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Peter Howson

Senior Lecturer in International Development, Northumbria University, Newcastle
Peter Howson is a Researcher in International Development at Northumbria, where he leads the MSc in International Development.

His teaching and research interests span political ecology, critical theory, gender, race and development, ‘green violence’, blockchain-based environmental management and geo-politics in the Global South. Most of Pete's teaching draws on his research interests and professional experience in the Asia-Pacific region.

Before joining Northumbria, Pete was a Lecturer in International Development at Nottingham Trent University. In 2016 he was a Post-doc Researcher at Colorado State University, looking at Palau’s National Marine Sanctuary. Before that, he was based at University of Wellington, Aotearoa, New Zealand. His PhD research explored the political ecology of climate finance in Indonesia.

Pete's current projects include analysis of the ‘blue belt’ network of marine protection measures in the UK Overseas Territories. Peter is also looking at how cryptocurrencies and carbon trading are coming together to make trees more valuable standing than cut down, and what impacts the practice is having on forest-dependent communities in Indonesia.

Digital Currency Revolution

Crypto tolls in the Strait of Hormuz shows why bitcoin thrives in times of crisis

Apr 18, 2026 07:50 am UTC| Insights & Views Digital Currency

Bitcoin has long been promised to function as money. In practice, it rarely does. While 99% of transactions are still speculative trading, for as long as bitcoin has been a thing it has been used to skirt governments...

DeepSeek claims to have cured AI’s environmental headache. The Jevons paradox suggests it might make things worse

Feb 03, 2025 11:01 am UTC| Insights & Views Technology

AI burns through a lot of resources. And thanks to a paradox first identified way back in the 1860s, even a more energy-efficient AI is likely to simply mean more energy is used in the long run. For most users, large...

Digital Currency Revolution

Bitcoin: China's crackdown isn't enough – only a global effort can stop crypto's monstrous energy demand

Jun 08, 2021 12:31 pm UTC| Digital Currency

Huge concrete data centres, permanently plugged into power plants and telephone exchanges, maintain much of online life. But the infrastructure behind internet-based cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, dogecoin and ethereum...

Blockchain Revolution Series

NFTs: why digital art has such a massive carbon footprint

Apr 04, 2021 10:00 am UTC| Technology

How much would you be willing to pay for a one-of-a-kind work of art? For some collectors, the limit lies somewhere in the region of hundreds of millions of dollars. What about a work of art that has no tangible form, and...

Digital Currency Revolution

Bitcoin isn't getting greener: four environmental myths about cryptocurrency debunked

Feb 20, 2021 12:38 pm UTC| Technology Digital Currency

The price of bitcoin has reached US$50,000 (36,095) another all-time high. Its hard to believe that 10,000 bitcoin would only buy a couple of pizzas ten years ago. Its even stranger to think that bitcoins are completely...

Economy

Singapore Inflation Stays Muted in May as Core CPI Misses Forecasts Ahead of MAS Review

Singapores inflation rate remained subdued in May 2026, with both headline and core consumer price inflation coming in below market expectations, reinforcing expectations that the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) may...

South Korea Stocks Tumble as AI-Fueled Rally Faces Profit-Taking Pressure

South Korean stocks suffered a sharp decline on Tuesday, with the benchmark KOSPI plunging nearly 6% as investors rushed to lock in profits after a historic rally driven by artificial intelligence (AI) optimism,...

Asian Stocks Slide as AI Rally Pauses, South Korean Chipmakers Lead Regional Decline

Asian stock markets mostly moved lower on Tuesday as investors locked in profits following a strong artificial intelligence-driven rally that had pushed several regional indexes to record highs. The pullback was led by...

New Zealand Fast-Tracks Gold Mining as Industry Revival Gains Momentum

New Zealand is accelerating the development of major gold mining projects and attracting new mining investment as record-high gold prices breathe life into a sector that has struggled for years. The governments push to...

Yen Near 40-Year Low as USD/JPY Approaches Key 162 Level, Raising Intervention Concerns

The Japanese yen hovered near its weakest level in almost four decades on Tuesday, fueling speculation that Japanese authorities may once again intervene in the foreign exchange market to support the struggling currency....

Politics

Lebanon Pushes Ahead With Israel Talks Despite Iran-U.S. Deal Impact

Lebanon is set to begin a new round of direct negotiations with Israel in Washington on Tuesday, despite growing concerns that recent Iran-U.S. diplomatic developments have weakened Beiruts position. Lebanese officials...

Andy Burnham Emerges as Favorite After Keir Starmer Resigns

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Monday that he is stepping down as leader of the Labour Party, paving the way for Andy Burnham to become the next prime minister of the United Kingdom. The move could bring...

Rubio Faces Gulf Skepticism Over U.S.-Iran Peace Deal

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is embarking on a critical diplomatic tour of the Gulf this week as he seeks to reassure key Arab allies about Washingtons newly signed Iran peace agreement. The visit comes amid growing...

Russia-Ukraine War: Fresh Strikes Injure Civilians as Fuel Crisis Worsens in Russia

Six people were injured in overnight Russian air strikes across Ukraine, according to local officials, while Kyiv briefly issued an air raid alert early Tuesday, urging residents to seek shelter. The latest attacks...

DOJ Opens Investigation Into NYC Coffee Shop Over Anti-Goldman Social Media Post

The U.S. Department of Justice has launched an investigation into a New York City coffee shop after the business publicly stated it would have refused service to Representative Dan Goldman if employees had recognized him...

Science

Blue Origin New Glenn Explosion Could Delay Launch Operations Until 2028

Blue Origin is facing a significant setback after a dramatic explosion involving its New Glenn rocket severely damaged a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. According to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, repairs to the...

Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Explodes During Launch Pad Test, Delaying Space Ambitions

Blue Origin suffered a major setback after its uncrewed New Glenn rocket exploded during a launch pad test in Florida on Thursday, raising new challenges for Jeff Bezos space company as it competes with Elon Musks SpaceX...

SpaceX Delays Starship V3 Launch Ahead of Potential Record IPO

SpaceX on Thursday postponed the highly anticipated launch of its 12th Starship rocket test from Texas after technical issues interrupted the final countdown. The company now plans to attempt the Starship V3 launch again...

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

Technology

Tencent Reviews Marvelous Stake as Gaming Giant Reassesses Global Investment Strategy

Tencent Holdings (HK:0700) is reportedly exploring potential exits from several investments in Japanese game developers, including its stake in Marvelous Inc. (TYO:7844), as the Chinese technology giant reevaluates its...

WiseTech Global Denies Knowledge of Investigation Into Founder Richard White

Australia-based logistics software company WiseTech Global (ASX: WTC) has stated that it is unaware of any investigation involving its Executive Chair and founder, Richard White, following media reports that triggered a...

Baseten Secures $1.5 Billion Funding at $13 Billion Valuation Amid AI Infrastructure Boom

Baseten, a California-based artificial intelligence startup co-founded by Australian entrepreneurs, has raised $1.5 billion in a new funding round, pushing its valuation to $13 billion. The deal highlights the growing wave...

Meta Pauses Employee Activity Tracking Program Over Data Security Concerns

Meta has temporarily suspended an internal employee monitoring program used to train its artificial intelligence models after concerns emerged about potential data security and privacy risks. The program, known as the...

Oracle Cuts 21,000 Jobs as AI Reshapes Workforce and Cloud Expansion Accelerates

Oracle reduced its global workforce by approximately 21,000 employees, or 13%, during fiscal 2026 as the company continued a major restructuring effort while expanding its artificial intelligence and cloud computing...