COP28 is about action, not politics, ‘posturing or point scoring,’ says UN climate chief

COP28 is about action, not politics, ‘posturing or point scoring,’ says UN climate chief

Mr. Stiell’s strong message to government negotiators comes as the latest UN climate conference, running in the UAE’s main city, Dubai, since last Thursday, reaches the halfway mark with agreement on financing for climate adaptation and the fate of fossil fuels still up in the air.  “All governments must give their negotiators clear marching orders”. …

Read More
Tackling health impacts of climate change and scaling up digital climate action in the spotlight at COP28

Tackling health impacts of climate change and scaling up digital climate action in the spotlight at COP28

Ahead of the first ever ‘Health Day’ at a UN climate conference, delegates signed onto a new declaration on climate and health and separately considered the role of digital technology can play in climate action.  The UN World Health Organization (WHO) welcomed the new declaration, which aims to help accelerate actions to protect people from…

Read More
Unprecedented drought emergency demands urgent action

Unprecedented drought emergency demands urgent action

The Global Drought Snapshot report, released by the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) on Friday, coinciding with COP 28, paint a grim picture of the scale of lives and livelihoods lost to droughts. Ibrahim Thiaw, UNCCD Executive Secretary, emphasized the urgency of the situation. “Unlike other disasters that attract media attention, droughts happen silently,…

Read More
COP28: As ‘humanity’s fate hangs in the balance’, UN chief calls for urgent action to prevent planetary crash

COP28: As ‘humanity’s fate hangs in the balance’, UN chief calls for urgent action to prevent planetary crash

The UN chief delivered his impassioned appeal at the high-level opening of the Global Climate Action Summit, which will see world leaders and Heads of State and Government taking centre stage for the next two days in the Al Waha Theatre in Dubai’s iconic Expo City. Warning that “humanity’s fate is hanging in the balance”,…

Read More
World News in Brief: New relief window in Gaza, sexual violence in Sudan, new action against chemical weapons

World News in Brief: New relief window in Gaza, sexual violence in Sudan, new action against chemical weapons

The latest update from UN aid coordination office OCHA indicated that two hospitals in Gaza City, Al Ahli and As Sahaba, had received a total of 10,500 litres of fuel, which is enough to operate their generators for about seven days. But humanitarians have warned that despite the pause in fighting, much more aid is…

Read More
In visit to Antarctica, Guterres appeals for action to end ‘climate anarchy’

In visit to Antarctica, Guterres appeals for action to end ‘climate anarchy’

António Guterres is in Antarctica this week, where he saw first-hand how climate change is impacting the world’s southernmost continent, which is mostly covered in ice. The heat is on “Fossil fuel pollution is heating our planet, unleashing climate anarchy in Antarctica,” said Mr. Guterres, adding that the Southern Ocean has taken the majority of…

Read More
UN agencies urge action to safeguard maternal, child health amidst climate crisis

UN agencies urge action to safeguard maternal, child health amidst climate crisis

In Protecting maternal, newborn and child health from the impacts of climate change, the World Health Organization (WHO), UN Population Fund (UNFPA), and UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) jointly underscore the neglect, underreporting, and underestimation of climate events’ effects on maternal and child health.  It also draws attention to the importance of integrating maternal or child…

Read More