Dialogue Earth

‘AI for whom?’ Inside Brazil’s data centre boom The government’s legislative push for the sector is stalling, while experts warn of its socio-environmental risks and governance gaps

Brazil’s data centre capacity could triple by 2030, with expansion driven by companies from China and the United States.

Experts warn the growth of generative artificial intelligence is increasing demand for electricity, computing power and water.

Read more: https://loom.ly/eWCCTp0

Indigenous ocean voices are still being marginalised Despite progress and strong advocacy, some say local inclusion in ocean decisions is often still merely performative

A traditional Polynesian “call of the conch” opened the UN Ocean Conference 2025 in Nice. Indigenous voices are more visible at ocean meetings, but some experts say their role in decisions remains limited as governments debate deep-sea mining and ocean protection.

https://loom.ly/Kl0aWwo

Gold rush in Asia fuels mercury pollution Small-scale mining in developing Asian economies bring new challenges to the fight against mercury pollution and its lasting harms

This municipality in the Philippines has a long gold mining tradition. Mercury is used to bond gold particles lodged in gathered ore, and once the mixture is heated, mercury evaporates. Large quantities of mercury are released into the atmosphere.

🔗 Read: https://loom.ly/Dhku1do
✍️ Zhang Yiyi

As the Gulf conflict widens, so does its environmental footprint Environmental strain is growing in a region already vulnerable, leaving some countries with little capacity to cope

As the Gulf conflict widens, so does its environmental footprint.

Environmental strain is growing in a region already vulnerable, leaving some countries with little capacity to cope.

🔗 https://loom.ly/tkZg4jg
🖊️ Daniel Cressey

China’s new renewables pricing mechanism may not give generators the stability they need As subsidies for renewables are phased out, market distortions mean renewables still can’t stand on their own feet, writes Zhang Shuwei

Renewables may not be receiving the stability they need due to this new pricing mechanism, according to Zhang Shuwei, the chief economist at Draworld Environment Research Center (Beijing).

🔗 Read the full story: https://loom.ly/EGndkiA
✍️ Zhang Shuwei

Jobs Mexico and Central America Regional Editor at Dialogue Earth

🚨 NEW JOB OPPORTUNITY 🚨

We are hiring a Mexico and Central America Regional Editor to join our editorial team.

👉 Find out more: https://loom.ly/YGa4PxY

China’s Belt and Road must adapt to survive a hotter world Development projects globally must answer a burning question as rising temperatures threaten workers’ health and productivity, write three academics

As the World Cup unfolded in Qatar back in 2010, many of the hundreds of thousands of migrant workers who had laboured under a desert sun worsened by climate change experienced fatal deaths.

🔗 Read the full story: https://loom.ly/tVgY968
✍️ Jiayong Liang, Maria Adele Carrai, and Xiaojiao Wang

Can Chinese agricultural tech work for Kenya? China-backed projects are helping smallholders with their yields as the climate changes, but the partnerships are also raising harder questions

According to the associate professor Joshua Ogweno, more than 1,100 agricultural extension officers have been trained to reduce bacterial wilt in tomatoes – a problem that led farmers in South Western Kenya to abandon tomato growing.

🔗 Read the full story: https://loom.ly/eHf2JXM
✍️ Duncan Mboyah

China can drive Asia’s transition to green agriculture Importing more sustainable produce and boosting green finance could help accelerate the greening of agriculture across developing Asia, write three experts

There are two main things hampering the green transition of agriculture in Asian developing nations, according to Ma Jun, Shao Danqing, and Huang Leike. The first, the lack of buyers. The second, lack of commercial investment.

🔗 Read: https://loom.ly/almPX6M
✍️ Ma Jun, Shao Danqing, Huang Leike

Dumped and discarded: The fishing nets that threaten Nigeria’s marine life Community-led groups are fighting battles against old fishing gear, but the problem remains widespread

“Ghost gear” are what abandoned, broken fishing nets become on the riverbanks of Okerenkoko in the Niger Delta. Nigeria’s small-scale fisheries are dominated by gillnets – often characterised as the most environmentally damaging type of net.

🔗 Read story: https://loom.ly/sIxDkTQ
✍️ Chidinma Iwu

How local energy networks are saving lives across the world In the US and the Global South, local ‘microgrid’ power networks are being adopted in neighbourhoods battling rising heat

Major cities in the United States and isolated communities in the Global South have adopted the microgrid. When a national grid is knocked out, the microgrid allows access to electricity.

Read: https://loom.ly/Yam_PgI
✍️ Katharine Sanderson

World Cup construction fever pits Mexico City locals against developers  As Mexico prepares for this summer’s World Cup opener, neighbours of the Azteca stadium are tallying the water costs of rapid development

💧 As Mexico gears up for the football World Cup in June, residents living near the Estadio Azteca are worried about water shortages.

🔗 Read the full story: https://loom.ly/iG75JZA

✍️ Madeleine Wattenbarger

Could Chinese miners be facing stronger environmental standards? A series of new guidelines aim to standardise and mainstream ESG reporting by Chinese mining companies, but gaps remain

The Chinese Mining Association released documents to guide mining companies on environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance in December 2025. They are the first attempt by a Chinese industry body to standardise ESG practices.
🔗 Read: https://loom.ly/TFPSgjM
✍️ Jiang Mengnan, Tom Baxter

🐎🎉 As we step into the Year of the Horse, Dialogue Earth looks forward to another year of impactful reporting on the environment and the world. We hope everyone enjoys a joyous and restful Lunar New Year celebration! Illustration by Bui Ngan

Indigenous rights should be at the heart of climate commitments Governments must transform their climate plans’ references to Indigenous Peoples from box-ticking to partnership, write four experts

As of August 2025, around 54% of countries had referenced indigenous rights in the NDCs – a number which surged from the first submission cycle. The IWGIA has found governments to be far behind.

🔗 Read: https://loom.ly/Zfo_rsc
✍️ Rosario Carmona, Graeme Reed, Stefan Thorsell, Rocío Yon

Could freezing coral larvae protect reefs from ocean warming? As coral reefs worldwide face warming seas and ocean acidification, scientists in the Pacific turn to ‘cryopreservation’

To give coral reefs a chance to survive, scientists are turning to cryopreservation – freezing coral cells, larvae and sperm to be used for future reproduction.

🔗 Read on dialogue.earth: https://loom.ly/6MPsW2k
✍️ Gaea Cabico

Q&A: ‘We cannot achieve net-zero on our own’ Ahead of Thailand’s general elections, People’s Party candidate Supachot Chaiyasat shares his vision for the country’s power sector

Supachot Chaiyasat has been a vocal advocate for sustainable energy and fair power prices. He has publicly scrutinised government intiatives that he believes will burden Thai taxpayers.

Dialogue Earth revisits our interview with Supachot.

🔗 Read story: https://loom.ly/nYVEjpw
✍️ Surasak Glahan

The Belt and Road boomed in 2025 China's engagement in overseas renewables grew once again, though not as much as in oil and gas

The value of construction deals involving Chinese companies reached USD 128 billion, which is up 81% on 2924. Investments totalled USD 85 billion, up 62%. This resulted in the highest level of the BRI’s engagement since its launch 12 years ago.

🔗 Read story: https://loom.ly/bNjzES8
✍️ Tom Baxter

Carney, Trump and the new world order: Why climate must be argued differently now As the old world order breaks down, we need climate action that speaks the language of cost, security and everyday life, writes Dipankar Ghose

The US pulling out of 66 international organisations. A sleeping president arrested in the middle of the night. Greenland and a temper tantrum.

What follows is an urgent reframing of the climate debate, argues editor in chief Dipankar Ghose.

🔗 Read: https://loom.ly/hLFEWV0
✍️ Dipankar Ghose

China enters race to host High Seas Treaty HQ Considered a “significant escalation” in its global governance aims, China is up against Chile and Belgium to host the treaty’s secretariat

China has joined Chile and Belgium in the bid to host the secretariat of the High Seas Treaty.

💬 The bid “marks a significant escalation in China’s engagement with the treaty,” says Li Shuo of China Climate Hub.

🔗 Read: https://loom.ly/4mUEbM8
✍️ Jiang Mengnan, Daniel Cressey, Regina Lam

Inside China’s solar villages For a decade, solar power has been bringing opportunities to China’s villages. What does that mean today?

In 2023, the Zhuangshang “solar” village of the Shanxi province was named a “zero-carbon energy demonstration village”.

Solar villages are not all sunshine, however.

🔗 Read the full story: https://loom.ly/KRJfoyA
✍️ Zhang Wei

Climate action can unlock Southeast Asia’s future competitiveness A deeper transition is a downpayment on the region’s future competitiveness in an increasingly climate-sensitive world, argue two energy experts

In an increasingly climate-sensitive world, Southeast Asia approaches a critical juncture. Climate action, or inaction, can shape its economic credibility and reputation.

🔗 Read the full story: https://loom.ly/xt4EG0E
✍️ Muyi Yang, Putra Adhiguna

Declared a terrorist for bringing renewable power to Philippine communities Accusing activists of having links to terrorism has led to non-profit funds being frozen and local climate projects being delayed or scrapped

“Red-tagging” occurs when government task forces accuses individuals and groups involved in community projects, such as disaster relief and delivering solar-powered water pumps, of having links with communism or terrorism.

🔗 Read the full story: https://loom.ly/AyGFLmw
✍️ Raymund Villanueva

Trump, China and 300 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil As the US powers ahead with its plans to recover Latin America’s ‘oil El Dorado’, we explore Venezuela’s environmental and geopolitical outlook

🛢️After the military attack in Venezuela, Washington's plans for Latin America's "oil El Dorado" are facing many issues. The White House is trying to convince oil companies to embrace a deal to restore Venezuela's collapsed oil industry, but its viability remains uncertain.

https://loom.ly/sLtI6g4

How the Global South tried to steer the recent UN Environment Assembly Despite pushback, Global South delegates achieved consensus on a number of issues and an increased budget for the UN Environment Programme

Despite pushback and US absence, Global South delegates at UNEA7 secured consensus on 11 resolutions and a larger UN Environment Programme budget. “A victory,” African and Latin American delegates told Dialogue Earth.

🔗 https://loom.ly/rpEaBUM
✍️ Julian Reingold

How is the Chinese public engaging in climate adaptation? While government message boards and NGOs are growing in importance, community self-organising remains crucial

When floods cut power to a rural Beijing education centre, staff didn’t wait for help. They organised, borrowed equipment from neighbours, installed solar panels and managed the crisis themselves.

Explore how public participation is reshaping climate adaptation in China. 🔗https://loom.ly/Yc9xxdA

As EVs boom in Brazil, a battery recycling challenge looms Chinese brands are powering a surge in Brazil’s electric car sales but at the end of the road, who is responsible for the used batteries?

🚗 🪫 Electric vehicle sales in Brazil are rising fast, driven largely by Chinese brands. But a major question remains: who is responsible for used batteries once they reach the end of their life?

✍️Lilian Caramel
https://loom.ly/1r3nYVU

Minerales y tensiones con Estados Unidos: qué esperar de la relación China-América Latina Las materias primas siguen impulsando la relación, pero la presencia de China en la región está cambiando, con menos préstamos e inversiones cambiantes

China’s footprint in Latin America is changing fast. Loans are drying up, investments are shifting, and US–China tensions are pushing governments to rethink their alliances. EV tech and targeted financing are now doing the heavy lifting.

Read the full story: https://loom.ly/Xfc98JM

The pistachio boom in Argentina clashes with the water crisis The pistachio sector is gaining ground in desert areas like San Juan province, but this growth is encroaching on a severe water crisis

💧 As pistachio farming expands in desert regions such as Argentina’s San Juan province, its growth is running up against a severe water crisis.

How sustainable is this increasingly popular crop?

✍️ 📷 Reported by Jorgelina Hiba and photographed by Celina Mutti Lovera

https://loom.ly/JbVT18k

Trump abandons international climate, biodiversity and energy bodies Dismay as US president orders withdrawal from 66 bodies working on climate, global governance and other issues

On 7 January the U.S president Donald Trump cut ties with 66 international bodies as he continued a push to dismantle US involvement in global efforts to fight climate change and safeguard biodiversity, as well as wider multilateralism.

🔗 https://loom.ly/h-OwSAM