High stakes and high flavour: Indigenous chef brings Amazonian soul to COP30

Indigenous chef and activist Tainá Marajoara will serve dishes rooted in ancestral Amazonian traditions, showcasing the biodiversity and spirituality of Brazil’s Indigenous Peoples. Between rounds of negotiations, delegates will be treated to flavours such as maniçoba, açaí and pirarucu – all prepared with more than 10 tonnes of agroecological ingredients sourced through fair and sustainable […]

Climate science and early warnings key to saving lives

“Early-warning systems work,” he told the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in Geneva. “They give farmers the power to protect their crops and livestock. Enable families to evacuate safely. And protect entire communities from devastation.” “We know that disaster-related mortality is at least six times lower in countries with good early-warning systems in place,” the UN chief […]

Record rise in carbon dioxide levels during 2024: UN weather agency

The surge was driven by continued human emissions, more wildfire activity and weakened absorption by land and ocean “sinks” – a development that threatens to create a vicious climate cycle. Tripling since the 1960s The WMO’s latest Greenhouse Gas Bulletin shows that CO₂ growth rates have tripled since the 1960s, accelerating from an annual average […]

The ‘clean revolution is unstoppable’ but will it arrive too late?

In recent years, one of the bright spots amid gloomy predictions about the climate has come from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) – an Abu Dhabi-based intergovernmental body – which has consistently pointed out the plummeting costs and soaring efficiency of clean energy sources, such as solar and wind power. On Tuesday, IRENA launched […]

Indirect disaster effects cost the world nearly $2 trillion per year, Guterres says on International Day

Most of the exorbitant costs of disaster are preventable with proper funding and planning —one of the main messages for this year’s International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, themed Fund Resilience, Not Disasters, observed on Monday. “Every dollar invested in resilience saves many more in avoided losses and protects the dignity of those most at […]

‘No end’ expected to floods and storms as global heating continues

“Water-related hazards continue to cause major devastation this year,” said Celeste Saulo, WMO Secretary-General. “The latest examples are the devastating monsoon flooding in Pakistan, floods in South Sudan and the deadly flash floods in the Indonesian island of Bali. And unfortunately, we see no end to this trend.” Ms. Saulo highlighted that these emergencies have […]

Guterres urges countries to ‘seize this historic opportunity’ as renewable energy use grows

The latest push follows the release of two reports on Tuesday which affirmed that the so-called “renewables revolution” is accelerating at unprecedented rates. For the first time ever, renewable energy has generated more power than coal, according to new analysis by Ember, a global think tank working to speed up the clean energy transition. Energy […]

‘The extraordinary power of ordinary people’: World leaders spotlight youth as agents of progress

‘The extraordinary power of ordinary people’: World leaders spotlight youth as agents of progress

Annalena Baerbock, President of the General Assembly and one of the youngest persons to ever hold the office, stressed that youth are “the designers of their future” but should not have to build it alone. Drawing on conversations with young leaders from Ethiopia to Afghanistan, she highlighted the challenges today’s youth face – from conflict […]

Sinking islands, vanishing forests: World leaders call for urgent climate action

Sinking islands, vanishing forests: World leaders call for urgent climate action

Their appeals, sharpened by rising seas, failed harvests and disappearing ecosystems, echoed Secretary-General António Guterres’s warning at a climate summit that the world is already in the “dawn of a new energy era” – one where clean energy must replace fossil fuels, and where finance and justice remain at the heart of the global response. […]

New national climate plans unveiled at high-level summit ahead of COP30 conference

New national climate plans unveiled at high-level summit ahead of COP30 conference

The game-changing summit was convened by Secretary-General António Guterres alongside President Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva of Brazil, host of the COP30 conference which kicks off in November in the Amazonian city of Belém. At the outset, leading climate scientists Johan Rockström and Katharine Hayhoe provided a stark assessment of global efforts so far to […]

Shipping faces ‘stormy seas’ as trade slows and costs rise

Shipping faces ‘stormy seas’ as trade slows and costs rise

After firm expansion last year, seaborne trade volumes are forecast to rise by just 0.5 per cent in 2025, the slowest pace in years, according to the agency’s Review of Maritime Transport 2025, launched in Geneva. The slowdown comes as geopolitical tensions, new trade barriers and climate pressures reshape shipping routes, push up costs and […]

Climate Summit 2025: The path to COP30

Climate Summit 2025: The path to COP30

The summit, which takes place on 24 September at UN Headquarters, is designed as a launchpad for COP30 but, unlike the sprawling negotiations of a UN climate conference, this is a targeted high-level event where Heads of State, Government leaders, businesses, and civil society are expected to present concrete pledges and new national climate plans.  […]

Sudan War: Cholera Vaccination Campaign Begins in Darfur

Sudan War: Cholera Vaccination Campaign Begins in Darfur

The World Health Organization (WHO)’s Deputy Representative to the country Hala Khudari reported on Tuesday that the outbreak, which started in July 2024 in Kassala, has spread to all 18 states of the country. More than 113,600 cases have been registered so far and over 3,000 deaths – a “concerning case fatality rate” of 2.7 […]

France Joins UK, Canada, Australia and Portugal in Recognising Palestinian Statehood

France Joins UK, Canada, Australia and Portugal in Recognising Palestinian Statehood

France joins UK, Canada, Australia and Portugal in recognising Palestinian statehood at UN-backed conference United Nations/New York: UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday reiterated that nothing can justify the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel, nor the “collective punishment” inflicted on the Palestinian people in their aftermath. Calling for an “immediate” ceasefire in Gaza, he […]

‘Warring world crying out for peace’ says UN chief as leaders gather in New York

‘Warring world crying out for peace’ says UN chief as leaders gather in New York

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called for a renewed global push to end wars and divisions, stressing that “peace cannot wait” as the world observes the International Day of Peace. “Lives are being ripped apart, childhoods extinguished, and basic human dignity discarded, amidst the cruelty and degradations of war,” Mr. Guterres said in his message […]

What to know ahead of Sept 22 UN summit on Palestine

What to know ahead of Sept 22 UN summit on Palestine

Held on the opening day of the UN General Assembly’s high-level week, the annual September gathering of world leaders, the initiative comes amid a deeply worrying regional backdrop of  intensified Israeli military operations that have allegedly killed more than 60,000 people in Gaza since October 7, 2023, Israel’s strikes against Hamas officials in Qatar on […]

Fragile progress in Syria, at risk from exclusion and foreign interference, UN warns

Fragile progress in Syria, at risk from exclusion and foreign interference, UN warns

They warned that foreign military action, political exclusion and dwindling resources threaten to undo fragile gains. UN Special Envoy Geir Pedersen – who announced that he will be stepping down from his role during the meeting – told ambassadors that interim authorities in Damascus have inherited “not just the ruins of shattered buildings, but the […]

Healing the ozone layer: ‘Guided by science, united in action’

Healing the ozone layer: ‘Guided by science, united in action’

Last century, scientists confirmed the alarming reality of a significant depletion in the ozone layer – an invisible shield of gas which surrounds the earth and protects it from the sun’s UV rays. The collection of ozone-depleting substances included CFCs, or chlorofluorocarbons, which in the mid-1980s were commonly found in everyday products such as air […]

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