Climate Action

Photo: Solar power in the desert. Terlingua, TX, USA. Credit: Gene Jeter | Unsplash.

Texas’ Sustainable Energy Initiatives Under Fire Amid the Latest Grid Failures

By J W Jackie

RENO, Nevada, USA (IDN) — The recent energy failure in Texas left 4 million Texans without power and almost half the state under a boil water advisory. As below-freezing temperatures and an intense winter storm swept the state, the state’s energy grid—at the worse possible time. Clean energy is poised to grow in 2021.

Now, in the wake of consequences, everyone is asking whether renewable energy is to blame—and realizing that maybe the U.S. energy system is not as indestructible as they once thought. For now, interesting conclusions are being drawn relating to the state’s dependency on fossil fuels, and the need to do more with its energy-saving and green energy initiatives in the coming years.

: Jaya Ramachandran; SUSTAINABILITY; Affordable Clean Energy; 03 March 2021

Photo: Global temperature rise could lead to more frequent and more intense extreme weather events, such as prolonged droughts or devastating floods. Credit: WFP/Matteo Cosorich

UN Issues 'Red Alert' In A Climate Action Report

By Radwan Jakeem

NEW YORK (IDN) — A UN climate action report warns that nations are “nowhere close” to the level of action needed to fight global warming. It urges countries to adopt stronger and more ambitious plans to reach the Paris Agreement goals, and limit the temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, by the end of the century.

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)’s Initial NDC Synthesis Report measures the progress of national climate action plans, known as Nationally Determined Contributions or NDCs, ahead of the 26th session of the Conference of its Parties (COP26) this November in Glasgow.

: Radwan Jakeem; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 26 February 2021

Photo: Workers construct a solar panel array structure in Malawi. CC BY-SA 4.0

An Inclusive Energy System Key to COVID-19 Recovery

Viewpoint by Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana

Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana is Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

BANGKOK (IDN) — The past year is one that few of us will forget. While the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have played out unevenly across Asia and the Pacific, the region has been spared many of the worst effects seen in other parts of the world. The pandemic has reminded us that a reliable and uninterrupted energy supply is critical to managing this crisis.

: Opinion Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Poverty; 22 February 2021

Photo: Two boys making paper masks at the Al-Tah IDP camp in Idlib Governorate, Syria. Credit: United Nations

UN Chief Explains How to Make 2021 A Year of Transformation

By Radwan Jakeem

NEW YORK (IDN) – United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has told the UN’s 193 Member States that in the wake of an “annus horribilis” of death, disaster and despair, 2021 must be a year of transformation. “We need to move from death to health; from disaster to reconstruction; from despair to hope; from business as usual to transformation.”

Mr Guterres outlined his four priorities for the months ahead. Now is the time to secure the well-being of people, economies, societies and the planet, he accentuated, speaking from the podium in the General Assembly Hall in the UN Headquarters in New York on January 28.

: Radwan Jakeem; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 31 January 2021

Photo: Security Council chamber. Credit: UN Dispatch

Security Council to Focus on Climate Change and Security

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – "Addressing climate-related security risks to international peace and security through mitigation and resilience-building" will be the focus of a high-level open debate which the UK plans to host in February.

According to the Security Council Report, the meeting is expected to consider conflict risks, peacebuilding approaches and ways to support adaptation and resilience in climate-vulnerable contexts. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to chair the meeting. Secretary-General António Guterres is an anticipated briefer.

: J Nastranis; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 31 January 2021

Photo: Collage of images from the White House.

UN Chief Welcomes the US Move to Re-Enter the Paris Accord as Biden and Harris Are Sworn in as New Leaders

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has warmly welcomed President Joe Biden’s "steps to re-enter the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and join the growing coalition of governments, cities, states, businesses and people taking ambitious action to confront the climate crisis". Biden signed an executive order accepting the Paris accord "and every article and clause thereof on behalf of the United States of America" on January 20 after he and Vice President Kamal Harris were sworn in as America's new leaders.

: J Nastranis; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 20 January 2021

Photo: Virtual One Planet Summit: Credit: First Channel of German TV

One Planet Summit on Biodiversity Pledges Action Commitments

By Jaya Ramachandran

PARIS (IDN) – The global health crisis of the COVID 19 came as a dramatic reminder of the importance of Nature for our daily lives and economies: biodiversity is our life insurance. Yet, the damage to ecosystems is unprecedented and will have major consequences on our lifestyles in the decades to come.

According to knowledgeable sources, reversing this trend is a major challenge for the coming decade. This global challenge requires concerted action at all levels (international, national, local) and by all actors (governments, international organizations, businesses, associations, citizens, etc.).

: Jaya Ramachandran; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 18 January 2021

Photo: Screenshot of UN Chief addressing the UN Open Summit on January 11. Source: France TV04 /YouTube

Humanity Needs to Take a Course That Does Not Conflict with Nature

By Kwame Buist

NEW YORK (IDN) – The process of recovery from the coronavirus pandemic offers the chance to change course and put humanity on a path which is not in conflict with nature, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said January 11, urging greater efforts by everyone to protect biodiversity and step up action to counter climate change.

Guterres was addressing world leaders at the virtual One Planet Summit hosted by France, which came in the run-up to the UN Climate Change Conference scheduled for November in Glasgow, Scotland.

: Phil Harris; UN INSIDER; 12 January 2021

A New UN Report Calls for Living in Balance with The Planet

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – As the UN Secretary-General António Guterres has repeatedly pointed out, humanity is faced with a "defining moment", a warning that is highlighted in the 30th-anniversary edition of the Human Development Report (HDR), The Next Frontier: Human Development and the Anthropocene. Though humankind has achieved incredible progress, we have taken the Earth for granted, destabilizing the very systems upon which we rely for survival.

: J Nastranis; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 10 January 2021

Photo: More soldiers committed suicide last year than were killed in combat. A new study suggests that multiple concussions may be contributing to suicide risk. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

Ending Our Suicidal War Against Nature

Viewpoint by John Scales Avery*

COPENHAGEN (IDN) – "Our planet is broken," the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, has warned. Humanity is waging what he describes as a "suicidal" war on the natural world. "Nature always strikes back, and is doing so with gathering force and fury," he told a BBC special event on the environment. Mr Guterres wants to put tackling climate change at the heart of the UN's global mission, wrote BBC Chief Environment Correspondent Justin Rowlatt on December 2.