COP16 advances biodiversity protection but no finance deal
4/11/2024: The UN Biodiversity Conference in Cali, Colombia was suspended before a crucial agreement on funding for a new global fund for nature. However, delegates made strides on corporate payments for genetic data and formal representation for Indigenous people.
Source: Devex
Emissions Gap Report 2024
24/10/2024: The 2024 UN Emissions Gap Report tells us that nations must show a massive increase in ambition in new Nationally Determined Contributions, the promises updated every five years. As things stand, current NDCs put the world on track for a global temperature rise of 2.6-2.8°C this century. Even worse, policies currently in place are insufficient to meet even these NDCs.
Source: UN Environment Programme
Climate finance: preparations for UN climate talks kick off
3/6/2024: Signatories of the Paris Agreement pledged to come up with a new finance goal before 2025. And the pressure to up the target is growing. Negotiators are laying the groundwork for a new climate finance goal ahead of the COP 29 summit later this year.
Source: DW
‘Non-market’ solutions to deforestation need more support
31/5/2024: A new report calls for a shift in emphasis away from relying on carbon markets for forest protection, and toward a lesser-known provision of the Paris Climate Agreement that calls for “integrated, holistic and balanced non-market approaches.” These could include financing for indigenous groups, payment for ecosystem services, and debt relief.
Source: Mongabay
Rich nations meet $100bn climate finance goal – two years late
29/5/2024: According to new data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, developed countries provided $115.9 billion in climate finance for low income countries in 2022, up from $89.6 billion in 2021. Climate finance analysts criticised the way the OECD calculates the figures.
Source: Climate Home News
UNDP calls for reform to support small island states
27/5/2024: A new policy brief by the UN Development Programme highlights a pressing need to massively invest in climate change adaptation in Small Island Developing States. These islands are acutely vulnerable to floods, sea level rise, hurricanes and other climate emergencies.
Source: UN Development Programme
Nations agree landmark treaty on genetic resources, protecting Indigenous Peoples’ rights
24/5/2024: Member States of the World Intellectual Property Organization have agreed to a groundbreaking new treaty addressing genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge. Patent applications must disclose the country of origin and the Indigenous Peoples or local community that provided relevant knowledge.
Source: UN News
Governments far from meeting biodiversity funding promise for low income countries
22/5/2024: A coalition of environmental organizations is calling on governments in the developed world to make good on their commitment to deliver at least $20 billion a year in nature finance to the developing world by 2025 to protect biodiversity globally.
Source: Greenpeace
How to stop Western theft of developing countries’ IP wealth
8/5/2024: Developing countries have struggled to stop industrialized nations from co-opting and patenting products based on the knowledge and culture of local peoples. A new UN pact, to be facilitated by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) at a conference later this month, could help them stop so-called biopiracy.
Source: DW
Chinese fishing fleets in Indian Ocean accused of abuses
5/5/2024: A recent investigation has revealed evidence that China's distant-water fishing fleet commits environmental and labour abuses in the southwest Indian Ocean off the coast of East Africa. The report by the Environmental Justice Foundation also finds that entering a fishing zone reserved for local fishers is another common illegal behaviour.
Source: DW