Addressing a high-level meeting on tourism as part of the General Assembly’s first ever Sustainability Week, Dennis Francis said it was a vital driver of economic growth and empowerment. In 2023, the sector contributed three per cent to the global gross domestic product (GDP), amounting to $3.3 trillion, and employed one in every ten people…
Dominica, which lies in Eastern Caribbean, is particularly vulnerable to extreme weather events, which are being exacerbated by the climate crisis: Hurricane Maria in 2017 was a devastating example, destroying many homes and buildings. The indigenous Kalinago people were particularly affected but, since then, community leaders have been working with the UN to help its…
The large Indian Ocean island is amongst the poorest in Africa where the majority of people make their living off the land or sea. Like many other countries in the region, it is suffering the effects of climate change. UN News’s Daniel Dickinson travelled to the village of Mokala in Anosy region where he spoke…
Ahead of Zero Waste Day, marked annually on 30 March since 2022, we looked back at how that simple but heart-rending statement, a child’s plea to protect the East, echoed across the world. Long before activist Greta Thunberg launched the global Fridays for Future school strike movement in 2018, Ms. Cullis-Suzuki’s speech woke up the world…
“Turn off the lights, and move the world towards a better future for all,” UN Secretary General António Guterres said in a message for the event. The UN chief recalled that 2023 was the hottest in history, and this year’s celebration is a global demonstration of solidarity to follow a different path. “On Earth Hour,…
Based on over 2,300 testimonies from victims and witnesses, the report details measures taken by Russia to impose Russian language, citizenship, laws, court system and education curricula in the occupied areas, while at the same time suppressing expressions of Ukrainian culture and identity, and dismantling its governance and administrative systems. “The actions of the Russian…
Heatwaves, floods, droughts, wildfires and rapidly intensifying tropical cyclones caused misery and mayhem, upending everyday life for millions and inflicting many billions of dollars in economic losses, according to the WMO State of the Global Climate 2023 report. “Sirens are blaring across all major indicators… Some records aren’t just chart-topping, they’re chart-busting. And changes are…
The Unjust Climate report highlights the reality that every year in low and middle-income countries, female heads of households in rural areas suffer significantly greater financial losses than men. On average, female-headed households lose eight per cent more of their income due to heat stress and three per cent more due to floods compared with male-headed households….
Mr. Guterres visited a project that is helping the Caribbean nation to combat the effects of coastal erosion and rising seas – among the impacts of global warming. While commending the initiative, known as the Georgetown Sea Defense, he underlined the need for greater solidarity and financial support. UN Photo/Lucanus Ollivierre Efforts to tackle erosion…
UN News’s Daniel Dickinson travelled to Madagascar ahead of the United Nations Environment Assembly, which is taking place in Nairobi, Kenya, from 26 February, to ask people how they are coping. Life is becoming increasingly challenging in the village of Zanavo Fagnalenga on the southernmost tip of Madagascar. Years of under-development, a series of humanitarian…
