News headlines in 2022, page 41

At the opening of the two-day Climate Implementation Summit at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, António Guterres called for a historic pact between developed and developing countries to combine capacities, and pivot the world towards reducing carbon emissions, transforming energy systems and avoiding a climate catastrophe.

The UN Climate Change Conference in Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt, should shift the world towards implementation of previously agreed plans to tackle humanity’s greatest challenge, Simon Stiell, the new Executive Secretary of the UN Climate Convention (UNFCCC), said on Sunday at the opening of COP27.

The latest report from the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO), released on Sunday, shows that the last eight years have been the warmest on record, fuelled by ever-rising greenhouse gas concentrations.

Sydney, Nov 05 (IPS) - Today, the window of opportunity for scaled-up global climate action to prevent disastrous global warming and build resilience in the most vulnerable nations is closing fast. And a major impediment to reducing emissions and accelerating climate adaptation is both lack of financial investment and major bureaucratic hurdles to accessing those funds that are available.

IRAN-IRAQ BORDER, Nov 04 (IPS) - Iran-Iraq border -It usually takes hours of driving in a 4X4 before heading out on foot through a dense forest. There, protected under a sea of beech trees from the view of the drones, it is the guerrillas of the PJAK (Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan) who find us.

MADRID, Nov 04 (IPS) - Just a few days ahead of the UN Climate Conference (COP27) in Egypt (6-18 November), new revelations show how far rich, industrialised countries –those who contribute most to the growing catastrophes- have been lying over their real contributions to climate finance.

MONTREAL, Canada, Nov 04 (IPS) - It is no secret that humankind’s past actions have accelerated the deterioration of ecosystems, negatively impacting our economies, societies, health, and cultures. It is estimated that humans have altered over 97% of ecosystems worldwide, to date. One million species are currently threatened with extinction (IPBES).

The writing on the wall is clear. Our planet is in crisis.

BRUSSELS, Nov 04 (IPS) - For 10 days in November, the world's diplomatic attention will largely be focused on three major diplomatic meetings in Southeast Asia.

These include the Group of 20 (G-20) Summit on November 15-16 in Bali, Indonesia, and the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, which will be held November 18-19 in Bangkok, Thailand.

UNITED NATIONS, Nov 04 (IPS) - The COP 27 climate summit is taking place amid a rash of political, economic and environmental upheavals, including missed funding and emission targets, increased pollution and climate devastation, rising global inflation, cuts in Western development assistance and the negative after-effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) launched “an unprecedented number” of cruise and ballistic missiles over the course of just 48 hours this week, the UN Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, told the Security Council in an emergency meeting on Friday.