From thawing permafrost to belching cows, methane is a harmful greenhouse gas that has a significant impact on climate change. Although the bulk of mitigation strategies focus on carbon dioxide, methane also requires direct mitigation measures, a better understanding of how much it impacts our climate, and what sectors are emitting the most. A hot topic for researchers and policymakers alike.
Whales are a key component in ensuring planetary equilibrium. One of their least appreciated contributions is their positive impact on carbon sequestration. Protecting whales not only helps reach climate objectives but can also shed new light on the value of nature based solutions.
From Beirut, Lebanon, to Mauritius the sea is crossed by ships carrying materials that, if released into the ocean, are a menace for human beings and the marine environment. Satellites, data, and advanced modelling can help deal with these potential disasters. Scientific research and innovation are critical to predicting the movement and pervasiveness of oil spills and can direct cleanup efforts in a timely manner.
It’s not only about ice melting and rising temperatures. It’s also about a region that is being transformed dramatically by climate change. The way the Arctic is evolving comes with consequences for the environment, biosphere, international relations, and geopolitical balance. Scientists indicate that the recent heatwave in Siberia would have been virtually impossible without anthropogenic climate change. But how are these conclusions drawn, and how accurate is it to make these claims?
Technologies needed in the next ten years to be on track with the Paris Agreement goals already exist but are not enough diffused. The authors of the World Bank report “Technology Transfer and Innovation for Low-Carbon Development” explain how policies can transform a must for climate change into a big opportunity for sustainable growth, especially for developing countries.
In a post-pandemic world greening the cities of the future has emerged as an absolute priority. Reforming surface transport systems is part of this process and can help reach Paris Agreement objectives of keeping warming well below 2ºC. However, this will require policy changes that are systemic, resilient and include nature-based solutions.
Low prices for oil and other fossil fuels, the Covid-19 crisis, the recovery package, and the opportunity to combine an urgent response to social needs with long-term sustainable strategies. A vision of the future that combines investments and climate resilience. International experts discuss perspectives and solutions for green finance, in the name of the “do no significant harm” principle.
Why is Japan struggling to increase its share of renewable energy and decarbonize its economy? Companies, municipalities, research institutions, and civil society organizations are seeking answers to these very questions. Ken Tanaka, of the Japan Climate Initiative Secretariat, shares some unique insight.
A warming world, displacement, migrants, refugees. Not only do words have the power to change popular perceptions, but they also shape legal landscapes, influence policy measures, and determine the fates of the most vulnerable. A collection of voices, definitions, infographics, and numbers provides a snapshot of the complex and multifaced climate-migration nexus.
An escape valve for local tensions. An occasion to adapt to the changing climate. In a future with higher temperatures and rarer natural resources, migration arises as an opportunity for many people to find more hospitable places to live in. An opportunity not for everyone, as migrating is expensive, and especially the most vulnerable and poor might find themselves unable to move, blocked into a trap that climate change can, in turn, worsen by keeping worsening inequalities and poverty.
Countries are still coming together to discuss climate action notwithstanding delays to climate negotiations. Green recovery packages emerge as a top priority with policymakers signaling them as a key instrument with which to both kickstart the economy and avoid environmental breakdown. From the Land of the Rising Sun comes a wake-up call and a set of new initiatives to facilitate international dialogue and build momentum for climate action.
Two faces of the same world. Obesity, food loss and waste, land competition for non-food crops on the one hand. Hunger, struggle for food security, worries for a growing population to feed on the other hand. Many paradoxes are governing the current unsustainable food system, grounded in a type of agriculture that maximizes yields at any cost for human health and the environment. We dive into an open debate in the scientific community about how to ensure that the agriculture of the future is sustainable and good for the climate, analyzing the pros and cons of organic farming as a possible solution.
