Venezuela at a Crossroads

When US special forces seized Nicolás Maduro and his wife from the presidential residence in Caracas on 3 January, killing at least 24 Venezuelan security officers and 32 Cuban intelligence operatives in the process, many in the Venezuelan opposition briefly dared hope.

Haiti at a Crossroads: Political Uncertainty and Gang Control Push Nation Toward Collapse

As Haiti’s Transitional President Council (TPC) approaches its February 7 expiration date and the country remains without a newly elected president, humanitarian experts warn the nation risks further sliding into insecurity, raising fears of broader collapse.

Excluding Food Systems From Climate Deal Is a Recipe for Disaster

As they ate catered meals, COP30 negotiators had no appetite for fixing broken food systems, a major source of climate pollution, experts warn. Food systems are the complete journey food takes—from the farm to fork—which means its growing, processing, distribution, trade and consumption and even the waste.

Security Council’s Deep Concern Over United States’ Venezuela Action

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed deep concern about the immediate future of Venezuela. In a statement read by Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo, Guterres told the Security Council’s emergency meeting he was deeply concerned about “possible intensification of the instability in the country, the potential impact on the region, and the precedent it may set for how relations between and among states are conducted.”

Living with nature, the climate lesson from Brazil’s caatinga

“The work of collecting seeds saved me from depression,” caused by her daughter's suicide at the age of 29, said Maria do Desterro Soares, 64, who lives in the poor rural community of Jatobá in northeastern Brazil.

Natural Restoration Recovers Lagoon and Environmental Justice in Brazil: VIDEO

"We moved from a context of socio-environmental exclusion to one of environmental justice," said Dionê Castro, coordinator of the Sustainable Oceanic Region Program which led Brazil's largest nature-based solutions project.

The Bitter Sweet Future of Cocoa Showcased During COP30, Belém

Izete dos Santos Costa, also known as Dona Nena among locals in Combu Island, welcomed hundreds of people from around the world during the recent climate conference in Belém. Her team showcased local crafts and chocolate-making processes in the land of the Amazon rainforest—far from the deafening air conditioner sounds at the Parque da Cidade, where the COP30 negotiations were ongoing.

My Niece Was Killed Amid Mexico’s Land Conflicts. The World Must Hold Corporations Accountable

My niece Roxana Valentín Cárdenas was 21 years old when she was killed. She was a Purépecha Indigenous woman from San Andrés Tziróndaro, a community on the shores of Lake Pátzcuaro in the Mexican state of Michoacán.

Venezuela Needs More Local Data To Understand the Impacts of Climate Change

A group of 55 researchers gathered and analyzed 1,260 bibliographic references to compile the Second Academic Report on Climate Change in Venezuela. Their final conclusion is that more local studies are still needed to record the direct impacts across different Venezuelan regions and, in particular, to provide data to design the adaptation plans necessary to address climate change.

Fresh Lens For Nuanced Multifaceted Climate Solutions Needed

“I see more philanthropic support aligning with systems thinking, linking climate stability, biodiversity protection, Indigenous leadership, and community resilience,” says Michael Northrop, Program Director at the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.

COP30 Fails the Caribbean’s Most Vulnerable, Leaders Say: ‘Our Lived Reality Isn’t Reflected’

Caribbean small island states say this year’s UN climate conference has once again failed to deliver the urgency and ambition needed to tackle escalating climate devastation across the region. From slow-moving climate finance to frustrating political gridlock, leaders say COP30 did not reflect the realities that small islands are living through every day.

Unpacking COP30’s Politically Charged Belém Package

Following tense, nightlong negotiations and bitter rows between more than 190 country delegations, a “politically charged Belém package" was finally forged at COP30—so named because of the highly contentious and difficult-to-negotiate issues within the climate talks.

Rainwater Harvesting Mitigates Drought in Eastern Guatemala – VIDEO

Plagued by drought, farming families living within the boundaries of the Dry Corridor in eastern Guatemala have resorted to rainwater harvesting, an effective technique that has allowed them to cope.

School Days Lost, but Non-Economic Loss and Damage Not Part of Global Talks

Jyoti Kumari missed her online classes again today. Her father, a vegetable seller in West Delhi’s vegetable market, had to go to work, taking with him the only smartphone the family uses. Kumari has been taking online classes since November 11, when the state government declared a shutdown of all elementary schools due to air pollution hitting the “severe” category.

‘Future Shaped by Ocean-Based Innovations Within Reach’

The oceans are a fundamental part of Earth's climate system, regulating it by absorbing and storing vast amounts of solar heat, redistributing that heat around the globe through currents, and absorbing a significant portion of human-caused carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions—yet scientific research into them remains underfunded.

Sidelined—Quilombos Fight on for Health of World’s Largest Rainforest

Just 30 minutes from where the UN climate negotiations are unfolding in the port city of Belém, Afro-descendant communities are engaged in a fierce struggle for the full recognition and legal titling of their ancestral territories—critical as their security and livelihoods are compromised by businesses wanting to set up contaminating landfill sites and drug cartels.

Cold or Heat, A Disputed Roadmap to Leave Fossil Fuels Behind in COP30

The heat in the Hangar Convention Center of the Amazonia, in the northeastern Brazilian city of Belém, has reached the negotiation rooms of the climate summit. Over the past 72 hours, one of the most delicate and significant discussions of this climate meeting has been taking place: the path to progressively abandon the production and use of coal, gas, and oil.

Civil Society Warns of New Land Grabs as World Bank Pushes for Tenure Reforms in Africa

As the COP30 negotiations intensify in Belém, Brazil, civil society organizations and research experts have called out major financial institutions for promoting foreign interests in controlling Africa's land by formalizing land tenure and seeking to convert Africa's land into industrial farms or carbon markets.

Explainer: Inside COP30’s 11th Hour Negotiations for Legacy-Building Belém Climate Deal

At a Conference of the Parties, where science intersects with politics, reaching agreements is often a tricky business. What is inside the last-minute negotiations as the COP presidency tries to get the parties to agreement at the final plenary?

The Uneven Race of Mexican Protected Areas against Climate Change

Ezequiel Sánchez, a 63-year-old Mexican fisherman, owes everything to the sea. “My life, my work, my family,” he says, pointing around his office, which is located just a block from the ocean in Puerto Morelos town, in the southeastern state of Quintana Roo, Mexico.

Why Climate Finance Is Vital for the Implementation of NDCs in Africa

Funding cuts from the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe have left a funding gap in climate change programmes across Africa.