COP29: Advancing work for Climate Finance and for Climate-Adapted Agri-Food Systems

Frustrations over the pace of climate action and the size of the finance target agreed in Baku are valid from the perspective of low-income countries, especially Small-Island Developing States (SIDS). It is also important to recognize that there has been real progress in some countries at the agri-food-nutrition-climate-water-nature-livelihoods intersection, and this seems to be particularly the case in some countries in the Alliance of Champions for Food Systems Transformation (ACF).

Breaking Latin America’s Cycle of Low Growth and Violence

Violent crime and insecurity have a disproportionate impact on Latin America and the Caribbean, with severe consequences for socioeconomic development.

Nature Can Help Africa Make the Most of COP29 Outcomes

Despite mixed reactions to the outcomes of COP29, Africa has the opportunity to take the lead in harnessing nature to tackle the effects of climate change and secure a resilient future.

Redefine Business Success to Include Nature

Sustaining nature is not just an environmental goal—it is an essential component of sustainable business—and requires that we redefine business success to include the wise stewardship of nature.

Africa’s Time – Delivering Transformation via Innovation

Africa, the world’s youngest continent is brimming with creativity, talent and innovation. With more than 60% of its population under the age of 25, Africa’s youth are fueling entrepreneurship and job creation across the region.

India Bangladesh Relations on the Edge?

Even as India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri reached Bangladesh amid strain in ties over attacks on Hindu minorities, he carried with him a bag of complaints: it sure was not a good will mission. It was one where India has focused on its discomfort, rather anger, over the persecution of Hindus under the new regime in Bangladesh.

This Year Saw Most of the World Repressed – but in Civil Society there is Hope

Today is International Human Rights Day, Normally, it should be an occasion to celebrate the work of those who strive to create peaceful, just, equal and sustainable societies. But conditions for human rights defenders and their organisations to operate freely are extremely challenging around the world.

Israel-Gaza War: Deaths, Injuries and Destruction with No Plan for Peace

After the Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, Israel retaliated with a war in Gaza involving bombings, shootings and blockades but with no explicit plan for achieving peace with the Palestinians.

Protect the Rights and Future of Youth, Right Now, From Addiction and Harm

As the world commemorates UN Human Rights Day December 10, with the theme, “Our Rights, Our Future, Right Now,” it’s time to ask: Are we truly listening to what the youth envision for their present and future?

South Africa’s G20 Presidency: A Call for Transformative Leadership in a Fractured World

South Africa’s G20 Presidency begun in December, with only 12% of SDG targets on track and significant backsliding on more than 30%. As we write this today, there is an urgent need for a paradigm shift and practical solutions for a progressive, people-centred, and development-driven agenda in a fractured global landscape that needs collective healing.

Plastics, Power, and Politics: The High-Stakes Fight for a Global Treaty

As the fifth round of negotiations of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) for a global plastics treaty concluded in Busan, South Korea (25 November-December 1 2024), the meeting underscored both the complexities and the promises of multilateralism. What we saw in Busan was indicative of other environmental treatymaking spaces, including ones on climate and biodiversity.

Zambia: Civil Society Fighting New Legislative Threats and Restrictive NGO Bills

Over the past few years, new “tools of control” affecting the work of civil society organisations have multiplied, often imposing forms of “bureaucratic criminalisation” and “administrative harassment”. In particular, more and more restrictive and demanding laws are hurting civil society organisations’s capacity to operate across the globe.

Another Tsunami Sweeps Sri Lanka

On 26 December 2004 a powerful Asian tsunami swept over many of Sri Lanka’s coastal provinces, killing thousands of people and wildlife, devastating habitats and even washing away a trainload of passengers far from the rail tracks.

COP29 Outcomes – A Call to Action for the World’s Most Vulnerable Nations

The conclusion of the 29th Conference of Parties (COP29) brings with it a blend of urgency, frustration, and a glimmer of hope for the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs), and Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

New Approaches Urgently Needed to Tackle Resurgent Social Crises

Despite uneven economic recovery since the pandemic, poverty, inequality, and food insecurity continue to worsen, including in the Asia-Pacific region, which used to fare better than the rest of the Global South.

After Gaps in UN Agreement, National Laws Must Step Up To Protect Community Land Rights

This time last year, the forestry space was abuzz with news of the big Blue Carbon deals. The deals set a staggering amount of land in Sub-Saharan Africa – 20% of the land in Zimbabwe, 10% of Liberia and Zambia, 8% of Tanzania, and an undisclosed amount of land in Kenya – to be managed by a firm in the United Arab Emirates.

Turning To Regenerative Practices and Soil Microbes To Fight Effects of Climate Change

Recently, at the UN climate conference COP29, countries agreed to do everything necessary to invest in climate solutions to protect lives and livelihoods from worsening climate change impacts and to build a prosperous world. This is necessary. Indeed, every effort must be made by our leaders to protect lives and livelihoods.

Courage, not Compromise? A Rallying Cry that Failed a Deadlocked COP Meeting

Courage and not compromise. That was the motto desperately launched by members of the civil society in the twilight of the negotiations of the Plastic Pollution Treaty in Busan, South Korea last week.

South Africa’s G20 Presidency in 2025: A Pivotal Moment for the Country and Africa

In 2025, South Africa will assume the presidency of the G20, a pivotal moment in the African country's international diplomatic efforts. The Group of Twenty (G20), is an intergovernmental economic forum comprising 19 countries and two regional unions - the European Union (EU), and recently the African Union (AU). It represents 85 per cent of the global economy, 75 per cent of world trade and 67 per cent of the global population.

COP29 Falls Short on Finance

COP29, the latest annual climate summit, had one job: to strike a deal to provide the money needed to respond to climate change. It failed. This was the first climate summit dedicated to finance. Global south countries estimate they need a combined US$1.3 trillion a year to transition to low-carbon economies and adapt to the impacts of climate change. But the last-minute offer made by global north states was for only US$300 billion a year.

Giving the Ocean a Fighting Chance Through the Great Blue Wall

The Ocean is our life source, but for decades it has been repeatedly marred by humankind. With the disposal of pollutants into the Ocean, overexploitation of Ocean resources and the human-driven increase of global temperatures, the Ocean is changing and not for the better. Our Oceans are warming, corals are dying, fish stocks are declining, toxic chemicals are being released into the Ocean – these eAects are clearly visible today, but there is hope. There are organisations from all around the world that are fighting to save our Ocean.