Climate change continues to threaten the planet. Greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere are at record levels and continue to increase. Emissions are heading in the direction of pre-pandemic levels following a temporary decline caused by the lockdown and economic slowdown. The world is set to see its warmest five years on record – in a trend which is likely to continue – and is not on track to meet agreed targets to keep global temperature increase well below 2 °C or at 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels.
A newly release report from leading science organizations, United in Science 2020, highlights the increasing and irreversible impacts of climate change, which affects glaciers, oceans, nature, economies and human living conditions and is often felt through water-related hazards like drought or flooding. It also documents how COVID-19 has impeded our ability to monitor these changes through the global observing system.
“This has been an unprecedented year for people and planet. The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted lives worldwide. At the same time, the heating of our planet and climate disruption has continued apace,” says UN Secretary-General António Guterres in a foreword to the report.
“Never before has it been so clear that we need long-term, inclusive, clean transitions to tackle the climate crisis and achieve sustainable development. We must turn the recovery from the pandemic into a real opportunity to build a better future,” adds Guterres. “We need science, solidarity and solutions.”
The United in Science 2020 report, the second in a series, is coordinated by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), with input from the Global Carbon Project, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, the UN Environment Programme and the UK Met Office. It presents the very latest scientific data and findings related to climate change to inform global policy and action.
“Greenhouse gas concentrations – which are already at their highest levels in 3 million years – have continued to rise. Meanwhile, large swathes of Siberia have seen a prolonged and remarkable heatwave during the first half of 2020, which would have been very unlikely without anthropogenic climate change,” says Prof. Petteri Taalas, secretary-general of the WMO. “And now 2016–2020 is set to be the warmest five-year period on record. This report shows that whilst many aspects of our lives have been disrupted in 2020, climate change has continued unabated.”
Key findings from the report are available online.
Last Updated: September 15, 2021 by admin Leave a Comment
UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network: 2021 Annual Report
Last Updated: May 9, 2021 by admin Leave a Comment
Women Work To Rebuild War-Torn Congo
United Nations – After more than a decade of war, women are rebuilding the Republic of Congo, from a vegetable farm to the whole country…
Last Updated: May 3, 2021 by admin Leave a Comment
The Nature Conservancy Earth Day Celebration
Co-hosted by CEO Jennifer Morris and Chief Scientist Katharine Hayhoe, The Nature Conservancy’s Earth Day event celebrates today’s environmental heroes, features a musical performance by Aloe Blacc and includes appearances from Danni Washington, Justin Long, Bill Nye, Martha Stewart and more.
Last Updated: March 14, 2021 by admin Leave a Comment
Expo 2020’s Sustainability Pavilion Inspires Visitors
Terra – the Sustainability Pavilion is already inspiring action towards a cleaner, safer, healthier world, with 96 per cent of people who have visited the Expo 2020 Pavilions Premiere so far saying the experience has motivated them to change their behavior.
Since launching at the end of January, the Pavilions Premiere has offered more than 50,000 visitors an exciting glimpse at the Sustainability Pavilion’s world-class architecture, its inspiring exhibits and the stunning surrounding areas ahead of Expo’s official opening on October 1, 2020.
The 4.38 square kilometer Expo site is located in Dubai South, within easy reach of Dubai International Airport, Abu Dhabi International Airport, and Dubai and Abu Dhabi cruise terminals, in the UAE.
Learn more on the Expo 2020 website.
Last Updated: May 9, 2021 by admin Leave a Comment
New Strategic Plan for UN Global Compact
The United Nations has announced a new three-year strategic plan to increase and accelerate corporate sustainability and principled business.
“The United Nations Global Compact is uniquely positioned to support companies on their journey to align their practices to a sustainable and inclusive future. The 10 Principles on human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption offer a blueprint for businesses seeking to be part of the collective effort to build back stronger from the COVID-19 pandemic,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
“Now is the time to scale up the global business community’s contributions to the 2030 Agenda and the implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change,” said Guteres. “That is the overarching goal of the Global Compact’s strategic plan for 2021 through 2023.”
With the pandemic and ongoing climate crisis undoing much of the progress the world has achieved since adopting the SDGs in 2015, the new UN Global Compact strategy calls on the global business community to increase its contribution to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement. The strategy outlines five key shifts to boost business action and impact:
“Together, we will be One Global Compact uniting business for a better world,” said Sanda Ojiambo, executive director of the UN Global Compact.
For more information, follow visit unglobalcompact.org
Posted: February 6, 2021 by admin Leave a Comment
Tiny Chameleon Is Smallest Reptile
Scientists believe they’ve found what could be the smallest reptile on Earth. Check out the sunflower seed-sized chameleon.
Scientists believe they may have discovered the smallest reptile on earth – a chameleon subspecies that is the size of a seed.
The BBC reports that the two of the tiny lizards were discovered by a German-Madagascan expedition team in Madagascar.
The male Brookesia nana, or nano-chameleon, has a body of just 13.5mm.
This makes it the smallest of about 11,500 known species of reptiles, according to the Bavarian State collection of Zoology in Munich.
Its length from top to tail is 22mm (0.86in).
The female is far bigger at around 29mm, the institute said, adding that other specimens were yet to be located, despite “great effort”.
“The new chameleon is only known from a degraded montane rainforest in northern Madagascar and might be threatened by extinction,” said the Scientific Reports journal.
Oliver Hawlitschek, a scientist at the Center of Natural History in Hamburg, said: “The nano-chameleon’s habitat has unfortunately been subject to deforestation, but the area was placed under protection recently, so the species will survive.”
Still of nano-chameleon
Posted: January 12, 2021 by admin Leave a Comment
Six park rangers shot and killed in mountain gorilla sanctuary
Posted: January 1, 2021 by admin Leave a Comment
Harnessing Technology to Meet Sustainable Development Goals
Last Updated: September 15, 2021 by admin Leave a Comment
World Bank Releases 2020 Atlas of SDGS
The World Bank has published its Atlas of Sustainable Development Goals 2020, which features information and data visualizations covering the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
The atlas highlights trends and scores for selected targets within each SDG. Where data is available, it also highlights the emerging impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the SDGs.
The atlas uses data from the World Bank’s World Development Indicators database, as well as from a wide variety of other source worldwide.
The SDGs seek to guide global action to address many of the world’s greatest challenges, such as eradicating poverty, eliminating hunger, expanding access to education, achieving gender equality, and addressing the climate crisis. As a World Bank blog post notes, the atlas includes analysis of key SDG indicators and trends, which is important for measuring progress and directing action.
The 2020 atlas also features a storytelling narrative that interweaves concepts about how the SDGs are measured. Where data is available, the atlas also highlights some of the emerging impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the indicators and trends presented.
Last Updated: November 21, 2020 by admin Leave a Comment
New UN Report Underscores Climate Change Threat
Climate change continues to threaten the planet. Greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere are at record levels and continue to increase. Emissions are heading in the direction of pre-pandemic levels following a temporary decline caused by the lockdown and economic slowdown. The world is set to see its warmest five years on record – in a trend which is likely to continue – and is not on track to meet agreed targets to keep global temperature increase well below 2 °C or at 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels.
A newly release report from leading science organizations, United in Science 2020, highlights the increasing and irreversible impacts of climate change, which affects glaciers, oceans, nature, economies and human living conditions and is often felt through water-related hazards like drought or flooding. It also documents how COVID-19 has impeded our ability to monitor these changes through the global observing system.
“This has been an unprecedented year for people and planet. The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted lives worldwide. At the same time, the heating of our planet and climate disruption has continued apace,” says UN Secretary-General António Guterres in a foreword to the report.
“Never before has it been so clear that we need long-term, inclusive, clean transitions to tackle the climate crisis and achieve sustainable development. We must turn the recovery from the pandemic into a real opportunity to build a better future,” adds Guterres. “We need science, solidarity and solutions.”
The United in Science 2020 report, the second in a series, is coordinated by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), with input from the Global Carbon Project, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, the UN Environment Programme and the UK Met Office. It presents the very latest scientific data and findings related to climate change to inform global policy and action.
“Greenhouse gas concentrations – which are already at their highest levels in 3 million years – have continued to rise. Meanwhile, large swathes of Siberia have seen a prolonged and remarkable heatwave during the first half of 2020, which would have been very unlikely without anthropogenic climate change,” says Prof. Petteri Taalas, secretary-general of the WMO. “And now 2016–2020 is set to be the warmest five-year period on record. This report shows that whilst many aspects of our lives have been disrupted in 2020, climate change has continued unabated.”
Key findings from the report are available online.
Subscribe
Recent Posts
Archives
Categories