Lawmakers Deliberate on ICPD30, Water Security at Tajikistan Conference

It's been 30 years since the International Conference on Population and Development Programme of Action (ICPD30) was adopted in Cairo, transforming policy and thinking on population and development issues.

Climate Change, Pollution Push Karnaphuli Fishers Out of the Profession

Jishuram Das, a sexagenarian who was born in Jelepara, located in Chattogram, has been catching fish from the Karnaphuli River since his childhood. But nowadays, he often sits idle without going to catch fish, as their catches have drastically fallen.

Explainer: What You Need to Know About Climate Change and Blue Carbon

The area where land meets the sea, known as coastal ecosystems, could be the key to reducing the effects of climate change. What is blue carbon? Blue carbon refers to the carbon dioxide (CO2) stored within marine or coastal ecosystems worldwide. These ecosystems include coastal plants such as mangroves, seagrasses, and salt marshes, which trap CO2 in their seabeds.

Blue Economy Must Benefit Fishing Communities in Global South, Says WorldFish Chief

The Global South is crucial for ensuring aquatic food security to feed the growing world population. It is imperative that blue economy initiatives benefit fishing communities in developing and small island nations, which are facing disproportionate impacts of climate change, says Dr Essam Yassin Mohammed, Director General of WorldFish, an international non-profit research organization based in Penang, Malaysia.

Quiet Revolution Underway as IFAD’s Innovative Solutions Rise to Global Rural Challenges

Technology and innovation are at the center of the International Fund for Agricultural Development’s strategy to fulfill its global mission to eradicate poverty and hunger in the developing world, IFAD’s President Alvaro Lario told IPS in an exclusive interview.

World Environment Day: UN Secretary-General Reckons with ‘A Moment of Truth’ on Climate Action

Coming at a time of record-breaking global temperatures over the last twelve months, the UN chief calls on world leaders, including the G20 and G7 members, to commit to their climate action goals as laid out in the Paris Agreement. Experts across multiple industries are also encouraged to do their part to mitigate the impact of the climate crisis.

Europe Can Reap Sizable Energy Security Rewards by Scaling Up Climate Action

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine triggered Europe’s worst energy crisis since the 1970s and put energy security back at the top of the policy agenda. Policymakers reacted swiftly by securing alternative natural gas supplies, improving energy efficiency, and expanding renewables.

Explainer: How India’s Political Parties Neglect Climate Change

As India's 968.8 million voters were gripped by election fever, the worst-ever heat wave held the country in its clutches. 

Biodiversity Meetings in Nairobi End, All Eyes Are Now on COP16

Regions struggling to revise and update their National Biodiversity Plans aligning them with the Global Biodiversity Framework adopted at COP15, will now be given the technical and scientific support to develop and submit their plans on time. This was one of the key decisions of the 4th meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Implementation (SBI)—the crucial pre-COP meetings of the United Nations Convention on Biodiversity (UNCBD)—to review the status and challenges of implementing the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), which started on May 22 and ended in Nairobi late in the evening of May 29, 2024.

The Dilemma for Small Island Developing States: Recovery or Development?

“We are facing unenviable decisions, between the recovery of today or the development of tomorrow”. These were the words of Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa, of Samoa at the opening of the 4th International Conference on Small Islands Developing States (SIDS4).

Maggot Farming Creates Entrepreneurs, Saves Farming Costs in Zimbabwe

Three years ago, 43-year-old Benard Munondo was an "ordinary" Zimbabwean teacher at a local primary school, but now he has turned maggots into gold. Thanks to maggot farming, Munondo, who has never owned a home nor driven a car, now has both. In 2020, a week’s training on maggot farming changed his world.

Plastic Soup, Plastic Islands: How Small Island Developing States can end Plastic Pollution

Scattered over the vast area of our oceans, Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are often pictured as blue, serene and beautiful paradises. However, we are risk losing the beauty of these islands, due to the triple threats of climate change, loss of biodiversity, and pollution, especially marine plastic debris.

UN, International Partners Coordinate Aid to Papua New Guinea Landslide Disaster

As the communities of Enga province in Papua New Guinea contend with the landslide that has devastated the residents of Yambani, the United Nations and its partners have been active on the ground addressing the immediate humanitarian needs, according to agencies. 

Papua New Guinea’s prime minister, James Marape, says “extraordinary rainfall” and weather pattern changes were responsible for multiple disasters in the Pacific Island nation this year, including the landslide last Friday.

Explainer: Why Is It Important for Venezuela to Adopt Escazú Agreement in the Coming Year?

Venezuela is one of the few countries outside the Escazú Agreement, a treaty in Latin America and the Caribbean ratified by 16 member countries that guarantees access to environmental information, public participation in environmental decisions, and environmental justice.

Uniting for Climate Action: UN, World Bank and UNDRR Leaders Push for Climate Finance, Justice and Nature-Based Solutions for SIDS

As leaders of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) meet for the 4th International Conference on SIDS in Antigua this week, top United Nations and World Bank officials are calling for urgent action to help SIDS tackle their unique challenges and plan for the next decade.

To Tackle Climate Crisis, the World Bank Must Stop Financing Industrial Livestock

Last week, the World Bank Group released a new report that highlights the urgent need to drastically reduce GHG emissions to address the climate crisis and calls on countries to act. However, while the World Bank’s acknowledgment of the damaging climate impacts of industrial agriculture is a crucial step forward, it’s simply not enough.

Explainer: Why GLOFs Are Growing Concern in the Himalaya

Phu Chhettar Sherpa, who worked as an icefall doctor (a Sherpa who fixes ropes for climbers) for seven years from 2015 to 2021 on Mt. Everest, vividly recalls his fear of possible flash floods after the huge earthquake in Nepal in 2015.

Small Island Nations Demand Urgent Global Action at SIDS4 Conference

“This year has been the hottest in history in practically every corner of the globe, foretelling severe impacts on our ecosystems and starkly underscoring the urgency of our predicament. We are gathered here not merely to reiterate our challenges, but to demand and enact solutions,” declared Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Brown at the opening of the Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States on May 27.

Explainer: Understanding Carbon Trading and its Rationale

Carbon trading has gained growing popularity on the African continent and is considered by many governments as a viable way to achieve their climate targets while building communities. IPS takes a look at what's behind the carbon market.

Countdown to Critical Conference for Small Island Developing States

Delegates from small island developing states (SIDS) worldwide are meeting in Antigua and Barbuda to strategize for the next decade.

International Court of Justice Orders Israel to Halt its Military Offensive in Rafah

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Israel to immediately halt its military offense in Rafah. "In conformity with obligations under the Genocide Convention, Israel must immediately halt its military offensive and any other action in the Rafah Governorate which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part," the court said in it's revised order, which was passed by 13 votes to 2. South Africa approached the court on May 10, 2024 for a modification of provisional measures as prescribed by the court. The court also ordered that Israel must take effective measures to ensure the unimpeded access to the Gaza Strip of any commission of inquiry, fact-finding mission, or other investigative body mandated by competent organs of the United Nations to investigate allegations of genocide. Israel was also ordered to ensure that humanitarian aid should be “unhindered provision at scale by all concerned of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance,” and that Israel should maintain open land crossing points, in particular the Rafah crossing. The full order can be read here. IPS UN Bureau Report