Asia Perspectives by Economist Impact

On March 14th 2023 the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a proposal to establish legally enforceable levels for six types of ‘forever chemicals’ known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). It is expected to prevent thousands of deaths and reduce tens of thousands of serious illnesses attributable to PFAS. The rule would require public water systems to monitor PFAS levels, notify the public of these and reduce them if exceeding the proposed standards. Developed over several years and grounded in the authority that the EPA has from US Congress, through the Safe Drinking Water Act, the goal is to issue a final PFAS drinking water standard by the end of 2023 or early 2024. This will result in a standard to which all water systems in the US must adhere.Sarah Doll, national director for Safer States, an NGO fighting pollution, speaks to Naka Kondo, the lead editor of Back to Blue about the significance of the EPA proposal to limit PFAS in US drinking water - and what needs to happen next.Follow the Back to Blue series for more podcast episodes, or visit backtoblueinitiative.com for more content.Back to Blue is an initiative of Economist Impact and The Nippon Foundation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Back to Blue's lead editor, Naka Kondo speaks to Anne Marieke Eveleens, co-founder and chief strategy officer of the Great Bubble Barrier, a Dutch social enterprise, about how air bubble technology can help clear plastics from our rivers.Follow the Back to Blue series for more podcast episodes, or visit backtoblueinitiative.com for more content.Back to Blue is an initiative of Economist Impact and The Nippon Foundation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The era of AI has begun. Asia-Pacific’s spending on AI will reach around $50 billion in 2026. In the sixth episode of the series "Shelter from the storm: Investing in the era of uncertainty," sponsored by EquitiesFirst, we discuss the opportunities and risks around artificial intelligence investments in Asia-Pacific. Our guest speakers talk about the new business models emerging from the expanding industry applications of AI and how investors can leverage the associated investment opportunities. What AI can offer is almost limitless, but the opportunities don’t come without risks.Our guests are: William Bao Bean, managing director at Orbit Startups and general partner at SOSV Arvind Sethumadhavan, founder at The AI Living Lab"Shelter from the storm: Investing in the era of uncertainty" is a ten-part podcast series, supported by EquitiesFirst.The episode is hosted by Bilge Arslan, analyst, Policy and Insights at Economist Impact.The podcast has been prepared for informational purposes only. This episode is not an offering of a financial product or investment advice. It is not intended for residents in any jurisdiction where its use is not authorised or is unlawful. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Charles Darwin once dismissed the ocean as a ‘tedious waste, a desert of water.’ Some of his contemporaries disagreed. The brave Challenger expedition of the 1870s set out to discover what lurked beneath, traversing over 100,000 kilometres and discovered 4,772 specimens, from sea snails to snake eels, discovered the deepest trench on earth, and toppled false assumptions about the lack of life under the waves. Over a century later, the Census of Marine Life picked up the baton. An eighty-country collaboration, with 2,700 scientists, the project identified another 6,000 species. Yet even these numbers are a literal drop in the ocean. Oliver Steeds, Ocean Census director and chief executive of Nekton, a UK-based marine science and conservation institute, speaks to Naka Kondo, the lead editor of Back to Blue initiative about a new mission, the Ocean Census, launches this year with a far greater ambition: to find at least 100,000 new marine species in its first decade.Follow the Back to Blue series for more podcast episodes, or visit backtoblueinitiative.com for more content.Back to Blue is an initiative of Economist Impact and The Nippon Foundation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Against a backdrop of economic headwinds, peaking inflation and ongoing geopolitical tension, the world looks uncertain for business and particularly for procurement. Whilst the Economist Intelligence Unit is forecasting global inflation and supply chain disruptions to ease over the year, they also expect supply chain diversification to remain front of mind for business. These conditions create opportunities for procurement as a function to redefine, refine and progress. However, this may not be an easy task. A 2023 Economist Impact survey, sponsored by SAP, shows that the majority of C-suite executives have relatively low levels of confidence in procurement’s ability to effectively work with the rest of the business to deliver on the company’s strategic objectives. Though, the same C-level executives believe that the procurement function is at the centre of a business’ ability to effectively manage risk. Drawing on the expertise of Baber Farooq, Lisa Martin and Kelly Barner, Elizabeth Mackie will dive into the detail of the opportunities these changing global dynamics are creating for procurement to answer the following questions:What are the impacts of global disruptions, such as inflation and geopolitical tensions on procurement, and why does this matter?Do opportunities exist from this disruption? If so, where are they and what needs to be done for procurement to capitalise on them?With more ambitious ESG objectives becoming the rule rather than the exception, what opportunities exist for procurement from a greater focus on ESG and decarbonisation?What does all of this mean for the rest of the business?"Opportunities for procurement in uncertain times" is a podcast series supported by SAP.This episode is hosted by Elizabeth Mackie, Senior Manager, Trade at Economist Impact. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The war in Ukraine is entering its second year, with no end in sight. In the fifth episode of the series "Shelter from the storm: Investing in the era of uncertainty," sponsored by EquitiesFirst, we look at the impact of a protracted war in Ukraine on the Asia-Pacific economies. Our guests discuss topics such as how vulnerable APAC economies are to price shocks in an increasingly multipolar world. We also talk about the financial risks of an escalation on the global equity and fixed income markets, and how investors can protect themselves.Our guests are:Mahesh Menon, director and head of Strategic Initiatives at InCred Global WealthJohn Marrett, senior analyst and Asia manager for financial risk at Economist Intelligence Unit"Shelter from the storm: Investing in the era of uncertainty" is a ten-part podcast series, supported by EquitiesFirst.The episode is hosted by Bilge Arslan, Analyst, Policy and Insights at Economist Impact.The podcast has been prepared for informational purposes only. This episode is not an offering of a financial product or investment advice. It is not intended for residents in any jurisdiction where its use is not authorised or is unlawful. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The World Ocean Summit is an annual global event run by The Economist Group, which brings together the wide ocean community, from business and finance to governments, national and international policy-makers, civil society and academia. This year, we celebrated the 10th anniversary of this event in Lisbon, Portugal.In this episode, Martin Koehring, head of the World Ocean Initiative at Economist Impact, shares his firsthand experience at the summit and his key takeaways, with Naka Kondo, lead editor of Back to Blue at Economist Impact.Make a submission at backtoblueinitiative.com/take-action-on-ocean-pollution to close the marine pollution data gap.Follow the Back to Blue series for more podcast episodes, or visit backtoblueinitiative.com for more content.Back to Blue is an initiative of Economist Impact and The Nippon Foundation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The world will continue to drown in plastic waste unless a bold and comprehensive set of policy changes is applied – this is according to Peak plastics: bending the consumption curve – a new report by Back to Blue, an initiative of Economist Impact and the Nippon Foundation. We delve into how we can decisively tackle plastic waste that is polluting our ocean and land environments with guest, Winnie Lau, project director of the Preventing Ocean Plastics project at The Pew Charitable Trusts. What will it take to decisively tackle the plastic waste crisis? Can we bend the consumption curve?Download the Peak Plastics report at: https://backtoblueinitiative.com/plastics-consumption/Follow the Back to Blue series for more podcast episodes, or visit backtoblueinitiative.com for more content. Back to Blue is an initiative of Economist Impact and The Nippon Foundation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 14, Target 14.3, calls for minimising and addressing the impacts of ocean acidification through co-operation at all levels. There is an urgent need for scientific communities to come together with the media, education systems, policymakers and civil society to help bring more attention to the issue and to come up with technological solutions and robust legislation.Listen to the panel discussion on ocean acidification by Steve Widdicombe, director of science, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Peter Thomson, United Nation Secretary-general's special envoy for the ocean, Malaika Vaz, explorer, National Geographic, and Founder, Untamed Planet and moderated by Charles Goddard, editorial director, Economist Impact.Learn more about ocean acidification at: https://backtoblueinitiative.com/ocean-acidification/Follow the Back to Blue series for more podcast episodes, or visit backtoblueinitiative.com for more content. Back to Blue is an initiative of Economist Impact and The Nippon Foundation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The late 2022 predictions of an impending global recession have not materialised, but the global economy is not out of the woods yet. In the fourth episode of the series "Shelter from the storm: Investing in the era of uncertainty," sponsored by EquitiesFirst, we look at the risk of persistent high inflation and global economic slowdown for Asia-Pacific economies. We also discuss how investors are adjusting their portfolios in response to the new reality of high interest rates. Our guests are:Charlie Buxton, head of investment management at The Fry Group,Dhruv Arora, founder and CEO of Syfe. "Shelter from the storm: Investing in the era of uncertainty" is a ten-part podcast series, supported by EquitiesFirst.The episode is hosted by Piotr Zembrowski, CFA, Senior Manager, Policy and Insights at Economist Impact, and produced by Bilge Arslan and Rudi Osman.The podcast has been prepared for informational purposes only. This episode is not an offering of a financial product or investment advice. It is not intended for residents in any jurisdiction where its use is not authorised or is unlawful. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.