Dear World Leaders, Are You Listening Now?

Another year and another UN climate change conference. As our ‘world leaders’ prepare for two air-conditioned weeks of wrangling at COP28 in Dubai later this month, forgive us for sounding underwhelmed, despairing, and even cynical about these annual jamborees where actions rarely match promises.

U.S.-China Climate Agreement: A Leap Forward in Global Climate Cooperation

The recent U.S.-China summit on November 15 in San Francisco, against a backdrop of low expectations, surprisingly made significant strides with the unveiling of the “Sunnylands Statement on Enhancing Cooperation to Address the Climate Crisis.” This agreement, the result of two years of negotiations between climate envoys John Kerry and Xie Zhenhua, represents a considerable advancement following the 2021 joint declaration at the Glasgow Climate Summit.

What the EU Can Learn from Africa

Popular migration discourses in Europe often question the ability of African states to govern migration effectively. Media images of African migrants squeezed into dingy boats in the Mediterranean constantly reinforce these discourses.

Autocracy on the Rise, Warn Civil Society Groups, Seeking UN Expert on Democracy

The rise in authoritarianism worldwide has prompted a coalition of over 85 civil society organizations (CSOs) to call on the Geneva-based Human Rights Council to appoint a Special Rapporteur—an independent UN expert-- to protect democracy and reverse its decline. The joint appeal comes ahead of the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which will be commemorated on 10 December 2023.

Latin America Still Has a Long Way to Go to Eliminate Gender Violence

"The Latin American and Caribbean region has made many advances in the fight against gender violence, but now we are facing reactions that show that our rights are never secure and that we must always be on the alert to defend them," said Susana Chiarotti, a member of Mesecvi's Committee of Experts.

Can COP28 Deliver for Cities and Climate Migrants?

The impacts of climate change on human mobility have yet to be fully understood and addressed on a global scale, even though some 3.3 to 3.6 billion people are highly vulnerable to climate change.

Africa Will Not Cope with Climate Change Without a Just, Inclusive Energy Transition

A just transition should be viewed as an opportunity to rectify some of the wrongs where women are not prioritised in the energy mix, yet their experience of the impact of climate change is massive, says Thandile Chinyavanhu, a young South African-based climate and energy campaigner with Greenpeace Africa.

Call for Rural Agriculture Investment, Less Food Wastage to Address Global Hunger

The politics of global food consumption remain contentious, with the upcoming COP28 taking place against the backdrop of worsening food deficits in the Global South.

A Reinvigorated Regional Commitment to Tsunami Preparedness in Asia & the Pacific

Between 1970 and 2022, disaster events in Asia and the Pacific caused 2.04 million deaths and $2.71 trillion in economic damages. ESCAP estimates that among these totals, tsunamis rank as the third deadliest hazard, accounting for 12% of fatalities, and the fourth most economically destructive hazard, comprising 11 per cent of economic damages.

Give Wildlife a Seat at the Table

As we stand at a critical crossroads in climate change, we must recognise the inextricable link between nature and climate. This connection has been overlooked for far too long. IAR's COP28 campaign, 'Give Wildlife A Seat At The Table,' is gaining support from prominent figures such as Joanna Lumley, Peter Egan, and Jo Brand, who are joining forces with the organisation to address the urgent need for wildlife representation.

COP28: Strengthen Climate Resilience in Small and Vulnerable Countries

With a focus on strengthening the resilience of small and vulnerable member countries, Unnikrishnan Nair says the Commonwealth Secretariat is working to align development and climate finance for maximum impact.

GLOBAL COOPERATION ON CLIMATE CHANGE: What Have We Achieved and What Needs to Happen Next?

Climate change has been a source of concern among the international community since the 1970s. Yet, almost fifty years since the issue was first raised in international diplomatic circles by prominent scientists, the situation continues to deteriorate, with rises in temperatures and extreme weather causing ever-magnifying problems around the world.

The Cries of Gaza Reach Afghanistan

On the morning of 11 November, Mohammed Abu Salmiya, the Director of Gaza's largest medical center, Al Shifa Hospital, sent out an emotional S.O.S. to the world through a television news interview and through the remaining charge on his mobile phone. His plea for an immediate ceasefire on behalf of a hospital under siege and its 700 critically injured and ill patients, 36 premature babies, 400 staff, and the 2000 vulnerable civilians. These people sheltering within the hospital and its garden were heard as far away as Afghanistan yet totally ignored where it counted most- with the men in Israel's war cabinet and Washington; they were busy executing and aiding an illegal war of choice on an unarmed, defenseless hospital and one of the poorest and densely populated places in the world.

Innovative Gender Bond Series Uplifts Rural Women to Drive Climate Action in Asia

Rural women across Asia play a key role producing, processing, and trading agricultural products, and are often the primary users and managers of natural resources.

Indigenous Voices and Food Systems Lead the Way at COP28

In a groundbreaking development, indigenous farmer communities are poised to bring the spotlight onto food systems at the upcoming UN Climate Conference (COP28) in Dubai.

Middle-Income Country Trap?

In recent decades, failure to sustain economic progress has been blamed on a supposed middle-income country (MIC) trap. Such blaming obscures as much as it supposedly explains.

Lula Meets First Brazilian Chair of IPS

During an official audience at the Planalto Palace, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva met on Monday 20 November with writer and journalist Fernando Morais, the first Brazilian to assume the role of Chair at IPS Inter Press Service, one of the international news agencies most committed to democratic communication with developing countries and with civil society at a global level.

What Will Tomorrow’s World Order Look Like?

Ukraine, the Caucasus and the Middle East. The latest eruptions of violence mark the end of Pax Americana. The rise of new powers is shifting the global balance of power. Whether tomorrow’s world will be bipolar or multipolar still remains to be seen.

A Sperm Whale Reserve for All of Us

In Dominica, we are privileged to have over 50 Sperm Whale families living in the calm waters off our western coast as fellow citizens. Living in matrilineal societies led by grandmothers and mothers, these enormous creatures spend time in our waters diving deep for squid, giving birth and raising their young.

Improving Livestock Health Is a Net Positive Move Towards Net Zero

The recent downturn in sales of alternative meat products is only the latest evidence that the world is unlikely to give up animal protein completely in the long run.

The World’s Right-Wing & Left-Wing Torturers

Jeanne Kirkpatrick, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, once made the distinction between "friendly" right-wing authoritarian regimes (which were mostly U.S. and Western allies) and "unfriendly" left-wing totalitarian dictatorships (which the U.S. abhorred). Among the “dictators” the U.S. shunned in the 1970s and 80s were Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe, Myanmar's General Than Shwe, Iraq's Saddam Hussein, Cuba's Fidel Castro, Libya’s Mummar al-Qaddafi, Syria’s Hafez al-Assad and North Korea’s Kim IL-Sung.