We need a new recipe to combat hunger
7/8/2023: The UN has reported that 122 million more people are going hungry than in 2019, erasing years of progress. It’s time to admit that the industrial food system is starving people. Half the calories consumed around the world come from just three staple crops, shipped around the world by a handful of powerful trading firms. This is profitable, but it is not robust.
Source: Inter Press Service
Amazon nations fail to agree on deforestation goal at summit
9/8/2023: Eight South American nations have agreed on a list of joint actions to protect the Amazon rainforest, but failed to mention a long-awaited target to halt deforestation. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had been pushing for the region to unite behind a common policy of ending deforestation by 2030.
Source: Climate Home News
Towards a UN Charter review conference
10/8/2023: The UN may no longer be fit for its purpose to tackle contemporary global challenges. The UN Charter makes provision for a Review Conference which could identify the key issues that need to be addressed, including reform of the Security Council.
Source: Inter Press Service
Rice market in turmoil as India curtails exports
6/8/2023: Rice prices have soared to the highest in a decade as India limits exports and erratic weather wreaks havoc on Asian rice fields. This is likely to worsen food insecurity in many countries that rely on rice as a staple. Last year, India exported about 22 million tons of rice to 140 countries, comprising roughly 40% of the global cereal trade.
Source: DW
Amazon deforestation continues to fall under Lula
5/8/2023: Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon detected by satellite through 2023 is down 42% on the same period last year, marking a sharp reversal of performance under the Bolsonaro administration. Since retaking the presidency, Lula has worked to restore protections for the Amazon and rally international support for the ecosystem.
Source: Mongabay
Carbon offsets will not save the Amazon rainforest
1/8/2023: The deal set up between the Norwegian government and Guyana demonstrates how the carbon offset market is plagued with problems. It routinely inflates its climate impact, diverts money to middlemen who cream off profits, and exploits Indigenous communities.
Source: Climate Home News
UN Security Council: Food insecurity tops agenda
3/8/2023: A draft communique presented by the US Secretary of State calls on the UN Security Council to "take action to end the use of food as a weapon of war." The collapse of the Black Sea grain deal poses a serious threat to the food security of many lower-income countries already grappling with hunger and economic crises.
Source: DW
Niger coup: How ordinary people are paying the price
4/8/2023: Just over a week after Niger's President Mohamed Bazoum was ousted in a coup, prices are rising in the impoverished and landlocked Sahel nation. The Economic Community of West African States has slapped severe sanctions on Niger in response to the coup, including a number of border closures.
Source: DW
Fixing Africa’s electricity woes needs more than power
2/8/2023: The total number of people without access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa stayed roughly the same in 2021 as in 2011, according to the latest energy progress report published by a group of international agencies. More than four out of five people living in rural areas remain without power.
Source: DW
West African leaders suspend ties with Niger junta
30/7/2023: An emergency summit of the Economic Community of West African States has agreed to immediate financial sanctions against Niger and authorized the use of force if the junta doesn't cede power and release the country's elected president Mohamed Bazoum from detention.
Source: DW