Climate Action

Photo: UNICEF Teachers and students were able to return to school in Lao Cai, Vietnam, in May 2020. Credit: UNICEF

Make People’s Vaccine Top Priority to Fight a Mutating Virus

Viewpoint by Nicolas J. S. Davies*

PORTLAND | USA (IDN) — A recent Yahoo News/YouGov poll found that worries about the COVID pandemic in the United States are at their lowest level since it began. Only half of Americans are either “very worried” (15%) or “somewhat worried” (35%) about the virus, while the other half are “not very worried” (30%) or “not worried at all” (20%).

But the news from around the world makes it clear that this pandemic is far from over, and a story from Vietnam highlights the nature of the danger.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 08 June 2021

Photo: Before and after image of the effects of three years of ecosystem restoration in Tanzania. Using bund-digging, the water level in the soil has been restored to regrow trees and grass (Just Diggit: 2018-2021) Source: UN Environment Programme.

Avenues of Action: UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration

Viewpoint by Rene Wadlow, President, Association of World Citizens

GENEVA (IDN) — The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, 2021-2030 began on June 5. An ecosystem is an interaction between people, plants, animals and their surroundings. The UN Environment Programme and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization are the lead UN agencies for this Decade. However, the Decade aims to become a broad-based global movement in which many can play a role.

: Rene Wadlow; OPINION; 06 June 2021

Photo: The fruit tree nursery management by the Takherkhourt Women’s Cooperative in the Marrakech region of Morocco (High Atlas Foundation), 2021

People’s Participation Decides the World’s Environment

Viewpoint by Yossef Ben-Meir

The writer is a former Peace Corps Volunteer and president of the High Atlas Foundation

MARRAKECH (IDN) — Recognizing this week’s World Environment Day reminds us of the evolution of the concept of sustainable development since the phrase was coined in a 1987 United Nations report. At that time, sustainable development concentrated on the idea of natural resource management and how humanity must not consume the sources of our sustenance to an extent that any harm is brought upon our collective future.

: Africa & ME Editor; OPINION; 04 June 2021

Photo: Students demonstrating in Berlin on 15 March 2019 against the climate crisis. Source: Clean Energy Wire | Rachel Waldholz.

Germany's Constitutional Court Gives Teeth to Paris Climate Agreement

Viewpoint by Franz Baumann, PassBlue

NEW YORK (IDN) — In September 2016, the German parliament unanimously adopted the Paris Agreement. The government then translated Germany’s commitments under the agreement into a Climate Protection Law, which was approved by the Bundestag in November 2019 with a wide majority, making Germany the first country in the world with a greenhouse gas neutrality plan.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 28 May 2021

Photo: View of Santo Domingo streets. Credit: Adobe Stock

Latin America and the Caribbean Boost Chances of Success at Climate Conference

By Caroline Mwanga

NEW YORK | SANTO DOMINGO (IDN) — The three-day Virtual Thematic Sessions of the Latin America and the Caribbean Climate Week 2021 (LACCW2021), which wrapped up on May 14, hosted by the Government of the Dominican Republic, are reported to have provided important momentum for a successful UN Climate Change Conference COP26 from November 1 to November 12 in Glasgow.

: Caroline Mwanga; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 16 May 2021

Image: The UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development will be held as a virtual conference from 17 to 19 May 2021. Credit: UNESCO

Education For Sustainable Development as Overarching Framework to Achieve the SDGs

Viewpoint by Simone Galimberti

The writer is Co-Founder of ENGAGE, a not-for-profit in Nepal. He writes on volunteerism, social inclusion, youth development, and regional integration as an engine to improve people’s lives. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

KATHMANDU, Nepal (IDN) — A life insurance policy for humanity, this is how Audrey Azoulay, the UNESCO Director-General defined the scope of all efforts focused on addressing climate change and the persistent degradation of our biodiversity.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 15 May 2021

The Next Frontier: Human Development and the Anthropocene [1]

Viewpoint by Franz Baumann*, Former UN Assistant Secretary-General, United Nations.

This article was first published in Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development, Volume 63 Issue 3, May/June 2021 and is being republished with the author's permission.

NEW YORK (IDN) — One must thank UNDP for putting together the 2020 UNDP Human Development Report (HDR). It is a magisterial work and could well be an excellent textbook, if a slightly nerdy one, useful more for dedicated teachers than for students new to the subject, not to mention the general public.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 10 May 2021

Photo credit: Pexels | Harry Cunningham @harry.digital

Renewables Are the Building Blocks of Global Energy Transition

By J W Jackie

RENO, Nevada, USA (IDN) — The latest International Renewable Energy Agency IRENA analysis reveals that by 2050, variable renewables like wind and solar PV will dominate the global total power supply. The insights from IRENA’s World Energy Transitions Outlook were released on March 16-17, 2021, at the Berlin Energy Transitions Dialogue.

With 163 Members, IRENA plays a leading role in the energy transformation as a centre of excellence for knowledge and innovation, a global voice for renewables, a network hub and a source of advice and support for countries.

: Europe Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Affordable Clean Energy; 08 May 2021

Image Credit: Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations.

Avert the Worst Impacts of Climate Disruption

Viewpoint by António Guterres

Chancellor Angela Merkel and the German government convened this year’s Petersberg Climate Dialogue virtually on May 6 with Alok Sharma, the UK Chair-designate of 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), in Glasgow, from November 1 to November 12, 2021. UN Secretary-General António Guterres also spoke. Following are major excerpts from his remarks.

NEW YORK (IDN | UNDG*) — Six months ahead of COP26, and still deep in the COVID-19 crisis, I would like to share my assessment of where we stand.

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 06 May 2021

Photo: Many Pacific nations are highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Image: In the Eye of the Storm.

New Zealand’s Climate Aid in the Pacific Comes With Strings Attached

By Matthew Scott*

A special feature moved in association with the Asia Pacific Report.

AUCKLAND, New Zealand (IDN) — The beach is vanishing, one day at a time. The sea approaches the coastal village. It will not be negotiated with. With seawater flooding the water table, crops that have fed the islanders for centuries are losing viability. The problem is invisible, under the people’s feet. But it demands change.

Each year, the cyclones have seemed to get more volatile and less predictable. What used to be a cycle of weathering the storm and rebuilding has become a frenetic game of wits with the elements.