While 2023 is not yet over, a provisional report from the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) confirmed that it is set to be the warmest on record, with global temperatures rising 1.4 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Mr. Guterres said that the race is on to keep alive the 1.5-degree...
Releasing its 2023 World Malaria Report as nations gather at the UN climate change conference, COP28, the health agency warned that despite expanding access to malaria prevention, more people are getting sick with the disease. WHO documented 249 million cases in 2022, an increase of two million from 2021 and...
Maria José Torres Macho travelled to Antarctica with the UN chief, António Guterres, ahead of the global climate conference, COP28, which is getting underway in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates: “The sleeping continent hides under its beauty, its undeniable role as a key climate regulator for the planet. While...
António Guterres is in Antarctica this week, where he saw first-hand how climate change is impacting the world’s southernmost continent, which is mostly covered in ice. The heat is on “Fossil fuel pollution is heating our planet, unleashing climate anarchy in Antarctica,” said Mr. Guterres, adding that the Southern Ocean...
António Guterres said the world, particularly developing countries, is facing “a perfect storm”, with growing inequalities, climate chaos, conflicts and hunger. Meanwhile, fiscal space is tightening for many, with crushing debt burdens and skyrocketing prices. “This is a recipe for global instability and suffering,” he said, speaking from Santiago, Chile....
In Protecting maternal, newborn and child health from the impacts of climate change, the World Health Organization (WHO), UN Population Fund (UNFPA), and UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) jointly underscore the neglect, underreporting, and underestimation of climate events’ effects on maternal and child health. It also draws attention to the importance...
The 2023 Emissions Gap Report, released on Monday by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), carried a clear message – unless countries step up climate action and deliver more than promised in their 2030 pledges, the world is heading for a 2.5-2.9°C temperature rise above pre-industrial levels. A broken record Presenting...
Mr. Guterres was commenting on the latest report by UN climate change body UNFCCC, which shows, he said, that global climate ambition stagnated over the past year and national climate plans are “strikingly misaligned” with the science. “As the reality of climate chaos pounds communities around the world – with...
The recent launch of the UN-led AI Advisory Body advanced a growing global trend to harness machine learning to find solutions to common challenges. AI is upping the data crunching game and a growing number of governments, businesses and civil society partners are working together to reap its many benefits. That includes...
The Adaptation Gap Report 2023 issued by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), says the world is underprepared, under invested and lacking the necessary planning, leaving us all exposed. It warns that instead of speeding up, progress on adapting to climate change is stalling. The slowdown extends to finance, planning and...
Nepal has lost almost a third of its ice volume in 30 years, with glaciers melting 65 per cent faster in the last decade than in the previous one. “The rooftops of the world are caving in,” the UN chief said, warning that the “disappearance of glaciers altogether” looms even...
Scientists agree that climate change is real and is caused by unsustainable human activity such as the burning of fossil fuels, yet certain actors continue to spread mis- and disinformation, creating harmful misperceptions that can stifle effective climate action. Climate action is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. In a...