Donald Trump did more than win his second easy victory in consecutive presidential primaries in South Carolina on Saturday. He advanced his takeover of the Republican Party. He proved that he can dominate a race in the Deep South. He…
Category: Green corner
Solidarity with sharks
Bradnee Chambers San Jose – It has long been said that we know more about the Moon than we do about the oceans. After all, 12 people have walked on the surface of the Moon, but only three have been…
Is oil becoming stranded
Paul Spedding London – The conventional wisdom regarding the recent plunge in the price of oil is that we are seeing a repeat of the 1985-1986 collapse, when Saudi Arabia ramped up production as part of a dispute with other…
Green shops make more money
Vaidehi Shah A new study by the World Green Building Council shows retailers how to cash in on the clear link between sustainable store design and higher sales. Retail shop owners who include sustainable features such as natural light, greenery,…
Forest Deptt plans eco-restoration scheme in Northern Bangladesh
Dhaka – The Department of Social Forestry has planned a project with the prime objective of establishing plantation for biodiversity enhancement coupled with improving socio-economic condition in the country’s northwest zone. The scheme also intends to check desertification process through…
The coming wave of oil refugees
by Michael Meyer Nairobi – The idea that oil wealth can be a curse is an old one – and it should need no explaining. Every few decades, energy prices rise to the heavens, kicking off a scramble for new…
Homegrown energy security for Europe
by Anders Fogh Rasmussen Copenhagen – The European Union is highly dependent on foreign oil. For every 100 liters consumed within the EU, 90 are imported. Meanwhile, domestic oil production is plummeting, down more than 50% over the last decade.…
Trees felled on BAU campus
When the government is pursuing a tougher forest law to punish the tree plunderers, the Bangladesh Agricultural University authorities have felled 5 trees on campus.
Ways to grow more organic food in Bangladesh
Rasha Binte Mohiuddin In recent years modern system of chemical agriculture has attracted criticism on the ground that it is no longer ecologically sustainable nor economically viable, and that it may prejudice the health and well-being of both humans and…
Leave no refugee behind
Helen Clark and Filippo Grandi New York – The world has entered an era in which people are being displaced at an unprecedented rate. In 2014, conflict and persecution forced 42,500 people a day to flee their homes, nearly quadruple…
Record global investment in clean energy in 2015 amid fossil fuel price crash
London and New York PRNewswire — Clean energy investment surged in China, Africa, the US, Latin America and India in 2015, driving the world total to its highest ever figure, of $329.3bn, up 4% from 2014’s revised $315.9bn and beating…
Green finance for sustainable development
Dr. Atiur Rahman In the evolution of sustainable development, three mutually reinforced pillars have been the key- people, planet and profit. In light of 2030 SDGs, 3P’s have been upgraded to 5P’s- People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace, and Partnership. All countries…
The fourth estate society cannot do without
Mostafa Kamal Majumder A group of people of Bangladesh’s northernmost district of Gaibandha the other day protested the killing of a journalist by unidentified assailants. The journalist was kidnapped, remained missing for several days, and his body was found floating…
Happy New Year 2016
The red sun rose on the eastern horizon this morning heralding the New Year 2016, bidding farewell to an eventful 2015 into eternity, with new promises as well as challenges for the people of Bangladesh as for those of the…
Ten inconvenient truths about Paris Climate Accord
Surya P. Sethi, India’s former Core Climate Negotiator To those who say the Paris Accord “signals an end to the fossil fuel era”; I say please look at Bloomberg’s commodities page – fossil fuels are being produced in never before…
Climate action after Paris
Jim Yong Kim Washington, DC – At the United Nations climate conference in Paris, courageous and visionary leaders recognized that people rarely change the world when they work within the constraints of what they think is possible. The world hoped…
Greece’s other deficit
Alessandro Galli Oakland – For the past decade, much attention has been paid to Greece’s public finances. And when, in November, the country faced the first review of its reform progress under its latest agreement with its creditors – an…
Victory Day pledge: Achieve ideals the shaheeds cherished
The nation celebrates the 45th Victory Day today with patriotic fervor and a fresh vow to achieve the ideals the Shaheeds of the glorious War of Liberation – who made possible the victory through their supreme sacrifices – cherished. The…
The Net-Zero Imperative
by Eric Beinhocker,Myles Allen Oxford – The world has reached an historic agreement on climate change. The deal concluded at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris commits countries to take steps to limit warming to “well below” 2º…
James Hansen, father of climate change awareness – Paris talks ‘a fraud’
The former Nasa scientist criticizes the talks, intended to reach a new global deal on cutting carbon emissions beyond 2020, as ‘no action, just promises’ Mere mention of the Paris climate talks is enough to make James Hansen grumpy. The…
World leaders hail Paris deal: ‘best chance to save planet’ – Obama
Delegates from 195 nations agree on new accord to keep average temperature increases below 2 degrees C. US President Barack Obama has hailed the landmark climate accord reached in Paris as strong and historic, calling it the best chance to…
Bangladesh CSOs call: Reject draft Paris agreement
Paris:The Bangladeshi civil society organizations have organized a press conference in Le Bourget, Paris Climate Conference Place on Friday. They have rejected the latest draft agreement and call upon MVCs to reject it, they have also called to include historical…
Now urgency is to deliver on climate agreement – UN Foundation
Washington, D.C. Dec – At the COP21 United Nations conference in Paris today, officials from nearly 200 countries reached a new agreement to address the threat of global climate change. On behalf of the United Nations Foundation, Chair Ted Turner,…
The renewable energy revolution
by John A. Mathews Sydney – In the United States and Europe, the benefits of renewable energy are predominantly seen as environmental. Energy from the wind and sun can offset the need to burn fossil fuels, helping to mitigate climate…
REDD+ Handed in Paris
Jutta Kill Berlin – It’s been 30 years since the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations launched the Tropical Forestry Action Plan, the first global intergovernmental initiative to halt forest loss. Since then, deforestation has continued unabated, and…
Muslims must confront ‘extremist ideology’ : Obama
President Barack Obama urged Muslims Sunday to confront the “extremist ideology” in its midst and ally with the West in combating the Islamic State group.”We cannot turn against one another by letting this fight be defined as a war between…
The Copenhagen-Paris Express
by Lars Christian Lilleholt COPENHAGEN – In 2009, when Copenhagen hosted the United Nations Climate Change Conference, I was there as a member of parliament, and I had the feeling that I was witnessing a world-changing event. For years, negotiators…
Pragmatism in Climate Policy
by Oliver Geden BERLIN – The diplomatic effort to forge an international agreement to mitigate climate change is undergoing a fundamental shift. The top-down approach that has guided the effort since 1992 is slowly being replaced by a bottom-up model.…
The arc of climate justice
by Sherry Rehman Islamabad – It is a painful irony of climate change that those least responsible for the problem are often the most exposed to its ravages. And if any country can claim to be the victim of this…
The long march to Paris
by Rana Kapoor,Johan Rockström,Khalifa Ababacar Sall,Feike Sijbesma PARIS – Over the next few weeks, Paris will once again dominate global headlines. This time, however, the news is likely to be positive, as world leaders come together to forge a meaningful…