World News in Brief: Time for climate justice urges UN chief, Ukraine war update, call for ‘free and fair’ elections

World News in Brief: Time for climate justice urges UN chief, Ukraine war update, call for ‘free and fair’ elections

Under the deal agreed by 193 countries in 2015 in the French capital, sticking to the limit will help humankind avoid the worst impacts of rising temperatures. This month is also on track to be so warm that for the first time ever, a 12-month cycle may exceed the 1.5°C threshold, according to Europe’s Copernicus…

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World News in Brief: UN chief shocked by Czech mass shooting, UNICEF appeal for West and Central Africa, world leaders urged to heed climate science

World News in Brief: UN chief shocked by Czech mass shooting, UNICEF appeal for West and Central Africa, world leaders urged to heed climate science

At least 14 people were killed and 25 injured after a gunman opened fire in what some media called the worst shooting in the country’s history. The gunman, reportedly a student at the university, also killed himself. UN chief António Guerres was shocked and saddened by the incident, his Spokesperson said in a statement issued later on…

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World News in Brief: Mali mission latest, starvation alert for ‘hotspots’, inclusive sport for all

INTERVIEW: ‘Climate of division’ creating more challenging environment for UN peacekeeping

The 10-year-old mission in Mali, MINUSMA is currently winding down ahead of its end of December deadline to leave. In his speech to the UN General Assembly in September this year, Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombohe, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, called for the UN peacekeeping mission, MONUSCO, to begin its withdrawal from the…

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Climate advocates slam COP28 draft text that drops language on fossil fuel ‘phasedown’

Climate advocates slam COP28 draft text that drops language on fossil fuel ‘phasedown’

The 21-page text, prepared by the COP28 presidency, United Arab Emirates, makes no mention of fossil fuel ‘phasedown’ or ‘phaseout’, which UN Secretary-General António Guterres said earlier on Monday was one of the keys to the conference’s success and which many nations have demanded.  Rather, the draft text called for countries to reduce “consumption and…

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COP28: The UN’s net-zero food plan to save the 1.5-degree goal, combat climate ‘doomisim’

COP28: The UN’s net-zero food plan to save the 1.5-degree goal, combat climate ‘doomisim’

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has identified 10 priority areas – such as livestock, soil and water, crops, diets and fisheries – where following the roadmap can help push the world closer to achieving ‘Zero Hunger’, the second of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)  The aim: to transform agrifood systems – which…

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First-ever World Seagrass Day focuses on conservation

COP28: UN says staggering $7 trillion spent every year on investments that fuel climate change

The report from the UN’s environmental wing, UNEP, also revealed that despite decades of calls for ending finance flows towards sectors that harm some of humanity’s most valuable assets, those investments currently account for a whopping 7 percent of global GDP. Saturday’s report launch comes as negotiations on the conference’s outcome text are shifting into…

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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”. …

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COP28: Bring the vulnerable to ‘front of the line’ for climate funding

COP28: Bring the vulnerable to ‘front of the line’ for climate funding

Among them is young Senegalese singer and rapper Oumy Gueye, who goes by OMG and was triggered to embrace climate action when her grandparents’ home in Bargny east of the Senegalese capital Dakar was destroyed by rising seas.  She has been collaborating with UN humanitarian affairs coordination office OCHA to advocate for humanitarian causes in the Sahel…

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