Dramatic Arctic fires and sea ice melt, show need for urgent climate action
“Exceptional and prolonged” temperatures in Siberia, have left parts of the Arctic warmer than sub-tropical Florida, and fuelled “devastating” wildfires for a second consecutive year, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Friday, while warning also of rapidly decreasing sea ice along the Russian polar coast.
New ECOSOC President outlines focus on pandemic, SDGs and climate action
New York: Now is the time to implement policies and commitments to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and implement the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, the new President of one of the UN’s main bodies said on Thursday.
Rising global temperature shows ‘enormous challenge’ of meeting climate goal
New York: Annual global temperature is likely to be at least 1°C warmer than pre-industrial levels in each of the coming five years, putting globally agreed climate change targets in jeopardy, new data from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reveals.
Global temperature needs to be less than 2 degrees above PI levels
New Delhi/UNI: Climate experts across the globe should script a 'credible path' to keep the global temperature increase limited to less than two degrees above the pre-industrial levels by 2100.
Climate change takes toll on Zimbabwe’s natural habitat, UN deputy chief observes
New York/IBNS: Alongside the human population, Africa’s animals are suffering greatly from the effects of climate change, which United Nations Deputy Secretary General Amina Mahommed saw first-hand on Sunday in Zimbabwe.
In 2018 and 2019, one extreme weather event happened almost every month in India: Report
Nimli/Alwar/IBNS: The continuity and intensity of extreme weather events in India in the 2018-19 period has taken even climate scientists and meteorologists by complete surprise, says the latest State of India’s Environment Annual, which was released here today by Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot.
Climate action ‘both a priority and a driver of the decade’: Guterres
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”.
Indian political system unprepared to tackle the realities of climate change: Amitav Ghosh
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.
West Bengal and the UK join hands to tackle degradation in the Sundarbans delta
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).
UN human rights ruling could boost climate change asylum claims
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
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.
Climate crisis ‘affecting quality of life and fuelling discontent’
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).
Inaction over climate emergency ‘not an option’ says UN Assembly chief
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.
Progress made at COP25, despite lack of agreement to increase climate ambition
New York/IBNS: Negotiations at the COP25 UN climate conference in Madrid finally ended on Sunday, wrapping up an event which saw much progress made by the private sector, and by national, regional and local governments. However, there was widespread disappointment that no overall consensus was reached on increased climate ambition.
‘Embrace the transformation’ to a carbon-neutral world by 2050, UN chief tells COP25
New York/IBNS: With millions of workers increasingly affected by the climate crisis the route to securing livelihoods in the future lies in a wholesale transformation of how we power the planet and manage our resources, the UN chief said on Thursday, at a COP25 climate action event focused on greener jobs.