China will not build new coal-fire projects abroad, a move that could be pivotal in tackling global emissions.President Xi Jinping made the announcement in his address at the United Nations General Assembly.China has been funding coal projects in countries like Indonesia and Vietnam under a massive infrastructure project known as the Belt and Road initiative.But it has been under pressure to end the financing, as the world tries to meet Paris climate agreement targets."China will step up support for other developing countries in developing green and low-carbon energy, and will not build new coal-fired power projects abroad," Mr Xi said in a video recording at the annual summit.No further details were provided, but the move could limit the expansion of coal plants in many developing countri...
Confronting the existential threat of a looming climate crisis has been a continous talking point at the week-long United Nations summit in New York. As over 100 world leaders gathered for the annual UN General Assembly—the first in-person meet since the pandemic began—the calls for global unity on climate action have rarely been more persistent. As over 100 world leaders gathered for the annual UN General Assembly—the first in-person meet since the pandemic began—the calls for global unity on climate action have rarely been more persistent. And with a crucial round of climate talks just over a month away, heads of states urged all countries to up their committment to reducing emissions.UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that for him the summit in New York had to in...
The impacts of crises are never gender-neutral, and COVID-19 is no exception.For the single mother in South Sudan, COVID-19 lockdown measures have paused her small business that brings food to the table.For the domestic worker in Guatemala, the pandemic has meant no job and no unemployment benefits or other protection.For countless women in economies of every size, along with losing income, unpaid care and domestic work burden has exploded.While everyone is facing unprecedented challenges, women are bearing the brunt of the economic and social fallout of COVID-19.Women who are poor and marginalized face an even higher risk of COVID-19 transmission and fatalities, loss of livelihood, and increased violence. Globally, 70 per cent of health workers and first responders are women, and yet...
“Global Governance may sound lofty or abstract. It is not.” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres let this statement ring around the UNGA Hall as he concluded his presentation of recommendations for implementing the 12 commitments agreed by UN Member States in their Declaration marking the 75th anniversary of the United Nations. Titled ‘Our Common Agenda,’ the report launched on 10 September 2021, immediately prior to the opening of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly, outlines steps to be taken to implement the commitments negotiated by UN Member States last year.The exercise of global governance in the instance of developing ‘Our Common Agenda’ started with a conversation with people around the world, followed by conversations among governmental le...
The COVID-19 pandemic and heightened concerns about climate change, racial injustice, and income inequality have injected fresh urgency into the need for more sustainable investing.The pandemic’s devastating effects have laid bare how health and economic crises disproportionately affect families living in poverty, no matter where they live around the globe. Systemic racism and income inequality only aggravated the pandemic’s effects.What the virus really showed was how inequalities, already existing, were often the basis for death and a plunge below the poverty line even in the Global North. It showed how not having universal health care, paid sick leave, equal access to social security (or access at all), having societies in which people are marginalized and without safety nets w...