Africa
A Healthy Environment as a Human Right in Coastal East Africa
In October 2021, the United Nations Human Rights Council recognized that having a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment is a human right. So what does this mean in practice – especially in places where economies, food security, and cultural identiy…
What Does COP26 Mean for Adaptation?
As the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) came to a close, news agencies and bloggers ploughed through the Glasgow Climate Pact to make sense of the commitments made to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. But largely lost among…
Climate change triggers mounting food insecurity, poverty and displacement in Africa
Changing precipitation patterns, rising temperatures and more extreme weather contributed to mounting food insecurity, poverty and displacement in Africa in 2020, compounding the socio-economic and health crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new multi-agency report coordinated by…
Mediterranean Gripped by Extreme Heat, With New Reported Temperature Record
The World Meteorological Organization is seeking to verify a reported temperature of 48.8°C (119.8°F) in Sicily, Italy, on 11 August 2021 and to establish whether this is a new temperature record for continental Europe. The observation was made by a…
Plant Pandemics are Affecting up to 30 percent of Major Food Crops – and They’re Getting Worse
Plant disease surveillance, improved detection systems, and global predictive disease modeling are necessary to mitigate future disease outbreaks and protect the global food supply, according to a team of researchers. Plant diseases don’t stop at national borders and miles of…
Collaborative Partnership on Forests Calls for Halt to Deforestation
A group of 15 international organizations working on forestry today issued a joint statement highlighting the need to halt the destruction of the world’s forests. The Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) comprises UN agencies including the UN Environment Programme, the…
This Is How CO2 Can Be Transformed Into Food for Animals
A British biotechnology start-up is converting industrial greenhouses gases into protein for animal fodder. The company uses a process it says can help to feed the world’s growing population while simultaneously being sustainable. Deep Branch uses micro-organisms to synthesize carbon…