The once-rigid link between economic growth and carbon emissions is breaking across the vast majority of the world, according to a study released ahead of Friday's 10th anniversary of the Paris climate agreement. The analysis, which underscores the effectiveness of strong government climate policies, shows this decoupling trend has accelerated since 2015 and is becoming particularly pronounced among major emitters in the global south. Countries representing 92% of the global economy have now decoupled consumption-based carbon emissions and GDP expansion, according to the report by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU).
Data released on Monday shows that in the first 11 months of this year, China's trade surplus in goods was $1.076tn. The record trade surplus comes even as exports to the US have plummeted, a reflection of the bruising US-China trade war that, despite a recent cooling, has dampened the flow of goods between the world's two largest economies. Exports to the US plummeted by nearly a third in November.
If you want to build a data center here in the United States from breaking ground to standing up a AI supercomputer is probably about three years,
The clear divergence in approaches to public research funding in the East and West is laid bare in the first Nature Index ranking for applied sciences. China dominates the ranking and other Asian countries, such as South Korea and Singapore, boast an outsized performance in the field for the scale of their overall research output. It's a different story for many Western countries, however, which have a relatively small Nature Index output in the applied sciences.
Those points resonate in 2025. China has become an important player in research and development (R&D). Yet, most of the outside world has still not woken up to this fact. On 23 October, China's Communist Party announced that, for the next five years, it will focus on "high-quality development" with "innovation as the fundamental driving force". This will require, it says, "substantial improvements in scientific and technological self-reliance and strength" (see go.nature.com/4ahcvj8). Policymakers should take this statement seriously for three reasons.
When there's a vacuum, something or someone will fill it. In the climate leadership space, we now see many countries from the Global South stepping up,
Hollywood tried and failed to crack the microdrama code first. In 2020, Jeffrey Katzenberg launched Quibi with $1.75 billion in funding, A-list talent including Steven Spielberg and Guillermo del Toro, and episodes under 10 minutes designed for mobile viewing. Six months later, it shut down, having burned through over $1 billion. The service reached fewer than 1 million subscribers against a target of 7 million, with its content library sold to Roku for under $100 million.
Given the current circumstances, if I do not suspend this edition of the film festival, anyone involved in the festival whether directors, forum participants, associated staff, volunteers, or even audience members could potentially face threats or harassment, he said in a statement. This situation places me in a difficult ethical position. As both an organiser and an individual, I have no intention of putting anyone in danger, whether such danger is real or fabricated as a means of intimidation.
The number of Chinese scientists taking on leadership roles in international science projects is growing rapidly. They now lead more than half of all research projects with the United Kingdom, and are expected to lead an equal number of projects with Europe and with the United States in the next couple of years, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences last week. Hongjun Xiang, a physicist at Fudan University in Shanghai, China, says the projections are consistent with what he has observed in the country, particularly in fields such as physics and engineering. But China needs to strengthen its leadership capabilities in disruptive basic research, "as Nobel-level original breakthroughs remain rare", he adds.
OPINION - Space has gone from frontier to front line. But despite this increased urgency and to remain first in flight, the Trump administration recently the Office of Space Commerce's budget. Additionally, NASA remains without a permanent leader and is struggling to select a new lunar lander for its Artemis missions. It's a dangerous place to be as America's adversaries are investing heavily in everything from spy satellites to landing on the Moon. Now is the time for the United States to prioritize investment in innovation and security.
TV footage showed Ren Junfei and Xing Jianing sitting with a large toy in the shape of a missile labelled DF-61 as they were waiting for their scores in the kiss and cry area at the Cup of China on Saturday. The toy was briefly held up by Ren, Xing and a coach, then placed across Xing's lap. The DF-61 is a new Chinese-made, land-based intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear weapons which was unveiled at a military parade last month.
Russian attack helicopters (such as the Mi‑28N) are now reportedly being equipped with the Igla‑S MANPADS via the Strelets system launcher modules in order to intercept Ukrainian long-range drones. While traditional guns and rockets on helicopters have been used in this role, the addition of MANPADS shows Russian awareness of the threat posed by smaller, faster aerial targets. How effective MANPADS are against low-heat small UAVs remains to be seen.
Dobot calls its version the Sinosauropteryx, named after the feathered, bipedal carnivore first uncovered by Chinese farmers in 1996. The robotic version, according to the South China Morning Post, features bipedal locomotion, optical sensors, and pre-programmed motion-controls. A highlight video which made the rounds on Douyin, the Chinese varietal of TikTok, pokes fun at the concept, showing the near-lifelike Sinosauropteryx stalking around a museum at night.
The US government is reportedly considering new export controls that could block a wide range of products made with US software from being shipped to China, in what could become one of Washington's most sweeping trade measures to date. If implemented, the move could disrupt global technology supply chains and heighten uncertainty for multinational manufacturers that rely on US-developed software across their operations.
Companies in China claim they can now recover 99.6% of the nickel, manganese, and cobalt from an end-of-life EV battery. They don't make it clear if these are pilot program numbers or if that's what they're achieving at scale. China is the world's leading EV battery recycling power and it's unlikely the West will catch up anytime soon. The world needs to get electric vehicle battery recycling right.
The low-paid Chinese worker is at the mercy of an entirely unrestrained market. The jobs Hu does demand unpaid trial periods and have no base pay, and he works mainly for commission or a handling fee, which his employers can reduce on a whim. Disgruntled employees pick on each other, because going after the powerful will only cost us in the end. Experienced hands refuse to help newbies, on the grounds that teaching the disciple might starve the master.