Climate Action

Photo: IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) during its 72nd session at the organization's headquarters in London. Credit: UNIMO.

UN Agency Adopts Climate Change Strategy for Shipping

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – More than 100 member states of the United Nations International Maritime Organization (IMO) have adopted an initial strategy to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from international shipping and, as a matter of urgency, phasing them out.

The plan adopted by IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) during its 72nd session at the organization's headquarters in London on April 13, includes a specific reference to "a pathway of CO2 emissions reduction consistent with the Paris Agreement temperature goals".

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 14 April 2018

UN Shipping Agency Slammed for Stalling Climate Action

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – Transparency International has criticised the United Nations shipping agency for delaying action on climate change. The global anti-corruption organization warns in a new study that the private shipping companies' concerns are impacting the policymaking process at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), undermining its ability to effectively regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from maritime trade.

IMO creates "a regulatory framework for the shipping industry that is fair, effective, universally adopted and implemented." According to a report by the European Parliament, the shipping industry could contribute up to 17 percent of global CO2 emissions by 2050 if left unregulated.

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 09 April 2018

Image: The consequences of climate change. Credit: NASA

Reverse the 'Individualising Imaginary' on Climate Change

By Maurizio Fratta

ROME (IDN) – The data collected by climatologists speak clearly: since 1880 – when surveys began – the summer of 2017 in Italy was the second hottest ever; the month of August recorded an average thermal excess of 2.5°C, with the fourth day of the month the hottest in the last 60 years in many cities of the country's centre.

That 2017 turned out to be Italy’s second hottest year ever (after 2016) is full confirmation of global warming scenarios.

: Phil Harris; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 09 April 2018

Photo: But Buntenh speaks outside the Forestry Administration’s headquarters in Phnom Penh last year as monks display chainsaws seized from illegal loggers in the Prey Lang forest. Courtesy: Siv Channa | The Cambodia Daily

SE Asia's 'Environmental' Monks Need International Support

By Kalinga Seneviratne

This article is the 22nd in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate.

BANGKOK (IDN) – A 76-year old Buddhist monk living on his own in his forest monastery in North-eastern Thailand has appealed for international help after receiving death threats from illegal loggers according to a report in Bangkok Post.

In neighbouring Cambodia, monks who are mobilizing under the banner of ‘Independent Monk Network for Social Justice’ have regularly put their lives in danger in fighting illegal logging operators who sometimes have the protection of government officials. They also spoke out July 2016 in an appeal via the German television network Deutsche Welle (DW).

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 28 March 2018

UNCTAD Asks the Caribbean Countries to be Weather-ready and Climate-smart

By Jaya Ramachandran

GENEVA (IDN) – The Caribbean countries should be weather-ready and climate-smart in view of the rise in global temperatures and extreme weather events threatening to become frequent menacing the region, says Crispin D’Auvergne, who works on climate change and disaster risk management for the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), comprising 10 island nations.

Efforts advocated by D’Auvergne will also be backed by the 70 million Euro initiative launched by the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States in November 2017.

: Jaya Ramachandran; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 25 March 2018

Photo: Boy stands in front of debris as hurricane Irma moves off from the northern coast of the Dominican Republic. Credit: UNICEF

Caribbean Faith Leaders Call for Debt Relief and More

By J C Suresh

TORONTO (IDN) – Ahead of the next hurricane season in the Caribbean, faith leaders are calling for action from government leaders, the United Nations system, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and regional development institutions.

A statement signed and endorsed by 22 religious leaders from Grenada to Saint Lucia is urging the establishment of debt relief as an instrument for emergency support and reconstruction.

"Across the Caribbean, we still see immense suffering from the hurricanes that landed last year," said Jubilee USA Executive Director Eric LeCompte who endorsed the statement. "Islands that are struggling to recover after natural disasters and meet basic needs of their people should not be making debt payments."

: J C Suresh; THE WORLD; Latin America & the Caribbean; 18 March 2018

Photo: ITB Berlin 2018 - Opening Gala. Credit: Messe Berlin.

World's Major Tourism Fair Underlines the Significance of Sustainable Development

By Ramesh Jaura

BERLIN (IDN) – The number of tourists around the world grew in 2017 to an all-time record of 7 percent to reach 1.3 billion. Tourism accounts for 10 percent of the world's gross domestic product (GDP), 10 percent of the world’s jobs, and 7 percent of the world’s total exports.

The need to turn these figures into benefits for all people and all communities, "leaving no one behind" – as required by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted by the United Nations in September 2015 – was also the subject of ITB 2018, the Berlin travel trade fair in March.

: Ramesh Jaura; SUSTAINABILITY; Decent Work & Economic Growth; 18 March 2018

Photo: The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, one of the world's longest suspension bridges, connects Brooklyn and Staten Island. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

A Compelling Book on 'Humanity’s Success in Ruining Nature'

NEW YORK (IDN) – Across the globe, geologists, climate scientists, biologists, chemists and physicists are alarmed, and if there are uncertainties these are whether danger is in the offing very soon or in a few years; about whether our prospects are calamitous or only troublesome.

The lack of dread among the general public about the risks of irreversible damage is worrying. Politics and Science operate on different time lines and with different urgencies. The open question is if the governments of the world’s dozen or so wealthiest countries are up to organizing a workable, equitable and sustainable global response before it is too late.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 04 March 2018

Photo: Protestors wear masks of Gautam Adani and Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull, depicting the unpopular billion dollar government subsidy. Credit: Stop Adani Alliance

Australians Mobilise to Stop Indian Coal Project

By Kalinga Seneviratne

SYDNEY (IDN) – A peoples’ movement is gathering steam across Australia to stop a project by an Indian company to establish Australia’s biggest ever coal mining project that is supposed to create 10,000 jobs in a remote region of northern Queensland.

The protest movement – which distrusts politicians – argues that Australia needs to cut greenhouse gas creating coal exports rather than opening more mines.

“The more I tried to engage in democracy the more I found democracy to be broken,” said Lilli Barto, member of the ‘Stop Adani’ Sydney campaign team addressing a film screening and a protest meeting at inner-Sydney Newtown Neighbourhood Centre on February 22, that was attended by over 200 people.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 24 February 2018

Women Are Being Left Behind in Spite of UN Pledge

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – Two and a half years after the international community adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which pledged not to leave any one behind, women around the world are faced with stark inequalities and grave challenges, says a new report by UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women.

Titled Turning promises into action: Gender equality in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, UN Women's flagship report identifies gaps and opportunities for gender equality, demonstrates through concrete evidence and data the pervasive nature of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere, and puts forth actionable recommendations on how to fulfill the 2030 Agenda.