By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — UN Secretary-General António Guterres has never ceased to warn about the impending hazards of climate change worldwide. “We are on a fast track to climate disaster,” he has predicted rather ominously and pointed out that some of the world’s major cities are under water. “There are unprecedented heatwaves, […]
City Mayors Urge Increased Investment to Halt Ecosystem Loss
UNEP and Other Organisations Support the Call By J C Suresh TORONTO (IDN) — Cities are on the front line of the socio-economic impacts of climate change and ecosystem loss. They play a significant role in view of the planet experiencing a decline in nature at rates unprecedented in human history—and the largest loss of […]
South Africans Caught in Destructive Flash Floods Decry Climate Inaction
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | JOHANNESBURG (IDN) — Torrential rainfall and flooding came full throttle to Johannesburg for a third time in December, damaging hundreds of houses in Soweto, Roodepoort, Protea Glen and surrounding areas. The heavy downpour loosened street poles, flooded transformer chambers, uprooted trees and damaged overhead cables and […]
Concern Over Export of Ancient Baobab Tree from Kenya
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 […]