Global climate predictions show temperatures are expected to continue at or near record levels in the next five years, increasing climate risks and impacts on societies, economies and sustainable development, according to a new report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
On April 17, 2025, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists held a discussion exploring the risks of climate change and how to understand what planetary shifts are inevitable – and which are solvable – in this current era of scientific skepticism. Each year, new data strengthens our understanding of the planet’s rising temperatures and growing environmental instability. With the increase in uncontrollable wildfires, stronger storms, and rising ocean levels, the question remains of whether we are too late to reverse – or significantly slow – our changing climate. There have been a few bright spots towards reaching targets set in the Paris Agreement, such as increases in sustainable energy generation and climate finance. Still, these advances have not yet slowed consistent record-breaking heat and a continued year-over-year rise of atmospheric carbon– leaving us to question whether there is a ‘tipping point’ – a threshold beyond which climate change is irreversible.
A report from the Bipartisan Alliance on Global Health Safety: The United States is experiencing the worst measles outbreak in 30 years and the highest rate of contraction in the past six years after nearly eradicating the disease. Cases have surged in communities with low immunization coverage, raising concerns about further transmission. Hospitals are reporting an increase in severe cases, particularly among young children and immunocompromised individuals. Experts urge immediate action, emphasizing that vaccination remains the most effective defense against the highly contagious virus.
AI has the potential to reduce or resolve many of the major humanitarian issues in the world today, but how do humans work with AI to ensure that as it grows ever more powerful, it is harnessed towards achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals? A panel of experts discusses what actions are required to influence the development of AI 4 Good, to mitigate against risks and to ensure that these powerful technologies benefit the greatest number of people on the planet and the planet itself.
UN Spokesperson Farhan Haq discusses the UN’s budget, including how the UN gets its money, how it prevents fraud and waste, what is spent on humanitarian operations, and how the cost of peace compares to the price of war. The UN budget is over $3.5 billion a year.
UN Secretary General Antonio Gutteres: “Throughout 2024, hope has been hard to find. Wars are causing enormous pain, suffering and displacement. Inequalities and divisions are rife — fueling tensions and mistrust. And today I can officially report that we have just endured a decade of deadly heat. The top ten 10 hottest years on record have happened in the last 10 years, including 2024. This is climate breakdown — in real time. We must exit this road to ruin — and we have no time to lose. In 2025, countries must put the world on a safer path by dramatically slashing emissions, and supporting the transition to a renewable future.”
An ominous report from the UN paints a dire picture about the direction the planet is heading without immediate climate action. The report says if the current pace continues it will result in global warming of more than 3 degrees Celsius by the end of the century – more than twice the rise agreed to nearly a decade ago. The world has currently warmed by about 1.3 C. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres says a three degree rise in global temperatures would be “catastrophic.”
How much does it cost to run the United Nations? UN Spokesperson Farhan Haq answers common questions about the UN’s budget, including how the UN gets its money, how it prevents fraud and waste, what is spent on humanitarian operations, and how the cost of peace compares to the price of war.
The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2024 details the significant challenges the world is facing in making substantial strides towards achieving the SDGs based on the latest data and estimates. It features areas with setbacks while also showcasing where tangible progress has been made, for instance, in reducing global child mortality, preventing HIV infection, and access to energy and mobile broadband. The report also highlights where action must accelerate, particularly in critical areas undermining SDG progress – climate change, peace and security, inequalities among and between countries, among others.
More than 216 million people across 6 continents will be on the move within their countries by 2050 in large part due to climate change. The World Migration Report 2024, released by the United Nations on May 8, 2024, stated that more human beings are being displaced by force today than at any other time in humankind’s history.
Such forced displacement is being further exacerbated by environmental impacts and climate change. Climate change cannot be considered the sole driver of food insecurity or migration. Political power, incompetent governance, globalized food production, and other social factors also play a crucial role in human migration. However, climate change increases pressure on existing systems and communities. According to the report, migration is a coping or adaptation strategy to reduce the adverse effects of climate change. In Asia, the Indian subcontinent or southern Asia has seen its fair share of climate-related displacement within countries in recent years. The 2022 floods in Pakistan — some of the deadliest in the country’s history — resulted in nearly 1,700 deaths and more than 8 million displacements. Bangladesh, a low-lying country located at the head of the Bay of Bengal, records thousands of displacements every year due to disasters. In 2022 alone, disasters triggered over 1.5 million displacements in Bangladesh,” according to the report.
The Americas, Caribbean, and Oceania too face daunting challenges because of climate-related internal displacement. Floods in 2022 in Brazil displaced over 700,000 people while rain and floods caused most of the 281,000 disaster displacements in Colombia the same year. The Global North too is not unaffected by climate-related displacement. In North America, both Canada and the United States are vulnerable. In Canada, tens of thousands of people had been displaced and millions of acres burned by June 2023, as wildfires raged for weeks. Displacement caused by climate or other factors that lead to migration also has other effects such as money sent in the form of remittances back to their homelands. The report noted that India made history by becoming the first country to have received the highest remittances in 2022, a whopping $111 billion, surpassing all other nations.
Migration is as old as humanity itself. What captures attention in headlines is just part of the story. The report aims to ensure that migration is leveraged effectively as a solution to human development, peace, and prosperity throughout the world. Download the report here.
Posted: May 28, 2025 by admin Leave a Comment
Global Warming Forecast, 2025-2029
Global climate predictions show temperatures are expected to continue at or near record levels in the next five years, increasing climate risks and impacts on societies, economies and sustainable development, according to a new report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
Last Updated: May 28, 2025 by admin Leave a Comment
Beyond the Threshold: The Urgency of Climate Change
On April 17, 2025, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists held a discussion exploring the risks of climate change and how to understand what planetary shifts are inevitable – and which are solvable – in this current era of scientific skepticism. Each year, new data strengthens our understanding of the planet’s rising temperatures and growing environmental instability. With the increase in uncontrollable wildfires, stronger storms, and rising ocean levels, the question remains of whether we are too late to reverse – or significantly slow – our changing climate. There have been a few bright spots towards reaching targets set in the Paris Agreement, such as increases in sustainable energy generation and climate finance. Still, these advances have not yet slowed consistent record-breaking heat and a continued year-over-year rise of atmospheric carbon– leaving us to question whether there is a ‘tipping point’ – a threshold beyond which climate change is irreversible.
Posted: March 15, 2025 by admin Leave a Comment
Implications of Measles Outbreaks on World Health
A report from the Bipartisan Alliance on Global Health Safety:
The United States is experiencing the worst measles outbreak in 30 years and the highest rate of contraction in the past six years after nearly eradicating the disease. Cases have surged in communities with low immunization coverage, raising concerns about further transmission. Hospitals are reporting an increase in severe cases, particularly among young children and immunocompromised individuals. Experts urge immediate action, emphasizing that vaccination remains the most effective defense against the highly contagious virus.
Last Updated: March 15, 2025 by admin Leave a Comment
Using AI for Sustainable Development
AI has the potential to reduce or resolve many of the major humanitarian issues in the world today, but how do humans work with AI to ensure that as it grows ever more powerful, it is harnessed towards achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals? A panel of experts discusses what actions are required to influence the development of AI 4 Good, to mitigate against risks and to ensure that these powerful technologies benefit the greatest number of people on the planet and the planet itself.
Last Updated: March 15, 2025 by admin Leave a Comment
UN Budget Over $3.5 Billion Annually
UN Spokesperson Farhan Haq discusses the UN’s budget, including how the UN gets its money, how it prevents fraud and waste, what is spent on humanitarian operations, and how the cost of peace compares to the price of war. The UN budget is over $3.5 billion a year.
Last Updated: January 5, 2025 by admin Leave a Comment
2025 New Year’s Message from the United Nations
UN Secretary General Antonio Gutteres: “Throughout 2024, hope has been hard to find. Wars are causing enormous pain, suffering and displacement. Inequalities and divisions are rife — fueling tensions and mistrust. And today I can officially report that we have just endured a decade of deadly heat. The top ten 10 hottest years on record have happened in the last 10 years, including 2024. This is climate breakdown — in real time. We must exit this road to ruin — and we have no time to lose. In 2025, countries must put the world on a safer path by dramatically slashing emissions, and supporting the transition to a renewable future.”
Last Updated: December 1, 2024 by admin Leave a Comment
World Headed for Catastrophic Climate Change
An ominous report from the UN paints a dire picture about the direction the planet is heading without immediate climate action. The report says if the current pace continues it will result in global warming of more than 3 degrees Celsius by the end of the century – more than twice the rise agreed to nearly a decade ago. The world has currently warmed by about 1.3 C. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres says a three degree rise in global temperatures would be “catastrophic.”
Last Updated: December 1, 2024 by admin Leave a Comment
Who Pays for the United Nations?
How much does it cost to run the United Nations? UN Spokesperson Farhan Haq answers common questions about the UN’s budget, including how the UN gets its money, how it prevents fraud and waste, what is spent on humanitarian operations, and how the cost of peace compares to the price of war.
Last Updated: September 30, 2024 by admin Leave a Comment
Read: The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2024
The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2024 details the significant challenges the world is facing in making substantial strides towards achieving the SDGs based on the latest data and estimates. It features areas with setbacks while also showcasing where tangible progress has been made, for instance, in reducing global child mortality, preventing HIV infection, and access to energy and mobile broadband. The report also highlights where action must accelerate, particularly in critical areas undermining SDG progress – climate change, peace and security, inequalities among and between countries, among others.
Last Updated: September 10, 2024 by admin Leave a Comment
World Migration Report 2024: Climate impacts by 2050
More than 216 million people across 6 continents will be on the move within their countries by 2050 in large part due to climate change. The World Migration Report 2024, released by the United Nations on May 8, 2024, stated that more human beings are being displaced by force today than at any other time in humankind’s history.
Such forced displacement is being further exacerbated by environmental impacts and climate change. Climate change cannot be considered the sole driver of food insecurity or migration. Political power, incompetent governance, globalized food production, and other social factors also play a crucial role in human migration. However, climate change increases pressure on existing systems and communities. According to the report, migration is a coping or adaptation strategy to reduce the adverse effects of climate change. In Asia, the Indian subcontinent or southern Asia has seen its fair share of climate-related displacement within countries in recent years. The 2022 floods in Pakistan — some of the deadliest in the country’s history — resulted in nearly 1,700 deaths and more than 8 million displacements. Bangladesh, a low-lying country located at the head of the Bay of Bengal, records thousands of displacements every year due to disasters. In 2022 alone, disasters triggered over 1.5 million displacements in Bangladesh,” according to the report.
The Americas, Caribbean, and Oceania too face daunting challenges because of climate-related internal displacement. Floods in 2022 in Brazil displaced over 700,000 people while rain and floods caused most of the 281,000 disaster displacements in Colombia the same year. The Global North too is not unaffected by climate-related displacement. In North America, both Canada and the United States are vulnerable. In Canada, tens of thousands of people had been displaced and millions of acres burned by June 2023, as wildfires raged for weeks. Displacement caused by climate or other factors that lead to migration also has other effects such as money sent in the form of remittances back to their homelands. The report noted that India made history by becoming the first country to have received the highest remittances in 2022, a whopping $111 billion, surpassing all other nations.
Migration is as old as humanity itself. What captures attention in headlines is just part of the story. The report aims to ensure that migration is leveraged effectively as a solution to human development, peace, and prosperity throughout the world. Download the report here.
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