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In Asia, as elsewhere in the world, countries rushed to promote biofuels during the dramatic oil price increases of 2007-2008 as way to enhance energy security, without waiting for the settlement of controversial debates about the environmental effects of biofuels, especially their effects on greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, and...

This paper presents a case study of drought risk assessment and management in Svay Rieng province of Cambodia. Drought is a creeping disaster and has debilitating impacts on rural livelihoods and socio-economic conditions. Interviews with local communities, government administration, and non-governmental agencies indicated the lack of livelihood...

Current national GHG accounting which does not consider emissions embodied in trade may cause issues such as carbon leakage from Annex I to non-Annex I countries through trade of carbon-intensive goods. Among other measures to address this issue, this paper presents an alternative approach by trade adjustment to national CO2 accounting with...

In order to help understand the environmental disclosure mechanism from the corporate perspective, this paper identifies the determinant factors affecting the disclosure level of corporate environmental information on the basis of stakeholder theory, and gives an empirical observation on Chinese listed companies. The corporate environmental...

Japan has developed a variety of national strategies and plans related to biofuels which address four main policy objectives, including reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, energy security, rural development, and realisation of a recycle-based society. This paper reviews these national strategies and plans as well as associated implementing...

The increasing volume of CO2 embodiment in international trade adds a layer of complexity to environmental policies and has raised arguments on the traditional production based responsibility for CO2 emissions. In order to help understand the quantity of CO2 embodiment in trade and its policy implications, this paper gives observations to recently...

The United Nations designated 2005 to 2015 as the International Decade for Action "Water for Life." In April 2005, its Comission on Sustainable Development identified water as one of its three important issues. On the World Environment Day of June 2005, the UN secretary general said that by 2030, more than 60 percent of the world's polulation will...

Asia is becoming the focus of global environmental concern. Of the world's 15 most polluted cities, 13 are in Asia; a third of Asians have no access to safe drinking water; and half of Asians have no access to adequate sanitation facilities.1 The rapid growth of two Asian giants, India and China, hints at a new world order coming, including a great...