Melting glaciers. Rising sea levels. Wildfires. Food shortages. Mass coral reef deaths and widespread species extinctions. Global pandemics. Every other issue is secondary. In a world of climate change, direct impacts on humanity are evident where we live and work and on the health and well-being of many populations. Climate change is a truly global issue; fighting it demands global cooperation and financing through summits, known as COPs, and landmark treaties like the Paris Agreement.
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As recently as May almost half of WHO's 194 member nations said they "still lacked essential elements of preparedness for radiation emergencies," according to senior agency officials.
Despite the temptation to end the pandemic, some leading health experts say it would be better to continue living with the official designation, which keeps up the pressure on authorities and civilians alike to act with caution.
The new U.N. report blamed the “5F” crisis – a combined lack of feed, fertilizer, financing, food and fuel – for the growing hunger, lack of nutrition and associated medical issues in the region due to conflicts, climate and other factors.
The mounting frustration and anger over inaction on climate change is compounded by outrage over the many rising inequalities around the world between rich and poor.
An analysis shows the number of private jet flights to and from airports serving Davos during the 2022 meeting caused CO2 emissions equivalent to about 350,000 average cars.
Along with overseeing one of the world's biggest oil companies, Sultan Al Jaber is the UAE's minister of industry and advanced technology and chief executive of renewable energy company Masdar, based in Abu Dhabi.
Trapped sediment robs dams of storage capacity. Storage loss by 2050 will equal the combined yearly water use of Canada, China, France, India and Indonesia, says a U.N. University report.
If the policies and trends continue the ozone layer is expected to recover to 1980 values – before the appearance of the ozone hole – by around 2066 over the Antarctic, and by 2045 over the Arctic and 2040 for the rest of the world.
WHO is seeking more information from Beijing about the COVID-19 surge in China while many nations impose travel restrictions. The E.U. is offering China free vaccinations.
Negotiators reached the 30% by 2030 or "30 by 30" deal – which would improve on the 17% of land and 10% of water now protected – just as the almost two-week United Nations Biodiversity Conference, or COP15, was due to end.
Driven by rising energy costs and supply uncertainties caused by the war in Ukraine, governments and businesses increasingly look to solar and wind as reliable energy sources. They will overtake coal, but not for a few more years.
The request is based on "the fundamental importance of the oceans as sinks and reservoirs of greenhouse gases and the direct relevance of the marine environment to the adverse effects of climate change on small island states."
UNEP's chief describes the summit as an opportunity to 'secure our life-support system, to make peace with nature.'
WTO has long deadlocked over a proposed annual waiver of parts of the 1995 TRIPS Agreement, a major intellectual property agreement, that would allow any nation or company to make a vaccine if it has the recipe and ingredients.
Some 3.6 billion people face inadequate access to water at least one month per year and this is expected to increase to more than 5 billion by 2050, according to the U.N. weather agency.
CITES, run by a secretariat in Geneva, sets the rules for international trade in wild fauna and flora and serves as a tool to ensure sustainability and to respond to losses in biodiversity by preventing and reversing declines in wildlife populations.
