Climate Action

The Need to Engage Youth Social Entrepreneurs to Accelerate the SDGs

Viewpoint by Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana

Ms. Alisjahbana, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) was Professor of Economics at Universitas Padjadjaran in Bandung, Indonesia.

BANGKOK (IDN) – This year, the United Nations is marking its 75th anniversary – a milestone of extraordinary economic and social progress in Asia and the Pacific. While the Organization enjoys a lifespan almost equal to the world’s improved average life expectancy, the future lies with those who have recently embarked on theirs: our young people.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 30 October 2020

Photo: Reverend John MacArthur. Credit: Wikimedia.

The US Pastor Who Preaches Climate Change Denial

Viewpoint by Paul Braterman*

LANCASTER (IDN) – Every so often you come across a piece of writing so extraordinary that you cannot help but share it. One such piece is a sermon on global warming by American pastor John MacArthur. Full of beautifully constructed rhetorical flourishes, it is forcefully delivered by an experienced and impassioned preacher to a large and appreciative audience.

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 19 October 2020

Photo: Ugandan activist Vanessa Nakate (left) CC BY-SA 4.0 and South African climate activist Ayakha Melithafa (right) at DAVOS World Economic Forum in 2020. CC BY 3.0

African Teens on World Stage Demand Action on Climate Change

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has at least two African partners stepping up on the global stage and telling world leaders to “wake up” and recognize the dangers to women and girls of climate change.

In a speech broadcast as part of the Desmond Tutu International Peace Lecture, Ugandan activist Vanessa Nakate tied climate change to poverty, hunger, disease, conflict and violence.

“See the danger we are in,” Nakate urged the leaders at the Tutu peace lecture.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 14 October 2020

Photo credit: United Nations Forum on Sustainability Standards.

Agribusiness Interests Hijack 2021 UN Food Systems Summit

Viewpoint by Anuradha Mittal *

OAKLAND, USA (IDN) – This World Food Day (October 16) amidst the ongoing pandemic and the devastating impact of the climate crisis, a Food Systems Summit is being planned a year from now by the United Nations, to fulfil the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals. As the Summit takes shape, it is obvious that it does not intend to trigger the deep systemic changes necessary to address the massive challenges that we face. The Summit will do more of the same – green and poor wash – to preserve and perpetuate interests of agribusiness and agro-chemical corporations at the expense of people and the planet.

: Opinion Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Food security, nutrition & sustainable agriculture; 14 October 2020

Photo: Mr Nguyen Anh Tuan, CEO of Boston Global Forum

On Way to A Transatlantic Alliance on Digital Governance

A New Social Contract in the Age of Artificial Intelligence'

By Ramesh Jaura

BERLIN | NEW YORK (IDN) – People around the world are realizing that capitalism driven by Artificial Intelligence (AI) requires crafting a new sort of Social Contract, based on "stakeholder capitalism", that is, capitalism that benefits everyone.

"Such capitalism cannot measure itself by money alone, but instead must encompass all aspects of human life, using metrics such as those developed to quantify the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)," says Alex Pentland, director of MIT Connection Science, an MIT-wide initiative. He previously helped create and direct the MIT Media Lab and the Media Lab Asia in India.

: Ramesh Jaura; UN INSIDER; 11 October 2020

. Photo: Activists with the group Climáximo gathered in Lisbon, Portugal on October 5 as part of the Climate Care Uprising — a wave of actions across Europe organized by the By 2020 We Rise Up platform. (WNV/Pedro Alvim)

'Glasgow Agreement' Seizes the Initiative on Climate Action

Viewpoint by Andrea(s) Speck*

SEVILLE (IDN) – After more than 40 years since the first UN conference on climate change in 1979 – and after more than 25 years of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) – the world is still far from any serious climate action. Although carbon emissions keep rising, there has been a bend in the curve this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, serious concerns about a major rebound remain, and China’s emissions have already rebounded beyond pre-COVID levels in May.

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 08 October 2020

Photo: Allison et al. 2017. Trees, forests and water: Cool insights for a hot world. Global Environmental Change 43, 51-56.

Cool News in a Warming World: Why Invest in Future Forests

Viewpoint by Finn Grundmann *

GÖTTINGEN, Germany (IDN) – Forests capture more than carbon! While plants are experts at retrieving carbon dioxide from the air, they have also perfected strategies to retain water in their natural surroundings. When thinking of the benefits of future forests, it is crucial to think beyond the tree level.

Tree roots loosen the soil, and by creating macropores, they drastically increase infiltration rates and help recharge groundwater levels. The effect of just one tree on those soil properties can be measured within a radius of 25 meters around the tree crown. Therefore, by planting just a hundred trees, an area as big as 32 full-size football fields can be restored.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 01 October 2020

Photo: Mark Apel, second from the left. Credit: HAF, 2018.

Cathartic Returns to Morocco: From Peace Corps to Farmer-to-Farmer Volunteer

By Ellen Hernandez and Katie Bercegeay *

MARRAKECH (IDN) – Upon hearing the words “Hamdullah wa inshallah,” Mark Apel is transported as if in a time capsule to the many times he and Yossef Ben-Meir, President of the High Atlas Foundation (HAF), uttered them in gratitude for the food set before them or in hope for something good to come of their efforts as Peace Corps Volunteers. “It makes you more mindful of the moment,” he remarked in a recent interview conducted by Yossef for HAF.

: Africa & ME Editor; THE WORLD; Africa; 01 October 2020

Photo: The first Ethiopian satellite launch by China. Source: SatNews

China Aids Africa to Advance into The Satellite Age

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – An ET-SMART-RSS Earth Observation (EO) smallsat, designed in Ethiopia with Chinese funds, is preparing for launch into orbit as soon as next month.

The satellite is the second to be launched into space by Ethiopia – just months after the launch of the county’s first ETRSS-1 satellite in December 2019.

The satellites analyse weather patterns to extract data and enhance the county’s preparedness in the case of drought, according to a report in SatNews, a provider of satellite news and other industry information in commercial and military enterprises worldwide.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 30 September 2020

Photo: In Chad and other countries where it is working, SWEDD-The Swedish Development Aid Organization has already provided professional training to almost 100,000 women so they can pursue income-generating activities. Credit: Vincent Tremeau/The World Bank.

Beijing +25: Overcoming 21st Century Challenges to Deliver for Africa's Women

Beyond legislation, countries must tackle negative social norms and rising bias.

Viewpoint by Angela Lusigi*

NEW YORK (IDN) – The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action signed in 1995 committed the world to end discrimination, promoting women’s rights and advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment.

This Platform for Action remains a guiding framework for realizing women’s rights. African countries have responded by translating commitments to action in twelve critical areas of concern including environment, decision making, the girl child, economy, poverty, violence, human rights, education, institutions, health, media, and armed conflict through continental, regional and national frameworks.