A 100% resilient Europe by mid-century with more data and knowledge at the service of decision-makers. The EU aims to lead the world by example and calls for more consideration of the transboundary effects of climate impacts and for a “smarter, more systemic and swifter” adaptation to the impacts of climate change.
Climate-neutral and fully adapted to climate change by 2050. This is the (not so distant) future outlined for Europe in their new adaptation strategy. With 30 years left to enact this process, it is no longer just an ambition: with “deals”, strategies, and laws, the EU policy context is moving rapidly to make change a reality just as civil society is demanding action and the private sector is stepping up its game.
On the policy side, the latest step forward is the new EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change, adopted by the European Commission on February 24, 2021. It…
Glaciers account for approximately 70% of all freshwater stored on the planet. From Latin America to the Himalayas, New Zealand and the European Alps, climate change is causing most glaciers to retreat at unprecedented rates with many experts sounding the alarm on water security.
From early childhood we learn that around 70% of planet Earth is made up of water. This amounts to around 1,390 billion km3 of which 97.5% is the saltwater contained in our seas and oceans. Only around 2.5% of Earth’s water is freshwater which is the essential building blocks for life as we know it.
The majority of freshwater is stored in the polar ice caps and glaciers. In fact, humanity only has direct access to around 0.5% of the planet’s fresh water, of which only a part is clean and safe for drinking.
Water security is essential to sustainable…
Natural resources are neither free nor boundless. The time has come to challenge our conception of the relationship between the economy, society, and the environment and how we measure well-being and social progress. A new system takes the contributions of nature into account when analyzing economic development. It can be a game-changer for decision making processes.
Conservationists and environment officials hope new UN standards that also account for the value of natural capital can help governments slow the rapid decline of plant and animal species worldwide.
The UN has adopted a new system that takes the contributions of nature into account when analysing economic development. …
Women are more exposed to the effects of climate change and at the same time less represented in climate negotiations and national environmental ministries. Working towards gender equality can also lead to more effective environmental decision making and action, accelerating global efforts to achieve development goals.
Not only is gender equality a fundamental human right but it is also a pillar of creating a sustainable global system. Enshrined in the UN’s SDG 5 — Gender Equality — is a recognition that investing in environmental sustainability goes hand in hand with achieving global goals related to gender equality and vice-versa.
Overall, climate change has a greater impact on those members of society that are the most vulnerable and poor. …
Improvements in climate science have a transformational effect on our understanding of environmental criticalities and what it will take to address them. The annual report on new insights in climate science reveals that although climate change indicators are accelerating there is also increasing popular and political momentum for change. 2021 will be a shed water moment if we are to meet the Paris Agreement objectives.
By consulting researchers and digging into fields related to climate change Future Earth, The Earth League and the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) — a network of scientists, researchers and institutions that collaborate to address some of the planet’s most pressing issues — put together the 10 new insights in climate science for 2020 with the participation of 57 leading researchers from 21 countries.
Presented on 27 January 2021 to Patricia Espinosa, UNFCCC Executive Secretary, the authors shed light on some of 2020’s most important findings regarding climate science. …
An anthology of essays, poems and illustrations. Against the backdrop of the UN reminding us that women continue to be excluded from participating fully in science, we celebrate the International Day of Women and Girls in Science with “All We Can Save”, a collection of voices of women across generations, races, geography, and backgrounds.
“The climate crisis is not gender neutral” claim Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Dr. Katharine K. Wilkinson, two women and climate leaders who know about science and care for the future of the planet.
UNDP’s “Peoples’ Climate Vote” asked 1.2 million people in 50 countries, many of them young, whether they think climate change is a global emergency, despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and if they support wide-ranging action. Sixty-four per cent of participants agreed and the countries with the highest level of awareness of the climate emergency were Italy and the UK, the hosts of the upcoming UN Climate Conference (COP26).
There is an overwhelming belief that climate change is a global emergency. This is the conclusion reached by The Peoples’ Climate Vote, the largest survey ever taken of public opinion on climate change recently published by the United Nations Development Programme — UNDP.
“This is an unprecedented moment: even during a COVID-19 pandemic two-thirds of people around the world are seeing climate change as an emergency that must be addressed”, commented Cassie Flynn, the UNDP’s strategic adviser on climate change while illustrating the results of the survey. “The poll cuts across 50 countries in 17 languages. It has a…
The largest climate team ever, a flurry of executive orders, an approach that ties together national security and foreign policy, economic growth and employment. Joe Biden’s new strategy is prompt, clear and straightforward: wasting no time in addressing the climate crisis and making the USA an influential actor in global negotiations once again.
Just one week after Biden’s inauguration the effort to roll-back Trump’s environmental legacy is already in full swing. On his very first day in office, President Biden proceeded to sign a multitude of executive orders of which two specifically targeting environmental issues. Whether these directives make a meaningful difference remains to be seen but what is certain is that they have sent a clear message on the new administrations climate intentions.
Furthermore, in a testament to the seriousness with which the new administration regards climate change, on January 27, Biden signed more climate-related executive orders, this time targeting new oil…
Since the industrial revolution fossil fuels have propelled technological, social and economic progress. However, this has come at a substantial environmental cost. Now, with Covid-19 rocking the global economy there are signs that we may have reached a historic moment when demand for oil finally peaks and our energy paradigm shifts. Scientists and policymakers are being joined by investors who see economic opportunities in a clean energy revolution.
Volatility in oil prices, mixed with increasingly aggressive legislation that makes fossil fuels less attractive for investors, is driving the transition to a new energy paradigm. Long accused of being too expensive and non-competitive, the global market is finally opening its doors to renewables as an economically viable solution to our climate related predicaments. …
The return of science as a major player in decision making processes, a new US administration that values climate action and a shift in public and private perceptions of climate change. 2021 could be a breakwater moment for planetary wellbeing.
Ever since 1995 policymakers, researchers, business leaders, activists and journalists have gathered for the annual end of year climate summit. An opportunity to set the tone for the new year and ensure that climate objectives are on track.
This year public health concerns prevented COP26 from taking place, delaying it to November 2021. However, policymakers are not throwing in the towel when it comes to advancing climate goals, with many countries updating their NDCs and the incumbent US administration vowing to take a leading role as a climate actor.
Notwithstanding the lack of a COP in 2020, leaders have found…
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Euro-Mediterranean Center on #ClimateChange: integrated, multi-disciplinary and frontier research on climate science and policy.
