An ominous report from the UN paints a dire picture about the direction the planet is heading without immediate climate action. The report says if the current pace continues it will result in global warming of more than 3 degrees Celsius by the end of the century – more than twice the rise agreed to nearly a decade ago. The world has currently warmed by about 1.3 C. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres says a three degree rise in global temperatures would be “catastrophic.”
How much does it cost to run the United Nations? UN Spokesperson Farhan Haq answers common questions about the UN’s budget, including how the UN gets its money, how it prevents fraud and waste, what is spent on humanitarian operations, and how the cost of peace compares to the price of war.
The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2024 details the significant challenges the world is facing in making substantial strides towards achieving the SDGs based on the latest data and estimates. It features areas with setbacks while also showcasing where tangible progress has been made, for instance, in reducing global child mortality, preventing HIV infection, and access to energy and mobile broadband. The report also highlights where action must accelerate, particularly in critical areas undermining SDG progress – climate change, peace and security, inequalities among and between countries, among others.
More than 216 million people across 6 continents will be on the move within their countries by 2050 in large part due to climate change. The World Migration Report 2024, released by the United Nations on May 8, 2024, stated that more human beings are being displaced by force today than at any other time in humankind’s history.
Such forced displacement is being further exacerbated by environmental impacts and climate change. Climate change cannot be considered the sole driver of food insecurity or migration. Political power, incompetent governance, globalized food production, and other social factors also play a crucial role in human migration. However, climate change increases pressure on existing systems and communities. According to the report, migration is a coping or adaptation strategy to reduce the adverse effects of climate change. In Asia, the Indian subcontinent or southern Asia has seen its fair share of climate-related displacement within countries in recent years. The 2022 floods in Pakistan — some of the deadliest in the country’s history — resulted in nearly 1,700 deaths and more than 8 million displacements. Bangladesh, a low-lying country located at the head of the Bay of Bengal, records thousands of displacements every year due to disasters. In 2022 alone, disasters triggered over 1.5 million displacements in Bangladesh,” according to the report.
The Americas, Caribbean, and Oceania too face daunting challenges because of climate-related internal displacement. Floods in 2022 in Brazil displaced over 700,000 people while rain and floods caused most of the 281,000 disaster displacements in Colombia the same year. The Global North too is not unaffected by climate-related displacement. In North America, both Canada and the United States are vulnerable. In Canada, tens of thousands of people had been displaced and millions of acres burned by June 2023, as wildfires raged for weeks. Displacement caused by climate or other factors that lead to migration also has other effects such as money sent in the form of remittances back to their homelands. The report noted that India made history by becoming the first country to have received the highest remittances in 2022, a whopping $111 billion, surpassing all other nations.
Migration is as old as humanity itself. What captures attention in headlines is just part of the story. The report aims to ensure that migration is leveraged effectively as a solution to human development, peace, and prosperity throughout the world. Download the report here.
As part of the International Conference on “Paving the Way to the Pact of the Future,” the United Nations released the 2024 Sustainable Development Report (SDR), which includes the latest edition of the SDG Index and Dashboards. The SDR reviews progress made each year on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) since their adoption by 193 UN Member States in 2015. This year’s edition focuses on the UN’s “Summit of the Future” and priorities to strengthen global cooperation and international financing to achieve the SDGs. Notably, it features new data on countries’ support for UN-based multilateralism and a dedicated chapter on pathways for sustainable food and land systems. The session will feature interventions from high-level speakers and practitioners and will aim to discuss the implications of the key findings of the report to accelerate SDG progress globally.
Stories to Watch in 2024 center on the art and science of the New Climate Politics. With more than half the world’s population facing an election year, the key question is how elected leaders will balance ambitious climate action across every sector with the ability to bring all citizens along — benefitting not just the climate, but people and nature, too. Last year shattered global heat records. The world witnessed the effects of #risingtemperatures in the form of devastating wildfires, severe flooding, extreme #heatwaves and more. Poor countries and communities who have contributed the least to causing the climate crisis are bearing the brunt of its accelerating impacts. The UN’s first #GlobalStocktake report showed us that, to hold warming to what scientists consider “safe” levels, we must reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by 43% by 2030. But countries’ current climate action plans will reduce emissions by just 8%. And while 2023 also saw exponential progress in electric mobility and renewable energy, we need every sector to reach similar tipping points to unleash a new era of low-carbon prosperity. It’s not too late to course correct. In 2024 — a year where countries representing more than half the global population will hold elections — leaders must make bold choices that benefit not just the climate, but people and nature, too. See the full presentation and Q&A
The 2024 Financing for Sustainable Development Report: Financing for Development at a Crossroads finds that the world is facing a sustainable development crisis, and that financing challenges are at the heart of the crisis and imperil the SDGs and climate action. It notes that the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in 2025 will be a last chance to correct course if we want to achieve the SDGs by the 2030 deadline. It calls for urgently closing financing gaps through an investment push, for closing policy and architecture gaps to make the international financial architecture fit for purpose in a crisis-prone world, and for closing credibility gaps, translating rhetoric into action to rebuild trust in multilateralism.
How can AI provide pathways to tackle sustainability challenges, like greenhouse gas pollution, water pollution and resulting productivity losses. Advancements in AI and remote sensing can create new opportunities in adaptation and mitigation. On the flipside, the footprint of AI model training and infrastructure can further add to an already pressing crises. In this session at Davos 2024, executives and practitioners will share insights on the duality of AI’s impact on sustainability, bringing their action items to the fore of the discussion.
Hate speech incites violence and has devastating effects on communities. Its scale and impact are nowadays amplified by new technologies and social media to the point that online hate speech has become one of the most frequent methods for spreading divisive rhetoric and violent ideologies. Alice Nderitu, the special adviser of the UN Secretary-General on the prevention of genocide tells about the real world examples of crimes committed as a result of hate speech, and how engaging local communities holds the key to preventing future incidents.The United Nations has a long history of mobilizing the world against hatred of all kinds to defend human rights and advance the rule of law. The impact of hate speech cuts across numerous existing United Nations areas of focus, from human rights protection and prevention of atrocity crimes to sustaining peace and achieving gender equality and supporting children and youth.
Last Updated: December 1, 2024 by admin Leave a Comment
World Headed for Catastrophic Climate Change
An ominous report from the UN paints a dire picture about the direction the planet is heading without immediate climate action. The report says if the current pace continues it will result in global warming of more than 3 degrees Celsius by the end of the century – more than twice the rise agreed to nearly a decade ago. The world has currently warmed by about 1.3 C. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres says a three degree rise in global temperatures would be “catastrophic.”
Last Updated: December 1, 2024 by admin Leave a Comment
Who Pays for the United Nations?
How much does it cost to run the United Nations? UN Spokesperson Farhan Haq answers common questions about the UN’s budget, including how the UN gets its money, how it prevents fraud and waste, what is spent on humanitarian operations, and how the cost of peace compares to the price of war.
Last Updated: September 30, 2024 by admin Leave a Comment
Read: The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2024
The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2024 details the significant challenges the world is facing in making substantial strides towards achieving the SDGs based on the latest data and estimates. It features areas with setbacks while also showcasing where tangible progress has been made, for instance, in reducing global child mortality, preventing HIV infection, and access to energy and mobile broadband. The report also highlights where action must accelerate, particularly in critical areas undermining SDG progress – climate change, peace and security, inequalities among and between countries, among others.
Last Updated: September 10, 2024 by admin Leave a Comment
World Migration Report 2024: Climate impacts by 2050
More than 216 million people across 6 continents will be on the move within their countries by 2050 in large part due to climate change. The World Migration Report 2024, released by the United Nations on May 8, 2024, stated that more human beings are being displaced by force today than at any other time in humankind’s history.
Such forced displacement is being further exacerbated by environmental impacts and climate change. Climate change cannot be considered the sole driver of food insecurity or migration. Political power, incompetent governance, globalized food production, and other social factors also play a crucial role in human migration. However, climate change increases pressure on existing systems and communities. According to the report, migration is a coping or adaptation strategy to reduce the adverse effects of climate change. In Asia, the Indian subcontinent or southern Asia has seen its fair share of climate-related displacement within countries in recent years. The 2022 floods in Pakistan — some of the deadliest in the country’s history — resulted in nearly 1,700 deaths and more than 8 million displacements. Bangladesh, a low-lying country located at the head of the Bay of Bengal, records thousands of displacements every year due to disasters. In 2022 alone, disasters triggered over 1.5 million displacements in Bangladesh,” according to the report.
The Americas, Caribbean, and Oceania too face daunting challenges because of climate-related internal displacement. Floods in 2022 in Brazil displaced over 700,000 people while rain and floods caused most of the 281,000 disaster displacements in Colombia the same year. The Global North too is not unaffected by climate-related displacement. In North America, both Canada and the United States are vulnerable. In Canada, tens of thousands of people had been displaced and millions of acres burned by June 2023, as wildfires raged for weeks. Displacement caused by climate or other factors that lead to migration also has other effects such as money sent in the form of remittances back to their homelands. The report noted that India made history by becoming the first country to have received the highest remittances in 2022, a whopping $111 billion, surpassing all other nations.
Migration is as old as humanity itself. What captures attention in headlines is just part of the story. The report aims to ensure that migration is leveraged effectively as a solution to human development, peace, and prosperity throughout the world. Download the report here.
Last Updated: August 1, 2024 by admin Leave a Comment
United Nations Sustainable Development Report 2024
As part of the International Conference on “Paving the Way to the Pact of the Future,” the United Nations released the 2024 Sustainable Development Report (SDR), which includes the latest edition of the SDG Index and Dashboards. The SDR reviews progress made each year on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) since their adoption by 193 UN Member States in 2015. This year’s edition focuses on the UN’s “Summit of the Future” and priorities to strengthen global cooperation and international financing to achieve the SDGs. Notably, it features new data on countries’ support for UN-based multilateralism and a dedicated chapter on pathways for sustainable food and land systems. The session will feature interventions from high-level speakers and practitioners and will aim to discuss the implications of the key findings of the report to accelerate SDG progress globally.
Posted: June 4, 2024 by admin Leave a Comment
Four Climate Stories that Will Define 2024
Stories to Watch in 2024 center on the art and science of the New Climate Politics. With more than half the world’s population facing an election year, the key question is how elected leaders will balance ambitious climate action across every sector with the ability to bring all citizens along — benefitting not just the climate, but people and nature, too. Last year shattered global heat records. The world witnessed the effects of #risingtemperatures in the form of devastating wildfires, severe flooding, extreme #heatwaves and more. Poor countries and communities who have contributed the least to causing the climate crisis are bearing the brunt of its accelerating impacts. The UN’s first #GlobalStocktake report showed us that, to hold warming to what scientists consider “safe” levels, we must reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by 43% by 2030. But countries’ current climate action plans will reduce emissions by just 8%. And while 2023 also saw exponential progress in electric mobility and renewable energy, we need every sector to reach similar tipping points to unleash a new era of low-carbon prosperity. It’s not too late to course correct. In 2024 — a year where countries representing more than half the global population will hold elections — leaders must make bold choices that benefit not just the climate, but people and nature, too. See the full presentation and Q&A
Last Updated: May 19, 2024 by admin Leave a Comment
2024 Financing for Sustainable Development Report Now Available
The 2024 Financing for Sustainable Development Report: Financing for Development at a Crossroads finds that the world is facing a sustainable development crisis, and that financing challenges are at the heart of the crisis and imperil the SDGs and climate action. It notes that the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in 2025 will be a last chance to correct course if we want to achieve the SDGs by the 2030 deadline. It calls for urgently closing financing gaps through an investment push, for closing policy and architecture gaps to make the international financial architecture fit for purpose in a crisis-prone world, and for closing credibility gaps, translating rhetoric into action to rebuild trust in multilateralism.
Last Updated: May 19, 2024 by admin Leave a Comment
AI & Sustainability: Opportunities and Risks
Last Updated: May 19, 2024 by admin Leave a Comment
Hate Speech & the Consequences Explained
Hate speech incites violence and has devastating effects on communities. Its scale and impact are nowadays amplified by new technologies and social media to the point that online hate speech has become one of the most frequent methods for spreading divisive rhetoric and violent ideologies. Alice Nderitu, the special adviser of the UN Secretary-General on the prevention of genocide tells about the real world examples of crimes committed as a result of hate speech, and how engaging local communities holds the key to preventing future incidents.The United Nations has a long history of mobilizing the world against hatred of all kinds to defend human rights and advance the rule of law. The impact of hate speech cuts across numerous existing United Nations areas of focus, from human rights protection and prevention of atrocity crimes to sustaining peace and achieving gender equality and supporting children and youth.
Last Updated: May 19, 2024 by admin Leave a Comment
Secretary of State Antony Blinken remarks at the UN Sustainable Development Goals Summit
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken remarks at the UN Sustainable Development Goals Summit in New York City.
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