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.
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.
As the climate crisis intensifies, long-term adaptation strategies have become urgent. Among the most effective nature-based solutions are mangroves—resilient coastal forests that protect communities, preserve biodiversity, and capture carbon.
“We shall have to do more with less” was the summary message from a meeting in Oslo, Norway, this spring (2025), where the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway, Espen Barth Eide and Guy Ryder, Under-Secretary-General for Policy at the UN and Chair of UN80, both spoke about UN80 and the necessity to reform the UN.
On September 11, Charlie Weimers, a Swedish Member of the
European Parliament and active within the
European Conservatives and Reformists Group, rose up during a Parliamentary session and asked for a minute of silence to honour the memory of Charlie Kirk, who the day before had been shot and killed during a political meeting at the
Utah Valley University in the U.S.
The room at the Swiss Inn Nexus Hotel in Bole was silent but tense as Sunita Narain, one of the world’s most influential environmental voices, fixed her gaze on rows of African journalists, scientists, and policymakers. Her tone was gentle, but the words cut deep.
As climate-induced disasters continue to devastate the Global South, nations are steadily mounting pressure at the United Nations for wealthier countries to deliver on long-promised climate reparations through the Loss and Damage Fund. For Indigenous peoples, whose territories are often the most ecologically intact yet most damaged by climate change, these negotiations define survival, sovereignty and recognition as rights-holders in global climate governance.
Other articles in this series on clustering conventions that are addressed by the Triple Environmental Crisis of pollution (
Stanley-Jones), biodiversity (
Schally) and climate change (
Azores) I have touched on the idea of clustering not only conventions but the science-policy bodies established separately to serve them. We address the question of the negative consequences of maintaining status quo and identify how “consolidating knowledge” might make a difference.
As increasingly frequent droughts and devastating floods are affecting agricultural productivity, leaving millions of people food insecure in Africa amid a lack of climate finance, the African Development Bank (AfDB) has committed USD 11 billion to support various climate-resilient and infrastructure projects in rural areas.
Algorithms
decide who lives and dies in Gaza. AI-powered surveillance tracks
journalists in Serbia. Autonomous weapons are
paraded through Beijing’s streets in displays of technological might. This isn’t dystopian fiction – it’s today’s reality. As AI reshapes the world, the question of who controls this technology and how it’s governed has become an urgent priority.
African climate negotiators and civil society organizations at the second Africa Climate Summit (ACS 2) have called on governments to include sustainable farming approaches and other Africa-led solutions in their revised Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) and National Adaptation Plans (NAP) ahead of COP 30, as the only way to have their priorities on the global climate negotiation agenda.
Despite climate change being a health risk multiplier, health is often underrepresented in climate negotiation processes.
Experts attribute this to a lack of funding by the African governments and a lack of capacity building among climate negotiators.
As climate shocks intensify across East Africa, from failed rains in Kenya’s arid north to devastating floods in Tanzania’s coastal belt, the region’s banks are emerging as unlikely but powerful players in the resilience race.
Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have risen over the last two centuries, with current and accumulated emissions per capita from rich nations greatly exceeding those of the Global South.
Globally, there is a
0.36% deterioration in average levels of peacefulness, as more countries are increasing their levels of militarisation against the backdrop of rising geopolitical tensions, increasing conflict, and rising economic uncertainty.
The debacle that was the latest round of negotiations for a global treaty on plastics (including in the marine environment); known as “INC 5.2” has already been written about at length by many colleagues on all sides of the issues. Despite all the very informative posts, articles, and other analyses, I believe I have several key observations to make, particularly about the process to-date.
The relentless rain that battered the mountains and valleys of Jammu and Kashmir this August shattered lives and records.
2025 has been marked by a significant escalation of the climate crisis and its effects on vulnerable populations, as the World Meteorological Organization (
WMO) warn that average global temperatures could exceed the 1.5°C threshold within the next five years. In Latin America and the Caribbean, rising temperatures and emissions continue to strain access to essential services and deepen poverty, particularly among children.
From Zimbabwe's '
The Smoke that thunders,' Victoria Falls, to the awe-inspiring Pyramids in Egypt and the romantic Taj Mahal in India, these iconic sites are facing a growing threat - water risk.
Over the past decade, major strides have been made in expanding global access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services, with billions of people around the world seeing improvements in overall health and well-being. Despite these gains, people largely from low-income countries and marginalized groups still lack access to clean water, leaving them vulnerable to disease and hindering social development and inclusion.
The international governance of environmental challenges has progressively evolved over the past decades, transitioning from isolated treaties addressing specific issues to a complex web of multilateral agreements that aim to foster sustainable development and environmental integrity.