Yet, amid this rapid transformation, one question rises above all: how can innovation truly serve the people, as more and more of them migrate to cities? That question lies at the heart of this year’s World Cities Day, which will be celebrated in Bogotá, Colombia, under the theme People-Centred Smart Cities. Organized by the UN’s […]
The hurricane caused widespread damage to homes, infrastructure and crops, leaving thousands displaced. However, extensive storm preparation by governments, assisted by UN agencies and other NGOs, appears to have helped lessen the impact and saved lives in many areas. In Cuba, the hurricane struck the province of Santiago de Cuba with winds exceeding 200 km/h […]
That’s the main message in this year’s Adaptation Gap Report from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). By 2035, developing nations will need well over $310 billion per year in dedicated funding to adapt to a planet increasingly altered by polluting fossil-fuel emissions, the report states. “Climate adaptation” refers to the ways countries respond to actual […]
Addressing a joint summit between the UN and Southeast Asian nations in Kuala Lumpur on Monday, Secretary-General António Guterres described the region as “a beacon of cooperation” and a vital pillar of global stability. With Timor-Leste’s accession, he said, the collective spirit of the regional organization known as ASEAN had “grown stronger,” making the bloc […]
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 […]
“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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
“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 […]
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 […]