International Court of Justice to advise states on climate duties
29/3/2023: The UN General Assembly has approved a resolution calling on the International Court of Justice to advise how the legal obligations of states relating to climate change should reflect international law . An advisory opinion from the ICJ is highly influential.
Source: Climate Home News
Global population could peak below 9 billion
27/3/2023: A new analysis suggests the global population could peak at a level significantly lower than is assumed by the UN. In a scenario of unprecedented investment in poverty alleviation, particularly investment in education and health, researchers estimate that population could decline to around 6 billion people by the end of the century.
Source: Earth4All
IPCC highlights rich nations’ failure to help developing world
20/3/2023: The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns that funding needs to increase ‘many-fold’ in order to protect communities disproportionately affected by global warming. The report says some tropical, coastal, polar and mountain ecosystems have already reached hard adaptation limits.
Source: Climate Home News
If we value human rights, we must fight for climate justice
23/3/2023: The island state of Vanuatu is leading more than 100 countries in tabling a resolution at the UN General Assembly to refer the issue of climate change to the International Court of Justice. The motion seeks to clarify the obligations of states under international law to protect future generations from climate change.
Source: Inter Press Service
Water security lags behind in UN environmental protection
25/3/2023: The UN’s first water conference in nearly 50 years claims to have secured over $300 billion of promises of global action. But there is no legally binding international agreement to protect water resources and no UN special envoy.
Source: Devex
UN warns of’imminent global water crisis
22/3/2023: The UN has released the World Water Development Report 2023, painting a grim picture of rising global water scarcity. It finds that about 10% of the global population lives in countries where water stress is considered "high or critical."
Source: DW
Historic UN Ocean Treaty agreed
5/3/2023: An historic UN Ocean Treaty has finally been agreed after almost two decades of negotiations. Greenpeace describes the agreement as an important sign that multilateralism still works in an increasingly divided world.
Source: Greenpeace International
Climate displacement & migration in South East Asia
28/2/2023: According to the Groundswell Report of the World Bank, the number of internal climate migrants in the East Asia and Pacific region will reach 49 million by 2050. While most climate mobility occurs within a country, there will be growing pressure on national borders as climate change worsens.
Source: Inter Press Service
A green wall to promote peace in Africa’s Sahel region
22/2/2023: The Great Green Wall of restored forests and lands stretching more than 8,000km across the Sahel region has been selected as a flagship of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. The project is making a difference in the lives of many people in countries prone to conflict.
Source: UN Environment Programme
UN Ocean Treaty negotiations to resume
17/2/2023: Greenpeace has warned that, without a strong Ocean Treaty, it is practically impossible to protect 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030, the target agreed at COP15 in Montreal in December 2022. Resolving impasses depends on the Global North making a fair and credible offer to the Global South.
Source: Greenpeace International