Environment

The Davos Disconnect

By Deodat Maharaj
"It was the best of times; it was the worst of times." Charles Dickens is more relevant today than ever. The wealthy and powerful are meeting again this year in glamorous Davos, at an invitation-only event. They arrive in chartered aircraft and private jets to speak about our warming climate, among other global concerns.

Laureates Call For Moonshot Innovation Effort to Avert Hunger Catastrophe

By Busani Bafana
Neglected indigenous crops, rich in nutrition and resilient to climate change, are key to tackling global hunger only if governments invest in research and development (R&D) to tap the potential of such innovations. More than 150 Nobel and World Food Prize Laureates are calling for investment in moonshot technologies to realize the potential of innovative solutions such as these hardy crops, warning that without swift action, there is a "food insecure, unstable world.”

The Year 2024: Hopes & Despairs

By Anis Chowdhury
Thank God, we have survived another year of genocide, war, destruction and climate crisis. The passing year of 2024 has been a mixture of hope and despair. It began with some hope as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled in favour of South Africa’s case against Israel for committing genocide and ordered Israel to take all measures within its power to prevent the commission of all acts within the scope of Article II of the Genocide Convention, and to take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to address the adverse conditions of life faced by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Nature Goes to Court

By Kanni Wignaraja
Nature is taking the stand as courtrooms worldwide become battlegrounds for Earth’s rights. The rise in climate litigation shows how the environment can take centre stage as a plaintiff, demanding justice and accountability, benefiting us all.

Trade Partnerships Offer Hope Against Deforestation

By Agus Justianto
In Indonesia’s forests today, we can breathe a sigh of relief. At the conclusion of our dry season, during a time when climate change impacts are increasing in frequency and severity, there were no giant fires with plumes of smoke choking our region.

Geopolitical Uncertainties Cloud World Economic Prospects, UN Report Says

By Oritro Karim
In the past few years, the world economy has made significant strides in mitigating inflation, unemployment, and poverty. Despite this, global growth has yet to regain its pace from before the pandemic.

India: Protests Erupt Over Hazardous Waste Disposal of Bhopal Gas Tragedy

By Shuriah Niazi
An eerie calm prevails over Pithampur, a town 250 km (155 miles) away from Bhopal, the capital of the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. This town witnessed widespread protests for three days last week following the transportation of large quantities of toxic waste from the site of one of the world's worst industrial disasters in Bhopal.

Our Health is at Stake: The Solutions SIDS Need to Fight Climate Change

By David Smith and Neisha Manickchand
Climate change is one of the most serious global threats to the future of the world’s population. Its impact extends far and wide, from the economy to governance to the very health and well-being of society.

Financing for Development Priorities Today

By Jomo Kwame Sundaram
The forthcoming fourth United Nations Financing for Development conference must address developing countries’ major financial challenges. Recent setbacks to sustainable development and climate action make FfD4 all the more critical.

Tanzania’s Disaster Preparedness: A Nation on Edge

By Kizito Makoye
As the dust settled over Kariakoo’s bustling streets, Halima Abdallah’s voice trembled through the cracks of a collapsed four-story building. “Help me, please! I don’t get air,” she gasped, trapped under the rubble. For four hours, rescue workers scrambled to locate her. Their efforts, hampered by the lack of proper equipment, relied on tools hastily borrowed from a private company. By the time they reached her, it was too late. Abdallah had died.

A Renewed Vision for Prosperity for Landlocked Developing Countries

By Rabab Fatima
Over 570 million people live in the world’s 32 Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs), spanning across Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. These nations face unique and complex development challenges. Their lack of direct access to the sea, geographical isolation, limited infrastructure, and difficulty integrating into global trade and value chains hinder sustainable development and progress.

Who Will Save Nigeria’s Coastal City on the Brink of Extinction?

By Promise Eze
In 2021, Ojajuni Olufunsho, a 53-year-old resident of Ayetoro, a town along the Atlantic coast, southwestern Nigeria, saw her home swept away by the encroaching sea. What was once a spacious 10-room house, a sanctuary for Olufunsho and her five children, was swallowed by the relentless force of rising sea waters.

IPS – Year End Video, 2024


 
The world’s troubles deepened in 2024. Civilians bore the brunt of war. Violence in Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine, Haiti, and more displaced over 100 million people worldwide.

This Year’s Three UN Summits Set the Stage for COP30 to Transform Food Systems

By Aditi Mukherji and Cargele Masso
This year has been a landmark one for climate and environment policy. Starting with the UN’s COP16 biodiversity talks in October, followed by the COP29 climate talks in November, and closing with the desertification COP16 in December, few years have offered such critical moments back-to-back.

Civil Society Trends for 2025: Nine Global Challenges, One Reason for Hope

By Andrew Firmin and Inés M. Pousadela
It's been a tumultuous year, and a tough one for struggles for human rights. Civil society’s work to seek social justice and hold the powerful to account has been tested at every turn. Civil society has kept holding the line, resisting power grabs and regressive legislation, calling out injustice and claiming some victories, often at great cost. And things aren’t about to get any easier, as key challenges identified in 2024 are likely to intensify in 2025.

Innovative Financing to Unlock Africa’s Blue Economy

By Jean-Paul Adam
Securing new financing for global good has become more challenging than ever. Negotiations at the recently-concluded COP16 on Nature and Biodiversity failed to reach an agreement on establishing a fund to support the implementation of the Framework for Nature agreed in 2022 under the Montreal-Kunming agreement.

U.S. Wins Controversial Ruling in GM Corn Dispute with Mexico

By Timothy A. Wise
A tribunal of trade arbitrators has ruled in favor of the United States in its complaint that Mexico’s restrictions on genetically modified corn violate the terms of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement (USMCA). The long-awaited ruling in the 16-month trade dispute is unlikely to settle the questions raised by Mexico about the safety of consuming GM corn and its associated herbicide.

Trapped on a Runaway Train: Looking Back on 2024

By Farhana Haque Rahman
Do you sometimes feel like a hamster on its wheel, or perhaps stuck on a runaway train hurtling towards the abyss? Whatever metaphor one might choose for our world looking back on 2024, rainbows don’t easily spring to mind.

Targeting Transformative Disaster Risk Reduction in Asia-Pacific Subregions

By Madhurima Sarkar-Swaisgood and Sanjay Srivastava
In December 2024, Vanuatu experienced yet another harrowing reminder of its vulnerability to disasters—a powerful 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck the Pacific nation’s capital, Port Vila, leaving 14 dead, over 200 injured, and thousands more affected.

Japanese Bank Criticized for Financing Mozambique LNG Project Blamed for Displacement

By Maina Waruru
Climate and environmental activists from Japan have criticized the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) for financing the controversial Mozambique Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project to the tune of USD 3 billion in a loan signed in July.

2024 Is The Hottest Year Ever Recorded

By Oritro Karim
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warns that 2024 is on track to be the hottest year in recorded history, surpassing 2023. This can be attributed to heightened reliance on fossil fuels and the reluctance of industries worldwide to pivot to green energy practices. The rapid acceleration of global temperatures has alarmed scientists, with many expressing concern over the environmental, economic, and social implications of the worsening climate crisis.
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