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Saturday, June 13, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Economy & Trade
Advancing Circular Solutions for EV Battery Waste in Asia and the Pacific
The Asia-Pacific region is becoming a showcase for regional solutions. As electric vehicles (EVs) rapidly gain traction, the region must confront a dual challenge: managing the environmental and health risks of end-of-life EV batteries, while actively pursuing the economic and technological opportunities of a circular economy.
Soaring Demand for Electric Vehicles, Lithium-Ion Batteries Creates Environmental Crisis in DRC
Electric vehicles contribute to an ongoing environmental and humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Mining operations cause deforestation, pollution, food insecurity and exploitative labor practices.
Humans Have Blown Past 6 of 9 ‘Planetary Boundaries’: Governments Alone Won’t Fix This
Nearly ten years after the Paris Agreement — a legally binding commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions — the gap between climate goals and government actions remains stubborn.
From Ads to AI: How Big Tech Took Over Everything
“The power of AI carries immense responsibilities. Today, that power sits in the hands of a few,” said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the 2025 AI Action Summit, reflecting on a deepening reality as we inch closer to a world in complete digital domination. Today, seven of the world's top ten most valuable companies are digital giants, focusing primarily on the output of communication, digital manufacturing, artificial intelligence and digital commerce, which is paving the way for a fully digitized life for all.
China is the Driving Force Behind More, Newer Renewable Energies in Latin America
China, with its investments, products, technology, and innovation focused on solar and wind farms in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as on electricity networks and services, stands out as a driving force for the region's shift toward energy less reliant on fossil fuels and increasingly cleaner and greener.
From Drylands to Dignity: How Solar Energy and Climate-Smart Farming Are Empowering Communities in Burkina Faso
In the heart of Burkina Faso’s drylands, in the village of Zoungou, a quiet transformation is underway. Alhaji Birba Issa, a smallholder onion farmer, bends over neat rows of lush green crops, the hum of solar-powered pumps audible in the background.
Intersectional Feminist Leadership Needed to Realise Global Goals
In its 80-year history the UN has never once been led by a woman. As the international community convenes for the 2025 High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) to review progress on gender equality and other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this remains a fundamental hypocrisy at the heart of global governance. How can an institution that has systematically excluded women from its highest office credibly champion gender justice worldwide?
Human Rights in an Increasingly Digitizing World
Over the past several decades, digital technologies have transformed nearly every aspect of human life, revolutionizing developments across multiple sectors, including healthcare, education, and commerce, to name a few. However, these changes have also brought forth new concerns surrounding the preservation of human rights in an increasingly digitizing world.
3.4 Billion People Left Behind: Interest Payments Now Outpace Education Spending in Half the World
Today, 3.4 billion people live in countries that spend more on debt interest payments than on health or education. This marks a trembling indication that the United Nations’ promise for the 2030 Agenda could be slipping away.
The Emerging Quad 3.0: Prioritizing a Hard Security Agenda
On 1 July, the foreign ministers of the Quad—Australia, India, Japan and the US—convened for the second time this year in Washington, DC. While the first meeting, held just hours after the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th President of the United States, signaled the Quad's significance to the new US administration, the second meeting indicates that the Quad is entering a new phase with a renewed focus on a strategic and hard security agenda, weaning itself away from its non-traditional security priorities. This presents a departure from its previous versions: the first Quad, which collapsed in 2007, centred on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR), and Quad 2.0, which was reinstated in 2017, gradually developed a broad public goods agenda.
High Stakes: Mountain Tourism in a Warming World
“It started with a thunderous roar in the distance, followed by the clatter of rocks grinding together,” said Mohammad Hussain, 26, a student, who witnessed the flash flood that hit the lakeside of Attabad on June 25, around 12:30 pm, in the mountainous Hunza Valley, a popular tourist spot in the northern part of Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B).
‘International Demand for Coltan Is Linked to Violence in the DRC’
CIVICUS speaks with Claude Iguma, a mining governance expert with a PhD in Social Sciences, who is based in Bukavu, South Kivu province, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
HLPF 2025: Civil Society Is Not A Service Provider – We Are The Frontline Of Transformation
As delegates gather in New York over the coming weeks for the 2025 High-Level Political Forum (HLPF), we see this moment as a test. A test of whether world leaders are serious about rescuing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - or content to let the promises of Agenda 2030 drift quietly into irrelevance.
Trump Tech Big Bro: Monopoly Is Best
Trump’s billionaire cronies want more monopoly profits, not competition. With more policies crafted for them, wealth concentration is set to become greater than ever.
Financing for Whom? Trials & Tribulations from the Fourth Financing for Development in Seville
The Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) took place in Seville, Spain from 30th June to 3rd July amidst intensifying attacks on multilateralism, unprecedented cuts to global aid and development financing, and regression of decades of progress in the fight against poverty.
Man, Sea, Algae: HOMO SARGASSUM’s Stirring Critique of Human Culpability in the Caribbean
The United Nations’ HOMO SARGASSUM exhibition served as a public immersion into the marine world and called upon viewers to take action in the face of the climate crisis, specifically regarding invasive species and water pollution.
NATO’s Trillion-dollar Gamble: The Dangers of Defence Without Accountability
Donald Trump’s bullying tactics ahead of NATO’s annual summit, held in The Hague in June, worked spectacularly. By threatening to redefine NATO’s article 5 – the collective defence provision that has anchored western security since 1949 – Trump won commitments from NATO allies to almost triple their defence spending to five per cent of GDP by 2035. European defence budgets will balloon from around US$500 billion to over US$1 trillion annually, essentially matching US spending levels.
Will the FfD4 Sevilla Commitment Ever be Followed up?
The extensive plan of action adopted at the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4), held recently in Sevilla, Spain (30 June - 3 July), triggers the question: Where will the money come from?
UN Reform: Is it Time to Renew the Idea of Clustering the Major Environmental Agreements?
“Never let a good crisis go to waste.” Winston Churchill’s famous maxim feels very relevant today, when multilateralism and many environmental causes seem to be in retreat. We now face a triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution.
Conflict, Climate Change Push Migrants in Yemen to Return to Their Home Countries
Yemen's humanitarian crisis, driven by conflict, economic collapse and climate shocks, leaves migrants desperate to return to their home countries.
The Race Towards Clean Energy: A World Still Gripped by Coal
Global investments in energy exceeded USD 3 trillion in 2024, with at least USD 2 trillion being invested in clean energy technology and infrastructure. Infrastructure. Despite that progress, fossil fuel consumption continues to rise with little sign of slowing.« Previous Page — Next Page »
Trade has historically been a geopolitical tool, creating significant economic imbalances in developing countries. However, many countries in East Asia and Latin America have been able to alleviate poverty due to increasing trade. Tackling poverty has proven to be much harder in low income countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and Latin America, and their dismal trade performance is one important reason for that. They remain at the margins of world trade and indeed of the world economy. These articles are aimed at informing readers about the complexities of trade and its varying effects on development, with a special focus on the consequences of the global economic crisis, the potential of fair trade and the gender implications of trade policies.
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Tracking global progress towards a sustainable world
Tracking global progress towards a sustainable world
