The United Nations’ 48th session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) opened its crucial meeting in Incheon, South Korea on Monday to deliver the authoritative, scientific guide for governments to stave off disastrous climate change. “This is one of the most important meetings in the IPCC’s history,” chair Hoesung Lee of South Korea […]
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. The report, titled “Single-Use Plastics: A […]
Today, on World Environment Day 2018, the United Nations’ Environment Program is urging governments, industries, communities and individuals around the world to take on a daunting but necessary task: Beat Plastic Pollution. “Plastic pollution has become an epidemic,” the agency writes. “Every year, we throw away enough plastic to circle the Earth four times. Much […]
The world of sport is not immune to the problem of plastic pollution. Stadiums and arenas can become filled with discarded cups, bottles and straws after sporting events. Sailors, swimmers and surfers are competing in oceans and waterways with an ever-growing presence of marine debris. That’s why on Monday the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced […]
A pilot whale died in southern Thailand last week after swallowing 17 pounds of plastic waste, despite a five-day effort to save the animal’s life. A necropsy revealed that the plastic debris, which included 80 plastic bags, clogged the whale’s stomach, Reuters reported. The whale was found in critical condition in a canal near Thailand’s […]
In one of the coolest social media campaigns since the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, the United Nations launched a global challenge to #BeatPlasticPollution, the theme of World Environment Day on June 5. The movement encourages you to give up single-use plastics and replace them with reusable and sustainable alternatives. Participants are asked to announce their […]
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 […]
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 […]
A day after 24 Latin American and Caribbean countries signed a historic regional treaty protecting nature defenders, a United Nations (UN) rapporteur proposed taking environmental rights to the global level. John H. Knox, the UN special rapporteur on human rights and the environment, delivered a statement March 5 to the Human Rights Commission in Geneva […]