Climate Connections: Lifeless Coral Reefs - 3D-printed good old-fashioned terracotta tiles to the rescue

Coral reefs have long been regarded as one of the earliest and most significant ecological casualties of global warming. And as ocean temperatures continue to rise, mass bleaching and die-offs have gone from being rare to a somewhat regular occurrence. Aside from climatic changes, human activities…

Climate Connections: Will the ‘new collective quantified goal’ on climate finance be inclusive enough?

2024 is "virtually certain" to be the hottest on record. In recent months, the world has seen back-to-back hurricanes, catastrophic flooding, devastating typhoons and severe drought. It is against this backdrop that global leaders gather at the COP29 UN climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, where a …

Climate Connections: Unlocking Earth's Superhot Geothermal Energy in the Taupō Volcanic Zone

Until now, geologists have been divided as to whether this superdeep, superhot resource can be tapped. Rock under high temperature and pressures - more than 373 degrees Celsius and 220 bars of pressure - is ductile, or gooey, as opposed to a smashable stone from your backyard.  So far, data shows…

Climate Connections: Tiny matters - Using acoustic sound waves to model how algae affects climate, human health

Algae are microscopic organisms that live in aquatic habitats and they use photosynthesis to produce energy from sunlight, just like plants. So far, there are over 50,000 species of living algae documented currently. And one thing that people sometimes forget is that algae are the base of many food…

Climate Connections: A scrap revolution - Challenges behind pushing the needle on industrial recycling

Industrial waste makes up at least 50% of waste generated globally. And much of that waste is the result of poor quality products from manufacturing processes, as well as the sheer complexity of manufacturing and supply chain management.  As consumer awareness about the environmental impacts of wa…

Climate Connections: Earth In Focus - Tapping On The Power Of Thought-Provoking Nature Films & Community For Conservation

Nature films tell the stories of the world's flora, fauna, and landscapes - often a journey into the secret lives of what exists around us. These stunning visual tales show us how we are interconnected with nature in many ways. This, in turn, allows us to better understand the current conversations…

Climate Connections: Farmers eye carbon credits as a way of regenerating revenue and nature

Nature is our life support system, but right now, it’s in trouble. WWF’s latest Living Planet Report reveals that the average size of wildlife populations have declined by a staggering 73% since 1970, providing a stark warning “that the world is fast approaching dangerous tipping points”.  Habitat…

Climate Connections: A third of African apes under threat as demand surges for critical minerals needed for clean energy technology

About 180,000 chimpanzees, gorillas and bonobos could be directly or indirectly threatened by current and future mining projects for these transition metals, particularly in West Africa. With the world focusing its attention on clean energy transition, a boom in African mining activity is expected…

Climate Connections: Australia-Asia Power Link Project awaiting Singapore's approval. Are cross-border collaborations the most important key to renewable energy adoption?

Solar power saw a boom in 2023, making it the fastest growing source of electricity generation for the 19th year running. This comes as countries around the world push for a transition towards greener sources of energy. Australia has given the go-ahead for a A$20 billion (US$13.5 billion) solar pr…

Climate Connections: Monkey Business - How Singapore's "Jane Goodall" is pushing for langur conservation in SEA through the first genus action plan

Despite being highly threatened, only a few langur populations have been studied in detail, owing to their elusive nature, arboreality and the challenging terrains where they inhabit. As a result, conservation of these species has been challenging. Over 85 per cent of Asian langurs are threatened …