Evelyn Smail

Freelance writer 
Climate, energy and the environment

Climate Impacts Tracker Asia •

Big Fashion Brands Are Failing to Act on Climate

Fashion is one of the world’s most polluting industries — and the practices of big fashion brands are under increasing scrutiny. A new report from Fashion Revolution, the world’s largest fashion activism movement, found that despite the escalating climate crisis, big brands’ reduction targets fail to meet the global goal of limiting temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. With the window for meaningful climate action closing – coupled with dangerous and record-breaking heat waves...
Climate Impacts Tracker Asia •

Youth in Pakistan: A Solution For Climate Change

Pakistan’s youth is an untapped solution for addressing climate change in the nation. While the climate crisis is a global challenge, its impact on developing countries like Pakistan and youth in Pakistan is disproportionately severe. Ranked as the fifth most vulnerable country to climate change by the Global Climate Risk Index, Pakistan faces significant risks to its economy and security, despite contributing only 0.9% of global greenhouse gas emissions.


The country is already grappling with...
Climate Impacts Tracker Asia •

The Future of Sustainable Olympic Sponsors

The Olympic sponsors and partners wield immense power in terms of influence and reach. For the 2024 Paris Olympics, around 15 million people visited the French capital, with an estimated 1.5 billion watching live on TV and millions more following online. This captive global audience – including decision-makers in various industries – was more likely to believe and act on marketing campaigns endorsed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) than they would outside of the Games.


Therefore,...
Climate Impacts Tracker Asia •

Excessive Heat Impacted Billions in June 2024

A new study found that more than 60% of the world’s population endured excessive heat over nine days in June 2024. Nearly 5 billion people worldwide were exposed to heat made at least three times more likely by climate change, with Indonesia and Bangladesh among the most impacted nations. 


The rapid attribution analysis by Climate Central scientists covered the period from 16 to 24 June, during which extreme temperatures soared worldwide. Every heat wave in the world is now made more intense...
Climate Impacts Tracker Asia •

Climate Change Solutions at 2024 Paris Olympics

We’ve been promised that Paris 2024 Olympics will be the greenest in history, showing how sports can take the lead on powerful climate change solutions. As one of the most watched and celebrated sporting events in the world, the Games presents a powerful platform to promote and inspire climate action on a global scale.

Robust and comprehensive action is long overdue. Major events like the Olympics leave an enormous climate and environmental footprint on the planet. The 2016 Rio Games resulted...
Climate Impacts Tracker Asia •

Sportswashing at Paris Olympics by ArcelorMittal and Toyota

The world is gearing up for the 2024 Paris Olympics, which organisers have promised to be the greenest in Olympic history.

The host committee has pledged to halve the event’s emissions footprint compared to previous Summer Games, which would mean Paris 2024 will offer the first Games aligned with the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, organisers say. A comprehensive sustainability plan covers the ev...
Climate Impacts Tracker Asia •

Heat at Paris Olympics: How Climate Change Threatens Sport

The much-anticipated 2024 Paris Olympic Games will take place when our planet is at its hottest in recorded history. The climate crisis is impacting every area of our lives, and sports is no exception. With 75% of athletes saying climate change directly affects their health and performance, those competing at Paris 2024 Olympics are making their voices heard.

“Challenges are mounting for athletes regarding air pollution, food and water insecurity and lack of shade,” said Jackson Tuwei, presid...
Climate Impacts Tracker Asia •

Tropical Cyclone Remal in India and Bangladesh 2024

Tropical Cyclone Remal struck the coastlines of India and Bangladesh on May 26 and 27 of 2024, leaving a trail of destruction. Local authorities reported that 8.4 million people lived in the path of Remal cyclone, and winds of up to 135 km/h and extremely heavy rainfall caused power outages that impacted hundreds of thousands of people. It destroyed around 35,000 homes and damaged 116,000.

The cyclone’s severe rains led to storm surges that breached multiple embankments, turning “villages int...
Climate Impacts Tracker Asia •

Biodiversity Loss and Damage in the Global South

Following years of steadfast campaigning, in 2023, the UN climate change process reached a historic agreement, establishing a loss and damage fund to help vulnerable countries cope with the effects of climate change. This fund is crucial for communities and nations disproportionately impacted by the crisis, which is harming livelihoods, infrastructure and the natural world.

Yet, while the fund covers climate-related losses related to biodiversity and ecosystems – such as damage from storms, flo
Climate Impacts Tracker Asia •

EU Banks Financing the Destruction of Ecosystem

The intertwined threat of the destruction of ecosystem and the climate crisis is especially acute in Asia. The continent is rich in biodiversity found nowhere else on Earth, and is home to two-thirds of the world’s population. Yet accelerating nature loss poses a grave threat, especially for communities and lives that are strongly dependent on the natural world.

The essential life services nature provides to humanity include clean air and water, pollination for crops and protection from storms
Climate Impacts Tracker Asia •

Extreme Heat Driving Up Anxiety and Depression in Bangladesh

Fuelled by ever-dangerous climate change, extreme heat has major implications for mental disorders, including anxiety and depression. Bangladesh is one of the world’s most at-risk nations from climate change, yet one of the least responsible for it. In the country of about 174 million people, nearly a fifth of adults have mental health issues, and research indicates that the mental health burden of climatic changes in Bangladesh is significant, especially among vulnerable populations.

Despite t
Climate Impacts Tracker Asia •

The Effects of Heatwaves in Asia Are Becoming More Severe

Southeast Asia is grappling with the effects of a severe heatwave, with record-high temperatures triggering urgent health warnings, school closures, fears of water shortages, supply problems and crop damage. “Thousands of records are being brutalised all over Asia,” wrote climatologist and weather historian Maximiliano Herrera on social media, calling the heatwave the “most extreme event” in climate history.

In Indonesia, dry weather has led to soaring rice prices. Temperatures in Thailand’s wa
Climate Impacts Tracker Asia •

'Heatflation' is Driving Up Food Prices. What Can Be Done?

Heatflation refers to the rise in food prices resulting from climate change-driven extreme heat, and with global temperatures continuing to rise, this is a growing threat. Food insecurity and hunger remain prevalent in many nations, and heatflation is set to worsen this crisis.

Asia is also acutely vulnerable to climate-induced heatwaves and other disasters that are projected to increasingly impact its food production and security. The growing risks of heatflation will worsen these conditions,
Climate Impacts Tracker Asia •

Climate Change in Nepal Puts Tourism Livelihoods Under Threat

Climate change in Nepal is threatening one of the nation’s most important industries: tourism. Nestled in the peaks of the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) and known for its iconic mountains and landscapes, Nepal is rich in natural beauty and cultural heritage. For tourists, the region offers a diverse range of experiences – from mountaineering and trekking to wildlife safaris – drawing in around 1 million visitors each year. However, Nepal’s iconic destinations are increasingly vulnerable to the impac
Climate Impacts Tracker Asia •

Climate Justice Solutions for a Fair and Sustainable Future

Incorporating robust climate justice solutions into climate action is crucial to ensuring fair access to clean energy and safeguarding vulnerable communities. In recent years, there has been progress in recognising the importance of justice-oriented approaches to climate action — yet far more work must be done. While challenges remain, solutions exist at every level that can ensure a future that is fairer for all.

Climate justice requires prioritising equity and human rights in climate change d
Climate Impacts Tracker Asia •

Solar Energy in India: A Powerful Healthcare Solution

In a recent World Resources Institute (WRI) report, India hails solar energy as a powerful healthcare solution. While electricity plays an indispensable role in health care, nearly 1 billion people in the Global South do not have access to healthcare facilities with reliable electricity or any at all. In India alone, several thousand rural public health facilities operate without electricity, profoundly impacting patients and health workers alike.

Solar Power in India: Energy and Healthcare as
Climate Impacts Tracker Asia •

Why Is Climate Justice Important?

Why is climate justice important? While millions are suffering climate-induced hunger and displacement, it is more apparent than ever that human life and well-being depend on a stable climate and healthy environment.

Agnès Callamard, secretary general of Amnesty International, underscores the profound implications of climate change and extreme weather events on human lives. “The dramatic impacts of climate change have exposed, with devastating clarity, how integral a healthy environment is to t
Climate Impacts Tracker Asia •

The Impact of Climate Change on Food Security

The impact of climate change on food security will be severely felt in Asia. The continent’s central glaciers are crucial to millions of people who rely on their meltwater for their crops. However, increasing temperatures mean these vital freshwater reserves are melting at an unprecedented rate, with some predicting the Himalayan glaciers may disappear by the end of the century. The consequences of this loom large. About a dozen rivers originate in the Himalayas, including the Ganges, the Indus
Climate Impacts Tracker Asia •

The Impact of Climate Change on Women: Stories From Bangladesh

In southwest Bangladesh, the rhythm of life has traditionally depended on the cycles of the monsoon, and many livelihoods rely on natural resources. However, the rapidly changing climate is disrupting the lives of countless people, and these impacts of climate change can disproportionately impact women in a number of ways. Flooding, cyclones and erratic weather are making women’s lives in Bangladesh more difficult by increasing the burden of work in the private and public spheres and worsening a
Climate Impacts Tracker Asia •

The Impact of Climate Change in India: The Plight of Himalayan Communities

The impacts of climate change in India are creating an environmental and humanitarian crisis in the nation’s densely-populated mountain regions. At the heart of the issue lies the rapid warming of the Himalayas. A worrying trend shows the region is heating up faster than all other mountainous ranges in the world, with profound implications for its people and their livelihoods.

Emeritus Professor Prakash C. Tiwari, from Kumaun University in India’s Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, is deeply passi
Climate Impacts Tracker Asia •

2024 Indonesian General Election: Implications for Climate Justice

The 2024 Indonesian general election was the world’s biggest single-day election to date, with more than 200 million people eligible to vote in the February 14 election. Early polls suggest that former army general Prabowo Subianto is poised to lead the incoming government of Southeast Asia’s largest economy from October.

With health, livelihoods and food and water security at risk in climate-vulnerable Indonesia, the incoming government must prioritise ambitious climate action for its people.
Cartier Philanthropy •

Connecting Talent, Enabling Change

Non-profits deliver essential services to the world’s most vulnerable people. This crucial work, above all, needs funding. But it also depends on a vast array of capabilities – ranging from data collection to branding – to enhance programme design, improve implementation, and maximise social impact. It is therefore vital to offer grantees the additional capacity-building support they need to invest effectively in these areas.
Climate Impacts Tracker Asia •

Climate Change in South Asia: How are Communities Adapting?

Worsening climate change in South Asia means communities are enduring consecutive years of extreme and unpredictable weather. In response to the unfolding climate crisis, people all over the region are coming up with innovative solutions to the problems they face. Enhancing coastal climate resilience and scaling up renewable energy and regenerative forestry are just some community projects helping to adapt to these new impacts of global warming in South Asia.

These can also produce a ripple eff
Climate Impacts Tracker Asia •

The Impact of Climate Change on Tourism

From dying coral reefs to melting glaciers, we are already witnessing the damaging impact of climate change on tourism. Rising temperatures, extreme weather events and environmental degradation pose significant risks to the industry’s future. The continent of Asia, which sits on the front lines of climate change, is particularly vulnerable. Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand and the Philippines, for example, are among the ten nations most affected by climate change in the past two decades.

At the same
Load More