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According to the IPCC, the concentration of greenhouse gases in the earth’s atmosphere is directly linked to the average global temperature on Earth, and the concentration has been rising steadily. The most abundant greenhouse gas, accounting for about two-thirds of greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide, is largely the product of burning fossil fuels.
There is alarming evidence that important tipping points, leading to irreversible changes in major ecosystems and the planetary climate system, may already have been reached or passed. One of the most urgent challenges facing countries across the world today is how to achieve economic prosperity and development while also combating climate change.
The Paris climate change agreement commits nations to limit global temperature rise to no more than 2°C above pre-industrial levels, with countries pledging to cut or curb their greenhouse gas emissions – through a combination of mitigation and adaptation measures – by 2030.
Created a Post in Agriculture, Climate Change, Forestry
Announcing the UN Decade of Family Farming...
The UN Decade of Family Farming 2019-2028 (UNDFF) aims to shed new light on what it means to be a family farmer in a rapidly changing world and highlights more than ever before the important role they play in eradicating hunger and shaping our future of food. Family farming offers a unique opportunity to ensure food security, improve livelihoods, better manage natural resources, protect the environment and achieve sustainable development, particularly in rural areas. Thanks to their wisdom and care for the earth, family farmers are the agents of change we need to achieve Zero Hunger, a more balanced and resilient planet, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (FAO, 2022).
Through their Global Action Plan UNDFF provides detailed guidance for the international community on collective, coherent and comprehensive actions that can be taken to support family farmers. The Plan is designed around seven mutually reinforcing pillars of work and recommends a series of interconnected actions from the local to the global level (UNDFF, 2022).
UNDFF needs your help to collecting stories that showcase the contributions of family farmers and/or highlight the challenges they face. The stories can come from farmers themselves, but also from the people or institutions that work with farmers. Participants can use the template provided as a basis for stories. Please consider submitting your story with photos to undff@fao.org to have it featured on the UNDFF’s website!
Long live Family Farms and their Supporters! ___ https://www.fao.org/family-farming-decade/home/en/ https://www.fao.org/3/ca4672en/ca4672en.pdf https://www.fao.org/family-farming/home/en/ https://www.fao.org/3/cb7496en/cb7496en.pdf
Created a Post in Climate Change, Gender
"The global labor force participation rate for women is just over 50% compared to 80% for men [...]. Emerging evidence from recent household survey data suggests that these gender gaps are heightened due to the Covid-19 pandemic."
The gender gap is narrowing in some regions, but not necessarily from increased female participation, but falling male participation. Of all the income groups surveyed, the gender gap in labor force participation is largest in lower middle-income countries:
Created a Post in Climate Change, Natural Capital, Water and Sanitation
Giving Nature a Boost
Created a Post in Climate Change
Global Climate Change Update...
Scientific evidence for warming of the climate system is unequivocal (IPCC, 2022).
Earth's climate has changed throughout history. In the last 650,000 years there have been seven cycles of glacial advance and retreat, with the abrupt end of the last ice age about 11,700 years ago marking the beginning of the modern climate era — and of human civilization. Most of these climate changes are attributed to very small variations in Earth’s orbit that change the amount of solar energy our planet receives (NASA, 2022).
The current warming trend is of particular significance because it is unequivocally the result of human activity since the mid-20th century and proceeding at a rate that is unprecedented over millennia. It is undeniable that human activities have warmed the atmosphere, ocean, and land and that widespread and rapid changes in the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere, and biosphere have occurred. Earth-orbiting satellites and other technological advances have enabled scientists to see the big picture, collecting many different types of information about our planet and its climate on a global scale. This body of data, collected over many years, reveals the signals of a changing climate (NASA, 2022).
Human-induced climate change is causing dangerous and widespread disruption in nature and affecting the lives of billions of people around the world, despite efforts to reduce the risks. People and ecosystems least able to cope are being hardest hit, according to the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, released February 28 (IPCC, 2022).
The IPCC is the UN body for assessing the science related to climate change. It was established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 1988 to provide political leaders with periodic scientific assessments concerning climate change, its implications and risks, as well as to put forward adaptation and mitigation strategies. Their 2022 report has a strong focus on the interactions among the coupled systems climate, ecosystems (including their biodiversity) and human society. These interactions are the basis of emerging risks from climate change, ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss and, at the same time, offer opportunities for the future (IPCC, 2022). ____ https://climate.nasa.gov/ https://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/ https://www.unep.org/resources/report/ipcc-sixth-assessment-report-clim… https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/ https://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-working-group-ii/
Cyclones, floods, locust swarms, and desertification of the Sahel are just some of the devastating effects of climate change on sub-Saharan Africa, impacting food security, livelihoods and economic stability. More than anywhere else in the world, sub-Saharan Africa’s hard-earned gains in living standards and advances in health and education are at risk of stalling or reversing.
This news article outlines how infrastructure plays a key role in adaptation and resilience to climate change. Given the region’s dearth of industrial and energy infrastructure, this suggests an opportunity to establish new infrastructure that is both resilient and green. In the meantime the authors underline the need for investments to support near-term viability of existing infrastructure.
Land and property rights are crucial in delivering strengthened food security and lower rates of deforestation, among many. Securing women's land rights to promote gender equality and an inclusive transition is often met with significant challenges. How can we recognise gender equality through sub-Saharan Africa's land tenure systems?
The theme for International Women's Day, 8 March, 2022 is "Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow."
What are some gaps you see in the discussions around gender and sustainability? How does your work help promote women's empowerment?
Created a Post in Climate Change, Water and Sanitation
Climate Resilient Water Resources Management
Ukraine Crisis Is Terrible News For Climate Policy
I don't necessarily agree with everything said in this article, but I think it triggers important points of discussions such as:
1. Should we start mining key minerals for the renewable energy sector? 2. Should we reconsider nuclear power? And most importantly 3. How do we transition to a sustainable society without spiralling down into a war logic?
As a person born after 89, working and fully supporting multilateralism and cooperation, this is a (brutal) call to reality.
Created a Post in Climate Change, Green Recovery from COVID-19, Sustainable Finance
World spends $1.8tn a year on subsidies that harm environment, study finds.
Are we financing our own extinction?