Climate Action

Photo: Timoci Naulusala from Fiji addressing UN Climate Conference. Credit: UNFCCC

Fijian Presidency Lends New Dimension to Climate Negotiations

By Ramesh Jaura

BONN (IDN) - Twenty-five years ago, governments came together at the Earth Summit in Rio driven by the idea that the world needed to change the way it was treating its environment.

From that idea, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was adopted – "and a movement began. A movement that, two years ago, resulted in the Paris Agreement," said UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa in her opening speech at COP23, the 23rd annual UN Climate Conference.

: Ramesh Jaura; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 16 November 2017

Photo: UN retary-General António Guterres addresses the UN Climate Conference (COP23) in Bonn, Germany. Photo: Video screen capture

Building a Secure World and a Healthy Planet for All

By António Guterres, UN Secretary-General

Following are extensive excerpts from UN Secretary-General António Guterres' remarks on November 15, 2017 at the Opening of the High-level Segment of COP23, the 23rd session of the Conference of the Parties (COP23) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). – The Editor

BONN (IDN-INPS) – It is fitting that this year’s conference is led by Fiji, a nation on the frontlines. Last month I visited other small islands facing the impacts of a warming world: Antigua and Barbuda and Dominica. The hurricane damage was beyond belief.

The catastrophic effects of climate change are upon us. Floods, fires, extreme storms and drought are growing in intensity and frequency. Atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide are higher than they have been for 800,000 years.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 16 November 2017

107 Countries Call for Tangible Progress in Implementing the Paris Climate Accord

By Jaya Ramachandran

BONN (IDN) - The 28-nation European Union and 79 countries of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group have reaffirmed their commitment to the implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement, which entered into force on November 4, 2016. They also urged all member states to ensure concrete progress at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP23).

COP23 is an abbreviation for the 23rd session of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in the former West German capital city Bonn, from November 6 to 17.

Both the EU and the ACP Group acknowledge the importance of this year's conference to ensure the achievement of key milestones for the full implementation of the Paris accord.

: Jaya Ramachandran; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 14 November 2017

Photo: Iceberg in North Star Bay, Greenland. Credit: NASA's Earth Observatory

Climate Scientists Warn of Unprecedented Risks to Humanity

By Jaya Ramachandran

BONN (IDN) – Scientists are warning of a profound impact on human health and migration, leading to civil unrest and conflict. In a new statement to national representatives meeting in Bonn for the annual climate talks widely known as COP23, scientists said that Earth is approaching tipping points that threaten human security.

The warning that Planet Earth is coming close to a critical situation – when a series of small climate changes would become significant enough to cause havoc – comes as global emissions are projected to rise after three stable years.