Building Resilience: Spotlight on Poorest, Rural Communities Amid COP29 Competing Priorities

Life in remote, marginal areas, drylands and deserts is increasingly becoming difficult because rural people are in the crosshairs of an unprecedented climate onslaught. A substantial number of lives and livelihoods are on the line, as nearly half of the world's population, 3.3 billion, lives in rural areas and 90 percent of them are in developing countries.

Invest in Flooding Research Today To Protect Tomorrow

The United Nations recently released the 2024 Nationally Determined Contributions synthesis report, just weeks before presidents, global leaders, climate scientists and activists convene in Azerbaijan for the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference. The report reveals that current national climate plans are not sufficient.

Walking with Wisdom: Whaia’s Mission to Bring Indigenous Knowledge to COP 29

Kaitiaki! Whaia says she is at COP29 to bring indigenous wisdom to influence policy and to provide guardianship (kaitiaki) of the climate negotiations.

From the Biodiversity COP16 to the Climate COP29: Building Equitable Accountability, Alignment, and Adequacy on Finance

The United States just went through its most consequential election. While the outcome raises questions about what the re-election of Trump means for U.S. engagement in global climate talks moving forward (in view of his previous stunt), the game is still on, with or without him. Despite the challenges, local communities, cities, states, private actors, and the public more broadly have embarked on an unstoppable journey—upholding the spirit of the Paris Agreement.

COP29 Negotiators Urged to Define Financial Path to Education for Climate-Affected Children

Directly destroying schools and learning materials, climate shocks are increasingly taking away the right to education. A staggering 400 million students globally experienced school closures from extreme weather since 2022. As COP29 negotiations deepen, defining a sustainable financial path to learning for vulnerable children, particularly those caught up in crises and conflict, is critical and urgent.

UN May Face Another Calamity– Under a Second Trump Presidency

US President Donald Trump’s return to the White House on January 20 next year may be another calamity for the United Nations—particularly if the second term turns out to be a re-run of his first presidency (2017-2021). Trump’s past track record included the US withdrawal from the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); threats against member states voting for anti-Israeli resolutions and slashing funds to a 72-year-old UN agency for Palestinian refugees.

‘Show Me the Money’—Grenada PM Calls for Climate Justice

"Though I come from a 'no worries' island, climate change is deeply worrisome for us," Grenada's Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell told IPS in an exclusive interview at COP29 currently underway in Baku, Azerbaijan. Asked how his country was recovering from Hurricane Beryl, Mitchell said the island in the last 24 hours “experienced flash flooding and landslides... So, apart from Hurricane Beryl, we are also dealing with other climate catastrophes.”

Progress as Draft Decision Text for COP29 Presidency’s Top Negotiating Priority Released

Three days into the landmark COP29 conference, the co-chairs of the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) have arrived at a workable basis for discussion on the summit’s top priority goal—a new climate finance goal. The COP29 Presidency says the draft will, moving forward, “guide conversations around potential landing zones and help identify concerns.”

Make Health Top of Climate Negotiations Agenda—Global Climate & Health Alliance

Climate change and its impact on public health hasn't made the top of the agenda even at a forum like the UN Climate Conference, but is should, say the health community. Understanding the gap, more than 100 organizations from across the international health and climate community came together as the Global Climate and Health Alliance and have called wealthy countries to protect people's health by committing to provide climate finance in the order of a trillion dollars annually, in addition to global action with leadership from the highest emitting countries to end the fossil fuel era.

‘Drill, Baby, Drill’

During his electoral campaign, incoming U.S. President Donald Trump highlighted that the U.S. holds more oil reserves than any other country, even surpassing Saudi Arabia. In this context, he openly encouraged big businesses to tap into these reserves with the words: ’Drill, baby, drill.’

UNDP’s Sustainable Energy Director Calls For Innovative Financial Solutions for Adaptation, Mitigation

Riad Meddeb, Director of the Sustainable Energy Hub at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), stressed the urgency of finding innovative financial solutions during COP29.

2024 Poised to Be Warmest Year Ever—WMO Warns of Escalating Climate Crisis

Once again, scientists issued a red alert by analyzing ongoing world’s weather and its impact on the climate. The year 2024 is on track to be the warmest year on record, contributed by an extended streak of high monthly global mean temperatures.

The 1.5 degrees Celsius Target from Paris (Probably) Died on November 5th.

So, the worst has happened. American voters have apparently just elected the most chaotic and kleptocratic individual in their country’s political history as their president. (We say ‘apparently’, because these days nothing can be certain about the integrity of the US political or electoral system – as is the case with far too many other countries.)

4 Reasons Why the Climate Coalition Will Win Despite Trump

The nation which more than any other caused the climate crisis will leave it to the rest of the world to sort out the mess. That is a takeaway from the US election last week.

COP29: Making Space Applications Work for Women in Agriculture

When the first woman in space, Valentina Tereshkova, orbited the Earth in 1963, there were only three active Earth observation satellites. Today, the number is 114 times greater.

Cryosphere Crisis: Scientists Warn of Devastating Global Impacts Without Urgent Climate Action

Scientists warn of vastly higher impacts on billions of people’s livelihood and cost to the global economy by the accelerating losses in the world’s snow and ice regions, aka the cryosphere. Over 50 leading cryosphere scientists released an annual report on the status of the world’s ice stores on Tuesday (November 12) at the UN Climate Conference (COP29) in Baku. An updated report on the world's ice warns of “drastically higher costs without immediate emissions reductions.” 

Without Supercharging Adaptation Funding Global Temperatures Could Surge

The Head of Impact Assessment and Adaptation, Henry Neufeldt, UN Environment Programme Copenhagen Climate Centre, has called for increased climate adaptation funding, particularly for developing nations facing significant climate risks.

When the truth becomes a lie: What Trump’s election means for the world as we know it

On the day following the US election, UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres issued a brief statement commending the people of the United States for their active participation in the democratic process. He wisely omitted mention that the election of Donald J. Trump – who attempted to overturn the people’s mandate by inciting an insurrection in 2021 - is a major setback for the UN’s worldwide quest to advance human rights and the rule of law. Trump is a self-avowed admirer of authoritarian strongmen like Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Hungary’s Viktor Orban who disdain international norms that the UN seeks to uphold.

UN Climate Summit Needs Action – not a COP-Out

The Paris Agreement on climate change is a decade old this month. While there has been progress - with new net zero pledges and new technological solutions, we are still grappling with the reality that global temperatures continue to soar. 2023 was the hottest year ever on record.

Cities Will Be Hit Hardest By Climate Change, UN Report Warns

Cities are in a unique position, simultaneously the biggest emitters of greenhouse gasses and the most affected areas of the greenhouse effect. As a new UN report shows that rapid urbanization and industrialization have adverse effects on the environment, causing a rise in sea levels, prolonged rainfalls and flooding, and an increase in overall temperature. The coastal areas that cities most often inhabit face the brunt of these effects, with marginalized populations being the most vulnerable.

UNEP: Nations Must Step Up Adaptation—Starting with Bold Finance Action at COP 29

The United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) 2024 Adaptation Gap Report has warned that adaptation actions are not keeping pace with the surging demands of a warming planet. Released ahead of the COP29 climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, the report—titled Come Hell and High Water—projected a bleak future where vulnerable communities bear the brunt of climate-induced hardships.