Economy & Trade

New Law in Cuba Makes Investing in Renewable Energy Sources Mandatory

By Dariel Pradas
With Decree 110, published on 26 November, Cuba made it mandatory for major consumers, whether they are state or private entities, to invest in the use of renewable energy sources, while the energy crisis facing the country worsens.

COP29: Advancing work for Climate Finance and for Climate-Adapted Agri-Food Systems

By David Nabarro
Frustrations over the pace of climate action and the size of the finance target agreed in Baku are valid from the perspective of low-income countries, especially Small-Island Developing States (SIDS). It is also important to recognize that there has been real progress in some countries at the agri-food-nutrition-climate-water-nature-livelihoods intersection, and this seems to be particularly the case in some countries in the Alliance of Champions for Food Systems Transformation (ACF).

Breaking Latin America’s Cycle of Low Growth and Violence

By Ilan Goldfajn and Rodrigo Valdés
Violent crime and insecurity have a disproportionate impact on Latin America and the Caribbean, with severe consequences for socioeconomic development.

It’s the Greed, Stupid!

By Baher Kamal
The available data is self-explanatory: business-prompted human activities have already altered over 70% of the Earth’s lands, with 24 billion tonnes of fertile soil lost due to industrial agriculture, the excessive use of chemicals, overgrazing, deforestation, pollution and other major threats.

Redefine Business Success to Include Nature

By Stephen Polasky and Matt Jones
Sustaining nature is not just an environmental goal—it is an essential component of sustainable business—and requires that we redefine business success to include the wise stewardship of nature.

FAO Renews Its Commitment to Right to Food Guidelines

By Oritro Karim
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) launched its newest report on the Right to Food Guidelines on December 10, which focuses on that focused on the urgency of food security as well as the measures that will be taken by the organization to eradicate hunger and malnutrition in the coming decade.

Africa’s Time – Delivering Transformation via Innovation

By Deodat Maharaj
Africa, the world’s youngest continent is brimming with creativity, talent and innovation. With more than 60% of its population under the age of 25, Africa’s youth are fueling entrepreneurship and job creation across the region.

In Zimbabwe, Women Are Leading the Battle Against Climate Change

By Farai Shawn Matiashe
When Susan Chinyengetere started to focus on farming in her home village in south-eastern Zimbabwe, she wondered if she could earn a living and raise her children. With climate catastrophes ravaging the country, her hesitation on rain-fed agriculture worsened. But two years later, the 32-year-old mother of two from Mafaure village in Masvingo, about 295 km from the capital Harare, is now a champion in farming.

Central American Countries Backtrack on Metal Mining Ban

By Edgardo Ayala
Metal mining has a renewed momentum in Central America, encouraged by populist rulers who, in order to soften environmental damage, claim they can develop it in harmony with nature, which is hard to believe

Protect the Rights and Future of Youth, Right Now, From Addiction and Harm

By Yodhim Dela Rosa and Rajika Mahajan
As the world commemorates UN Human Rights Day December 10, with the theme, “Our Rights, Our Future, Right Now,” it’s time to ask: Are we truly listening to what the youth envision for their present and future?

South Africa’s G20 Presidency: A Call for Transformative Leadership in a Fractured World

By Jyotsna Mohan Singh
South Africa’s G20 Presidency begun in December, with only 12% of SDG targets on track and significant backsliding on more than 30%. As we write this today, there is an urgent need for a paradigm shift and practical solutions for a progressive, people-centred, and development-driven agenda in a fractured global landscape that needs collective healing.

Plastics, Power, and Politics: The High-Stakes Fight for a Global Treaty

By Dharmesh Shah
As the fifth round of negotiations of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) for a global plastics treaty concluded in Busan, South Korea (25 November-December 1 2024), the meeting underscored both the complexities and the promises of multilateralism. What we saw in Busan was indicative of other environmental treatymaking spaces, including ones on climate and biodiversity.

Another Tsunami Sweeps Sri Lanka

By Neville de Silva
On 26 December 2004 a powerful Asian tsunami swept over many of Sri Lanka’s coastal provinces, killing thousands of people and wildlife, devastating habitats and even washing away a trainload of passengers far from the rail tracks.

UNCCD COP16 Raises Hopes for Ambitious Global Land Action

By Stella Paul
While many delegates at the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP16) hope that this could be the convention’s own Paris moment—referring to the historic Paris agreement inked by UNFCCC signatories—however, this hedges heavily on the UN parties’ seriousness to combat drought, desertification and land degradation.

New Approaches Urgently Needed to Tackle Resurgent Social Crises

By Jomo Kwame Sundaram
Despite uneven economic recovery since the pandemic, poverty, inequality, and food insecurity continue to worsen, including in the Asia-Pacific region, which used to fare better than the rest of the Global South.

Rural Laboratory Innovates in Northeastern Brazil

By Carlos Müller
In the municipality of Congo, in the state of Paraiba, in the driest territory of Brazil's semi-arid region, an original initiative seeks to prove it is possible to overcome several challenges concerning family farming. It is the EcoProductive Pilot Project.

How an App Transformed Farming for Rural Tanzanian Women

By Kizito Makoye
In the sun-scorched soils of Moshi, where every drop of rain counts, two female farmers have defied the odds through technology. Mwajuma Rashid Njau and Mumii Rajab, once locked in a daily struggle to survive, have found a mobile phone their best ally.

Focus on Africa: IPBES Plenary Session Makes Inaugural Visit to Biodiverse Continent

By Joyce Chimbi
The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services’ (IPBES) first Plenary session in Africa is a “crucial acknowledgement of Africa’s important contribution to biodiversity conservation, which is a global public good, a heritage that Africa has the privilege to share with the peoples of the world,” says Dr. Luthando Dziba, from South Africa, co-chair of the IPBES Multidisciplinary Expert Panel.

South Africa’s G20 Presidency in 2025: A Pivotal Moment for the Country and Africa

By Mkhululi Chimoio
In 2025, South Africa will assume the presidency of the G20, a pivotal moment in the African country's international diplomatic efforts. The Group of Twenty (G20), is an intergovernmental economic forum comprising 19 countries and two regional unions - the European Union (EU), and recently the African Union (AU). It represents 85 per cent of the global economy, 75 per cent of world trade and 67 per cent of the global population.

COP29 Falls Short on Finance

By Andrew Firmin
COP29, the latest annual climate summit, had one job: to strike a deal to provide the money needed to respond to climate change. It failed. This was the first climate summit dedicated to finance. Global south countries estimate they need a combined US$1.3 trillion a year to transition to low-carbon economies and adapt to the impacts of climate change. But the last-minute offer made by global north states was for only US$300 billion a year.

Giving the Ocean a Fighting Chance Through the Great Blue Wall

By James A Michel
The Ocean is our life source, but for decades it has been repeatedly marred by humankind. With the disposal of pollutants into the Ocean, overexploitation of Ocean resources and the human-driven increase of global temperatures, the Ocean is changing and not for the better. Our Oceans are warming, corals are dying, fish stocks are declining, toxic chemicals are being released into the Ocean – these eAects are clearly visible today, but there is hope. There are organisations from all around the world that are fighting to save our Ocean.
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