Fast-Track Climate Resilience Building of Small and Vulnerable Nations Ahead of COP28

As the countdown to COP28 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, continues, IPS caught up with Dr Oldman Koboto, Mauritius-based Manager for the Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub (CCFAH).

Commonwealth Civil Society Offers Ministers Crucial Recommendations for Gender Equality Advancement

On August 22, 2023, Women's Affairs Ministers from the Commonwealth huddled in a room at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas. For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, they were meeting in person.

Climate Disasters Have Major Consequences for Informal Economies

In the Pacific Islands and many developing and emerging countries worldwide, the informal economy far outsizes the formal one, playing a vital role in the survival of urban and rural households and absorbing expanding working-age populations.

COP27: The Pacific Region is Under Threat: We Must Act Now to Mobilise Climate Finance

The Pacific Island Countries (PICs) – 14 small island developing nations in the Pacific Ocean - comprise one of the most exposed and vulnerable regions to climate change and natural calamities. The region did not cause this climate crisis; the crisis stemmed from heavy carbon emissions by developed countries. Yet paradoxically, the countries in the region are also the least resourced to adapt to climate change.

Commonwealth Climate Finance Hub to Boost Belize’s Delivery of Climate Change Projects

In September 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK-based Commonwealth Secretariat announced that it had dispatched highly skilled climate finance advisors to four member nations to help them navigate the often-complicated process of accessing climate funds. Belize, the Caribbean Community’s (CARICOM) only Central American member, was one of the recipients.

Mobilising the ‘Tools’ for Renewable Energy Investment in the Seychelles

Breaking the world’s reliance on fossil fuels and accelerating the global uptake of renewable energy will play a decisive role in diminishing the threat of global warming to the survival of life on earth, according to experts. But turning the vision into reality will demand unwavering political will and, critically, massive investment, which can no longer be shouldered solely by aid and development partners.

Mangrove Blue Carbon for Climate Change Mitigation

Smelly, boggy, and full of bugs, mangroves’ superpowers are well hidden. However, there is rising confidence that mangroves are the silver bullet to combat the effects of climate change.

How Satellite Technologies Can Aid Fiji, Other Pacific Island Nations to Build Climate Resilience

Sepesa Curuki and his community are coming to terms with the prospect of relocation from Cogea village on Fiji’s second-largest island of Vanua Levu. Their village, which lies between two rivers that flow into the Pacific Ocean only 2km away, has been battered by intense and frequent cyclones, flooding and erosion, threatening their very existence.

CommonSensing Project Builds Climate Resilience for Small Island Nations

The UK Space Agency’s International Partnership Programme (IPP) CommonSensing is led by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) through the United Nations Satellite Centre (UNOSAT), which is working with selected partners including the Commonwealth Secretariat, to improve resilience to the effects of climate change in Fiji, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.

Opinion: ‘We Owe It to More Than Half of the Global Population to Do a Better Job’

Undoubtedly, we are at a crucial time in the advancement of gender equality.

For the Caribbean, a United Front Is Key to Weathering Climate Change

As the costs of climate change continue to mount, officials with the Commonwealth grouping say it is vital that Small Island Developing States (SIDS) stick together on issues such as per capita income classification.

Going Green Without Sinking into the Red

Most Caribbean countries are famous for their sun, sand and warm sea breezes. Far fewer are known for their wide use of solar, wind and other forms of renewable energy.

Commonwealth Works to Raise Climate Resilience on Global Agenda

As they fine-tune preparations for the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Conference in Samoa and the United Nations post-2015 development framework meeting in September, Commonwealth states are focusing on getting the international community to pay more attention to the challenges they face.

POLITICS-ZIMBABWE: President Mugabe On War Path

Zimbabwe, already in a dire economic, political and social situation, faces another bitter year ahead. The ruling ZANU-PF has declared war against the opposition, the West and the Commonwealth.

COMMONWEALTH: Govts Increase Funds for Civil Society

Heads of government have accepted an increase in funding for civil society initiatives through an increase in the budget for the Commonwealth Foundation.

COMMONWEALTH: Summit Focuses on Democracy, Development – and Zimbabwe

The bi-annual Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting got underway in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, Friday with traditional dances and a parade of flags from the group's 54 member states.

COMMONWEALTH: Over to CHOGM. Anyone Listening?

As the Commonwealth People's Forum heads toward the finish line, attention has shifted to the organisation's Heads of Government meeting which begins in Nigeria today.

COMMONWEALTH: Civil Society Prepares for ‘Civil War’

Civil society organisations are scheduled to hold talks with Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon Wednesday, in the Nigerian capital - Abuja.

COMMONWEALTH: Put Your Heart Into Business

The Commonwealth will set up a new global index to measure socially responsible investment at a business forum in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, later this week.

COMMONWEALTH: No Democracy Without Access to Information

The Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting beginning in the Nigerian capital this week is committed to promoting development and democracy - both in heavy deficit among member countries. A report issued ahead of the meeting says that open government will be a key element in this process.