Environment

Saving Energy, Saving Forests: How Kindle Stoves Are Changing Women’s Lives

By Busani Bafana
Five years ago, farmer Sehlisiwe Sibanda would walk into a nearby forested area to fill a scotch cart with huge wood logs for cooking and heating; a pile of firewood would last her a week during the summer. But now she does not need a cartful of huge logs. Small branches and twigs are enough to last for more than a month.

World Bank Enables Private Capture of Profits, Public Resources

By Jomo Kwame Sundaram
The World Bank insists commercial finance is necessary for achieving economic recovery and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), but does little to ensure profit-hungry commercial finance serves the public interest. By failing to address pressing challenges within their purview, the second-ever Bretton Woods institutions’ (BWIs) annual meetings on the African continent, in Marrakech in October 2023, set the developing world even further back.

Construction of New Megaport in Peru Ignores Complaints from Local Residents

By Mariela Jara
"We have always lived a very quiet life here, but everything has changed since the construction of the multi-purpose port began a few years ago," said Miriam Arce, a neighborhood leader in this municipality 80 kilometers north of the Peruvian capital, where the new port is projected to become the epicenter of trade between China and South American countries.

Watching the Arctic Melt, Meteorologist’s Experience on Icebreaker Oden

By Jan Lundius
Conflicting emotions greet the outcomes of COP28. After 28 years of climate conferences, an agreement has, for the first time, proclaimed that fossil fuels are the biggest culprit behind the warming of our planet and stated that it would encourage all nations to “accelerating action in this critical decade so as to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the science." The agreement calls for, among other things, a tripling of renewable energy by 2030, but also an increased pace in the work to develop technical solutions for the separation and storage of carbon dioxide, an extremely expensive and, so far, limited effort.

Weathering the Storm: Navigating Climate-Care Nexus in the Philippines

By Channe Lindstrøm Oğuzhan, Leah Payud and Jessica Henn
In a coastal community in Tacloban City in Leyte, Philippines, Maria's life was intricately woven with the ebb and flow of the sea. Her days were filled with caring for her two young children and selling fish caught by her husband at the market. Little did she know that winds of change were brewing far beyond the horizon.

Caribbean Confidence High Post COP28, But Vigilant Follow-Through on Key Deals Needed

By Alison Kentish
Buoyed by USD 800 million in pledges to the Loss and Damage Fund and an unprecedented agreement to transition away from fossil fuels, but grounded in the reality of the work ahead to meet key climate targets, the Caribbean will need to maintain its focus on sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, and climate resilience.

UN and Humanitarian Partners Seek USD 46 Billion for Humanitarian Assistance

By Naureen Hossain
Funding humanitarian programs will continue into the new year, but the funding cuts of the previous year may impact the prioritization of the most immediate and most life-threatening needs. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) released the Global Humanitarian Overview (GHO) for 2024. This annual assessment of the global humanitarian sector provides insight into the humanitarian action undertaken by the UN and its partners and reviews current and future trends in this sector.

Peru’s Andean Peoples ‘Revive’ Water that the Climate Crisis Is Taking From Them

By Mariela Jara
"The rich world has caused the climate change that is drying up our water sources, and here we are doing everything we can to recover them because otherwise we will die," said Juan Hilario Quispe, president of the small farming community of Muñapata, just over 50 kilometers from the Peruvian city of Cuzco.

IFAD’s Record-Breaking Pledges: Lifeline for Rural Communities Cornered by Climate, Hunger

By Joyce Chimbi
The world is not on track to end hunger and poverty as a future of growing food insecurity and climate challenges beckon. Small-scale farmers are the backbone of food production, producing one-third of the world’s food and up to 70 percent of the food consumed in Africa and Asia, yet they are often cut off from the services they need to pull themselves out of poverty and food insecurity.

Sustainability, Human Wellbeing Depend on Rethinking, Redefining Value of Resources

By Mathias Schluep
While the COP28 presidency celebrated an “historic deal” to transition away from fossil fuels, we must remind ourselves that the future wellbeing of human societies in a livable planet depends on more than that.

Kabul Residents Endure Hours-Long Queues in Severe Water Crisis

According to United Nations statistics, nearly 80 percent of Afghan families lack access to sufficient water for their daily needs. Afghanistan, a landlocked country with limited water resources, is grappling with an exacerbated drought fueled by climate change, affecting the entire region.

‘Imperfect COP28’ Gives Direction For Managed, Equitable Move From Fossil Fuels

By Cecilia Russell
While the outcomes of COP28 are being hotly debated in both the scientific and social justice arenas, the climate conference has taken an unprecedented step forward toward a just transition, says Yamide Dagnet, Director for Climate Justice at the Open Society Foundations.

COP28: Deal to ‘Transition Away’ From Fossil Fuels Agreed

By Joyce Chimbi
It was an extraordinary COP Summit in a year characterized by record-breaking temperatures combined with El Niño, producing a climatic carnage in Africa—deaths from fatal floods in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, and Libya, where floods wiped out a quarter of a city. Deadly cyclones in Malawi, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe; a severe drought in Kenya, Niger, Somalia, Ethiopia, Mauritania, and Djibouti; and a months-long winter heatwave in southern African countries—the need for COP28 to deliver the highest ambition on all items.

Africa’s Great Blue Wall

By Jean-Paul Adam
As an Islander from the Seychelles, Africa’s smallest country, I find that the ocean is intricately woven into my heritage. It not only defines my roots but also shapes the trajectory of my journey. When I think of the future, I can’t help but also look at the boundless possibilities reflected in the vast expanse of the ocean.

Rich Nations, IMF Deepen World Stagnation

By Jomo Kwame Sundaram
With the US Fed raising interest rates, the world economy is slowing as debt distress spreads across the global South, increasing poverty worldwide to pre-pandemic levels, with the poorest countries faring worst.

What Is the Cost of Phasing Out Fossil Fuels in Latin America?

By Emilio Godoy
One of the most heated debates at the annual climate summit coming to a conclusion in this United Arab Emirates city revolved around the phrasing of the final declaration, regarding the "phase-out" or "phase-down" of fossil fuels within a given time frame.

Clean Energies Underpin Self-Sustainable System at Cuban Farm – VIDEO

By Luis Brizuela and Jorge Luis Baños
The combined use of clean energies allows Finca del Medio, a farm in central Cuba, to practice a unique system of family farming production that guarantees self-sufficiency based on permaculture, agroecology and care of the environment.

‘Stop Wars and Step Up ‘Measly’ Contributions’ to Climate Finance—Jeffrey D. Sachs

By Joyce Chimbi
The United State's contribution to the Loss and Damage Fund equals nine minutes of Pentagon spending, says Jeffrey D. Sachs, a world-renowned economist, bestselling author, innovative educator, and global leader in sustainable development.

Rise of the Global South Highlights Minamata Convention on Mercury COP5

By Charlie Brown
As it strives to be the prototype environmental treaty of this era, the Minamata Convention on Mercury continues its razor-like focus on ending all major uses of mercury. Emerging as the force leading the charge is the Global South, particularly the Africa Region, whose proposals led to hard-charging changes addressing dental amalgam, mercury-based skin creams, and fluorescent lights.

Finance at COP28: After the Euphoria, Come Questions Galore

By Stella Paul
On November 30, the first day of COP28, the much-awaited Loss and Damage Fund—a landmark decision to compensate the world’s most climate-affected and climate-vulnerable people—was declared operational. Announcing the decision, COP28 President Dr Sultan Al Jaber said, ‘the fact that we have been able to achieve such a significant milestone on the first day of this COP is unprecedented. This is historic.”

It’s Time To Align Climate Finance and Social Justice, Says Youth Climate Activist

By Cecilia Russell
During his childhood, Joshua Amponsem spent a lot of time in his dry rural community collecting water from the streams. “It was normal,” the co-director of the Youth Climate Justice Fund says in an interview on the sidelines of COP28. “We didn’t talk about climate change.”
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