 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
By Caroline Mwanga
NEW YORK (IDN) – The UN Secretary-General António Guterres has said that climate change is “the battle of my life”. The fact is that it’s a battle we are all fighting. The battle is taking place particularly in cities. The very basis of urban life is threatened: by rising sea levels, extreme temperatures, floods, droughts and storms. These are ravaging people’s homes, destroying infrastructure and jeopardizing vital access to basic services such as clean water and sewage.
By Bronwen Evans *
CHANTHABURI, Thailand (IDN) – There are generally two reasons why Thai farmers embrace organics – one is health and the other is economics. For 73-year old Kumnung Chanthasit it was the latter. He had farmed the same plot of land in Thailand’s eastern province of Chanthaburi since boyhood. Despite the rich volcanic soil, he found himself sinking deeper and deeper into debt as he struggled to pay for the fertilisers and pesticides he thought he needed.
Viewpoint by Manish Rai
NEW DELHI (IDN) – In August, the port city of Aden, which is currently the seat of exiled President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi government, was captured by southern separatists demanding secession of South Yemen. The separatists are backed by the UAE, Saudi Arabia’s “So Called” partners in Yemen. The recent clashes are not the first time the two sides – that is ,exiled President Hadi and Southern separatists – have engaged in deadly fighting.
Viewpoint by Luis Alfonso de Alba
The writer is the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Climate Action Summit.
NEW YORK (IDN) – Climate change is not a far-away problem – it is causing huge damage right now in Asia-Pacific and around the world. From air pollution choking many major cities, to more extreme heat and natural disasters, to one million species at risk, the urgent need for climate action is clear.
By Dr. Daisaku Ikeda, President, Soka Gakkai International (SGI)
TOKYO (IDN) – “That which is common to the greatest number has the least care bestowed upon it,” observed Aristotle, highlighting an all-too-common human tendency. His warning is still relevant today, especially in our fight against climate change.
The Paris Agreement, adopted in December 2015, is an international framework to strengthen efforts to mitigate global warming. However, as UN Secretary-General António Guterres warns, “climate change is moving faster than our efforts to address it,” and is posing a threat to the very survival of humankind. This year alone has seen strong heat waves sweeping over Europe and India, and record high temperatures in the Arctic region including Alaska and Siberia.
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) – Since independence, natural resources in Kenya have been on a fast track to extinction. Today, nearly half of all its forests are gone, resulting in more droughts, floods and other dire consequences for communities, ecosystems, food security and infrastructure.
From 10% of the country covered in forest in 1963, noted Kaluki Paul Mutuku, Youth4Nature Regional Coordinator, Africa Group, only 6% was covered in 2009.
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) – The palm oil industry is growing by leaps and bounds around the globe but its overnight success is worrying environmentalists.
An estimated 7.5 million acres of land traditionally used or inhabited by local communities has been acquired by palm oil companies, according to GRAIN, a nonprofit that supports small farmers.
Viewpoint by René Wadlow
The writer is President, Association of World Citizens, a Nongovernmental Organization in Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
GENEVA (IDN) – The 14 September 2019 drone attacks on oil installations in eastern Saudi Arabia have dimmed hope for U.S.-Iranian discussions aimed to reduce tensions and potentially end the armed conflict in Yemen. Tensions have increased, and oil prices have risen. Certain hopes created by the initiatives of the French President during the G7 meeting in Biarritz, France and the forced departure of John Bolton as U.S. National Security Advisor have lessened.
By Josephine Latu-Sanft
The writer is Senior Communications Officer, Communications Division, Commonwealth Secretariat.
LONDON (IDN) – In the lead up to September 23 global climate summit in New York and barely two weeks after Hurricane Dorian battered The Bahamas, the Commonwealth’s top official is calling for urgent action to tackle climate change and its disastrous impacts.
Speaking at the UN Trade Forum (September 9-13) in Geneva, co-organised by the UNCTAD, the Commonwealth and other partners, Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland stressed the need for responses to the global climate crisis to be more coordinated and more swiftly implemented.
- Admin
- SUSTAINABILITY
- Climate Action
UN Messenger of Peace @JaneGoodallInst introduces @IRIforests, a new global effort uniting people of all faiths to end tropical deforestation. Watch the video and share this important message: InterfaithRainforest.org/video #FaithsForForests.
Search
Newsletter
PARTNERS
RELATED WEBSITES
About IDN
IDN-InDepthNews offers news analyses, features, reports and viewpoints that impact the world and its peoples. It has been online since 2009. Its network spans countries around the world.
IDN-InDepthNews serves as flagship agency of the International Press Syndicate and its partner, the Global Cooperation Council, established in February 1983.
Latest News
Greta Thunberg on the United Nations Youth Climate Summit
21 September 2019
Cities Decide to Wage Battle Against Climate Change
21 September 2019
Thai Farmer Shows How ‘Sufficiency Economy’ Works in Practice
21 September 2019
Another War Looms over Yemen as Situation Gets Complicated
20 September 2019
Young People Are Right About Climate Change
19 September 2019