Poor management of toxic chemicals and hazardous waste threatens “many, if not all, human rights,” the newly appointed independent human rights independent expert on the rising threat told the Human Rights Council on Monday.
The head of the UN's climate body has warned that treating global warming as a partisan issue is dangerously out of step with reality, as he set out a stark account of the economic toll climate change is already inflicting on Europe.
When the creek beside Taudibura Garo's school in Papua New Guinea floods, the water doesn't stop at the gate. It rises through the pit toilets – making the school unsafe – sending the 16-year-old and her classmates home without being able to finish.
Nepal’s call for financial compensation following recent deadly floods underlines the need to help countries that contribute the least to climate change – but are increasingly grappling with its most lethal consequences, the top UN official in the country said on Wednesday.
Use of data-intensive technologies – in particular artificial intelligence (AI) data centres – is growing faster than electricity infrastructure can handle, the UN’s economic commission for Europe has warned, raising concerns about the future reliability and resilience of energy systems worldwide.
Tackling air pollution and climate change together can save millions of lives, reduce global warming and generate roughly $15 in economic benefits for every $1 spent, a new UN-backed report has revealed.
Fuelled by exceptionally warm Pacific waters, the El Niño climate pattern is intensifying and has yet to peak. Forecasters are almost certain it will persist through February 2027 – with unusually warm conditions expected across much of the world in the coming months.
Record heat waves, deadly flooding and extreme weather reflect an ever-warming planet poised to soon breach safe temperature limits, according to a UN report released on Tuesday, but doubling down on climate action now could avoid a climate catastrophe.
On the shores of Nkondo, in Uganda’s Kikuube district, the day begins before sunrise. Fishers enter the lake to fish, while families around Lake Albert rely on its waters for food, income and daily survival.
A day before a wall of ice, rock and muddy water tore through Himalayan valleys along the Nepal-China border, Dipesh Chapagain was discussing with a colleague just how devastating such a disaster could be.
The impact of the deadly flood in Nepal has been described as “immense” as the authorities there confirm that 538 bodies have been recovered from the disaster-stricken area.
Amid reports that hundreds of people are still missing in Nepal and China after a floodwater surge slammed into towns and villages on Wednesday, aid teams have been working to reach communities cut off by the disaster.
Promising efforts to restore degraded land are now in the spotlight at a time when 40 per cent of the world’s land currently faces degradation and drought, threatening the livelihoods of over three billion people, the head of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) said Wednesday, announcing three winners of its World Restoration Flagships awards.
Countries are spending too little to restore degraded land even as the economic cost of doing nothing climbs towards $1 trillion a year, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed warned at a major UN land conference in Mongolia.
As extreme heat becomes an increasingly visible reality across Japan, meteorologists, scientists, businesses and professional footballers are joining forces to encourage stronger climate action and raise awareness of the risks posed by global warming.
From Ecuador to Bangladesh, a new generation of entrepreneurs is turning land restoration into economic opportunity. Whether repurposing agricultural waste, building greenhouses or deploying AI-powered sensors, they are showing, with support from a United Nations-backed initiative, that restoring land can also generate income and improve livelihoods.
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