This year the United Nations General Assembly agreed that all people have the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. The has been confirmed, giving activists across the world new tools in their fight against the devastating effects of climate change and biodiversity loss. It comes at the same time as the (COP15) and at the start of a to mark the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a milestone in human history.
Nature is our lifeline. Our health, food, economies, and well-being depend on nature. Yet nature is in crisis. One million of the world’s estimated 8 million species of plants and animals are threatened with extinction. Ecosystem degradation is affecting the well-being of 40% of the global population. The UN Biodiversity Conference () will be held in Montreal, Canada from 7-19 December 2022. COP15 aims to achieve a historic agreement to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030. Follow 's live coverage of COP15 .
Ellie Goulding joins and The Ocean Agency for a mission to witness the heat resilient coral reefs of the Red Sea in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. Ellie learns why these reefs are able to take the heat as our planet's temperature rises and the existential threats to reefs around the world if we don't meet the Paris Agreement to keep our temperature to 1.5 degrees celsius since pre-industrial times.
While Africa contributes just 4 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, the continent is being hammered by the fallout from climate change. Already it is seeing extreme weather events, mass migration and rising poverty and hunger. Tanzanian environmental and climate expert Jacqueline Tesha is working to help rural women in her homeland access vital weather and climate information. She is participating in a programme working to develop climate tools to better anticipate and mitigate disasters. “We must halt the crisis and help people adapt,†Tesha says. Finding the right channels to communicate key climate information will be essential to that goal. Find out more about the
research shows that land-based and marine ecosystems play a vital role in regulating the climate. They currently absorb acting as natural carbon sinks.
The world leaders who congregated in Sharm El Sheik for the first two days of COP27 have left and, whilst the climate negotiators get to work, the thematic days of the conference have begun. Wednesday was finance day, with a host of side events around the pavilions discussing the often thorny issues surrounding climate finance. It was also the day that former US Vice-President Al Gore launched a project to provide accurate, granular emissions date, and revealed that, in many cases, emissions are much higher than previously reported. Conor Lennon and Laura cover all this and more, on .
Net-zero rhetoric does not match reality. of current global climate targets shows they would only deliver an 11 percent cut of emissions, rather than the 25-50 per cent needed.
asked young climate advocates how climate change has impacted their lives. Watch the video to find out what they answered, and their message for world leaders at COP27. Faced with a growing energy crisis, record greenhouse gas concentrations, and increasing extreme weather events, COP27 seeks renewed solidarity between countries to deliver on the landmark Paris Agreement for people and the planet.
San Andrés, Colombia, is the biggest island in the Seaflower Biosphere Reserve, containing parts of one of the richest coral reefs in the world. The island is a world-class scuba diving destination visited by over a million people each year. As a result, San Andrés’ unique ecosystems have been deeply impacted. A women-led community organization is working to restore some of the most important marine ecosystems in the world. Watch the video to find out more.
As nations convene for COP27, has set out the actions needed to ensure global efforts towards a low-carbon future don’t leave least developed countries (LDCs) behind.
50 UNESCO World Heritage sites are home to glaciers, representing almost 10% of the Earth’s total glacierized area. They include the highest (next to Mt. Everest), the longest (in Alaska), and the last remaining glaciers in Africa. New data highlight the accelerated melting of glaciers in World Heritage sites, with glaciers in a third of sites set to disappear by 2050. But it is still possible to save the other two thirds, if the rise in global temperatures does not exceed 1.5°C compared to the pre-industrial period. This is a major challenge for COP27.
Our health depends on the health of the ecosystems that surround us, and these ecosystems remain under threat from deforestation, agriculture, changes in land use and rapid urban development. issues a grim reminder that the climate crisis continues to make people sick and jeopardizes lives. Health must be at the core of climate change negotiations. COP27 is a crucial opportunity for the world to re-commit to keeping the 1.5 °C Paris Agreement goal alive. Tacking the climate crisis requires progress on mitigation, adaptation, financing and collaboration.
To avert a climate catastrophe, we need bold, credible net-zero emissions pledges matched by concrete actions. Governments have the biggest responsibility, but businesses, investors, cities, states, and regions must also live up to their emissions cuts promises. A high-level expert group convened by the UN Secretary-General has developed a report with stronger and clearer findings, recommendations, and standards for net-zero emissions pledges by non-State entities. António Guterres stressed today that “using bogus ‘net-zero’ pledges to cover up massive fossil fuel expansion is reprehensible.â€
Where would you go if you were running out of water and drought had destroyed your crops? This is the kind of choice faced by millions of climate migrants each year. Yonas, his wife Aisha, and their son Addisu have seen their crops wither, their cattle die, and their water sources dry up. Their story is brought to life in 'Flight for Life', a new short animation produced by UN Video in collaboration with the renowned Iranian animator Majid Adin. Find out more about the climate crisis and solutions here.
People’s livelihoods are threatened by climate change. The world needs to come together to ramp up climate action and ensure no one is left behind.