Habari Kushughulikia Mazingira

Kuangazia ushughulikiaji wa mabadiliko ya tabianchi

Dharura ya tabianchi ni matokeo ya moja kwa moja ya matumizi ya kaboni nzito ardhini na kwa kilimo, uchukuzi, michakato ya ujenzi na michakato ya viwanda na vyanzo chafuzi vya nishati. Bila mabadiliko makubwa kwa sekta hizi na bila kupunguza athari za hewa ya ukaa, kuna matumaini kidogo ya kulinda sayari dhidi ya athari mbaya za joto ulimwenguni. 

Upeperushaji huu wa moja kwa moja utakufanya upate habari za hivi punde kutoka kwa Kongamano la Umoja wa Mataifa la Mabadiliko ya Tabianchi, linalojulikana kama Kongamano la Nchi Wanachama (COP29) Mfumo wa Umoja wa Mataifa wa Mabadiliko ya Tabianchi (UNFCCC) utakaofanyika nchini Baku, Azerbaijan.  

10 Jan 2025 15:18

Confirmed: 2024 was the hottest year on record, says UN weather agency

Image of the sun
Image: Unsplash/James Day

UN weather experts from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) confirmed on 10 January 2025 that 2024 was the hottest year on record, at 1.55℃ above pre-industrial temperatures.

The 1.5℃ marker is significant because it was a key goal of the 2015 Paris Agreement to try to ensure that global temperature change does not rise more than this above pre-industrial levels, while striving to hold the overall increase to well below 2℃.

WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo insisted that “climate history is playing out before our eyes. We’ve had not just one or two record-breaking years, but a full ten-year series. “It is essential to recognize that every fraction of a degree of warming matters. Whether it is at a level below or above 1.5C of warming, every additional increment of global warming increases the impacts on our lives, economies and our planet.”

More on this.

31 Dec 2024 19:09

Looking back at the environmental highs - and lows - of 2024

Image of woman holding a seedling
Image: UNEP

From a landmark deal to fund conservation to chilling news about greenhouse gas emissions, 2024 was a rollercoaster year for the planet.

Here’s a closer look at some of the most memorable environmental moments of the last 12 months, shaped by the UNEP and the Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) UNEP hosts that underpin the global environmental movement.

06 Dec 2024 13:16

Landmark climate change hearings represent largest ever case before UN world court

Image of a burnt section of a forest
Image: FAO/Felipe Rodríguez

A record number of oral statements are expected to be presented to the International Court of Justice. The hearings broadly concern the obligations of States with respect to climate change and the legal consequences of these obligations. They are significant because they represent the international community’s efforts to come up with a legal framework for addressing climate change. 

More simply put, the court is being asked to provide clarity on international law with respect to climate change. The legal advice it provides may in turn influence any multilateral processes involving climate action.

Here is what you need to know. 

02 Dec 2024 12:34

Clean cooking as a climate action agenda

A woman standing next to a cooker and pot
Image: UNEP

The Clean Cooking with Agricultural Residues webinar will explore the benefits and challenges when using agricultural residues as fuel for clean cooking. It will present good examples of innovative and sustainable solutions of cooking from agricultural residues in Malawi and Sierra Leone, and address programs supporting access to clean cooking solutions and the use of sustainable cooking fuels.

Creating access to clean cooking is essential for climate action and was underscored at the recent high-level summit on clean cooking for Africa, organized by the IEA in May 2024. Charcoal and firewood remain major contributors to deforestation and account for 60-80% of black carbon emissions across Africa, driving substantial net carbon emissions. Using briquettes and pellets from agricultural residues as fuel can offer a sustainable alternative that protects forest ecosystems, supports local businesses, and improves the health of women and children.

To achieve the SDG7 target for universal access to affordable, reliable, and modern energy services, it is essential to place biomass-based and lower-tier cooking technologies within the broader context of the clean energy transition.

Register to join the webinar on 3 December at 1 pm EAT.

29 Nov 2024 13:25

COP29 finance deal welcomed, but much work remains

At a somewhat fractious UN Climate Conference (COP29) dominated by finance, the final agreement in Baku, Azerbaijan saw developed countries pledge to “take the lead” in raising US$300 billion annually for developing countries by 2035.  

This is up from the US$100 billion a year that was pledged in 2009. It was also agreed that developed countries would “secure efforts” to scale up finance to developing countries from public and private sources to US$1.3 trillion a year by 2035.   

Read the full story.

24 Nov 2024 13:23

UNEP Head: COP29 a foundation, but much work to be done

COP29
Credit: UNEP

UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen has called for "more transparent, inclusive progress on finance, on mitigation and on adaptation." Speaking after the end of COP29, which saw developed countries pledge to deliver US$300 billion annually to developing countries by 2035.

"COP29 has now secured a foundation on which we must now rapidly build. However, we must be clear, ambition and promises are only as good as the action and delivery that backs them up. We therefore need to see more transparent, inclusive progress on finance, on mitigation and on adaptation.

Andersen also highlighted the importance of the upcoming NDC deadline in February next year.

"All member states must now stretch ambition to ensure we can live up to the 1.5°C promise. The NDC plans can unleash a wave of resilient economic growth, new jobs and address cost of living challenges," she said.

22 Nov 2024 18:33

COP31 hosts will not be decided until June 2025 at earliest

COP29
UN Climate Change/Kamran Guliyev

In what is probably an overlooked section of the draft texts released earlier today, the decision on who will host COP31 in 2026 won't be decided until June next year at the earliest. 

Both Turkey and Australia - co-hosting with one or more Pacific island nations - want to host the event, but neither is willing to withdraw their candidacy.

Of the 29 COPs, six have been held in the southern hemisphere and 23 in the northern hemisphere.

22 Nov 2024 14:06

New draft text: developed countries should pay US$250 billion annually by 2035

Simon Stiell
UN Climate Change/Simon Stiell

The new draft texts have just been released by the COP29 Presidency, and the key takeaway is that developing countries should receive US$250 billion per year by 2035 for climate action. This is to come from "a wide variety of sources, public and private, bilateral and multilateral, including alternative sources."

While it also "calls for a finance target of US$1.3 trillion by 2035, it also "invites developing countries to make additional contributions". 

These figures will see lots of back and forth over the rest of the day, but at least there are figures to work with now. How developing countries will react to this text remains to be seen however.

22 Nov 2024 13:26

Landmark environmental report aims to provide solutions to interlinked crises

Hundreds of scientists from around the world are in the midst of drafting a landmark report to help government leaders and other decision makers counter some of the world’s most acute environmental ills.

The Global Environmental Outlook 7 (GEO-7), will provide a comprehensive overview of the latest environmental research and provide decision makers with a roadmap for addressing the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss including desertification and pollution and waste. Read more about the report.

22 Nov 2024 12:48

EU releases transparency report, highlighting importance of open reporting

wind turbines
Pexels/Pixabay

The European Union released its first Biennial Transparency Report (BTR) this morning, highlighting the importance of transparency in achieving the Paris Agreement goals.  

The EU’s BTR revealed a 37 per cent drop in net greenhouse gas emissions since 1990, with a potential pathway to a 90 per cent net greenhouse gas emissions reduction by 2040. 

Transparency is a key component of the Paris Agreement. Countries submit their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) - their plans on how they will reduce emissions – every five years, with the next round of NDCs due in February 2025. As part of this, most countries are expected to submit their first Biennial Transparency Report (BTR) this month. 

BTRs are progress reports that provide information on national emissions levels and mitigation efforts as well as adaptation measures. They provide a snapshot of progress in achieving the NDCs goals. For more information on why transparency matters, check out this handy video: