Green Economy

Tunisia Gears Up to Host World Social Forum

Following in the wake of the wave of revolutions dubbed the ‘Arab Spring’, which originated here nearly two years ago, North Africa is gearing up to host the World Social Forum (WSF) for the first time.

Youth Call for ‘Change of Course’ to Solve Climate Crisis

While world leaders were wrapping up the United Nations conference on climate change (COP 18) in Doha, Qatar this past weekend with the annual vague promise to tackle the enormous crises brought on by extreme weather and global warming, a delegation of youth gathered far from the high-level conference halls to say “no” to advocacy without action.

Chile Follows South Africa’s Lead in Climate Change Mitigation

Chile is turning to South-South cooperation to help define the most effective strategies and options for reducing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the face of global climate change.

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Critics Brand Climate Talks Another Lost Opportunity

Rich countries came to the U.N. climate talks in Doha intent on delaying needed action on climate change for another three years and a still to be hammered out new global treaty.

Doha Climate Summit Ends With No New CO2 Cuts or Funding

The United Nations climate talks in Doha went a full extra 24 hours and ended without increased cuts in fossil fuel emissions and without financial commitments between 2013 and 2015.

Farming in the Sky in Singapore

With a population of five million crammed on a landmass of just 715 square kilometres, the tiny republic of Singapore has been forced to expand upwards, building high-rise residential complexes to house the country’s many inhabitants.

Family farms produce most of the food consumed in Brazil. Credit: Fabíola Ortiz/IPS

Small Rural Businesses in Brazil Set Sights on Domestic Market

"Canjinjin has special powers," said Deize Coelho de Barros. The recipe for this local liquor, made from a mixture of herbs, was handed down from her African ancestors, and is seen as a sort of traditional "Viagra" in her homeland, the western Brazilian state of Mato Grosso.

The Big Fight in Doha Is Over Climate Finance

The new Green Climate Fund to help developing countries cope with climate change may one day have a bigger budget than the World Bank. At the moment, however, the Fund is empty.

Doha Faces an Indonesian Test

To most people, holes in the ozone layer or the melting of polar ice caps can sound like distant catastrophes. “But let's talk about concrete examples,” says an Indonesian director whose documentary film captures the lives of local farmers affected by a dramatically changing environment.

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Fossil Fuel Lobby in the Driver’s Seat at Doha

A new scientific report shows that global warming can be kept well under two degrees C, but only if most of the known deposits of coal, oil and gas remain in the ground.

OP-ED: Loss and Damage from Climate Change Must Not Become the “New Normal”

As United Nations climate talks get underway this week in Doha, Qatar, they show a subtle, unsettling shift in the global climate change debate.

African Negotiators Saving Kyoto from the Grave

African negotiators attending the United Nations climate change talks in Doha, Qatar say they are determined to ensure that developed countries do not let the Kyoto Protocol die as its commitment period comes to an end.

A Green Needle in the Haystack of Cuban Small Enterprise

Oasis Nelva is a refreshing green space in the midst of the grey asphalt landscape of Old Havana. The ornamental plant shop is also one of only a handful of eco-friendly initiatives among the upsurge of private small businesses in Cuba.

Q&A: COP18, Another ‘Conference of Polluters’

There is no political will among rich nations to find funding for developing countries experiencing the brunt of changes in global weather patterns, and the current climate change conference will fail to do so, according to Professor Patrick Bond, a leading thinker and analyst on climate change issues.


The Planet’s Thermostat Moves to Doha

The upcoming United Nations climate talks may have a renewed sense of urgency with a new World Bank report warning that the planet is on a dangerous path to four degrees Celsius of global warming by 2100.

Deep Emissions Cuts Urged at Climate Summit

Extreme weather disasters, including floods and droughts intensified by climate change, have totalled many billions of dollars in damages this year.

Planet on Path to Four C Warming, World Bank Warns

Coal, oil and gas companies and their backers in the financial and investment industry must stop putting billions of dollars into finding and extracting new sources of fossil fuels. If they don't shift their investments, temperatures will soar four to 10 degrees C higher, devastating many parts of the world, the World Bank said Monday.

Aluminium production fuels the construction of hydroelectric dams in Brazil, like the Santo Antônio hydropower station, seen here under construction in October 2010. Credit: Mario Osava/IPS

Aluminium Industry Has Its Defenders in Brazil

Aluminium, opposed by environmentalists mainly because of the amount of energy needed to produce it, is one of the targets of the heated campaign against hydroelectric dams in Brazil’s Amazon jungle region.

“Writing Is on the Wall” at Upcoming Climate Summit

Two-thirds of the world's proven fossil fuel reserves cannot be used without risking dangerous climate change, the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned this week.

OP-ED: Hurricane Sandy Says, “Welcome to the New Normal”

I am aware that my arrival last week helped re-elect U.S. President Barack Obama. Superstorms like me don't play politics, but it should be clear by now that your refusal to tackle global warming has serious consequences. Higher sea levels and amped-up hurricanes like me are just two of them.

For Champions of Degrowth, Less Is Much More

The concept of degrowth is not a very comfortable one in overdeveloped countries such as the United States.

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