News

Singapore leads Southeast Asia in the number of green startups, with 494 companies accounting for around 45% of the regional total—far surpassing second- and third-ranked Indonesia and Malaysia.

The European Union has confirmed plans to weaken its landmark 2035 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars on Dec. 16, easing one of its most ambitious climate policies for the automotive sector.

Southeast Asia is rapidly emerging as a new global hotspot for electric vehicle (EV) adoption. A recent analysis by Ember finds that Thailand's EVs accounted for 20% of new car sales in 2025.

Starting in 2026, hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) in Vietnam will be subject to an excise tax rate equivalent to 70% of that applied to conventional gasoline and diesel cars.

Thailand targets 100% plastic reuse by 2027. Both government and industry are preparing petrochemical producers for the European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which may soon extend to plastics.

A series of typhoons and tropical cyclones in November swept across the Philippines and Indonesia, reaching as far as Vietnam, Thailand, and even Sri Lanka, leaving more than a thousand people dead and displaced millions.

Singapore’s state investment fund–backed conglomerate Sembcorp Industries announced on Dec. 11 that it will acquire Alinta Energy, an Australian power producer owned by Hong Kong’s Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, for AUD 5.6 billion (roughly USD 3.7 billion).

The regional multi-sport event SEA Games, which began in Thailand more than six decades ago, returns this year to its birthplace with a new mandate to couple athletic excellence with climate-conscious hosting.

Government members from Germany and Italy have announced that their countries will forge closer ties in a bid to loosen EU climate policy regulations, including the phase-out of internal combustion engine cars.

New reactor designs promise safer, smaller systems, but questions remain as Taiwan weighs its next steps.