Environment

Mexico Underlines Transformation in Global Climate Change Debate

By Alejandro Encinas
It is now two years since Mexico passed the General Law on Climate Change, a landmark piece of national environmental legislation.

Legislation Alone Will Not Address Africa’s Climate Challenges

By Ignatius Banda
Despite a raft of legislation dealing with the environment, African countries are still falling short when it comes to enforcing the legal instruments that respond to challenges posed by climate change, researchers say. 

Climate Legislation Up Against ‘Abenomics’ in Japan

By Suvendrini Kakuchi
Undaunted by Japan’s national consensus to boost the economy, which has been mired in lackluster growth for decades, environmentalists are taking baby steps towards incorporating climate change into national legislation.

Pakistan’s Coal Rush: A Bubble Waiting to Burst

By Farrukh Zaman and Chaitanya Kumar
Mukhtar Ali is one of the many Pakistanis who are furious at politicians and authorities for failing to provide citizens with a regular supply of electricity during the smouldering summer months.

Sri Lanka Waits in Vain for the Rain

By Amantha Perera
Stuck in mid-day rush hour traffic, commuters packed tight into a tin-roofed bus in Sri Lanka’s capital, Colombo, peer expectantly up at the sky that is beating a savage heat down on the city.

Small Farmers’ Loss of Land Increases World Hunger

By Stephen Leahy
The world is increasingly hungry because small farmers are losing access to farmland. Small farmers produce most of the world’s food but are now squeezed onto less than 25 percent of the world’s farmland, a new report reveals. Corporate and commercial farms, big biofuel operations and land speculators are pushing millions off their land.

Rural Communities Push El Salvador Towards Ban on Mining

By Edgardo Ayala
Mining is not viable in this country, say Salvador Sánchez Cerén - who will be sworn in as the new president of El Salvador on Jun. 1 - and his team of environmental advisers.

Micronesia Climate Law Seeks to Inspire Global Action

By Catherine Wilson
The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), a western Pacific Island state located north of Papua New Guinea and east of Palau, has become a regional pioneer in drafting national legislation centred on climate change.

South Africa’s Quest to Cut Carbon Emissions

By IPS Correspondents

U.N. Vows to Eliminate Open Defecation by 2025

By Thalif Deen
At the height of his election campaign last October, Narendra Modi, India's Hindu nationalist leader, briefly set aside his spiritual aspirations when he told a surprised audience that economic development should take precedence over religion.

Offsets to Cushion South African Carbon Tax

By Brendon Bosworth
To curb greenhouse gas emissions, South Africa wants to put a tax on carbon emissions from big polluters.

The Evolution of Climate Legislation in Three Infographs

By IPS Correspondents
The global canon of climate legislation has undergone significant changes over the last four decades. These changes in recent years have included a growing body of signature laws and initiatives spearheaded by countries in the global South, many of which are disproportionally affected by decades of uncurbed global environmental degradation and greenhouse gas emissions.

Wary of Climate Change, Indonesia Looks to Lawmakers for Solutions

By Sandra Siagian
Comprised of over 17,000 islands that are highly susceptible to rising seas, Indonesia is taking stock of its position as the world’s third leading emitter of greenhouse gases after the United States and China.

Fiji Leads Pacific Region on Climate Adaptation Efforts

By Catherine Wilson
Still a long way off in many parts of the world, climate displacement is already a reality in the Pacific Islands, where rising seas are contaminating fresh water and agricultural land, and rendering some coastal areas uninhabitable.

Peaceful Transitions From The Nuclear To The Solar Age

By Hazel Henderson
Japanese Buddhist and president of Soka Gakkai International (SGI) Daisaku Ikeda’s Peace Proposal 2014 elevated my focus from the daily news to my longer term concerns for more peaceful, equitable and sustainable human societies to assure our common future. These broader concerns are now shared by millions of humans who have transcended purely personal, local and nationalistic goals and become prototypical global citizens.

Hemp Defies Hurdles to Make a Comeback in Spain

By Inés Benítez
Spain is experiencing a resurgence of hemp, one of the species of cannabis with the lowest THC content, which has been used for millennia to produce textile, medicinal and food products.

Hawaii to Host 2016 IUCN World Conservation Congress

By Jon Letman
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Council announced Wednesday that the 2016 World Conservation Congress (WCC) will meet in Hawaii - the first time in its 66-year history that the world’s largest conservation conference will be hosted by the United States.

Permaculture Poised to Conquer the Caribbean

By Mark Olalde
Erle Rahaman-Noronha is not a revolutionary, not in any radical sense at least. He is not even that exciting. In truth, Rahaman-Noronha is merely a man with a shovel, a small farm, and a big dream. But that dream is poised to conquer the Caribbean.

Climate Change Legislation Faltering in Costa Rica

By Diego Arguedas Ortiz
Eight months after it was introduced in the Costa Rican legislature, a bill to create a framework law on climate change is faltering after undergoing modifications that have run into criticism from environmentalists and experts – a situation made even more complex by the recent change of government.

Caribbean Forced to Choose Between Climate Change Impact and MDGs

By Desmond Brown
Climate change is forcing the nine-member Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) to choose between expending scarce resources to deal with its impact or other pressing development goals.

OP-ED: The Ugly Truth about Garbage and Island Biodiversity

By Bradnee Chambers
Some of the Earth’s most delicate tropical paradises are being disfigured by the by-products of the modern age - marine debris: plastic bottles, carrier bags and discarded fishing gear. 
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