Africa’s inaugural climate summit ends with mixed reviews
8/9/2023: Africa’s first climate summit has ended with the adoption of the Nairobi Declaration, which calls for new global taxes to fund climate change action, an increase in Africa’s renewable generation capacity, and a new debt relief architecture. However, civil society organizations criticized the declaration for promoting false solutions such as carbon markets.
Source: Devex
India’s fertility rate faces sharp decline
6/9/2023: India may have edged out China as the world’s most populous country earlier this year, but recent official statistics show that the general fertility rate in India has fallen 20 per cent in 10 years. Lifestyle diseases are on the rise, while shifting economic and social factors are pushing back the age of marriage.
Source: CNA
Anniversary of UN’s damning Xinjiang report revives call to action
31/8/2023: Amnesty International has described the response of the international community to documented human rights abuses in Xinjiang as "woefully inadequate." The 2022 UN report merits more robust action to seek meaningful change in China’s repressive policies.
Source: Amnesty International
Developing countries call for $100 billion loss and damage target
30/8/2023: Citing a UN-commissioned report that foresees climate-related loss and damages reaching $150-300 billion a year by 2030, developing countries say that $100 billion should be a minimum commitment. The 2030 target is one of several contentious proposals at negotiations in the Dominican Republic this week ahead of COP28 in December.
Source: Climate Home News
Why rich nations must pour climate funds into Africa
30/8/2023: Graca Michel calls on the forthcoming Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi to demonstrate that climate adaptation investment in Africa is in all our interests. Countries across the global north and south should work together to finally meet the commitments jointly made under the Paris agreement back in 2015.
Source: The Guardian
Kenya’s pitch at Africa Climate Summit sparks justice concerns
21/8/2023: Africa's first climate summit aims to unify the continent’s position on key issues ahead of the COP28 climate talks in December. Co-host Kenya is calling for a new narrative that ends the “blame game” between developed and developing countries. Fellow negotiators are anxious not to disregard the strongly held principle of common but differentiated responsibilities.
Source: African Arguments
Saudi Arabia: mass killings of migrants at Yemen border
21/8/2023: According to a report by Human Rights Watch, Saudi border guards have killed at least hundreds of Ethiopian migrants and asylum seekers who tried to cross the Yemen-Saudi border between March 2022 and June 2023. Over this period, the country has spent billions on sports-washing to try to improve its image.
Source: Human Rights Watch
What drives and halts tropical deforestation?
24/8/2023: Researchers have conducted a meta-analysis of 320 studies covering a period of 24 years, confirming that the key drivers of tropical deforestation are agriculture, cattle ranching, building roads, expanding cities into forests, and population growth. Stronger protections for parks and nature reserves help slow deforestation, as does better law enforcement and bans on logging.
Source: Mongabay
US aims to limit loss and damage fund
24/8/2023: The US, which long opposed the new Loss and Damage fund, proposes that it should target the most vulnerable countries and focus on areas not already covered by development banks or emergency relief funds. The G77+China umbrella group of countries argues that they are all vulnerable and should be eligible.
Source: Climate Home News
A plea for a UN summit on the global food crisis
25/8/2023: Launched by Hungry for Action, a coalition of civil society organizations is calling for an emergency meeting of world leaders to address the global food crisis during the UN General Assembly next month. The campaign argues that a combination of conflict, climate change, rising food prices and punishing debt burdens has led to 735 million people going hungry, 122 million more than before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Source: Inter Press Service