Claire Louise Perry ONeill, former president of COP26, attends The Hydrogen Challenge-2019 Global ESG Conference, on Oct. 10, 2019 in Rome, Italy. Simona Granati - Corbis / Getty Images
Just as the United Kingdom made its formal exit from the European Union, Boris Johnson added some turmoil to the international climate conference that Britain will host later this year in Glasgow. He fired Claire O'Neill, the former Energy minister and president of COP26, as the BBC reported.
<p>Johnson handed the reigns for COP26 over the to the ministerial <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-business-energy-and-industrial-strategy" target="_blank">Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy</a>, known as BEIS. O'Neill was sacked just six months into her role as head of COP26, <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/claire-oneill-perry-cop26-un-climate-change-president-glasgow-legal-action-a9313406.html" target="_blank">according to The Independent</a>. </p>
<p>O'Neill claimed that her position had been taken away because the government is not comfortable with an independent unit organizing the summit, as <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/claire-oneill-perry-cop26-un-climate-change-president-glasgow-legal-action-a9313406.html" target="_blank">The Independent reported</a>.</p>
<p>In a Twitter post that has since disappeared, O'Neill under the handle of <a href="https://twitter.com/Cop26President" target="_blank">@COP26President</a>, wrote on Friday evening: "Very sad that the role I was offered by Boris Johnson last year has now been rescinded as Whitehall 'can't cope' with an indy COP unit. A shame we haven't had one climate cabinet meeting since we formed. Wishing the COP team every blessing in the climate recovery emergency."</p>
<p>The line, "A shame we haven't had one climate cabinet meeting since we formed," is seen as a thinly veiled dig at Boris Johnson's environmental priorities, as the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-51334031" target="_blank">BBC reported</a>.</p>
<p>In a prepared statement, Johnson's office said, "The prime minister is grateful to Claire for her work preparing for what will be a very successful and ambitious climate change summit in Glasgow in November. Preparations will continue at pace for the summit, and a replacement will be confirmed shortly. Going forward, this will be a ministerial role," as the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-51331167" target="_blank">BBC reported</a>. </p>
<p>The maneuver drew a quick rebuke from Johnson's critics. Former Labour leader Ed Miliband said it left the UK's preparations "in crisis." He <a href="https://twitter.com/Ed_Miliband/status/1223302445889150976" target="_blank">tweeted</a>: "Appointed by PM 6 months ago and sacked 9 months before the COP. Total mess of the PM's making in absolutely vital and incredibly complex climate negotiations. Government have massively underestimated task. No president, no grip and clock ticking. Time for some leadership now."</p>
<p>However, others see the move as a sign that Johnson is taking the conference more seriously. Tomorrow, he will launch the UK's COP26 strategy at an event with Sir David Attenborough, climate expert Lord Stern, outgoing governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, and the UN's climate chief, Patricia Espinosa, along with a host of dignitaries, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/31/former-energy-minister-removed-as-un-climate-talks-chair" target="_blank">according to The Guardian</a>.</p>
<p>"A good COP president makes all the difference between success and failure," said one former high-level diplomat and COP veteran, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/31/former-energy-minister-removed-as-un-climate-talks-chair" target="_blank">The Guardian reported</a>. "They direct the negotiations, they play the key role in determining the outcome."</p>
<p>To achieve a successful COP26 summit, enormous diplomatic and logistical hurdles need to be addressed. Furthermore, to strengthen commitments to the 2015 <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/Paris-agreement" rel="noopener noreferrer">Paris agreement</a>, the COP26 leader needs to address growing hostility to the agreement from fossil fuel rich countries like the U.S., Brazil, Saudi Arabia and Russia, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/feb/02/leadsom-gove-touted-cop26-presidency" target="_blank">according to The Guardian</a>. </p>
<p>"Time is now really against us, for there are fewer than 10 months to go to COP26," said Professor Dave Reay, chair in carbon management, at Edinburgh University, to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/feb/02/leadsom-gove-touted-cop26-presidency" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>. "Claire O'Neill rightly pointed out that the Glasgow COP was our 'last shot' at delivering on the Paris climate goals. At this rate we won't even have the gun loaded."</p>
<p>Johnson has been urged to hire a senior diplomat or seasoned politician to take over the role and to rescue the summit from total disarray. Sources <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-51334031" target="_blank">told the BBC</a> that cabinet ministers are busy vying for control of COP26. However, experts say that extensive political experience is a necessary ingredient for a successful outcome. </p>
<p>Mohamed Adow, director of the climate and energy think tank, Power Shift Africa, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-51334031" target="_blank">told the BBC</a>: "It was always going to be a challenge to have a president who had no formal role in Government. For a successful outcome you want the person presiding over the negotiations to be someone with genuine political power, who can fully represent the UK government and 'knock heads together' to ensure real progress is made. With Claire O'Neill not even being an MP that was always going to be a challenge."</p>
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England Region to Place UN Accredited Climate Crisis Teacher in Every State School
31 July 2019
Climate
skynesher / E+ / Getty Images
The newly elected mayor of England's northernmost region wants to put a UN-accredited climate change teacher in every state funded primary and secondary school, making his region the first in the world to do so, as the London Economic reported.
<p>Jamie Driscoll, a Labour-party politician, declared a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-crisis" rel="noopener noreferrer">climate emergency</a> on his first day in office after he was elected to be the first mayor of the North of Tyne Combined Authority in May. Since then has pushed to make sure environmental education is taught at every school in his region, which includes Northumberland, Newcastle and North Tyneside in the northeastern corner of the country. </p>
<p>Each state-funded school in the combined authority area will have the opportunity to train one member of staff to teach lessons on global warming and the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-crisis" target="_blank">climate crisis</a>, as a UN accredited climate change teacher, meeting an important UN benchmark for sustainable development, according to the <a href="https://www.northoftyne-ca.gov.uk/news/2019/7/30/world-first-for-north-of-tyne-metro-mayor" target="_blank">North of Tyne Combined Authority's official website</a>.</p><p>"We have partnered with the creators of the eduCCate Global UN CC Teacher Academy, to make sure every school in the North of Tyne has access to a fully-funded teacher training program to get a UN accredited climate change teacher," said Driscoll in a statement on the <a href="https://www.northoftyne-ca.gov.uk/news/2019/7/30/world-first-for-north-of-tyne-metro-mayor" target="_blank">region's website</a>. "This is our opportunity to be the first region in the world to meet this UN Sustainable Development Goal. It's also a manifest commitment to give every child a world-class environmental education, and to make such progress so soon is fantastic."</p><p>The course training takes 15-20 hours for teachers to complete. It's online and delves into climate change science, adaptation planning, health, forests, climate change finance and international negotiations, as the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/jul/30/north-of-tyne-mayor-signs-schools-up-for-climate-training" target="_blank">Guardian</a> reported.</p><p>"Anyone below the age of 20 is part of the 'climate generation' living all or most of their lives having to deal with climate change," said Angus Mackay, director of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research, in a <a href="https://www.northoftyne-ca.gov.uk/news/2019/7/30/world-first-for-north-of-tyne-metro-mayor" target="_blank">press release</a>. "The UN Climate Change Teacher Academy is an excellent idea because it will give children an intuitive understanding of the issues and it is solutions based."</p><p>So far, 80 teachers in the UK have been accredited by UN CC:Learn as a certified Climate Change Teacher. Nearly 2,000 more are going through the course and up to 50 teachers a day are signing up accreditation, according to Melanie Harwood of Harwood Education, which has partnered with UN CC:Learn on the accreditation course, according to North of Tyne's <a href="https://www.northoftyne-ca.gov.uk/news/2019/7/30/world-first-for-north-of-tyne-metro-mayor" target="_blank">press release</a>.</p><p>Dr. Meryl Batchelder, a Northumberland middle school teacher and the region's UN Sustainable Development Goals Ambassador, said students will be more aware of climate issues and will have the skillset to think of future green solutions.</p><p>"The Industrial Revolution started in the North of Tyne and now the Green Revolution begins in the North of Tyne," she said in a <a href="https://www.northoftyne-ca.gov.uk/news/2019/7/30/world-first-for-north-of-tyne-metro-mayor" target="_blank">press release</a>.</p>
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Somalians fight against hunger and lack of water due to drought as Turkish Ambassador to Somalia, Olgan Bekar (not seen) visits the a camp near the Mogadishu's rural side in Somalia on March 25, 2017. Sadak Mohamed / Anadolu Agency / Getty Images
World hunger is on the rise for the third consecutive year after decades of decline, a new United Nations (UN) report says. The climate crisis ranks alongside conflict as the top cause of food shortages that force more than 821 million people worldwide to experience chronic hunger. That number includes more than 150 million children whose growth is stunted due to a lack of food.
<p>The UN's Sustainable Development Goals of eradicating hunger and all forms of malnutrition faces growing roadblocks as the climate crisis worsens and triggers conflicts over resource management. In fact, the report calls the ambitious target an "immense challenge," as the number of hungry people rose by 10 million in the last year. </p>
<p>"We will not achieve zero hunger by 2030," said David Beasley, head of the World Food Program, one of the UN agencies contributing to the report, as <a href="https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/world-hunger-un-statistics-worse-data-11722754" target="_blank">Channel News Asia</a> reported. "That's a bad trend. Without food security we will never have peace and stability."</p><p>Beasley also criticized the media's obsession with Brexit and Donald Trump, rather than using its influence to highlight children dying of hunger. He went on to warn that extremist groups will weaponize food supplies, using it to recruit new members and divide communities, according to <a href="https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/world-hunger-un-statistics-worse-data-11722754" target="_blank">Channel News Asia</a>. </p><p>Climate change is also leading to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/drought">droughts</a> and increasingly <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/heat-waves" rel="noopener noreferrer">extreme weather</a> that threatens crop yields. </p><p>"Climate change is having far-reaching effects on agricultural productivity and food security," William Lacy Swing, the UN Migration Director General, in a <a href="https://unfccc.int/news/climate-change-is-a-key-driver-of-migration-and-food-insecurity" target="_blank">statement</a>. "It is among the main reasons for the record numbers of people compelled to migrate from rural areas to towns and cities around the world."</p><p>This year has seen food stocks drop from flooding, early and high heat near the arctic and tropical storms. </p><p>In Zimbabwe, for example, an already suffering economy is starting to shrink from sustained and drought and from a devastating cyclone. </p><p>"Fuel remains difficult to access," said Nathan Hayes of the Economist Intelligence Unit analysis agency, as <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/world-hunger-continues-to-rise-due-to-conflict-climate-change-says-un-report/a-49596356-0" target="_blank">Deutsche Welle</a> reported. "There are major shortages of bread, as domestic maize production has been decimated and the country cannot afford to pay for imports."</p><p>Drought also has Kenya in the crosshairs of food insecurity. "The long rain season is normally from March till end of May," said Peter Abiya Ochola of the National Drought Management Authority in Kenya. "This year, for example we had very poor rain season. It started late in April and lasted just three weeks with some little rain showers."</p><p> Drought years are increasingly common in Kenya, happening once every two or three years, as opposed to the more normal every five years, said Ochola. He estimated that 1.5 million people in Kenya are affected by this year's drought — particularly farmers whose fields or livestock depend on rain.</p><p>"The impact on food security is bad," said Ochola, as <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/world-hunger-continues-to-rise-due-to-conflict-climate-change-says-un-report/a-49596356-0" target="_blank">Deutsche Welle</a> reported. </p><p>While the drift towards increasing global hunger is disturbing, the UN report remains optimistic that zero hunger is still achievable with the right political commitments, bolder action and intelligent investments. </p><p>"Our actions to tackle these troubling trends will have to be bolder, not only in scale but also in terms of multisectoral collaboration," the heads of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (<a href="http://www.fao.org/home/en/" target="_blank">FAO</a>), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (<a href="https://www.ifad.org/en/" target="_blank">IFAD</a>), the UN Children's Fund (<a href="https://www.unicef.org/" target="_blank">UNICEF</a>), the World Food Program (<a href="http://www1.wfp.org/" target="_blank">WFP</a>) and the World Health Organization (<a href="http://www.who.int/en/" target="_blank">WHO</a>) urged in their joint foreword to the report, according to a UN Climate Change <a href="https://unfccc.int/news/new-un-report-says-climate-crisis-driving-increase-in-number-of-people-suffering-from-hunger" target="_blank">statement</a>.</p>
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A house under construction with plastic bottles filled with sand to build shelters that better withstand the climate of the country where temperatures reach up to 50° C Awserd in the Saharawi refugee camp Dakhla on Dec. 31, 2018 in Tindouf, Algeria. Stefano Montesi / Corbis / Getty Images
A UN expert painted a bleak picture Tuesday of how the climate crisis could impact global inequality and human rights, leading to a "climate apartheid" in which the rich pay to flee the consequences while the rest are left behind.
<p>The warning came in the form of a <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/RegularSessions/Session41/Documents/A_HRC_41_39.docx" target="_blank">report</a> by UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights Philip Alston, which found that climate change could push a further 120 million people into poverty within the next 10 years, <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2019/06/25/world/climate-apartheid-poverty-un-intl/index.html" target="_blank">CNN reported</a>.</p>
<p>"Climate change threatens to undo the last 50 years of progress in development, global health, and poverty reduction," Alston said, according to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jun/25/climate-apartheid-united-nations-expert-says-human-rights-may-not-survive-crisis?fbclid=IwAR0aBYLOdRaTk1duBJwpyX2fB3Bv44fuaGzhHMkf4legfG0qKbA6FF1YDbU" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>.</p>
<div id="b2699" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="APA6AM1576663602"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1143477043419582464" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">My new report on #ClimateChange and poverty is out today. It finds that climate change will have the greatest impac… https://t.co/cZDSG0Fapc</div> — Philip Alston (@Philip Alston)<a href="https://twitter.com/Alston_UNSR/statuses/1143477043419582464">1561461146.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Increased inequality and scarcity could then lead to nationalistic, racist and xenophobic movements that would threaten democracy and the rule of law.</p><p>"Human rights might not survive the coming upheaval," the report concluded, according to The Guardian.</p><p>The report criticized governments for not doing enough to reduce emissions, singling out U.S. President Donald Trump for rolling back environmental regulations and denying science and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro for his plans to open up the Amazon rainforest to mining interests. It also warned of depending on the business community to address the crisis, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climate-change-un-idUSKCN1TQ1KY?fbclid=IwAR1p7k_5OEGzGlrTvYwbXisOSijtafOrXhWM48dUnstoNu9Up0UXFPqXvnc" target="_blank">Reuters reported</a>. It was in this context that the report raised the issue of "climate apartheid."</p><p>"An over-reliance on the private sector could lead to a climate apartheid scenario in which the wealthy pay to escape overheating, hunger, and conflict, while the rest of the world is left to suffer," Alston wrote.</p><p>He gave as an example something that already transpired during an extreme weather event, according to The Guardian:</p><blockquote> "When Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc on New York in 2012, stranding low-income and vulnerable New Yorkers without access to power and healthcare, the Goldman Sachs headquarters was protected by tens of thousands of its own sandbags and power from its generator."<br></blockquote><p>The crisis will also worsen inequality between nations. Developing nations will pay at least 75 percent of the price for climate change while the poorer half of the world's population only contributes 10 percent to global emissions, as <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-48755154" target="_blank">BBC News reported</a>.</p><p>"Perversely, while people in poverty are responsible for just a fraction of global emissions, they will bear the brunt of climate change, and have the least capacity to protect themselves," Alston <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=24735&LangID=E" target="_blank">said in an announcement</a>.</p><p>Alston will present the report formally to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Friday.</p>
<div id="8765c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="AKYC8P1576663602"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1143178023811899392" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">For those in Geneva: I will be discussing my new report on climate change and poverty (out tomorrow), at the UN Hum… https://t.co/pkSV3lNDtV</div> — Philip Alston (@Philip Alston)<a href="https://twitter.com/Alston_UNSR/statuses/1143178023811899392">1561389854.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Ashfaq Khalfan of Amnesty International agreed with the report's findings.</p><p>"Climate change is a human rights issue precisely because of the impact it's having on people. The primary obligation to protect people from human rights harms lies with states. A state that fails to take any feasible steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is violating their human rights obligations," Khalfan told The Guardian.</p>
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Climate extremes such as drought are a 'key driver' of global malnutrition. Pixabay
The number of hungry people in the world has reverted to levels last seen a decade ago, the United Nations warned Tuesday in its annual report on food security and nutrition.
Nearly 821 million global citizens—or one out of every nine people—were undernourished in 2017, the third consecutive rise since 2015. Hunger affected 804 million people in 2016 and 784 million people in 2015.
<p>
Hunger worsened in South America and most regions of Africa, while decreasing trends in undernourishment in Asia has slowed down, the report shows.
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<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODU2NzMzMS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwNTg0MzgyN30.K25WwrBzCJ44ZIXo5ukA6FuYbWt7SvljjP7i7N_3BTY/img.png?width=980" id="c7650" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="00e25212bcd24f7fe039707278c7975b" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
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According to the report, the "key drivers" behind the rise in hunger include <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change" target="_blank">climate</a> variability, which affects rainfall patterns and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/agriculture" target="_blank">agricultural</a> seasons, as well as climate extremes such as <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/drought" target="_blank">droughts</a> and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/flooding" target="_blank">floods</a>. Conflict and economic slowdowns also contributed to the increasing undernourishment.
</p><p>
Climate change has already been shown to
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/world-vegetable-harvests-threatened-2577411710.html" target="_blank">undermine production</a> of staple crops such as wheat, rice and maize in tropical and temperate regions, and the predicted rise in global temperatures will worsen output even further.
</p><p>
<span></span>Notably, the study shows that the countries that are the most exposed to climate extremes tend to have a higher prevalence and number of undernourished people.
</p><p>
<span></span>The report only covers the year 2017 and does not take 2018's record-breaking heatwaves, flooding and <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildfires">wildfires</a> into account.
</p><p>
Robin Willoughby, head of <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/food/">food</a> and climate policy at Oxfam GB, told <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/sep/11/global-hunger-levels-rising-due-to-extreme-weather-un-warns" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> that the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/extreme-weather">extreme weather</a> in the last few months has likely made global hunger worse.
</p><p>
"The extreme weather we have seen this year is likely to have exacerbated the crisis," he said. "A hotter world is proving to be a hungrier world."
</p><p>
The report also showed that obesity is on the rise, with more than one in eight adults in the world considered obese. The problem is the most significant in North America, but Africa and Asia are also experiencing an upward trend, the report shows.
</p><p>
<span></span>Obesity is also a form of malnutrition. As a <a href="http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/1152031/icode/" target="_blank">press release</a> for the report points out: "Undernutrition and obesity coexist in many countries, and can even be seen side by side in the same household. Poor access to nutritious food due to its higher cost, the stress of living with food insecurity, and physiological adaptations to food deprivation help explain why food-insecure families may have a higher risk of overweight and obesity."
</p><p>
The rising rates of global hunger threatens the UN's Sustainable Development
<a href="http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-2-zero-hunger.html" target="_blank">Goal</a> (SDG) of ending all forms of hunger and malnutrition by 2030.
</p><p>
"The alarming signs of increasing food insecurity and high levels of different forms of malnutrition are a clear warning that there is considerable work to be done to make sure we 'leave no one behind' on the road towards achieving the SDG goals on food security and improved nutrition," the heads of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the UN Children's Fund, the World Food Program and the World Health Organization warned in the report's joint foreword.
</p><p>
The leaders also issued a call to action to break the cycle of malnutrition.
</p><p>
"If we are to achieve a world without hunger and malnutrition in all its forms by 2030, it is imperative that we accelerate and scale up actions to strengthen the resilience and adaptive capacity of food systems and people's livelihoods in response to climate variability and extremes," they said.</p>
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</p><div id="66687" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="BUG0I21576662700"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="921130134291218435" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">How Climate Change and Wars Are Increasing World Hunger https://t.co/gFj5beipXM @envirowire @OneWorld_News</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/921130134291218435">1508449512.0</a></blockquote></div>
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A woman carries fresh drinking water at Noyapara, Jamalpur, Bangladesh. Jamalpur is a northern district of Bangladesh surrounded by river Yamuna and Brahmaputra and very close to India's Assam border. Recent rising temperature melted the Meghalay and the Assam's water floats towards Bangladesh through Jamalpur. Yamuna's water level have crossed 118cm more than the danger line. At this moment, 400k people are displaced and floating in the water as there are no disaster refugee camp. Its hard to access, for what relief aren't available. If there is, there is a huge mismanagement from local government. Due to the scarcity of medical team, children's are facing water related disease. Anik Rahman / NurPhoto / Getty Images
The final draft of a UN compact on migration published July 11 recognized the existence of climate refugees specifically for the first time, The Thomson Reuters Foundation reported Thursday.
<p><a href="https://refugeesmigrants.un.org/sites/default/files/180711_final_draft_0.pdf" target="_blank">The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration</a> acknowledged <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-change" target="_self">climate change</a> as a cause of migration, both due to <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/extreme-weather" target="_self">extreme weather</a> and "slow onset events" like <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/drought" target="_self">drought</a> after various advocacy groups pushed for the addition.</p><p>"It's the first time the international community has recognized that migration and displacement can be caused by climate change disasters and has made specific commitments on how to address that," Walter Kaelin from the <a href="https://disasterdisplacement.org/" target="_blank">Platform on Disaster Displacement</a> told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.</p><p>Weather disasters <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-migrants-2518914887.html" target="_self">displaced</a> an average of 26.4 million people a year between 2008 and 2015, according the UN. And in March the World Bank warned that more than 140 million people in Africa, South Asia and Latin America could be forced to migrate due to climate change unless the world acts quickly to lower emissions, according to Reuters. </p><p>Most of the climate change mentions in the current compact come under Objective No. 3, calling on signatories to "Minimize the adverse drivers and structural factors that compel people to leave their country of origin." </p><p>The compact lists investing in "climate change mitigation" as one way to minimize these forces. </p><p>The compact also calls on signatories to share information to better understand and predict climate-caused migrations, develop strategies to combat the effects of climate change, consider possible displacement when creating disaster response plans, coordinate at a regional and subregional level to make sure the humanitarian needs and rights of climate migrants are met and develop strategies to respond to the challenges posed by climate-based migration movements. </p><p>"After this compact, no one can say: 'We don't see a relation between climate change and displacement and migration,'" head of climate change and resilience policy at <a href="https://www.care-international.org/" target="_blank">CARE International</a> Sven Harmeling told The Thomson Reuters Foundation.</p><p>"But we'll have to see how fast and how many governments will sign up to this," he added.</p><p>The compact will be officially adopted at a meeting in Morocco in December. </p><p>The compact is non-binding and does not require countries to agree to targeted goals or to grant any climate migrant legal status.</p><p>It was first begun in 2015 in response to the refugee crisis in Europe, which saw the largest number of refugees enter the region since World War II. </p><p>The compact was originally agreed to by all 193 UN member countries, but the U.S. pulled out last year and Hungary also promised to withdraw Wednesday. </p><p>The U.S. government has since come under fire for its treatment of Central American asylum seekers at the country's southern border, some of whom are partly <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-refugees-trump-2580057839.html" target="_self">fleeing</a> drought and food insecurity linked to climate change.</p><p><em>Correction: An earlier version of this article misspelled the Thomson Reuters Foundation</em></p>
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Plastic bags pollute the Crocodile River in South Africa. JMK / GNU Free Documentation License
The theme for this year's World Environment Day, the world's largest environmental celebration which takes place June 5, is "Beat Plastic Pollution." In honor of the occasion, UN Environment released the first ever "state of plastics" report, tracking government action against plastic waste, a UN Environment press release reported.
<p>The report, titled "<a href="https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/25496/singleUsePlastic_sustainability.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y" target="_blank">Single-Use Plastics: A Roadmap for Sustainability</a>," found that more than 60 countries have introduced bans or levies on single-use plastics, and that bans and levies are one of the most effective ways to reduce the use of disposable plastic items. </p><p>"The assessment shows that action can be painless and profitable—with huge gains for people and the planet that help avert the costly downstream costs of pollution," head of UN Environment Erik Solheim said in the report's foreword. "Plastic isn't the problem. It's what we do with it."</p><p>The report summed up the extent of the plastic pollution crisis: Only 9 percent of all plastics ever produced have been recycled, while 12 percent have been incinerated and a full 79 percent have ended up in landfills, dumps, or the environment. <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/plastic-bags" target="_self">Plastic bags</a> are especially a concern and, with Styrofoam, have been the leading subject of plastic product bans. They have been found blocking waterways and worsening natural disasters, blocking sewers and providing a breeding site for disease-carrying insects, and blocking the stomachs and airways of animals like the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/whale-death-plastic-bags-2575100966.html" target="_self">whale that died</a> in Thailand this weekend after consuming more than 80 of them. </p><p>Fifty percent of the countries that have implemented bans or levies did not have sufficient data to assess the environmental impact of the policies; of the other 50 percent, 30 percent of the bans significantly reduced the use of plastic bags within a year and 20 percent had little impact, either due to poor enforcement or lack of alternatives. </p><p>One success story was Morocco, where 421 tonnes of bags were seized after a ban and replaced almost entirely by fabrics. A failed case was Botswana, where a levy on retailers was issued but not enforced, the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-44359614" target="_blank">BBC</a> reported. </p><p>The report also recommended that bans and levies be joined by positive measures such as improving waste management, moving towards a circular plastic production and consumption model and providing financial incentives for businesses and customers to develop and use alternative materials.</p>Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the report with Solheim in New Delhi Tuesday. <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/india" target="_self">India</a> is this year's host country for World Environment Day, which was established by the UN in 1972 and first celebrated in 1974.<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="7ca13" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="AISPK81576664276"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1002513869351346176" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">UN's #BeatPlasticPollution Tag Is the New Ice Bucket Challenge https://t.co/o3fIhtHEeW @savingoceans @PlasticPollutes</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/1002513869351346176">1527852906.0</a></blockquote></div>
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Michael Bloomberg Pledges $4.5 Million to Help U.S. Meet Paris Climate Commitment
23 April 2018
Climate
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg will write a $4.5 million check to help cover the United States' commitment to the Paris climate agreement.
His offer fills the significant funding gap created by President Donald Trump's plan to withdraw from the global climate accord, which made the U.S. the only country opposed to the deal. Trump has also proposed deep budget cuts for international programs, including ones on climate.
<p>
"America made a commitment, and as an American, if the government's not going to do it we all have responsibility," Bloomberg told <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bloomberg-gives-4-5-million-to-help-u-s-keep-paris-climate-accord-commitment/" target="_blank">CBS'</a> <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bloomberg-gives-4-5-million-to-help-u-s-keep-paris-climate-accord-commitment/">Face the Nation</a> on Sunday, which was also <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/earth-day">Earth Day</a>.
</p><p>
"I'm going to send them a check for the monies that America had promised to the organization as though they got it from the federal government."
</p><p>
Bloomberg, who has an <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/michael-bloomberg/" target="_blank">estimated net worth of $50.9 billion</a>, is the UN Secretary-General's special envoy for climate action.
</p><p>
<span></span>The $4.5 million contribution provides the UN Climate Change Secretariat with <a href="https://www.bloomberg.org/press/releases/bloomberg-funding-un-climate-change-secretariat-ensure-us-will-honor-paris-commitment/" target="_blank">60 percent</a> of the anticipated U.S. government support this year. Congress slashed funding for the UN agency from $7.5 million in previous years to only $3 million this year.
</p><p>
The contribution
<a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2018/04/1007922" target="_blank">will go towards</a> general operations, including assisting countries with their emissions targets agreed upon by 193 nations during the landmark 2015 climate talks.
</p><p>
Bloomberg said he would consider another contribution next year but expressed hope that Trump will re-join the Paris agreement.
</p><p>
"He should change his mind and say look there really is a problem here. America is part of the problem. America is a big part of the solution and we should go in and help the world stop a potential disaster," he told CBS.
</p><p>
After Trump's Paris exit, Bloomberg along with California Governor Jerry Brown launched the "<a href="https://www.wearestillin.com/" target="_blank">We Are Still In</a>" coalition of more than 2,700 U.S. governors, mayors, businesses, investors and colleges and universities <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/leaders-paris-agreement-2433797675.html">pursuing ambitious emissions reductions</a> regardless of federal inaction.
</p><p>
<span></span>Patricia Espinosa, the executive secretary of the UN Climate Change Secretariat, welcomed the contribution.</p><p><span></span>"When countries adopted the historic Paris agreement to limit global temperature rise, they also recognized that achieving that goal would take broad-based global climate action in all sectors, public and private. I welcome this generous contribution from Bloomberg Philanthropies as an important, practical recognition of our need to work together, and to step up our response to climate change," Espinosa said. </p><p>
UN Secretary-General António Guterres
<a href="https://twitter.com/antonioguterres/status/988092352437813249" target="_blank">tweeted</a> that he was "very grateful to Michael Bloomberg, not only for his generous support to the United Nations, but also for his global leadership on climate action."
</p><p>During the CBS interview, Bloomberg blasted U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administrator <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/scott-pruitt">Scott Pruitt</a>, whose tenure has been marked by controversy and regulatory rollbacks in favor of the fossil fuel industry.
</p><p>
"His job is to protect the environment, and he has walked away 100 percent from that," Bloomberg said.
</p><p>
<span></span>"His policies are not good for the world. To debunk science and walk away from it is just ridiculous," he continued. "Ninety nine percent of all scientists after peer review say that something is happening in the world. It's changing. Everybody that looks outside their window can see that we have less snow here and more snow there and bigger storms and a whole bunch of things, that the oceans are rising and things are changing and you can't deny that."
</p><p>
Bloomberg's Earth Day message was not all doom and gloom. He teamed up with Funny Or Die to release a comedic sketch on what he and his team are doing to protect the planet. Watch below: </p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="1112c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3KMWA11576663432"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="987692433109635072" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Why is @MikeBloomberg dropping the "berg" from his name? Or collecting garbage in the ocean? Watch to see what Mike… https://t.co/InH3mO1Luc</div> — Funny Or Die (@Funny Or Die)<a href="https://twitter.com/funnyordie/statuses/987692433109635072">1524319201.0</a></blockquote></div>
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Trending
Modern Event Preparedness / Flickr
As the world's population grows and the planet warms, demand for water will rise but the quality and reliability of the supply is expected to deteriorate, the United Nations said Monday in this year's World Water Development Report.
"We need new solutions in managing water resources so as to meet emerging challenges to water security caused by population growth and climate change," said Audrey Azoulay, director-general of the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), in a statement. "If we do nothing, some five billion people will be living in areas with poor access to water by 2050."
<p style="">
According to the report, presented Monday at the 8th World Water Forum in Brazil, global water use has increased by a factor of six in the past 100 years and has been increasing about 1 percent per year due to population growth.
</p><p style="">
Today, an estimated 3.6 billion people—nearly half the global population—already live in areas that are potentially water-scarce at least one month per year, and could increase to some 4.8 to 5.7 billion by 2050. The growing demand for water will mostly occur in countries with developing or emerging economies. Agriculture will remain the biggest water user, although industrial and domestic demand will put an increasing strain on water supplies.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image" style="">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xNzQ0NzM4NC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxMjQ2MTE5Mn0.wiYdwVii2cL112Q4fodGfE4otinLn0FjqsdY8oIc5xg/img.png?width=980" id="dbf85" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="76525df9b80724dd79ed9d76c99d4f89" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">The 2018 UN World Water Development Report</small>
</p><p style="">
Additionally, the report warns that climate change is causing drier regions to become even drier.
</p><p style="">
"The population currently affected by land degradation/desertification and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/drought">drought</a> is estimated at 1.8 billion people, making this the most significant category of 'natural disaster' based on mortality and socio-economic impact relative to gross domestic product (GDP) per capita," it says.
</p><p style="">
Global water quality is also at risk from chemical pollution and nutrient loading, which, depending on the region, is often associated with pathogen loading, the report notes. Low- and lower-middle income countries have the greatest exposure risk to contaminated water partly due to a lack of <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wastewater">wastewater</a> management systems.
</p><p style="">
While the predictions sound grim, the report proposes nature-based solutions (NBS) to better manage global freshwater supplies. It recommends more investment in protecting ecosystems that recycle water, such as wetlands and vegetation, and spending less on concrete flood barriers or wastewater treatment plants.</p><p style="">
"Green infrastructure" can help reduce pressures on land use, all while limiting pollution, soil erosion and water requirements, the report says. Agricultural production could be increased by an estimated 20 percent worldwide if greener water management practices were used, it found.
</p><p style="">
Green solutions, from vegetated walls and rooftop gardens, also have great potential to capture and filter water in urban areas. Other measures of recycling and harvesting water include water retention hollows to recharge groundwater, and the protection of watersheds that supply urban areas. New York City, for instance, has protected its three biggest watersheds since the late 1990s, bringing savings of more than $300 million per year on water treatment and maintenance costs, the report highlights.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image" style="">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xNzQ0NzM4Ny9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MDEyOTI3Mn0.BVG2XQUXyoZhbt_iz0WCsNzTJVtc50xIW1TDfxpD1wU/img.png?width=980" id="2e7d2" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4d6d6230396147dd3b677c8675aee7ff" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">The 2018 UN World Water Development Report</small>
</p><p style="">
"For too long, the world has turned first to human-built, or 'grey,' infrastructure to improve water management. In so doing, it has often brushed aside traditional and Indigenous knowledge that embraces greener approaches," wrote Gilbert Houngbo, chair of UN-Water and president of the International Fund for Agricultural Development in the report's foreword.
</p><p style="">
"It is time for us to re-examine nature-based solutions (NBS) to help achieve water management objectives," he added.</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="68c5b" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="SHPNQA1576662794"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="951943152507801601" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">170 Million Americans Drink Radioactive Tap Water https://t.co/IvRaI8MBBy @Waterkeeper @foodandwater @waterforpeople</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/951943152507801601">1515795908.0</a></blockquote></div>
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United Nations Development Program Bangladesh
Bangladesh was No. 6 on the Long Term Climate Risk Index of countries most affected by climate change from 1997 to 2016. The United Nations contents that climate change disproportionately impacts women, since they are more likely to be poor and dependent on local resources.
<p style="">It is hopeful, then, that the UN's Green Climate Fund and Bangladesh's Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs will put $33 million towards helping Bangladeshi women and girls develop livelihoods that can withstand the changing climate, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bangladesh-funding-climate/bangladeshi-women-to-receive-funding-for-protection-from-climate-change-idUSKBN1GH1O5" target="_blank">Reuters reported</a> on Monday. </p><p style="">According to a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) <a href="http://adaptation-undp.org/GCF-Bangladesh-women-girls-approval-media-release" target="_blank">release</a>, the funds will go towards empowering 25,000 women living in Satkhira and Khulna, coastal districts especially vulnerable to <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/sea-level-rise">sea level rise</a>, more frequent storms, and the salinization of farmland and drinking water. </p><p>The project will increase the women's access to business development training and financial credit. In addition, it will help them develop climate-resilient skills such as hydroponic vegetable farming, UNDP climate change specialist Mamunur Rashid told Reuters. </p><p style="">The initiative, which is set to begin in July and has a six-year timeline, also aims to provide clean drinking water to 130,000 people through rainwater harvesting and involve women in cyclone-warning systems. </p><p style="">The focus on women's roles in adapting to climate change "marks a paradigm-shift in the way women are empowered as 'change-agents'" the UNDP release said. </p><p style="">"Under this project, women will [be] more in command of their, and their communities', own future," Mia Seppo, UNDP resident representative in Bangladesh, added.</p><p style="">The announcement comes little over six months after <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/flooding" target="_self">flooding</a> in <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/india" target="_self">India</a>, Nepal and Bangladesh <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/flooding-asia-bangladesh-2479927370.html" target="_blank">killed 1,200 people</a> and left one-third of Bangladesh underwater. According to The <a href="http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2015/01/12/building-resiliency-of-the-coastal-population-to-natural-isaster" target="_blank">World Bank</a>, 60 percent of worldwide cyclone deaths from 1988 to 2000 occurred in Bangladesh.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="dff1d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="XVQG0B1576662548"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="907719244745510912" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">1,200 Dead, 41 Million Affected by Flooding in India, Bangladesh and Nepal https://t.co/zaOeQAKQw0 @wbclimatechange @globalgreen</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/907719244745510912">1505252107.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p style="">The salinization of farmland and drinking water is a less dramatic but more insidious problem for the low-lying country. According to <a href="https://www.thethirdpole.net/2017/03/10/climate-change-drives-up-river-salinity-in-bangladesh/" target="_blank">studies</a> of coastal river salinization in Bangladesh by The World Bank, The Institute of Water Modelling and World Fish–Bangladesh, the best-case scenarios would still impact 2.9 million poor and 1.7 million extremely poor Bangladeshis.<br></p><p style="">While initiatives like this one show that Bangladesh is working hard to adapt to the climate challenge, the country is still set to lose 20 percent of its landmass if sea levels rise by 3 feet, even though it only contributes 0.3 percent to global emissions, according to <a href="https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/the-unfolding-tragedy-of-climate-change-in-bangladesh/" target="_blank">Scientific American</a>. This would turn more than 30 million people into <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-refugee">climate refugees</a>.</p>
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The United Nations announced Thursday that 2017 was the hottest year on record without an El Niño event kicking up global annual temperatures.
Last year's average surface temperatures—driven by carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions—was 1.1 degree Celsius above pre-industrial times, putting the world on course to breach the internationally agreed "1.5°C" temperature barrier to avoid dangerous climate change set by the 2015 Paris climate agreement.
<p style="">Significantly, the Paris agreement could be negatively impacted by <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-watch/">President Donald Trump</a> and his administration's rash of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/offshore-oil-drilling-2525993301.html">anti-environmental policies</a>. Trump, who famously denies <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change">climate change</a> and wants to promote U.S. fossil fuels, plans to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/clean-power-plan-repeal-2494810040.html">repeal</a> the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/clean-power-plan">Clean Power Plan</a> that limits power plant emissions and intends to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trumps-withdraws-paris-climate-agreement-2429436831.html">withdraw</a> the U.S. from the landmark climate accord.</p><p style="">The UN report was based on a consolidated analysis by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) of five leading international datasets. </p><p style=""><span></span>Other international organizations have also placed 2017 as either the second or third hottest year behind 2016, which happened to be bolstered by El Niño. (Warmer waters in the tropical Pacific Ocean during an El Niño can boost warming effects around the globe). On Thursday, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/nasa" target="_blank">NASA</a> ranked last year was the second warmest since record-keeping began in 1880. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/noaa" target="_blank">NOAA</a>), which uses a different analytical method, ranked it third.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="37629" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="BQGURE1576663010"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="954015468649623552" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Rising global temperatures are already creating impacts around the world. Fire seasons are longer and more intense,… https://t.co/e7cb5NtSxF</div> — NASA GISS (@NASA GISS)<a href="https://twitter.com/NASAGISS/statuses/954015468649623552">1516289987.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p style=""><span></span>However, as WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas pointed out, "Temperatures tell only a small part of the story."</p><p style="">The long-term temperature trend is far more important than the ranking of individual years, he explained. Seventeen of the 18 warmest years on record have all been during this century. </p><p style="">The warming in the Arctic, which is heating up at <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/arctic-warming-report-card-noaa-2146706576.html" target="_blank">least twice as fast</a> as the rest of the planet, "will have profound and long-lasting repercussions on sea levels, and on weather patterns in other parts of the world," Taalas said, noting that the warmth in 2017 was accompanied by <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/extreme-weather">extreme weather</a> in many countries around the world.<br></p><p style="">"The United States of America had its most expensive year ever in terms of weather and climate disasters, whilst other countries saw their development slowed or reversed by tropical cyclones, floods and drought," he said.<br></p><p style="">NOAA <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-disasters-2017-2523867732.html">said</a> earlier this month that weather and climate-related disasters cost a record $306 billion in 2017. The federal agency listed several noteworthy events, including the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildfires" target="_blank">wildfires</a> in the west, with total costs of $18 billion, tripling the previous U.S. annual wildfire cost record. The year's string of devastating <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/hurricanes" target="_blank">hurricanes</a> were also very expensive. Hurricane <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/hurricane-harvey" target="_blank">Harvey</a> had total costs of $125 billion. Hurricanes <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/hurricane-maria" target="_blank">Maria</a> and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/hurricane-irma" target="_blank">Irma</a> had total costs of $90 billion and $50 billion, respectively. </p>
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