Deforestation is pushing Amazon to ‘point of no return
9/11/2022: A new report from the World Wildlife Fund warns that threats to the Amazon have worsened in recent years. As a result, the biome is nearing its “tipping point,” meaning it could soon transition from wet rainforest to dry savanna.
Source: Mongabay
Glasgow forest pledge loses signatories in first year
7/11/2022: At COP26 in Glasgow, 145 nations representing over 90% of the world’s forests promised to strengthen their efforts to conserve forests. Under pressure of accountability, signatories are dropping out.
Source: Climate Home News
Climate loss and damage: what does compensation look like?
2/11/2022: The question of payments for loss and damage has been a long-standing point of negotiation at UN climate conferences. With the terrible flooding in Pakistan fresh in the memory, many developing countries are looking to COP27 as a crucial moment for making progress.
Source: The Conversation
Antarctic Ocean Commission fails to deliver ocean sanctuaries
4/11/2022: The annual meeting of the Antarctic Ocean Commission has failed to reach consensus on creating three large Marine Protected Areas for the Antarctic Peninsula, East Antarctica and the Weddell Sea, despite support from an overwhelming majority of governments.
Source: Greenpeace International
COP27: Only together can we win
1/11/2022: A leading climate activist from India calls on wealthy countries to restore trust in collective leadership at COP27. The world can do this by commitment to financing climate loss and damage that the countries of the South are experiencing.
Source: DownToEarth
UNEP Adaptation Gap Report 2022
1/11/2022: UNEP's annual climate adaptation report is titled: Too Little, Too Slow – Climate adaptation failure puts world at risk. Finance flows to developing countries for adaptation are a small fraction of the requirement. Estimated annual adaptation needs are $160-340 billion by 2030.
Source: UN Environment Programme
Glasgow Declaration on Forests rings hollow ahead of COP27
1/11/2022: Countries are nowhere close to meeting the goal of ending deforestation by 2030 announced in Glasgow in 2021, according to a new assessment. Indonesia is the only country that is moving in the right direction.
Source: Mongabay
G20 still paying billions in fossil fuel subsidies
27/10/2022: The G20 group of nations provided nearly $200 billion in support of fossil fuels in 2021, despite the worsening impacts of the climate crisis and their pledge in 2009 to phase out “inefficient” subsidies. The countries with the highest total subsidies for fossil fuels were China, Indonesia and the UK.
Source: China Dialogue
Access to safe drinking water requires increased investment
24/10/2022: The State of the World’s Drinking Water report notes that over 2 billion people have gained access to safe drinking water in the past two decades. However, one-quarter of the world’s population has been left behind and governments must dramatically increase political commitment and quadruple investment in drinking water.
Source: World Health Organization
Forest Declaration Assessment: are we on track for 2030?
24/10/2022: To be on course to halt deforestation completely by 2030, a 10 percent annual reduction is needed. In 2021, loss of irreplaceable primary tropical forest decreased by only 3.1 percent.
Source: Forest Declaration Assessment