insert_link Africa DR Congo capital in tumult as river bursts banks Burst riverbanks are causing turmoil in DR Congo's capital Kinshasa, with dark and foul-smelling water pouring into homes across working-class neighborhoods in the central African megacity. The impoverished metropolis of some 15 million people sits on the Congo River -- the second largest in Africa after the Nile -- which has swollen to near-record levels over the past several weeks. Kinshasa is crisscrossed with small rivers and waterways, which often […] todayJanuary 12, 2024 23
insert_link Interview Transcripts Rain Brings Hope to Kunene Region After Nine-Year Drought-Kunene Governor Marius Sheya In a recent interview, Mr. Marius Sheya , Governor of the Kunene Region, shared positive news about the region finally receiving some rainfall after a prolonged nine-year drought. Acknowledging the significance of the recent rain Sheya expressed gratitude for the relief it brings to a region that has been grappling with the impacts of severe drought for nearly a decade. While the rainfall has not been consistent, it has reached […] todayJanuary 12, 2024 14
insert_link Environment ‘Cowboys’ and intermediaries thrive in Wild West of the carbon market Women making skirts from grass in Southern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea. Image by Rita Willaert via Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0). By John Cannon via Mongabay When Andrea Babon learned about what a company called Kanaka Management Services (KMS) had been up to in Papua New Guinea, she was aghast at the apparent incoherence of its plans. The India-based carbon credit consultancy had scoped out a forest conservation project in Oro province that […] todayJanuary 12, 2024 11
insert_link Uncategorized Dennis Francis, General Assembly President, Wants to Help Small States. Here’s How. Dennis Francis, president of the United Nations General Assembly for the 78th sesssion, photographed in his office, overlooking the East River, on Dec. 21, 2023. A quarter of the way into his yearlong tenure, the Caribbean diplomat has shifted his priorities because of the Israel-Hamas war, but he remains focused on sustainable development and enabling small states to use the multilateral system to their advantage. Some of them, he said, […] todayJanuary 12, 2024 6
insert_link Environment Copernicus: 2023 is the hottest year on record Global temperatures reached exceptionally high levels in 2023. The Copernicus Climate Change Services, implemented by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts on behalf of the European Commission with funding from the EU, monitored several key climate indicators throughout the year, reporting on record-breaking conditions such as the hottest month on record and daily global temperature averages briefly surpassing pre-industrial levels by more than 2°C. Unprecedented global temperatures from June […] todayJanuary 11, 2024 24
insert_link Environment World added 50% more renewable energy but more needed: IEA The world added 50 percent more renewable energy capacity in 2023 over the previous year but more is needed in the battle against climate change, the International Energy Agency said Thursday. The increase was the fastest growth rate in the past two decades and the 22nd year in a row that renewable capacity additions set a new record, the Paris-based IEA said. The rise was driven by China, the planet's […] todayJanuary 11, 2024 14
insert_link Environment How 2023’s record heat worsened droughts, floods and bushfires around the world By Albert Van Dijk, Australian National University 2023 was a year of record-breaking heat, devastating storms and floods, deepening droughts and raging wildfires. These events showed how climate change is affecting the global water cycle and our livelihoods. Our international team of researchers today released a report, the Global Water Monitor, documenting the impact of the record heat in 2023 on the water cycle. We used data from thousands […] todayJanuary 11, 2024 15
insert_link Business / Economics Global Risks 2024: Disinformation Tops Global Risks 2024 as Environmental Threats Intensify Drawing on nearly two decades of original risks perception data, the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2024 warns of a global risks landscape in which progress in human development is being chipped away slowly, leaving states and individuals vulnerable to new and resurgent risks. Against a backdrop of systemic shifts in global power dynamics, climate, technology and demographics, global risks are stretching the world’s adaptative capacity to its limit. These are […] todayJanuary 11, 2024 20
insert_link World Global temperatures to reach 1.7°C increase by May Global heating caused by the burning of fossil fuels, and the El Niño climatic event, will push global temperatures to about 1.7 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by May. According to the Guardian, the warning comes from former National Aeronautics and Space Administration scientist James Hansen. Hansen says there needs to be purposeful actions to affect the planet’s energy balance. todayJanuary 10, 2024 22