By Friday Phiri Jun 29, 2019 (IPS) – The Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) was held in Bonn, Germany to rally behind a new approach to achieving a future that is more inclusive and sustainable than the present – through the…
Category: Global warming
G20 summit: World leaders sans Trump agree on climate deal
Leaders have agreed on a climate deal similar to the one struck in Argentina in 2018. The US has again refused to commit to tackling climate change. World leaders attending the 2019 G20 summit in the Japanese city of Osaka…
Europe must answer the climate call
By Christiana Figueres Brussels – In early 2015, the European Union became the first major economy to set a post-2020 target for limiting greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions. By committing to reducing emissions to at least 40% below 1990 levels by 2030,…
The world is running out of time
By Bertrand Badré Washington, DC – In 2015, the international community launched a renewed effort to tackle collective global challenges under the auspices of the United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda and the Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21). But after…
America’s bipartisan climate-policy failure
By Mark Paul and Connor Rupp Sarasota – US President Donald Trump’s anti-climate agenda is in full swing. His administration has already taken action 117 times to repeal or weaken climate regulations, and much more deregulation is in the works.…
We can’t stop climate disaster if big emitters don’t step up
By Frank Bainimarama SUVA, Fiji, Jun 27, 2019 (IPS) — Are the most climate-vulnerable nations of the world right to demand that developed and major economies commit to carbon neutrality by 2050? Should the poorest nations of the world insist…
New York declares climate emergency, first US city to do so
Dhaka, June 28 – New York City officials declared a climate emergency in an effort to mobilize local and national responses to stall global warming, reports CNN. It’s the largest city in the US, with over 8.62 million inhabitants. The…
Desertification ‘more dangerous, more insidious than wars’
By Desmond Brown Ankara, Jun 18 2019 (IPS) – Businesses are being encouraged to follow the lead of the youth to halt desertification, reduce degradation, improve agricultural sustainability and restore damaged lands. “The youth is a very particular case. The…
No continent, no country not impacted by land degradation
By Desmond Brown Ankara, Jun 17 2019 (IPS) – The coming decades will be crucial in shaping and implementing a transformative land agenda, according to a scientist at the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) framework for Land Degradation…
Developing technologies for zero-carbon economies
By Nils Røkke Trontheim, Norway, Jun 11 (IPS) – Never before has half a degree (0.5C) meant so much for humanity. We are behaving as if we have time to deal with climate change. We don’t. The main problem is…
Climate change peril Uganda’s tree climbing lions, primates
By Wambi Michael Kasese, Uganda, Jun 12 2019 (IPS) – As climate change leads to increased temperatures in East Africa, a thicket of invasive thorny trees with the ability to withstand harsh climatic conditions have begun threatening Uganda’s second-largest park,…
In hot water? Study says warming may reduce sea life by 17%
Washington, June 11 (AP/UNB) — The world’s oceans will likely lose about one-sixth of their fish and other marine life by the end of the century if climate change continues on its current path, a new study says. Every degree…
Japan’s government must exit coal
by Jan Erik Saugestad OSLO – Following the abdication of Emperor Akihito, Japan announced that its new imperial era would be called Reiwa (“beautiful harmony”). But if the Reiwa era is to live up to its name, Japan’s government must…
Dhaka asks for climate justice, compensation
Dhaka, June 5 – State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam has asked for climate justice that needs to be established and demanded compensation and adequate financial and other assistance for adaptation measures. He called for more concrete global…
The Myth of Climate Wars?
by Alaa Murabit, Luca Bücken New York – In the years leading up to Syria’s civil war, the country endured three consecutive record-breaking droughts. By forcing internal displacement, the droughts arguably contributed to the social tensions that erupted in popular…
Solar-powered dug-wells bring hopes to drought-prone BD people
Naogaon, May 26 – The phrase ‘drought-prone region’ to describe a cluster of districts in Bangladesh’s north sounds almost benign, and hardly captures the perpetual hardships of people engaged in a daily battle for water, the other name of life.…
Global hunger threatening families because of climate change
By Siddharth Chatterjee Nairobi, Kenya, May 2019 (IPS) – There is barely a corner of human life that will not be affected by climate change, and some of its impacts are already being felt. Consider this, 821 million people are…
Act urgently on climate change: Urban 20 Group urge G20
Mayors and Governors of U20 cities, including Tokyo, Berlin, Jakarta, Rome and Osaka will present the Urban 20 Communiqué to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ahead of G20 Summit in Japan U20 urges G20 leaders to ensure greenhouse gas emissions peak…
Bonda tribe of India’s Odisha hit by changing climate
by Tanmoy Bhaduri The Bonda people, living in hilltop villages on the Kondakamberu mountain range in Odisha, are one of the 13 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) in the state. • Rising temperatures and deforestation, along with poor development and…
Save the whole planet from climate change in self-interest
Concluding a week-long visit to the South Pacific, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called on the world’s decision-makers to make “enlightened” choices on climate action because “the whole planet” is at stake. “Over the past week, I have witnessed first-hand…
Stop Tuvalu and ‘the world from sinking’: Guterres
Tuvalu “faces an existential threat from sea-level rise”, the United Nations chief said during his visit to the Pacific island nation on Friday whose highest point is less than five metres above the waves. “We must stop Tuvalu from sinking…
Largest freshwater lake in BD inching towards death
Dhaka, Bangladesh, May 17(UNB/IPS) – Kaptai Lake, the biggest manmade lake in Bangladesh, is heading for a tragic end as sediments fill up its bottom and waste materials continue to pollute it every day. The 688-square-kilometre lake, created by damming…
UN chief outlines ‘intertwined challenges’ of climate change
Visiting Fiji for the first time as Secretary-General, António Guterres outlined two “fundamental challenges” facing leaders attending the Pacific Islands Forum on Tuesday, namely climate change and the world’s rising ocean, which threatens to submerge low-lying nations. “The Pacific region…
Dhaka to have sweltering hot weather for some more days
Dhaka, May 9 – The people would not get relief from the summer hot spell as the ongoing condition is likely to continue in the next three to four days across Bangladesh, said the met office. The highest temperature recorded…
Conservation of Sikkim biodiversity needs re-strategising: study
by T. V. Padma on 6 May 2019 • Protected areas in the Himalayan region in India need to be expanded to conserve endemic Himalayan species and minimise the impact of climate change, a new study has shown. • Creating…
Protecting refugees in Bangladesh during Monsoon season
Government Should Prioritize Safety in Relocation Efforts Brad Adams, Asia Director Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister Abdul Momen recently warned that the coming monsoon season will bring serious risk to Rohingya refugees living in settlements in Cox’s Bazar. But instead of calling…
Cyclone Fani: Danger signal 7 issued at Mongla, Payra ports
Dhaka, May 2 – Khulna and adjoining southwestern coastal areas will feel the peripheral effect of ‘Fani’ by Friday morning, the Met Office says, advising Mongla and Payra ports to display danger signal number seven. The very severe cyclonic storm…
Fani now monster: Alert for BD ports, Evacuation in Odisha
Dhaka, May 1 – The maritime ports of Chattogram, Cox’s Bazar, Mongla and Payra have been advised to hoist local warning signal No 4 as the very severe cyclonic storm “Fani” over the West Central Bay and adjoining area moved…
Cyclone ‘Fani’ intensifies into ‘severe cyclonic storm’
Dhaka, Apr 30 – Cyclonic storm ‘Fani’ in the Southeast Bay and adjoining Southwest Bay, has moved slightly northwards and intensified into a “severe cyclonic storm”. It is likely to intensify further and move in a north/northwesterly direction, the Bangladesh…
Cyclonic storm Fani 1500km South of Ctg may intensify
Dhaka, April 30 – Cyclonic storm Fani is likely to intensify further within 12 to 15 hour as it moved North-northwestwards further, said met office on Monday. It was centred about 1540 km south of Chittagong port 1510 km south…