Climate Change

Economic and Social Survey for Asia and the Pacific 2018 – Mobilizing finance for sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth.

By Shamshad Akhtar
Asia and the Pacific remains the engine of the global economy. It continues to power trade, investment and jobs the world over. Two thirds of the region’s economies grew faster in 2017 than the previous year and the trend is expected to continue in 2018. The region’s challenge is now to ensure this growth is robust, sustainable and mobilised to provide more financing for development. It is certainly an opportunity to accelerate progress towards achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Low Awareness Restrains Growth of Solar Technologies

By Tonderayi Mukeredzi
Every year, Amos Chandiringa, 43, a farmer in Nemaire village in Makoni district in northeastern Zimbabwe, laboriously waters his tobacco nursery with a watering can. The toil of the job often leaves him without the energy or time to do other household chores.

Leading from the Front: Zambia Launches Plant a Million Trees Initiative

By Friday Phiri
As global climate experts meet in Bonn this week to discuss how to take climate action forward, Zambia counts itself amongst the leaders as President Edgar Lungu officially launches the Plant a Million (PAM) trees Initiative.

Why Does Rural Poverty Equal Invisibility?

By Alison Small
If an estimated 500 million smallholder farmers at a conservative estimate, produce 70 percent of the food we eat, why are they still so invisible in many countries? Governments, development agencies, non-governmental organizations and the private sector have been working for decades on rural development in developing countries but still rural areas lag far behind cities and outlying areas in terms of infrastructure, services, social and economic development, notwithstanding the contribution that rural producers make to supplying us with food.

New Index Measures Empowerment & Inclusion of Women in Agriculture

By IPS World Desk
The pilot version of a new index for measuring empowerment and the inclusion of women in agriculture was launched April 27 in Washington DC.

Can Sustainable Bioeconomy be a Driver of Green Growth?

By Frank Rijsberman
On April 19-20, I attended the second Global Bioeconomy Summit in Berlin. Bioeconomy is currently a hot topic for scientists and policymakers. Rapid advances in molecular biology combined with big data and artificial intelligence have resulted in big jumps in our understanding of living organisms as well as organic matter, the biomass produced by plants and animals, at the level of their DNA. That has gone hand in hand with technologies that allow scientists and industry to manipulate, easily, everything from enzymes to bacteria to plants and animals.

Over to You, Children! Zambia’s ‘Plant a Million Trees’ Takes Root

By Friday Phiri
Trees are a vital component in the ecosystem—they not only give oxygen, store carbon, stabilise the soil and give refuge to wildlife, but also provide materials for tools, shelter and ultimately, food for both animals and human beings.

What’s Changing As Countries Turn INDCs into NDCs?

By Mengpin Ge and Kelly Levin
In the lead up to the historic Paris Agreement on climate change, adopted in 2015, more than 160 countries and the European Union submitted their own plans to address climate change, known as Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs).

Dreaming of A New Sustainable Economy

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage
Officials from around the world came together to create and support a vision for a new, sustainable economy: a bioeconomy. Almost 1000 bioeconomy experts, from former heads of state to civil society leaders, convened in Berlin for the second Global BIoeconomy Summit to discuss best practices and challenges.

FAO and El País Launch Series of Books on “The State of the Planet”

By Maged Srour
Today the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) hosted an event at its headquarters in Rome, to present a set of eleven books jointly realized in collaboration with the Spanish newspaper El País.

Argentina Aims for a Delicate Climate Balance in the G20

By Daniel Gutman
As president this year of the Group of 20 (G20) developed and emerging nations, Argentina has now formally begun the task of trying to rebuild a consensus around climate change. It will be an uphill climb, since the position taken by the United States in 2017 led to a noisy failure in the group with regard to the issue.

Latin America Faces Uphill Energy Transition

By Emilio Godoy
Latin America is facing challenges in energy efficiency, transportation and power generation to move towards a low carbon economy and thus accelerate that transition, which is essential to cut emissions in order to reduce global warming before it reaches a critical level.

New GCF Project Signals Paradigm Shift for Water-Scarce Barbados

By Desmond Brown
At the start of 2017, the Caribbean Drought and Precipitation Monitoring Network (CDPN) warned eastern Caribbean countries that they were facing “abnormal climate conditions” and possibly another full-blown drought. 



DR Congo’s Mai-Ndombe Forest ‘Savaged’ As Landless Communities Struggle

By Issa Sikiti da Silva
Thousands of logs loaded into makeshift boats at the port of Inongo at Lake Mai-Ndombe stand ready to be transported to Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Food Is the Answer: Perugia International Journalism Festival

By IPS World Desk
The twelfth International Journalism Festival on April 12-15 has drawn 710 speakers from 50 different countries, becoming the biggest journalism festival in Europe.

Caribbean Eyes Untapped Potential of World’s Largest Climate Fund

By Zadie Neufville
The Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) also known as the 5Cs, is looking for ways to boost the region’s access to the Green Climate Fund (GCF).

How Global Emissions Have Changed Since 1850

By Katie Lebling, Mengpin Ge and Johannes Friedrich
Which countries have emitted the most greenhouse gases? The quick answer is, "It depends." A more definitive response is tougher than you may expect. Many factors inform the answer.

Bridging the Humanitarian Needs with Long-term Resilience in Dominica

By Luca Renda
Six months ago, on 18 September 2017, Category 5 Hurricane Maria struck Dominica wreaking unimaginable disaster. Thirty-one people died, thirty-three more remain missing. Roads, bridges, schools, hospitals and over 40 percent of homes were destroyed or severely damaged.

Conflicts Force Up Global Hunger Levels

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage
Largely driven by conflict, the number of hungry people has dramatically increased around the world, reversing decades of progress, according to a new report.

Former UN Chief Takes the Helm of Global Green Growth Institute

By Ahn Mi Young
In the face of climate change and growing energy demand in developing countries, Ban Ki-moon, the new president and chair of the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), unveiled his vision for a more sustainable path by helping countries in their transition to greener economies and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Pakistan Needs Global Climate Funds to Combat Shifting Weather Patterns

By Rabiya Jaffery
As shifting weather patterns and extreme climates become the norm, access to climate funds are deemed essential for developing countries, such as Pakistan, that are facing the brunt of climate change.
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