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By Robert Steele | May 15, 2026 In the past couple of months, the world has been reminded how fragile the modern global economy really is. Following the Israeli and United States military strikes on Iran, including attacks on Iranian military infrastructure and escalating direct confrontation between the three countries, the Strait of Hormuz rapidly became one of the most dangerous geopolitical flashpoints on Earth. Iran responded with missile and drone attacks, threats ag

Robert Steele | 8 May 2026 There’s a strange feeling many people share right now I feel; a disconcerting and persistent sense that the world is becoming harder to explain and moving rapidly towards something we are not used to, and OK with. Events that once felt disconnected now seem knotted together in ways that we don’t fully grasp. Climate disasters, political polarization, economic anxiety, technological disruption, ecological decline, war, misinformation, rising lon

Robert Steele | 25 April 2026 On 22 April, I had the opportunity (for the second time) to co-facilitate a Plastic Collage workshop at the Alliance Française in Bangkok with Lead Trainer Delphine Pernot, who is a consultant on EPR and plastic circularity from France. Alongside Ms. Watkana Thongkrueng of Systainability Asia, and our Ennova Partners colleague, Martin Vensky-Stalling, we three are currently on our journey toward full certification and licensing as Plastic Col

Robert Steele 18 April 2026 I've been living in Chiang Mai long enough (14 years, to be exact) to observe and feel the changes in important natural patterns: rainfall, heat, smoke and haze, and extreme weather events. Right now, the burning season is hitting us hard. The air feels thick, and Doi Suthep mountain is mostly a dim silhouette in the haze from where I live in San Sai. This has everyone's attention. Social media and mainstream news are filled with posts about the pe

The global climate situation is entering a crisis period, as a number of prominent scientists and climate agencies are now warning of a possible El Niño return in 2026 , with the risk that it could strengthen significantly later in the year to a Super El Nino . If such a development materializes, it would not be merely another natural climate fluctuation. It could become a major risk multiplier on top of the broader climate impacts already affecting the world, with potent

Robert Steele / Systainability Asia 08 April 2026 Most of us move through life solving one problem at a time. The budget is tight so we cut costs. Traffic is bad, so we find a shortcut (which often time is longer as everyone else is seeking the same shortcut). A species is disappearing, so we add it to a protected list. It feels logical. It feels efficient. And yet, somehow, the problems keep coming back. That's because we're treating symptoms, not systems. A systems view of

The Story We’ve Been Telling Ourselves For more than half a century, Southeast Asia has been guided by a powerful and persuasive development story rooted in the pursuit of a global capitalist model defined by export-led growth, infrastructure expansion, and deep integration into global value chains. In this narrative, GDP has become the dominant measure of progress, prosperity, and success. And to be fair, this model has delivered. I have seen firsthand how it has contributed

As reported by The Guardian last week, scientists have issued a stark warning: Earth is approaching a point of no return. A new study published in One Earth finds that several critical climate systems, including the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets, boreal permafrost across Russia, Scandinavia, and Canada, and the Amazon rainforest, are far closer to irreversible collapse than previously believed. This is not simply bad news. It is an existential civilizational alarm

15 November 2025 TEDxChiangMai 2025, hosted by CMU Uniserve and attended by more than 350 people, was one of this year’s official TED Countdown Anchor Events aligned with COP30 in Belém, Brazil. As part of TED’s global initiative to accelerate climate solutions, the event invited participants not only to listen, but to learn, experiment, and take action. Amid eight hands-on breakout sessions, Systainability Asia’s Robert Steele and Watkana Thongrueng led an interactive worksh

We believe meaningful change happens when young people are equipped with tools to understand complexity and lead with confidence. This...

With the world facing interconnected crises of biodiversity loss, climate instability, and financing shortfalls, Thailand is stepping up with a strategic approach: build biodiversity KPIs that link policy ambition to public financial systems, especially through sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs). The goal? To ensure measurable, transparent, and financeable actions that move the country toward a nature-positive future by 2050.

From June 17–20, 2025, the Southeast Asia Environmental Systems (SEAES) Workshop was hosted at Chulalongkorn University’s School of...