How Many Developing Countries Are Forging Paths to Climate Accountability at SB62

A packed conference room buzzing with the energy of over 300 national experts, negotiators, and implementers discussed their submissions of the First Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs) during the 62nd session of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SB62) negotiations taking place in Bonn, Germany.

Despite Strong Commitment, SDGs Progress Alarmingly Off Track 10 Years On—New UN Report Finds

Finland now ranks first in global sustainable development goals progress. Barbados is ahead globally in its commitment to UN multilateralism or cooperation among multiple nations. Only 17 percent of sustainable development goals (SDG) targets are on track for 2030, according to the Sustainable Development Report 2025 (SDR) released today by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN)

Less Investment, Less Aid: How FDI Shortfalls are Hurting Global Relief Efforts

The world is losing interest in investing in others, especially when it comes to humanitarian aid. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has slowed to critical levels, weakening emerging markets and further slowing growth across developing nations.

“Slash and Burn” Approach to UN Reforms Under Fire

“We are writing to you regarding the cuts being undertaken under the UN80 Initiative and, more broadly, across the UN system. While we are mindful of the current funding challenges, we believe that the rushed and chaotic manner in which these changes are being implemented is causing deeper harm to both the effectiveness and reputation of the United Nations.

Time to Redesign Global Development Finance

Can the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) be a turning point? The stakes are high. The international financial system—so important to each and every one of us—feels out of reach and resistant to change, because it is deeply entrenched in unjust power imbalances that keep it in place. We deserve better.

UN 80 Restructuring: No Office or Agency will be Exempted from Staff Layoffs

When billionaire Elon Musk, a former short-lived advisor to President Donald Trump, was mandated with the task of decimating the federal bureaucracy and laying off thousands of staffers, he was famously pictured carrying a hacksaw to symbolize his cost-cutting agenda.

Climate and Health: Urgent Need for Adaptation Strategies in Africa

In recent years, there has been growing evidence of how climate change is impacting human health in several ways.

Euro-visions: A Larger Global Role for the Euro?

In a recent speech, Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank (ECB), articulated a clear desire for the euro to play a more significant role as an international currency.

From Deterrence to Disarmament: Global Advocates Call for Justice and Peace

Marking 80 years since the dawn of the nuclear age, peace advocates, diplomats, educators, and atomic bomb survivors from around the world gathered for the “Choose Hope” symposium on March 12–13, 2025, in Santa Barbara, California. Co-organized by the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation (NAPF) and Soka Gakkai International (SGI), the event was held at the Music Academy of the West.

Time to Rethink Health Financing: It’s Not Just a Public Sector Concern

As G7 leaders of the world’s wealthiest nations wrapped up their summit in Kananaskis June 16, a critical issue was absent from the agenda: the future of global health financing.

The Fallout from Losing a UN Job

Ten years ago, I lost more than a job. When my post was abolished, there was no warning, no closure, no golden parachute—just a quiet erasure. Overnight, I went from a UN professional with decades of service to an invisible statistic in a system that eats its own.

‘Live Facial Recognition Treats Everyone as a Potential Suspect, Undermining Privacy and Eroding Presumed Innocence’

 
CIVICUS discusses the dangers of live facial recognition technology with Madeleine Stone, Senior Advocacy Officer at Big Brother Watch, a civil society organisation that campaigns against mass surveillance and for digital rights in the UK.

The Global Mental Health Crisis Surges Amid $200 Billion Funding Gap

Although access to mental health and psychosocial support services is considered a fundamental human right by the United Nations (UN), hundreds of millions of people experience limited or inadequate access to mental health and psychosocial support services.

Ocean Protection is a Multi-Billion Dollar Opportunity

The services the ocean provides are the backbone of our collective health, wealth and food security, yet today just 2.7% of the ocean has been assessed and deemed to be effectively protected. In failing to establish adequate safeguards, not only are we condemning communities and ecosystems across the world to decline and collapse, we are also overlooking a significant economic opportunity.

Weaponizing Food Worsens Starvation

Wars, economic shocks, planetary heating and aid cuts have worsened food crises in recent years, with almost 300 million people now threatened by starvation.

Disaster Risk Reduction: The Insurance That Always Pays Off

Floods, earthquakes, and droughts are striking the wallets of the world harder than any other time in history. According to the Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction, the cost of disasters is only growing, with annual expenditures exceeding 2.3$ trillion; accounting for over 2% of global GDP, and if represented as a nation, it would have the seventh largest GDP.

Private Sector Key to Unlocking the Future of Development

Geopolitical tensions – from deepening rivalries between major powers to regional conflicts – have placed acute pressure on the international development agenda. Development assistance from major funders has been on the decline. The world is becoming more unpredictable.

France Rallies World Leaders to Seal Ocean Protection Deal at UN Conference in Nice

With the future of the world’s oceans hanging in the balance, global leaders, scientists, and activists gathered in the French Riviera city of Nice this week for the historic UN Ocean Conference, where France declared a new era of high seas governance and marine protection.

UN Ocean Conference Closes with Historic Commitments, But Activists Demand Action Beyond Words

The third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) concluded today in Nice with an urgent call for governments to translate bold words into concrete action to protect the world’s oceans. Co-hosted by France and Costa Rica, the summit brought together more than 15,000 participants, including 50 heads of state and government, civil society leaders, scientists, youth, and Indigenous communities in an 11-day event hailed as both a milestone for ocean diplomacy and a test of global resolve.

Reviving Mangroves at the Edge of Mozambique Channel

Just before dawn, a flotilla of wooden canoes drifts silently  through mangrove-tangled channels where roots sprout from the black mud of the lagoon. Here, at the edge between sea and forest, lies a story of restoration.

Mexico, Spain, East Africa, Awarded For their Ecosystem Restoration Programs

At the 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recognized three countries and regions for their large-scale programs to restore their native ecosystems.