted people part of the O’Hongana Manyawa Indigenous community (meaning “people of the forest”). The O’Hongana Manyawa are a nomadic hunter-gatherer tribe in Indonesia, many of whose members live in voluntary isolation. Their lives have for centuries been deeply intertwined with the tropical forests of Halmahera, and their traditions teach them not to damage it. However, the harmony of tribe and forest has been disturbed by a wave of nickel mining projects. The prized ore is destined for processing at the expansive Indonesia Weda Bay Industrial Park (IWIP), about 80 kilometers (50 miles) to the south. Tatoyo Penes, 64, and Etus Hurata, 56 (L) from the O&#8217;Hongana Manyawa tribe pose for a photo while processing material from sago palm trees with traditional tools inside a jungle in East Halmahera, North Maluku, Indonesia, on August 18, 2024. Image by Garry Lotulung. In an aerial view, the O&#8217;Hongana Manyawa tribe lives in the territory of Dodaga in a remote indigenous village in the Halmahera rainforest at East Halmahera, North Maluku, Indonesia, on August 19, 2024. Image by Garry Lotulung. They’re not alone.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/photos-the-lives-and-forests-bound-to-indonesias-nickel-dreams/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/photos-the-lives-and-forests-bound-to-indonesias-nickel-dreams/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-291039</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Cobalt mining for green energy risks women’s reproductive health in DRC</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/cobalt-mining-for-green-energy-risks-womens-reproductive-health-in-drc/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/cobalt-mining-for-green-energy-risks-womens-reproductive-health-in-drc/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Nov 2024 02:00:38 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Denise MaheloDidier Makal]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/11/15191613/protective-gear-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=290202</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Cobalt Capital]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, and Democratic Republic Of Congo]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[cobalt, Electric Cars, Energy, Environment, Mining, Planetary Health, Pollution, Public Health, and Transportation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[LUBUMBASHI, Democratic Republic of Congo — Our investigation begins at the Trinité Medical Center, less than 20 kilometers, or 12 miles, from the city of Kolwezi, in the south of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Just 100 meters (330 feet) away, a copper and cobalt industrial mine operates right next to people’s homes. The dust [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[LUBUMBASHI, Democratic Republic of Congo — Our investigation begins at the Trinité Medical Center, less than 20 kilometers, or 12 miles, from the city of Kolwezi, in the south of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Just 100 meters (330 feet) away, a copper and cobalt industrial mine operates right next to people’s homes. The dust from the mine is kicked up by passing trucks loaded with ore and settles into the houses, even reaching as far as the health center. Sometimes, when the company guards are chasing illegal immigrants out of the mine, they throw projectiles that reach the medical center,&#8221; says Julie Nshinda, a nurse who runs the center. The sun blazes intensely while we&#8217;re reporting on Monday, July 22, 2024. We take a winding path that runs along the long concrete wall surrounding the huge open-air copper mine owned by the company COMMUS (Compagnie Minière de Musonoïe), a subsidiary of Zijin Mining, a multinational mining company headquartered in China. The area bustles with activity as vans loaded with bags of ore, extracted from the mine&#8217;s backfill by local artisanal miners, head off to be sold elsewhere. Higher up, heavy vehicles circulate: COMMUS dump trucks loaded with the same material. Later, workers and machines will crush these stones in the mining factory and transform them into copper ingots and a greenish powder: cobalt, a critical mineral in the lithium-ion batteries that power computers to renewable energy technologies. Welcome to the Golf Musonoie, a neighborhood next to downtown Kolwezi, also&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/cobalt-mining-for-green-energy-risks-womens-reproductive-health-in-drc/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-290202</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Beleaguered Indonesian civil society gets lift in push for just energy transition</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/beleaguered-indonesian-civil-society-gets-lift-in-push-for-just-energy-transition/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/beleaguered-indonesian-civil-society-gets-lift-in-push-for-just-energy-transition/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Jul 2024 12:08:12 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hayat Indriyatno]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/07/24114604/ANGI9488-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=284938</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Agroforestry, Climate, Climate Change, Climate Justice, Electric Cars, Emission Reduction, Energy, Environment, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Law, Palm Oil, and Politics]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Civil society organizations in Indonesia are getting a boost to ensure their participation in the country’s clean energy transition and land stewardship, amid an increasingly hostile climate for groups advocating for environmental and social rights. Four new projects launched June 27 by the European Union delegation to Indonesia are designed to strengthen CSO [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Civil society organizations in Indonesia are getting a boost to ensure their participation in the country’s clean energy transition and land stewardship, amid an increasingly hostile climate for groups advocating for environmental and social rights. Four new projects launched June 27 by the European Union delegation to Indonesia are designed to strengthen CSO capacity and participation in the fields of land-use governance and the energy transition; support for Indigenous peoples and local communities; gender equality and youth empowerment; and human rights monitoring and advocacy. Denis Chaibi, the EU ambassador to Indonesia, said the projects aligned with the Indonesian government’s goals of transitioning away from fossil fuels, reducing deforestation while increasing reforestation, and ultimately achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2060. To ensure these goals are met, there needs to be meaningful participation from CSOs as they’re a vital part of Indonesia’s democracy, Chaibi said. “There’s no point in putting a lot of rules if people don’t follow the rules, if they are not convinced. So it’s about the conviction of people, and for that it has to be an inclusive approach,” he said on the sidelines of the project launch in Jakarta. “The people have to be consulted. The people have to provide solutions. They have to give their feedback.” Meaningful civic participation will also help ensure the government’s development agenda isn’t focused solely on reducing carbon emissions, but also benefits the public, according to Damayanti Buchori, director of the Center for Transdisciplinary and Sustainability Sciences at the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/beleaguered-indonesian-civil-society-gets-lift-in-push-for-just-energy-transition/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-284938</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Loopholes allow multilateral development banks to fund captive coal in Indonesia: Report</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/loopholes-allow-multilateral-development-banks-to-fund-captive-coal-in-indonesia-report/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/loopholes-allow-multilateral-development-banks-to-fund-captive-coal-in-indonesia-report/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Jul 2024 12:22:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karen Coates]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/07/16121230/Captive-coal-close-to-public-school-in-IMIP-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=284407</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Maluku, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Carbon Emissions, Climate, Climate Change, climate finance, Coal, Electric Cars, Energy, Environment, Finance, Fossil Fuels, Global Environmental Crisis, and Politics]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Publicly funded multilateral development banks (MDBs) like the World Bank might finance a wave of “captive” coal expansion in climate-vulnerable countries vulnerable to climate change, which will speed up global warming. A new report reveals that the World Bank’s private sector arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), has indirectly financed at least one [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Publicly funded multilateral development banks (MDBs) like the World Bank might finance a wave of “captive” coal expansion in climate-vulnerable countries vulnerable to climate change, which will speed up global warming. A new report reveals that the World Bank’s private sector arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), has indirectly financed at least one captive coal project on Indonesia’s Obi Island via its financial intermediary client, Hana Bank Indonesia. The IFC originally invested $5 million in 2007 to support Hana Bank Korea in establishing an Indonesian subsidiary. Then, in 2019, the IFC invested a further $15.36 million to increase its shareholding in Hana Bank Indonesia. In April 2022, Hana Bank Indonesia, together with other banks such as DBS Singapore and UOB Singapore, provided a total of $530 million in term loans to PT Halmahera Jaya Feronikel (HJF), a subsidiary of nickel producer Harita Nickel. This loan was used to pay off the company’s debts and to build the first phase of HJF’s nickel smelter on Obi Island, which will be powered by six captive coal units of 150 MW each. This means that the IFC indirectly financed the smelter and the captive coal units, according to the report, recently published by Recourse, Trend Asia and Inclusive Development International. Nickel, whose processing in Indonesia is often powered by captive coal, is a key element in the batteries that power EVs and energy storage systems. Captive coal also often powers other metals such as steel and aluminum, which are key resources&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/loopholes-allow-multilateral-development-banks-to-fund-captive-coal-in-indonesia-report/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/loopholes-allow-multilateral-development-banks-to-fund-captive-coal-in-indonesia-report/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-284407</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>BASF, Eramet drop $2.6b Indonesian nickel project that threatens isolated tribe</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/basf-eramet-drop-2-6b-indonesian-nickel-project-that-threatens-isolated-tribe/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/basf-eramet-drop-2-6b-indonesian-nickel-project-that-threatens-isolated-tribe/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Jul 2024 14:14:04 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hayat Indriyatno]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/07/01135726/Aktivitas-Pertambangan-Lumpuh-1200x800-1-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=283950</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Maluku, North Maluku, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Business, Conflict, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporations, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Electric Cars, Energy, Environment, Forest Destruction, Forests, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Conflict, Land Rights, Mining, Natural Resources, and Uncontacted Tribes]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — German chemical giant BASF and French miner Eramet have pulled out of a multibillion-dollar “green energy” project in Indonesia because of its impact on one of the last Indigenous tribes on Earth living in voluntary isolation. In an announcement on June 24, both companies said they had scrapped plans to invest up to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — German chemical giant BASF and French miner Eramet have pulled out of a multibillion-dollar “green energy” project in Indonesia because of its impact on one of the last Indigenous tribes on Earth living in voluntary isolation. In an announcement on June 24, both companies said they had scrapped plans to invest up to $2.6 billion in the project on the island of Halmahera in Indonesia’s eastern province of North Maluku. The Sonic Bay project would have seen the construction of a refinery producing about 67,000 metric tons of nickel and 7,500 metric tons of cobalt a year. These metals, crucial ingredients in electric vehicle batteries, would have come from the nearby Weda Bay Nickel mine, the world’s largest nickel mine, in which Eramet holds a minority stake. In its announcement, BASF said it would “stop all ongoing evaluation and negotiation activities for the project in Weda Bay.” The decision came after a sustained campaign by activists voicing concerns that the Sonic Bay refinery, which is essentially an extension of the Weda Bay Nickel project, would increase the risk of Indigenous peoples in the area losing their lands. Weda Bay Nickel’s concession overlaps with rainforest that’s home to hundreds of members of the Forest Tobelo people, according to U.K.-based Indigenous rights NGO Survival International, which has lobbied both BASF and the German authorities to drop out of the project. Eramet&#8217;s Weda Bay Nickel mine on the territory of the uncontacted Forest Tobelo people in Halmahera, Indonesia. Image courtesy of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/basf-eramet-drop-2-6b-indonesian-nickel-project-that-threatens-isolated-tribe/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-283950</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Green credentials of electric vehicles come under fire</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/green-credentials-of-electric-vehicles-come-under-fire/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/green-credentials-of-electric-vehicles-come-under-fire/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 May 2024 14:44:38 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gerry McGovernSue Branford]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/05/23101920/James_Flamingos_MC-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=282402</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Circular economy and Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Chile, Democratic Republic Of Congo, Global, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Business, Climate Change, cobalt, Consumption, Electric Cars, Emission Reduction, Endangered Species, Energy, Environment, extractives, Governance, Green, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Greenwashing, Industry, Just Transition, Lithium, Marketing, Mining, Politics, Pollution, Renewable Energy, Technology, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[While EV makers reiterate how their cars combat climate change, others note critical mineral mining environmental and social impacts on traditional people, and point to both supply chain and planetary boundary problems.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Global new electric car sales rose 35% in 2023, to nearly 14 million vehicles, with almost all purchased in China, the U.S. and Europe. This was a 35% increase over 2022, and six times higher than in 2018. Although that momentum is faltering this year, as the industry adapts to a mass market, EVs continue rolling off showroom floors. Much of their appeal comes from manufacturers’ claims that the vehicles will play a key role in averting catastrophic climate change. Makers proudly assert that EVs will reduce oil consumption by 5 million barrels a day by 2030. While possibly true, global demand for oil is still expected to increase, with the International Energy Agency predicting the global oil supply will grow 8% by 2030, over 2021 levels — not shrink. EV sales have soared, but for this new technology to be truly sustainable, car companies need to re-assess and retool their entire supply chains. Image by andreas160578 via Pixabay (Public domain). Moreover, while electric vehicles clearly reduce carbon dioxide emissions (provided the electricity powering them isn’t generated using fossil fuels), critics note that the full impact of EVs on the health of the planet must be assessed not only based on climate change, but taking into account impacts on soils, water, air and biodiversity. Scientists have identified nine planetary boundaries that support life on Earth as we known it, with the overshoot of any one boundary posing an existential threat to humanity. Electric vehicles, while helping stabilize the climate change&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/green-credentials-of-electric-vehicles-come-under-fire/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-282402</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Hyundai ends aluminum deal with Adaro Minerals following K-pop protest</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/04/hyundai-ends-aluminum-deal-with-adaro-minerals-following-k-pop-protest/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/04/hyundai-ends-aluminum-deal-with-adaro-minerals-following-k-pop-protest/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Apr 2024 03:16:49 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karen Coates]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/04/17025916/Kpop4planet-230423-11-103280646.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=281025</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Land rights and extractives]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Kalimantan, North Kalimantan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Business, carbon, Carbon Dioxide, Carbon Emissions, Climate, Climate Change, Climate Justice, Coal, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporations, Electric Cars, Emission Reduction, Energy, Environment, Finance, Fossil Fuels, Global Warming, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Hydroelectric Power, and Industry]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — South Korean automobile giant Hyundai has ended an agreement with Adaro Minerals, a subsidiary of Indonesia’s second-largest coal miner, PT Adaro Energy, to procure aluminum for its electric vehicle (EV) production. Hyundai and Adaro Minerals signed the agreement in November 2022, and at the end of 2023, both agreed not to renew the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — South Korean automobile giant Hyundai has ended an agreement with Adaro Minerals, a subsidiary of Indonesia’s second-largest coal miner, PT Adaro Energy, to procure aluminum for its electric vehicle (EV) production. Hyundai and Adaro Minerals signed the agreement in November 2022, and at the end of 2023, both agreed not to renew the agreement and “to explore other opportunities independently,” Hyundai said in a statement. The decision came on the heels of campaigns by K-pop fans who urged Hyundai to back out of the agreement and to avoid sourcing aluminum from Adaro since it will be produced using coal power. Upon signing the agreement, Hyundai described the aluminum as “green and low-carbon” because it would be produced using hydroelectric power. This, Hyundai said, would “accelerate” the transition to sustainable energy and help the company meet its net-zero emissions goal by 2045. However, Adaro would only start producing aluminum using hydroelectric power in 2030. Before that, Adaro will build 2.2 gigawatts of coal-fired power plants to power its aluminum smelter in an industrial park, itself branded as “green,” in Indonesia’s North Kalimantan province. The aluminum smelter and the industrial park, touted as the largest of its kind in the world, are a part of Indonesia’s bid to become a global production hub for EVs. Since the smelter will rely on coal during at least the first five years of its operation, any purchase of aluminum from the company will be a violation of Hyundai’s Carbon Neutrality Principles. Those principles require&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/04/hyundai-ends-aluminum-deal-with-adaro-minerals-following-k-pop-protest/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-281025</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>E-bikes could cut smog, energy use and congestion globally — but will they?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/04/e-bikes-could-cut-smog-energy-use-and-congestion-globally-but-will-they/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/04/e-bikes-could-cut-smog-energy-use-and-congestion-globally-but-will-they/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Apr 2024 15:50:55 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Charles Pekow]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/04/01131023/electric-bike-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=280494</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Circular economy and Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Aerosol Pollution, Air Pollution, Batteries, Business, Carbon Emissions, Carbon Footprint, Circular Economy, Climate Change, Electric Cars, Emission Reduction, Energy, Environment, Environmental Policy, Fossil Fuels, Global Warming, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Industry, Law, Mitigation, Planetary Boundaries, Pollution, Regulations, Renewable Energy, Research, Supply Chain, and Transportation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[While four-wheeled EVs get most of the media attention, electric bicycles are an economical, environmentally friendly mode of transportation being chosen by millions of consumers, commuters and businesses the world over. But barriers exist.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Can simply adding an electric motor to a human-powered bicycle significantly reduce urban smog, traffic congestion and energy consumption — and even help curb climate change? Yes, but many bumps in the road must be overcome to get there. Today’s electric bicycles come in a range of two-wheeled e-bikes and three-wheeled e-trikes, varieties to meet consumer and business needs, with many millions already sold. The addition of an electric motor to the traditional bicycle’s powertrain has not only expanded its range and usefulness for recreation and commuting, but propelled it into commerce, largely for making last-mile deliveries or as taxis. Among the e-bike’s advantages: Riders, combining pedal power with an electric assist, can climb steep hills, travel faster and farther. Electric bikes also allow the elderly or people with some medical limitations to ride. But before e-bikes reach their full societal potential, the industry and the world’s nations need to overcome some impediments, including manufacturing capacity, battery reliability and safety, transportation infrastructure and culture. Today’s electric bicycles come in a range of two-wheeled e-bikes and three-wheeled e-trikes, and varieties to meet consumer and business needs, with many millions already sold. Image by Team EVELO via Pexels (Public domain). A growth industry comes of age “The global electric bike market size was valued at $37.47 billion in 2022 and is projected to grow from $43.32 billion in 2023, to $119.72 billion by 2030,” according to Fortune Business Insights, a global marketing research company. The COVID-19 pandemic especially accelerated demand as people&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/04/e-bikes-could-cut-smog-energy-use-and-congestion-globally-but-will-they/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-280494</doi>				</item>
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