By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — A Black climate activist, who found her picture snipped out of a news photo of young environmental activists (all white) at a U.N. confab, is finally getting a serious platform for her important work.

Vanessa Nakate, the Ugandan-born fighter for climate protection has been selected by UNICEF, the UN aid and development agency for children, to travel around the continent as their new goodwill ambassador. Other ambassadors included Serena Williams, popular actor Amitabh Bachchan, and Katy Perry.…

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — There were high hopes for a one-billion-dollar clean-up of Nigeria’s most polluted region of Ogoniland in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region, the third largest mangrove ecosystem in the world when it got off the ground in 2019. It would address the greasy rainbow sheen over the 386-mile wetlands, the continual ooze from dormant wellheads and active pipelines, the once-lush mangroves coated in crude, and the smells of benzene while farmlands stood charred and barren.…

By Fermín Koop

This article was originally published on China Dialogue under the Creative Commons BY NC ND licence.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (IDN) — While many had hoped this would be the session to do it, after two weeks of talks at the UN headquarters in New York, from August 15 to August 26, member states have failed to conclude a legally binding agreement to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity on the high seas.

Now, governments will have to keep bridging their differences until a new meeting, for which a date has not yet been set.…

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — The African continent of 1.2 billion people, which represents 17% of the world’s population, contributes less than 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions but suffers from extreme weather events, which scientists have warned will become more frequent due to climate change.

Researchers in a new study have now put an actual dollar figure on economic harm caused by the countries most responsible for the climate crisis. The ground-breaking data could serve as a starting point for legal action by Africans against the world’s wealthiest nations.…

Viewpoint by Mario Cimoli

The writer is the Deputy Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

SANTIAGO, Chile (IDN) — The Latin America and the Caribbean region is home to some of the widest biodiversity on the planet. From Caribbean marine and coastal oases to the Amazon rainforest and down to the southern-most reaches of Patagonia, the region is filled with natural wealth.…

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — The war in Ukraine is draining millions of dollars away from crises in Africa as funds are being redirected to Europe.

Somalia, facing a food shortage largely driven by the war, could be the most vulnerable. Its aid funding is less than half of last year’s level, while Western donors have sent more than $1.7 billion to respond to the war in Europe.…

Viewpoint by Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana

Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana is an Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

BANGKOK (IDN) — As the Second Global Ocean Conference opens today in Lisbon, governments in Asia and the Pacific must seize the opportunity to enhance cooperation and solidarity to address a host of challenges that endanger what is a lifeline for millions of people in the region.…

By Jone Salusalu*

SUVA, Fiji (Wansolwara | IDN) — Fiji is home to some 300 islands and is known for its pristine and white sandy beaches that iconically stand as an exotic pride for Fijians all over the world. Many are uninhabited islands with lush green forests and peaks, but most are habited islands with distinctive cultures that are a magnet for foreign visitors.
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