alt

June 13th, 2024

AI's looming climate cost

From Singapore to China, power-hungry models drive booming electricity demand

View all editions

The Big Story

AI's looming climate cost: Energy demand surges amid data center race

From Singapore to China, AI's appetite for electricity and water grows insatiable as models get larger

AI-dedicated data centers will require 90 trillion watt-hours of electricity globally by 2026, over 10 times the amount they used in 2022, according to the International Energy Agency. The environmental impact of that huge boom in energy demand is becoming more difficult to ignore.
Global auction sales have risen 25 times in value terms over the past 20 years, thanks to strong demand for contemporary art in emerging markets in Asia and elsewhere.
Datawatch

Asian youth drive contemporary art market

Global sales rise 25 times in 20 years, led by young collectors, artists in Asia

To Lam is sworn in as president of Vietnam on May 22 in Hanoi. (Vietnam National Assembly via AP)
Opinion

Vietnam's leadership upheaval signals regime's security focus

Incidents of unrest held up as threats to economic development

Myanmar troops retreat amid fighting around the border town of Myawaddy on April 11: Resistance groups are building state structures and delivering public services in "liberated areas."  
Opinion

West must come to terms with Myanmar's fragmentation

Resistance forces need international help with providing governance for millions

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi gestures at the headquarters of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in New Delhi on June 4.
The Nikkei View

India election results point to need for domestic reconciliation

Bashing minorities to win Hindu support appears to be a losing strategy

Some 50 years after the first modern-day Japanese convenience store opened in Tokyo, players like 7-Eleven need expansion in countries such as Thailand, pictured above, as their domestic market is set to shrink.
Business Spotlight

Japan's convenience store chains chase elixir of growth across Asia

Indonesia, Thailand, China in focus as retailers face aging, shrinking home market

Battery maker CATL's booth at the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition in April 2024. The manufacturer was the top recipient of state subsidies among listed mainland companies last year.
China tech

CATL tops China's corporate subsidies list, outranking oil majors

Emergence of EV-related recipients stands out as European tariffs loom

Kleiner Perkins, which is backing the new fund, previously invested in logistics robotics startup Dexterity. (Dexterity)
Startups

TSMC-backed U.S. fund targets chip, robotics, other hardware startups

VC Kleiner Perkins and Japanese trading house Sojitz among other investors

Plastic waste often fouls Bali's renowned beaches. (Photo courtesy of Plastic Bank Indonesia)
Business trends

Indonesia's Bali tackles plastic waste with social enterprise

Canadian recycling platform works with businesses, benefits scavengers

As China steps up coast guard patrols in the South and East China seas, Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines are wrestling with how to defend their territory and national interests -- without provoking a war.
Asia Insight

China's 3-pronged maritime threat rattles Japan, Philippines and Taiwan

Beijing 'gray zone' aggression focused on islands in strategic 'first island chain'

President Joe Biden, left, attends a meeting of the Quad with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 20, 2023, at the Grand Prince Hotel in Hiroshima, Japan. (White House photo)
Indo-Pacific

U.S. finds new 'brand' for Quad, starting with Papua New Guinea relief

White House kicks off preparations for foreign ministers in Japan and summit in India

Australia is looking to move up the value chain in the global supply of lithium and other minerals critical for green energy technologies.
Commodities

Australian project 'fingerprints' lithium for green metals trade

Researchers work on trade protocols as EU eyes Australian critical minerals

Young Palestinians take part in a military-style exercise at a Hamas-run summer camp in Gaza City on July 20, 2019.
Politics

Western-led global order eroded by nonstate armed groups

With tax collection and medical care, groups bare fangs against old rulers

Over 4% of foreign residents in Japan were not enrolled in the country's public pension program in 2019. (Photo by Nikkei)
Japan immigration

Japan to enroll all foreign residents in national pension system

Tighter regulations will ensure students, technical interns and others contribute

One of the strays at the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s shelter for dogs and cats in the city's Prawet district. Now under renovation, the facility will be able to shelter 1,000 dogs and cats when it reopens later this year. (Courtesy of Bangkok Metropolitan Administration)
Life

Bangkok mobilizes volunteers to combat stray pet crisis

Hundreds of thousands of dogs and cats roam Thai capital's streets

Young men play in the Tanintharyi River in Tagu, Tanintharyi Region, Myanmar, in March. Despite the ever-present threat of violence from an increasingly desperate military regime, daily life continues in many resistance strongholds. (All photos by Valeria Mongelli)
Tea Leaves

Life lessons from airstrikes in resistance-controlled Myanmar

In Tanintharyi, civilians learn to wait and cope with bombing campaigns