Dying fish, Fukushima discharge, skyrocketing rice prices: Asia counts its losses in world’s warmest year ever

But it was not all doom and gloom, as the UN conference on climate change in Dubai towards the end of the year signalled an eventual end to the fossil-fuel era.

Here are some of the most impactful environment stories This Week in Asia covered in 2023.

A farmer tends to his rice paddies in Agam, Indonesia’s West Sumatra on December 6. Photo: AP

Asia’s rice price crisis

Climate change-induced extreme weather unsettled Asia throughout the year. El Niño conditions – which disrupt weather patterns, divert rainfall and cause much of the region to experience hotter, drier conditions – clipped rice production. Forecasters expect El Niño to persist until at least early next year.

This led to India, the world’s top rice exporter, clamping down on shipments, allowing only meagre volumes to be sent overseas.

Rice prices in Asia shot up to their highest levels in almost 15 years after India put its ban in place. Prices in rival exporter Thailand also rose to their highest since the depths of the global financial crisis in late 2008.

Scorching heatwaves and uneven monsoon rainfall distribution hit crops hard, driving up food inflation and forcing central banks to tighten up further on lending.

Asia braces for more rice-price shocks as India’s export ban unnerves markets

A visitor inspects a BYD Seal EV at the 40th Thailand International Motor Expo 2023 in Bangkok, Thailand, on December 4. Photo: EPA-EFE

The inexorable rise of EVs

In more positive developments, Southeast Asian nations are increasingly prioritising the production of electric vehicles with an eye towards trimming their heavy dependency on imported fossil fuels, as well as meeting their net-zero carbon pledges.

Countries in the region have jostled with one another this year to grab the attention of marquee investors, offering raw materials, tax breaks and infrastructure. Regional demand for EVs has also surged, but still lags behind other parts of the world.

In Southeast Asia’s EV race, domestic markets face a long and winding road

The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant pictured in August, the month Japan began discharging treated waste water from the tsunami-damaged facility into the sea. Photo: Jiji Press/AFP/Getty Images/TNS

Waste water worries

The concerns hit Japanese exports of fish, but the controversy has not impeded development of nuclear energy in the region including in China as nations have sought to shift away from dirty fuels.

Has China’s Fukushima-linked ban widened to reel in ornamental carp?

A scavenger searches for recyclable plastic material amid the garbage washed ashore in December on a beach in Chennai, India, following heavy rains. Photo: EPA-EFE

Plastic promises

Plastic waste is menacing even Earth’s most remote places – from Mount Everest to the Mariana Trench – and has even been found in infants who have ingested it through their mother’s milk.

But world leaders are moving towards putting the broad contours of a plastic-waste treaty in place to clean up the planet and encourage a circular economy. Asia accounts for a significant portion of all the plastic produced annually, with Hong Kong and South Korea among the highest per capita producers, and mainland China topping the list.

Talking trash: plastic waste treaty talks spur hope for Asia’s circular economy

Thailand’s favourite fish, a protein-packed mini mackerel known as “pla tu” faces an uncertain future. Photo: Shutterstock

Missing mackerel

The confluence of climate change, pollution and overfishing have begun to deprive Thailand of its favourite fish, a protein-packed mini mackerel known as pla tu.

Not only are too many of the fish being hauled out of the ocean each year for numbers to recover, rising sea temperatures and extreme weather patterns are putting the delicate marine ecosystems that pla tu subsist on under pressure.

Why Thailand’s favourite fish may soon be off the menu for good

04:44

Cop28 climate summit closes with agreement to ‘transition’ from fossil fuels

A Cop28 cop out?

A glimmer of hope that the world may yet beat global warming emerged at the year-end United Nations climate conference in Dubai, Cop28, where nations finally agreed that a transition away from fossil fuels was necessary to combat climate change.

Asia at risk as Cop28 deal falls ‘far short’ of acceptable fossil fuel phase-out

However, no timelines were announced for the phasing out oil, gas and coal, nor a financial mechanism put in place to aid developing nations in their transition.

Next year will show whether world leaders are serious about putting their money where their mouths are when it comes to the climate.

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