Climate Action

Photo (From left to right): Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at COP26—panelists who joined a discussion convened by Scottish First Minister Sturgeon.

COP26: 'A Shameful Dereliction of Duty'

By Kurt Reynolds

LONDON (IDN) — When the COP26 climate change summit ended in the early hours of November 13, the results were mostly dismissed as a major disappointment not only by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) at Glasgow but also by former world leaders.

Mary Robinson, Chair of the Elders, an independent group of former global leaders working together for peace, justice and human rights, rightly summed it up, when she declared: “People will see this as a historically shameful dereliction of duty”.

: UN Bureau; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 17 November 2021

Four Shot Over Gold Mining in the DR Congo As COP26 Opened

By Lisa Vives. Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — “Gold mining is one (of the) most destructive industries in the world. It can displace communities, contaminate drinking water, hurt workers, and destroy pristine environments. It pollutes water and land with mercury and cyanide, endangering the health of people and ecosystems.”

Those factors alone, cited by Earthworks.org, a Washington, DC environmental organization, would appear to be reason enough to reconsider expansion of the Kibali gold mine—already one of the largest gold mines in Africa—in the northeast part of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

: Global Information Network; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 16 November 2021

COP26: Final Communiqué Fails To Address Climate Change Impact On Food Security

Viewpoint by Kalinga Seneviratne

SYDNEY (IDN) — About a third of global gas emissions come from agriculture and land use, yet, the final communiqué of COP26 failed to make any direct reference to the relationship between climate action and the world’s food systems. This is at a time, when the World Food Program (WFP) has warned that up to 45 million people in 43 countries are on the brink of a famine.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 15 November 2021

Pacific Civil Society Concludes Regional Consultations on Climate-Related Mobility

Viewpoint by Sabira Coelho and Christopher Yee

This article was issued by Toda Peace Institute and is being republished with their permission.

FIJI (IDN) — In June 2021, the Pacific Climate Change Migration and Human Security (PCCMHS) programme hosted the regional civil society consultation on climate-related mobility. The online consultations were organised by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and provided an opportunity for civil society representatives from around the Pacific to review the human security implications of climate change-related migration, displacement and planned relocation, share experiences about how climate-related mobility is impacting communities and talk towards the development of a regional based solution.

: Opinion Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 13 November 2021

Photo: The SGI (Soka Gakkai International), SGI-UK and the Centre for Applied Buddhism (CfAB) co-organized youth forum in Glasgow. Photo Credit: SGI-UK

As Political Leadership Falters, SGI Proposes Annual UN Youth Climate Summits

By Kurt Reynolds

LONDON (IDN) — As the COP26 climate summit in Scotland was winding down, the long-term pledges and bountiful promises made by world leaders seemed never ending—stretching all the way to 2070.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres issued a global roadmap to achieve a radical transformation of energy access and transition by 2030, while also contributing to net zero emissions by 2050.

: UN Bureau; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 10 November 2021

"The grim reality of climate change, especially for many Small Island Developing States like my beloved Cook Islands, is evidently clear." Coastal flooding in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Image: Creative Commons

It’s Time to Deliver on Pacific Climate Financing

Viewpoint by the Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown

Mark Brown, Prime Minister of the Cook Islands, is also the Pacific Political Champion for Climate Finance at COP26. While not attending the COP this year due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, Prime Minister Brown is providing support and undertaking this role remotely. This article is republished with permission from Radio New Zealand and Asia Pacific Report.

AVARUA DISTRICT (IDN) — After years of empty promises by major emitters, it’s time to deliver on climate financing.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 10 November 2021

We Should Start A World-Wide One Tree Movement

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN) — Belem is the Brazilian city at the mouth of the Amazon. Unlike its slummy counterpart, Kinshasa, at the mouth of the Congo, it’s full of resplendent streets with stylish nineteenth century houses. It has squares and marketplaces replete with variegated cafes, pluming fountains and the bustle of an interesting, cosmopolitan, life.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 09 November 2021

UN’s New Work Style Generates 25 Per Cent Less Greenhouse Gas Emissions

By Thalif Deen

NEW YORK (IDN) — The United Nations has long held the dubious distinction of not practicing at home what it preaches to the outside world—whether it is racism in the UN system, inequities in high-level appointments or gender inequalities in its staff.

But it has proved its success at least in one particular field: its efforts to reduce its environmental footprint system-wide this time, not by design but by accident.

In its 2021 annual report “Greening the Blue”, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), focuses on the environmental impact of over 315,000 UN staffers in New York, its field offices, and peacekeeping operations worldwide.

: Thalif Deen; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 08 November 2021

Photo: Indigenous activists demonstrate on the streets of the COP26 host city, Glasgow, during the landmark UN climate conference. Credit: UN News/Grace Barret

COP26: Indigenous Peoples Join UN Representatives in Calling to End the 'War on Nature'

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK | GLASGOW (IDN) — Mother Nature, or "Pachamama", as they say in Latin America, took centre stage as the critical UN climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, reached the halfway point on November 6.

No one knows more about how best to protect nature, than the indigenous peoples of the world, which have been very active inside and outside the COP venue in Glasgow, working to influence negotiations in every way possible, including street protests.

: J Nastranis; SUSTAINABILITY; Food security, nutrition & sustainable agriculture; 07 November 2021

Australia Accused Of 'Bullying' Pacific Over Climate Action, 'Buying Silence'

By Asia Pacific Report Newsdesk

SUVA (IDN) — Australia is accused of using “diplomatic strong-arm tactics” to water down outcomes in Pacific climate negotiations and “buy silence” on climate change, a new report has revealed.

Greenpeace Australia Pacific’s report, Australia: Pacific Bully and International Outcast, reveals that the Australian government uses “bullying tactics” in regional negotiations on climate change, according to former Pacific Island leaders interviewed as part of the study.