Month: September 2026

South Asia is bearing an economic burden from air pollution equivalent to around 10 per cent of its regional GDP, but coordinated action on climate and air quality could deliver substantial economic gains, according to a new assessment by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition. The report, titled Hidden Assets: The Economic and Health Case for Climate and Clean Air Action estimates that implementing 25 integrated climate and clean-air solutions in South Asia could generate about $21 in economic benefits for every $1 invested. The measures could avoid damages equivalent to around 4 per cent of South Asia’s GDP by 2035, with the figure potentially rising to 14.5 per cent by 2100. The report assessed 15 regions globally and found South As...

  India Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) system for plastic packaging is facing questions over the accuracy of recycling claims and the lack of transparency surrounding the data used to measure compliance. According to the latest Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data, India has recycled 17 million tonnes of plastic packaging waste since the EPR regime came into force in 2022. Based on an average EPR certificate value of about ₹1,500 per tonne, the recycling activity represents an estimated ₹2,500 crore market. The figures appear significant when compared with CPCB estimate that India generates about 3.8 million tonnes of plastic waste annually. However, the continued presence of plastic waste in cities, villages, drains and waterways raises questions about whether...

  A small Chilean startup is transforming discarded clothing from massive textile waste dumps in the Atacama Desert into insulation panels for buildings, offering a potential solution to both the country’s growing waste problem and shortage of affordable, energy efficient housing. The Atacama Desert, near the cities of Iquique and Alto Hospicio, has become a major destination for unwanted second-hand and unsold clothing. Chile receives roughly 59,000 tonnes of such clothing each year from Europe, Asia and the United States, with a large portion eventually ending up in desert dumps. According to a Circle Economy case study, around 40,000 tonnes of clothing is dumped annually, with textile waste covering more than 300 hectares of desert. One reported dumping area extends across...

  Hawaii has been testing whether recycled plastic can be safely incorporated into road pavement with a pilot project on Fort Weaver Road in Ewa Beach using material equivalent to about 195,000 plastic bottles. The Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) began the experiment in 2022 using about 1,950 tons of plastic modified asphalt. The project was designed to determine whether adding recycled plastic polymer to conventional hot mix asphalt could improve pavement performance while keeping plastic waste out of landfills. The road was not made entirely of plastic. The recycled material accounted for only about 0.1% of the asphalt mixture. Three sections were constructed using different mixes, including a conventional section that researchers could use as a control for compa...

A Mexican social enterprise is turning discarded plastic bottles toys and other waste into building panels for low income housing, combining waste reduction with efforts to address the country shortage of affordable homes. EcoDom, founded by entrepreneur Carlos Daniel González in Puebla in 2013, processes about 5.5 tonnes of discarded plastic every day at its recycling facility. The waste is converted into durable panels used for walls and roofs. Within its first three years of operations, the company had built 500 rooms through municipal housing programmes and secured contracts to construct 300 complete homes in nearby communities. Mexico produces more than five million tonnes of plastic waste annually, while millions of people live in extreme poverty and lack access to adequate ...

  Germany is facing renewed scrutiny over its international climate commitments as proposed changes to export finance rules could reduce climate assessments for projects backed by its export credit agency Euler Hermes by about 40 per cent. The draft framework, which is open for consultation until October 9, has drawn criticism from Oil Change International (OCI) and German environmental groups Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) and Urgewald. The groups argue that the changes could make it easier for German companies to obtain state-backed support for fossil fuel and nuclear power projects overseas. Germany pledged in 2021 to end international public finance for fossil fuels. However, OCI estimates that the country has approved about $1.5 billion in fossil fuel finance since joining t...

  Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay on September 2 announced a proposal to establish a ₹4,800 crore desalination plant at Minjur with a capacity of 400 million litres a day to meet the drinking water requirements of North Chennai, Avadi, Ponneri and Minjur. Making a suo motu statement in the Assembly Vijay also announced a ₹500 crore project to provide uninterrupted 24x7 drinking water supply to the Avadi Municipal Corporation. The government will also spend ₹410 crore to increase the capacity of the water treatment plant at Kilpauk, according to the announcements. Sewage infrastructure projects The Chief Minister announced a ₹960 crore underground sewage project for the Kundrathur and Nandivaram Guduvancheri municipalities. In Chennai, the underground sewage...

The Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest is showing how the gradual impacts of climate change can undermine ecosystems and livelihoods long before a major disaster strikes. Researchers visiting the Sundarbans in May 2026 found dry and cracked ponds where fish had previously supported local families. For communities across the Ganges Brahmaputra Meghna delta, declining freshwater availability is becoming part of a wider pattern of environmental and economic stress. The Sundarbans, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, spans parts of Bangladesh and India and provides food, income and shelter for millions of people. Its mangrove forests are also considered an important natural defence against cyclones and rising sea levels. But communities are increasingly facing failing embankmen...

  The El Nino event developing in the equatorial Pacific has intensified rapidly and is now firmly established, with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warning that it could strengthen further and peak towards the end of 2026. The WMO estimates there is an almost 100 per cent probability that El Niño will continue through February 2027. Sea surface temperatures in the Niño 3.4 region have already risen more than 2°C above average and could reach 3.6°C above normal, potentially making this the strongest El Niño in four decades. The Niño 3.4 index, which measures sea surface temperature anomalies in the central eastern equatorial Pacific, increased from about 1.5°C above average during May-July 2026 to 2°C above average in July. Between late July and mid-August, temper...

  Nearly 300 metres beneath Mexico’s Chihuahuan Desert lies the Cave of Crystals, a chamber filled with enormous gypsum crystals that grew over hundreds of thousands of years under exceptionally stable underground conditions. The crystals were discovered in April 2000 when miners working in the Naica lead, zinc and silver mine broke through into a previously inaccessible chamber. Some of the translucent gypsum beams measured up to 11.4 metres long and around a metre thick, making them among the largest natural crystals ever documented. The chamber was located inside a horseshoe shaped cavity measuring roughly 109 metres across. Although gypsum is a common mineral used in products such as plaster and plasterboard, the extraordinary size of the Naica crystals has made the site ...