Turning Indigenous Territories From ‘Sacrifice’ Zones to Thriving Forest Ecosystems

A report by the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities (GATC) and Earth Insight paints a stark picture of how extractive industries, deforestation, and climate change are converging to endanger the world’s last intact tropical forests and the Indigenous Peoples who protect them.

What’s Now Needed is Political Courage, Says UN SG Guterres at COP30

Political courage is the biggest obstacle to limiting the rise in global average temperature to no more than 1.5°C, said UN Secretary-General António Guterres. 

Global Emissions Falling Too Slowly, Expert Urges Renewables Push, Fair Finance

A decade has passed since the adoption of the Paris Agreement, and a United Nations synthesis report released ahead of COP30 in Belém shows that "Parties are bending their combined emission curve further downwards, but still not quickly enough."

COP30 Belém: Turning Promises into Action

From the 10th to the 21st of November 2025, the 30th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP30) will be hosted in Belém, Brazil.

Lawmakers Urged to Consider Emerging Drivers of Child Marriage

Closing the chapter on child marriages is still a distant ambition in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, and despite great strides at developing and passing legislation to eradicate it, existing and emerging drivers are still at play, making youngsters vulnerable to the practice.

As Civil Society Is Silenced, Corruption and Inequality Rise

From the streets of Bangkok to power corridors in Washington, the civil society space for dissent is fast shrinking. Authoritarian regimes are silencing opposition but indirectly fueling corruption and widening inequality, according to a leading global civil society alliance.

Will COP30 Reenergize Nigeria’s Great Green Wall Project?

In 2017, 45-year-old Jabiru Muhammed could hardly contain his excitement when the village head of Batu in Jigawa State, northwestern Nigeria, announced that their community would work with officials from the National Agency for the Great Green Wall (NAGGW) to plant trees across a large stretch of land in the village.

Adaptation Finance Shortfalls Leave Developing World Exposed

Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica yesterday—the strongest hurricane to impact the island on record since 1851—with expectations of tens of thousands of people being displaced and devastating damage to infrastructure. The tropical storm, slightly downgraded but nevertheless devastating, made landfall in Cuba today as UNEP’s newly released Adaptation Gap Report 2025: Running on Empty shows that the finance needed for developing countries to adapt to the climate crisis is falling far behind their needs.

Indigenous Communities Are the Frontlines of Climate Action—It’s Time COP Listened

I had hoped to attend this year’s Conference of the Parties (COP) in person, to stand alongside fellow Indigenous leaders and advocate for the rights of our communities.

International Day for Climate Action, 2025

 
We are in a climate emergency. The Earth is already over 1.3 °C warmer than pre-industrial times. 2024 was the hottest year ever recorded.

Global South Can Rebalance Climate Agenda in Belém, Says Gambian Negotiator

The Gambia's lead negotiator on mitigation believes that COP30 presents a unique opportunity to rebalance global climate leadership.

UNGA80: Climate and Health in the Mix of Hope and Despair

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the UN's body on climate science, has over the years, repeatedly and steadily reported on the science of global warming leading to the changing climate with visible impacts.

Wealthy Nations Urged to Curb Climate Finance Debt For Developing Countries

In recent years, international climate financing has declined sharply, leaving billions of people in developing nations increasingly vulnerable to natural disasters and unable to adapt effectively. With major cuts in foreign aid, these communities are expected to face the brunt of the climate crisis, while wealthier nations continue to reap economic benefits.

Two-Thirds of Climate Funding for Global South are Loans as Rich Nations Profiteer from Escalating Climate Crisis

New research by Oxfam and the CARE Climate Justice Centre finds developing countries are now paying more back to wealthy nations for climate finance loans than they receive—for every USD 5 they receive, they are paying USD 7 back, and 65 percent of funding is delivered in the form of loans.

Explainer: COP30’s ‘Granary of Solutions’ Will Be Showroom of World’s Best Climate Fixes

Once a year, the COP presidency or the role held by the Minister of Environment from the host government at a Conference of the Parties (COP) meeting, sets out on an ambitious, year-long journey in hopes of delivering the climate deal of a lifetime.

Weaving Wisdom and Science: Pacific Voices Call for Ocean Protection

In the packed conference hall of the Heritage Hotel, the sound of Pacific voices filled the air—not just through speeches, but in song, rhythm, and poetry. The Dreamcast Theatre Performing Arts group opened the Second Pacific Island Ocean Conference with an evocative performance, reminding leaders and practitioners why they had gathered: to listen. To listen to science. To listen to communities. To listen to the ocean itself.

Drought-hit Tanzania’s Villages Confront Harshest Reality of Climate Change

The dust was already swirling when Asherly William Hogo lifted himself from a makeshift bed before dawn. The 62-year-old pastoralist, lean from a lifetime of walking these plains, slipped into his sandals and stepped outside. Stars glittered over Dodoma, but the air was warmer than it used to be, Hogo swears. He whistled for his cows. Years ago, this hour meant an arduous trek to distant waterholes.

Climate Finance Will Be the First Casualty of Rising Militarism: Ali T. Sheikh Warns Ahead of COP30

As the COP30 approaches amid darkening geopolitical clouds—marked by  rising rightwing extremism, corporate backtracking and rising militarism—Ali T. Sheikh, Pakistan’s leading expert on sustainable development and climate change, views the world’s largest diplomatic gathering with a mix of apprehension and caution.

UNICEF Climate Advocate Urges World Leaders To ‘Include Children’ in Climate Discussions

The UN General Assembly High-Level Week (22-30 September) has been an opportunity for the world to convene on the most pressing issues of the day, from multilateralism, global financing, gender equality, non-communicable diseases, and AI governance.

African Leaders Commit to Climate-Health Nexus and Adaptation Solutions

At the Second Africa Climate Summit (ACS2) held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 8-10 September, African leaders committed to the climate and health nexus and their desire to advance climate-resilient and adaptive health systems on the continent.

Saving the Ocean – Act Now!

Like so many problems besetting the world, the existential threats facing small island states are all too obvious. Island nations are surrounded by the sea, and they depend on it for their livelihood and for their security. The sheer power of the sea can never be tamed but islanders have learnt to work with it and in doing so, there has always been a productive balance. But this balance, however, has been cast aside - the relationship has broken down. Our mighty ocean is in poor shape.