When President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris agreement, the landmark climate accord signed by 196 nations that came into force in November 2016, the decision caused a significant negative backlash among other signatory countries. Given that the US is one of the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters, its June 1 reneging on the deal delivered a blow to the global agreement. But, as many commentators were quick to point out, as long as other leaders didn’t follow Trump’s ...
US President Donald Trump has called global warming a “hoax” perpetrated by the Chinese and appointed a foe of environmental regulations to head up America’s Environmental Protection Agency. On April 22, which annually marks Earth Day, thousands of scientists around the globe marched to defend the role of science, research and facts in society today against repeated attacks from the White House....
Climate change is one of the most pressing global challenges for the international community. Linked to a growing list of natural disasters – from droughts and desertification to floods and melting ice caps – climate change poses an existential threat to all of humanity. Against this backdrop, a coordinated international response is not only warranted but desperately needed. Acting as the main forum for dialogue and collective action, the United Nations (including all agencies, funds and program...
This article is part of UNU’s COP21 series featuring commentary related to the 21st Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21), 30 November–11 December 2015 in Paris. ••• Millions of people worldwide are at risk for displacement resulting from sea level rise, slow-onset environmental degradation and increasing natural disasters. Although recent talks for a “climate change displacement coordination facility” captured little media ...
Ahead of the UN Climate Summit in Paris (COP21) set for December 2015, Prof. Shyama V. Ramani was asked to give a lecture as part of the “Economists Facing Climate Change” series. Here she explains the links between poverty and climate change: what the problems are and how we — globally — can address them. There is increasing acknowledgement of the premise that climate change is real, its impact is worldwide and it is in the interest of all countries to not only mitigate climate chan...
UNU is delighted to be supporting the Climate Summit 2014 hosted by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 23 September in New York. UNU will be hosting a thematic session on “The Economic Case for Climate Action” with global leaders and world renowned experts from China, India, Mexico, and the United States. UNU’s session will take place 17:15 – 18:30 (EDT) on 23 September and can be followed on livestream via: http://webtv.un.org/ Extreme weather events and rising sea levels will increasing...