By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | NAIROBI (IDN) — Stories abound of the majestic baobab tree landmarks across Africa where they stand tall, adapted to arid landscapes, the basis of myths, the home of vultures and bees, and the giver of fruits that can feed families during drought. Baobab, or ‘mbuyu’ in […]
A Workshop Helps Fill the Basket of Knowledge on the Pacific
Climate Change, Human Mobility and Peacebuilding Draw the Focus Viewpoint by Volker Boege Toda Peace Institute issued this article, and it is being republished with their permission. BRISBANE, Australia (IDN) — While UN Secretary-General António Guterres in his opening speech at this year’s COP 27 in Sharm El-Sheikh on November 7 stated that humanity is […]
Slim Possibility of Asia-Pacific Getting on Track to Net-Zero
Viewpoint by Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana The writer is an Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). BANGKOK (IDN) — The recent climate talks in Egypt have left us with a sobering reality: The window for maintaining global warming to 1.5 degrees is […]
COP27 Agreement (Is it Really?) on Compensation Fund
By Kalinga Seneviratne SYDNEY (IDN) — Welcome to our 15th issue of Sustainable Development Observer, focusing almost exclusively on COP 27—or what is known as the annual UN climatic change conference. Three decades after small island states introduced the term “loss and damage” to the United Nations, the world has finally agreed to set up […]
UN’s Top Environmental Award Supports Ecosystem Restoration
By Devendra Kamarajan NAIROBI (IDN) — A conservationist, an enterprise, an economist, a women’s rights activist, and a wildlife biologist have been honoured by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) with its 2022 Champions of the Earth award for their transformative action to prevent, halt and reverse ecosystem degradation.
Done Deal on Loss and Damage but More Work on Cutting Emissions
By Busani Bafana SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (IDN) — Developing countries hard hit by climate change are set to get funds to help them deal with climate disasters after delegates to COP27 agreed to establish a long-sought Loss and Damage Fund but made little progress about cutting carbon emissions responsible for them. Following around-the-clock negotiations that […]
Africa: China Ramps Up Funding for Renewable Energy
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — China is one of the main funders of renewable-energy projects in Africa. At last year’s China-Africa Cooperation forum, Beijing committed to ramping up investments in solar, wind, and other renewables across the continent and has made no overseas coal power investments since 2021. It is […]
COP 27: The World’s Rich Urged to Pay Reparations for Climate Damage
By Kalinga Seneviratne SINGAPORE (IDN) — At COP 27 in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm El Sheikh, the Global South led by Asia and the South Pacific (as well as Africa) are demanding that nature rights and climatic justice be recognized as a human right and COP (Conference of Parties) process go beyond pledges […]
COP27: A Win for Loss and Damage
By Busani Bafana SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (IDN) — After much horse-trading, loss and damage is on the agenda at the COP27 raising expectations of an agreement for funding to promote resilience and address longer-term impacts of climate change. For the first time since the adoption of the UN climate convention, the contentious issue of loss […]
As Die-Off of Kenyan Wildlife Spikes, No End Seen to Punishing Drought
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | NAIROBI (IDN) — A new report titled “Impacts of the current drought on wildlife in Kenya” by Wildlife Research and Training Institute gives a devastating picture of the high mortality of wildlife across the East African nation whose animal kingdom has been the backbone of tourism […]