Climate change blogs
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Is adaptation the missing ingredient from the new UN biodiversity action plan?
24 February 2020This week governments from across the world will meet in Rome to discuss the first draft of a new global action plan to tackle biodiversity loss. Dilys Roe asks whether there is something missing from the agenda
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City leaders need to rise to the climate change challenge
8 February 2020City leaders from around the world are meeting in Abu Dhabi for the 10th World Urban Forum on sustainable urbanisation (8-13 February). IIED director Andrew Norton and Maimunah Mohd Sharif, executive director of UN-Habitat, highlight the need for leaders to work with residents of informal settlements in order to prepare for the impacts of climate change
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Climate activism and cities: a shared agenda
7 February 2020In the second blog in our series considering the role social movements play in promoting climate action, Anna Walnycki reflects on where the climate movement and inclusive cities agenda meet, and why climate activists should look South to learn from long-standing urban community actors
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Jobs, nature and the Green New Deal: lessons from the global South
30 January 2020A new article in the 'Journal of Philosophical Transactions B' explores how experiences from large-scale social protection programmes in the global South could help us link two important elements of ideas for a Green New Deal, creating local jobs for a just transition while increasing ecosystem stewardship
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Community voices – the climate needs you in COP26 countdown
28 January 2020The 14th community-based adaption event (CBA14) will call on local communities to use their collective power to hold climate decision makers to account
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Is Davos signalling the end of business as usual?
21 January 2020As world leaders in politics and business gather in Davos, IIED director Andrew Norton considers progress on the event’s ‘business with purpose’ agenda and asks how a progressive sustainability manifesto can omit climate change
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2020: the year to get money where it matters
20 January 2020More new initiatives, such as the Global Commission on Adaptation’s Locally Led Adaptation Action Track, are beginning to recognise the critical role of poor and marginalised people in tackling the climate emergency. From the Gobeshona conference, Andrew Norton and Saleemul Huq explain why a reimagined climate finance system that gets money into the hands of those people must be high on the 2020 ‘super year’ agenda
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How can we incorporate local knowledge into climate planning and policy? …Maps!
17 January 2020In Kenya, participatory mapping makes it possible for indigenous knowledge to be included in planning and policy where for too long it was excluded, showing technology can bring people’s voices to power
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COP25 policy and activism: we deserved better
13 January 2020In the first of a new series considering the important role social movements play in prompting climate action and protecting nature, Sejal Patel reflects on COP25, both as a researcher seeking to influence policy and as an individual passionate about climate justice
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COP25: the morning after
13 January 2020Ahead of this week's IIED-hosted event discussing what COP25 outcomes mean for the climate crisis, Subhi Barakat highlights stepping stones for more ambitious climate action that emerged from these negotiations, where delays and denial frustrated progress
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How can we avoid another ‘lost decade’ in the climate fight?
6 January 2020As 2020 begins, IIED director Andrew Norton considers what it will take to galvanise meaningful action on climate change against a ticking clock and political reticence
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Climate change is advancing in Nigeria: we can’t keep running
17 December 2019Youth-led climate strikes across the world have injected remarkable momentum into demands for climate action. But according to guest blogger Ridwan Bello, if young people in Nigeria are to join this global push, they need more knowledge about the causes and impacts of climate change
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Nature-based solutions to climate change: stories from Chile
12 December 2019The last-minute decision to shift the location of the UN climate negotiations from Santiago to Madrid saw committed multilateralism at work; despite the logistical challenges, world leaders have pressed ahead with these crucial talks in Spain. While the climate spotlight has moved continents, Xiaoting Hou-Jones shares stories from Chile on how nature can support adaptation efforts
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Ten reasons why we have to rewrite the sustainability rule book, and now
8 December 2019Companies are lagging behind when it comes to action on climate change. Mike Barry shares his tips on becoming the sustainable business leaders of tomorrow
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Politics at play at the UN climate talks? The LDCs don’t have time for games
4 December 2019There’s one year left before countries are formally held to account to their pledges under the Paris Agreement. From the COP25 climate talks in Madrid, Gabrielle Swaby sets out what the least developed countries – the poorest nations with most at stake – need from these crucial negotiations
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Acting on the planetary emergency
29 November 2019With evidence of grave ecological and social crises mounting, director Andrew Norton considers the scale and shape of the challenges ahead and how IIED can step up action to meet them
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Towards better assessment of adaptation results
31 October 2019How can countries align their climate adaptation assessment mechanisms with other frameworks? Barry Smith highlights opportunities for achieving effective adaptation monitoring and evaluation
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Strengthening development in the face of the climate crisis and environmental destruction
31 October 2019The climate emergency is not always a priority in development agencies’ planning. OECD’s new report outlines five steps they can take to integrate environmental protection into their programming
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Real climate ambition means switching to 'business unusual'
4 October 2019Leadership at the UN Climate Action Summit came from least developed countries and grassroots communities. Clare Shakya argues that supporting their efforts requires a shift away from business-as-usual
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Transparent climate reporting in Malawi: what’s needed, what’s next?
3 October 2019The Paris Agreement’s transparency guidelines allow least developed countries extra time and support to meet new climate reporting criteria, but meet it they must. Yamikani Idriss describes Malawi’s progress to date and support still needed
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Madagascar needs agroforestry businesses in its response to climate change
27 September 2019Madagascar’s forests are under increasing pressure from agricultural expansion, in an increasingly erratic climate. Agroforestry could be a key part of a response
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Time to team up with nature to adapt to climate change
26 September 2019As global leaders embrace natural climate solutions at the UN Climate Summit in New York, IIED’s research shows how to tap the potential of nature-based solutions in tackling the impacts of climate change
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Supporting adaptation through local-level climate finance: lessons from Kenya
24 September 2019Kenya’s transformational County Climate Change Fund (CCCF) mechanism demonstrates how to get climate funds to the local level and involve the people who are most vulnerable to the hazards of a changing climate in deciding how to spend them
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Bearing the climate burden – Bangladesh families are paying too much
20 September 2019A new report by IIED reveals how much rural households in Bangladesh are spending on repairing the damage caused by climate change. Governments and international funders need to do more to support local priorities
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Want to save the planet? Put the poorest in the driver's seat
11 September 2019Fundamental reform of how climate finance is distributed is needed in order to help meet the Paris Agreement’s targets and make sure money reaches the people who need it most