The world could suffer a 40 percent shortfall in water in just 15 years unless countries dramatically change their use of the resource, a U.N. report warned last week. Many underground water reserves are already running low, while rainfall patterns are predicted to become more erratic with climate change. As the world's population grows to an expected 9 billion by 2050, more … [Read more...]
Lima Draft forms negotiating text for Paris climate summit
UN climate talks in Geneva have ended with agreement on a formal draft negotiating text for the summit in Paris in December. The document, which runs to 86 pages, builds on negotiations in Peru last year. The Swiss meeting set out to create a draft for consideration at the Paris talks. The aim is to have a new global climate agreement in place by the end of … [Read more...]
Doc sheds light on Filipino farmers’ GM corn struggles
“We loan the seeds, and pay upon harvest. We are usually left with empty sacks. So we loan for food and family expenses, and inputs to be able to plant for the next season. Upon harvest, we have leftover debt.” This is but one of the numerous testaments of farmers that farmer-scientist group MASIPAG has documented on film about the impact of GM corn in the lives and … [Read more...]
COP20 closes with even weaker climate pact
After two weeks of negotiations, the world community has yet again failed to take any meaningful actions to prevent landmark global warming and instead has produced a "roadmap to global burning," leading climate campaigners lamented upon the close of the United Nations COP20 climate talks in Lima, Peru on Sunday. In the wee hours of the morning, two days past the intended … [Read more...]
Adaptation is the only fair way to tackle climate change
As COP20 concludes, climate consultant Mike Edwards argues that delegates need to consider the need for ‘adaptation’ as well as ‘mitigation’. In early November 2013, I was in San Francisco teaching a cohort of business graduates a course I had cheerily titled: 'Global Crises'. As it was early in the course, I was setting the scene with an introduction to climate … [Read more...]
First ever climate summit in heart of the planet
This year’s U.N. Climate Change Conference in Peru marks the first time the talks have been held in an Amazon country. More than 70 percent of Peru’s national territory is within the Amazon Basin. The founder and executive director of Amazon Watch, Atossa Soltani, talks about the significance of the U.N. climate summit taking place in Peru amidst long-term threats to the … [Read more...]
Lake Malawi’s dwindling fish stocks threaten livelihoods
A combination of overfishing and the use of illegal fishing gear has seen fish stocks in Lake Malawi dwindle to the point that local people's livelihoods and food security are now under threat. Not so long ago, scores of women and girls carrying baskets full of fish flocked to commuter buses at bus stops and police checkpoints along the lakeshore roads trying to coax … [Read more...]
Green growth fitfully turning into reality
Ahead of the climate conference in Paris, there is increasing discussion of a new way forward that does not depend on international agreements. The United Nations Climate Summit in New York last week passed with many promises, but no firm pledges. Most notably, China’s vice-premier Zhang Gaoli promised his country would peak its carbon dioxide emissions “as soon as … [Read more...]
ICLEI at the Climate Summit 2014
World leaders are gathering in New York next week to attend the Climate Summit 2014. Convened by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, the Summit aims to mobilize political will and galvanize climate action. Among its eight key action areas are cities – a clear indication of the crucial role we have in fighting climate change. For over two decades, ICLEI – Local Governments for … [Read more...]
Activists promise biggest climate march in history
The biggest climate march in history is taking place on Sunday! Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to take to the streets of major cities in the world this Sunday, 21 September, to pressure world leaders to take action on global warming. Join a local march or event! On 23 September, heads of state will join a New York summit on climate change organised by Ban … [Read more...]
Irreversible damage seen from climate change in UN Leak
Humans risk causing irreversible and widespread damage to the planet unless there’s faster action to limit the fossil fuel emissions blamed for climate change, according to a leaked draft United Nations report. Global warming already is affecting “all continents and across the oceans,” and further pollution from heat-trapping gases will raise the likelihood of “severe, … [Read more...]
Altered marine food webs threaten food security
A new scientific analysis shows that urgent action is needed to reverse the tide of ecological decline in the ocean that threatens economies, societies and nature, says the Global Ocean Commission. The analysis, by leading marine scientists with the International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO) and International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), looks … [Read more...]
Russia requests international GMO watchdog
Russian lawmakers advocate creation of an international UN agency not only to strictly control the turnover of GMO products worldwide, but with a top priority mission to scrutinize how consuming GMO foods would affect human health in the long run. Aggressive distribution of GMO worldwide is raising huge concerns for human health, said Russian Federation Council speaker … [Read more...]
