In another sign of the US “coming back from the cold” and reembracing multilateralism, President Biden has invited 40 Heads of State or Government to participate in a virtual “Leaders Summit on Climate” on 22-23 April 2021. This landmark event, which coincides with Earth Day 2021, underscores the United States’ commitment to re-joining the fight…
With the European Union’s publication of its Communication on The European Green Deal in December of 2019, a proposal for a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) was promised. The declared intention was to ‘level the economic playing field’ globally and adjust the price of carbon emissions on imported goods to match the EU carbon price. This way ‘carbon leakage’, the relocation of production processes to countries with more lenient greenhouse gas emission…
This Saturday, on 27th March 2021, we mark the 15th annual Earth Hour. At 8:30pm local time, participants across the world will turn off all non-essential lights in their homes and offices in an effort to draw attention to the ongoing climate crisis that is ravaging our planet. The event first took place in Sydney,…
As international issues go, climate change is unique in that it will, without exception, impact every single country on Earth. The responsibility for it is therefore shared widely among countries, and the crisis can only be effectively mitigated if there is global cooperation and a unified response. With the threats posed by climate change becoming…
By Richard Kinley, Georgios Kostakos and Harris Gleckman* With Joe Biden set to assume office on 20 January, there is great expectation at the return of the US to the multilateral fold, to reclaim its leadership position with active engagement on global challenges, notably climate change. All is well, then, and the world no…
Officially recognised as one of the New 7 Wonder Cities of the World in 2015, La Paz, the administrative capital of Bolivia, is globally known for its unstable weather conditions. Located at 3,600 metres above sea level, its particular orography has historically pushed the local populations to face the challenge of achieving real food sovereignty…
Climate Change – unheard of before the 1950s, is now the most significant issue against which humanity has to fight. Our planet Earth has existed for billions of years and has seen a great number of periodic heating and cooling cycles. However, with the rise of our species, a major change has occurred. In the…
by Richard Kinley, Georgios Kostakos and Harris Gleckman* On 21 September 2020 world leaders will observe the 75th anniversary of the United Nations, mainly through the delivery of pre-recorded speeches and not physical presence in New York because of Covid-19. Is the UN going hybrid/virtual and transitioning to the next phase of its existence, or…
The Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an annual event that has been attracting increasing attention in recent years, as the impacts of climate change intensify and are now visible virtually to all. The latest UNFCCC COP is taking place in Madrid, Spain, from 2 to…
.…And it is not just because of climate change. Increasing unrest around the world shows a deep dissatisfaction of large numbers of citizens with unpopular decisions and corruption that the ruling classes are engaged in. It is not just a new Arab Spring, although it is expressed in the Arab world too, notably Lebanon, Iraq…
