2020: the year for action, to ‘rise up’ and safeguard ocean lifeÂ
Feb 06, 2020, at 09:05 am
New York/IBNS: With the ocean in deep crisis, members of civil society and philanthropic organisations are urging governments and corporations to take bold action to safeguard the ocean. After a two-day preparatory meeting in New York ahead of June’s UN Ocean Conference in Portugal, activists handed over what they termed “A Blue Call to Action” to the UN Secretary-General António Guterres, on Wednesday.
Ocean Conference has potential to be a ‘global game-changer’
Feb 05, 2020, at 10:03 am
New York/IBNS: The second global Ocean Conference taking place in Portugal in a few months’ time promises to be “a critical moment” for the health of life under water and on land, the President of the UN General Assembly said on Tuesday, as preparations got underway.
Climate action ‘both a priority and a driver of the decade’: Guterres
Feb 04, 2020, at 10:23 am
New York/IBNS: Climate action will be both a priority and a driver of world affairs through the coming decade, United Nations Secretary-General chief António Guterres announced on Monday, during a speech at UN Headquarters in New York on Monday, in which he declared that the next ten years will be “crucial for achieving a fair globalization, boosting economic growth and building peaceful societies”.
My Right To Breathe: Delhi residents demand clean air solutions from politicians ahead of polls
Jan 31, 2020, at 01:13 pm
New Delhi,/IBNS: Thousands gathered at town hall meetings across New Delhi recently to demand clean air from their representatives led by My Right to Breath (MRTB), a citizens' movement.
State of emergency declared amid bushfire threat to Australian capital
Jan 31, 2020, at 10:43 am
Canberra/Xinhua/UNI: Authorities have declared a bushfire state of emergency in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).
Chile issues red alert over forest fire
Jan 26, 2020, at 11:07 am
Santiago/Xinhua: Local authorities of Chile's southern region of Biobio issued a red alert on Saturday after a forest fire burned 2.1 square km of vegetation.
5.0-magnitude earthquake jolts Puerto Rico
Jan 26, 2020, at 09:41 am
Washington/Xinhua: A 5.0-magnitude earthquake rocked Puerto Rico on Saturday, as the Caribbean island has experienced tremors nearly on a daily basis since late December.
Indian political system unprepared to tackle the realities of climate change: Amitav Ghosh
Jan 25, 2020, at 11:36 pm
Kolkata/UNI: Climate change and its grave consequences continue to be neglected at the cost of populist issues by the Indian political system, opined noted writer Amitav Ghosh on Saturday.
Death toll from earthquake in East Turkey reaches 14 - Emergency Management Agency
Jan 25, 2020, at 09:31 am
Ankara/Sputnik The death toll from the Friday earthquake in Turkey's east has increased to 14 people, the Turkish emergency management agency said.
West Bengal and the UK join hands to tackle degradation in the Sundarbans delta
Jan 24, 2020, at 12:47 pm
Kolkata/IBNS: West Bengal government's environment department together with the British Deputy High Commission Kolkata and the Newcastle University, UK have joined hands as a ‘force for good’ to launch Living Deltas Transdisciplinary Research Hub funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) under the Global Challenge Research Fund (GCRF).
WEF: Greenpeace challenges banks over $1.4 trillion invested in fossil fuels since Paris Agreement
Jan 22, 2020, at 03:56 pm
Davos-Klosters/IBNS: Since the groundbreaking Paris summit on climate change in 2015, 24 global banks have invested $1.4 trillion in the fossil fuel industry, according to Jennifer Morgan, Executive Director of Greenpeace International. Greenpeace’s report, It’s the Finance Sector, Stupid, published today, puts the blame for the climate emergency at the feet of the banks, insurers and pension funds that participate in Davos.
UN human rights ruling could boost climate change asylum claims
Jan 22, 2020, at 09:26 am
New York/IBNS: The UN Human Rights Committee has determined that countries cannot deport people who have sought asylum due to climate-related threats.
WEF: New public-opinion poll calls for better climate education and urgent upskilling
Jan 21, 2020, at 03:27 pm
Geneva, Switzerland/IBNS: A global survey of public opinion published today by the World Economic Forum finds that the world overwhelmingly blames global warming on human activity, with some regions slightly less trusting of climate science in 2020.
East Africa locusts threaten food insecurity across subregion, alerts UN agriculture agency
Jan 21, 2020, at 09:18 am
New York/IBNS: Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia are dealing with desert locust swarms of “unprecedented size and destructive potential” that could spill over into more countries in East Africa, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned on Monday.
Mobile protected areas needed to preserve biodiversity in the high seas
Jan 18, 2020, at 04:31 pm
Washington/IBNS: World leaders are currently updating the laws for international waters that apply to most of the world’s ocean environment. This provides a unique opportunity, marine scientists argue this week, to introduce new techniques that allow protected zones to shift as species move under climate change.
5.3-magnitude quake hits New Zealand -- USGS
Jan 18, 2020, at 09:05 am
Beijing/Xinhua/UNI: An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.3 jolted 178 km ESE of Raoul Island, New Zealand 0207 GMT on Saturday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
Climate crisis ‘affecting quality of life and fuelling discontent’
Jan 17, 2020, at 10:22 am
New York/IBNS: The climate crisis, as well as persistently high inequalities, and rising levels of food insecurity and undernourishment, is affecting the quality of life in many societies and fuelling discontent, the UN warned on Thursday, on the publication of the 2020 World Economic Situation Report (WESP).
2019 second hottest year on record, UN confirms
Jan 16, 2020, at 09:39 am
New York/IBNS: Last year was the second warmest year on record, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) confirmed on Wednesday.
Climate denial wastes time amid Australian bushfire crisis: official
Jan 15, 2020, at 10:30 am
Canberra/Xinhua/UNI: Australia's science minister has said that people arguing over the existence of climate change and its impact on bushfires are wasting time.
At least 61 killed, scores trapped as avalanches hits life in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir
Jan 14, 2020, at 04:52 pm
Islamabad/UNI: At least 61 people were killed and scores of others trapped in separate incidents of avalanches in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on Tuesday.
Hazardous bushfire smoke delays first day of Australian Open tennis qualifiers
Jan 14, 2020, at 10:13 am
Sydney/Xinhua/UNI: Thick bushfire smoke has delayed the first day of qualifiers at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on Tuesday, with the toxic smog deemed too hazardous for athletes to play in.
New Zealand volcanic eruption death toll rises to 18
Jan 13, 2020, at 06:18 pm
Wellington/Xinhua/UNI: The death toll of New Zealand's White Island volcanic eruption last month rose to 18 following the death of a severely injured person at an Australian hospital on Sunday night.
Thousands evacuated as Philippine volcano threatens big eruption
Jan 13, 2020, at 10:35 am
Manila/Xinhua/UNI: Nearly 50,000 people living near a volcano on an island close to the Philippine capital have heeded official warning to evacuate as fears of an eruption grew, officials said on Monday.
Australian PM open to increasing emissions reduction target in response to bushfires
Jan 12, 2020, at 11:03 pm
Canberra/Xinhua/UNI: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Sunday that the government's emissions targets need to "evolve."
Jan 12, 2020, at 10:48 pm
Moscow/Sputnik/UNI: Philippine authorities started to evacuate three towns in the province of Batangas, close to the capital Manila, over Taal Volcano’s increased activity and a strong explosion that resulted in a half mile-high pillar of ash, media reported on Sunday.
Aamir Khan lauds District Officials for Swachh Bharat Mission
Jan 12, 2020, at 06:47 pm
New Delhi/IBNS: The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS), Ministry of Jal Shakti, organised the ODF Sustainability workshop here on Sunday, with a special session by Shri Aamir Khan (Actor and Founder, Paani Foundation).
Earthquake measuring 3.4 on Richter Scale hits Kangra
Jan 12, 2020, at 04:21 pm
Kangra/IBNS/UNI: An earthquake measuring 3.4 on the Richter Scale hit Himachal Pradesh's Kangra district on Sunday.
Inaction over climate emergency ‘not an option’ says UN Assembly chief
Jan 11, 2020, at 04:06 pm
New York/IBNS: Inaction when it comes to the fight back against damaging climate change is not an option, the President of the UN General Assembly told a major energy conference in Abu Dhabi on Friday.
Australia wildfires: 'Mega blaze' may hit parts of the nation on Friday
Jan 10, 2020, at 04:30 pm
Sydney/IBNS: Australian authorities have said that two bushfires that are currently ravaging the nation might merge to form a "mega blaze" on Friday, media reports said.
Bushfires: Climate activists to march across several cities in Australia tomorrow
Jan 10, 2020, at 09:22 am
Sydney: Slamming the Australian government's 'criminal negligence' on the bushfire crisis, thousands of activists will participate in protest marches across nine cities in the country on Friday.