UN chief urges ministers to provide ‘decisive leadership’ on climate action
New York: With nations striving to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and its devastating impacts, efforts must focus on decarbonizing the global economy and building a more inclusive and resilient future, the UN Secretary-General said on Monday.
‘Staggering’ rise in climate emergencies in last 20 years, new disaster research shows
New York: The first 20 years of this century have seen a “staggering” rise in climate disasters, UN researchers said on Monday, while also maintaining that “almost all nations” have failed to prevent a “wave of death and illness” caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
UN chief and UK premier announce December climate summit
New York: With the COVID-19 pandemic having disrupted plans to hold the annual international UN climate meeting - known as the COP - this year, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom have announced that they will instead co-host a “landmark global event” on 12 December, the fifth anniversary of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.
Climate change: Record northern heat, fuels concerns over US wildfire destruction
New York: The northern hemisphere experienced its warmest August ever, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Tuesday, amid searing conditions that have contributed to devastating wildfires on the west coast of the United States.
Science, solidarity and solutions needed against climate change: Guterres
New York: Concentrations of greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere are at record levels, and emissions that saw a temporary decline due to the pandemic are heading towards pre-COVID levels, while global temperatures continue to hit new highs, according to a major new UN report.
Durban launches Africa's first city climate action plan
Durban/Xinhua: South Africa's eThekwini Municipality has become the first city on the African continent and one of the 12 cities in the world to develop and adopt a climate action plan.
‘No hope’ of reaching climate, development goals, without youth optimism and know-how
New York: Without harnessing the energy, tech savvy and optimism of young people, the world has no hope of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or the Paris Agreement on climate change, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Tuesday.
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.