Policy and planning blogs
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Climate-induced migration illustrates loss and damage already being felt by communities
30 October 2021As global warming bites, vulnerable communities are being pushed from their homes by disasters and longer-term pressures, and desperately require financial help
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Are humanitarian agencies starting from scratch again in Haiti?
25 October 2021After the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, thousands of humanitarian agencies supported a huge recovery effort. ATwo months ago, another major quake struck. Are Haiti or humanitarian agencies any better equipped for the challenge of rebuilding?
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Can COP26 reach ambitious outcomes for LDCs?
22 October 2021Ambitious, inclusive and equitable outcomes at COP26 are vital. Will major emitters commit to significant carbon cuts? Will countries honour their climate finance pledges? And how will finance reach those most in need? Anna Schulz sets out four outcomes for COP26 to be labelled a success for the Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States.
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30x30 – a brave new dawn or a failure to protect people and nature?
21 October 2021The post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) negotiations, concluding early next year, include a plan to nearly double protected areas to 30% of the planet by 2030. Joe Eisen and Blaise Mudodosi discuss whether the 30x30 target offers a false solution to the biodiversity crisis
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Inclusive negotiations: are hybrid meetings the answer?
20 October 2021As the organisers of COP26 face the complex challenges of getting 10-20,000 delegates to Glasgow for in-person negotiations during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, what are the pros and cons of hybrid formats for making negotiations more inclusive
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Can COP26 lay firm foundations for an ambitious new climate finance goal?
11 October 2021With negotiations for the post-2025 climate goal due to commence at COP26, we ask what lessons can be learned from the previous – unmet – target and explore the priority issues for least developed countries (LDCs), who will be seeking changes to both the volume and nature of the climate finance they receive
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Reconciling food production and forest conservation: priorities for the UN Food Systems Summit
20 September 2021In the latest blog in our ‘food year’ series, guest blogger Hambulo Ngoma discusses the potential policy collisions between producing food to feed growing populations and conserving our forests
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Does the Global Biodiversity Framework offer a plan B for protected areas?
3 September 2021Ahead of IUCN’s World Conservation Congress, Phil Franks examines why – to date – strategies to halt biodiversity loss have largely failed, and discusses a way forward for protected areas and other forms of area-based conservation that is not only inclusive but also equitable
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Making strides to improve health and climate resilience in Zimbabwe’s cities
25 August 2021Guest blogger Artwell Kadungure and Alice Sverdlik report on how real progress is being made to improve the lives and livelihoods of informal workers as a result of collaboration with key policymakers
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Envisioning a better future for The Gambia
20 July 2021The Gambian environment minister outlines a better future for his country, where climate action and sustainable development go hand in hand
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Policymakers take note: climate displacement is driving millions into slavery
6 July 2021Many factors force people into slavery; but climate change as a driver is largely ignored in policy and planning
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CBA15: Four messages ahead of COP26
5 July 2021The annual international conferences on community-based adaptation (CBA) are unique events where adaptation practitioners, researchers, donors and decision-makers come together with grassroots community representatives and engage in open, dynamic conversations about how best to drive locally-led adaptation to climate change. This year’s event, CBA15, saw more than 400 people from more than 60 countries discuss how adaptation that is inclusive and locally led can be delivered in practice. This blog shares highlights from these exchanges
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It’s got to be virtual and in person – key steps for a successful COP26
23 June 2021In a moment of reflection, with the first round of virtual climate negotiations and the G7 Summit all concluded, Anna Schulz asks where are we now and what steps can be taken to ensure success at COP26?
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Trees need locally-grown politics
4 June 2021Presidents and celebrities planting trees are in the news again, and with green post-COVID-19 recovery plans afoot and the launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, James Mayers considers what it will take to get the right trees planted and looked after in the right places, by people who actually want them.
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Getting attention to a much-neglected health agenda: occupational health and safety
28 April 2021Guest blogger Rangarirai Machemedze and David Satterthwaite report on the findings of their research on the occupational health and climate change risks facing informal residents and workers in Zimbabwe
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How community mapping of storm water drains is fighting evictions in Karachi’s informal settlements
24 March 2021Urban poor communities are generating their own evidence to uncover the reasons – overlooked by authorities – that Karachi floods
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Perspective of LDC youth: what COP26 outcomes will enhance global action on adaptation and resilience?
18 February 2021Young people from the LDCs have the energy and knowledge to drive climate action – but they need collaboration and investment from decision-makers at the national and international level
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Drought management in India: hostage to climate information governance
10 February 2021While communities in India affected by climate change, and the agencies that support them, need access to short and long-term weather forecasts to plan their responses to increasingly erratic rainfall, the current climate information governance system stops this from happening. The system needs reworking
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Climate justice needs vaccine justice
1 February 2021Andrew Norton reflects on the inequalities faced by developing countries in accessing vaccines and says the world needs fair and inclusive responses to the pandemic in order to effectively respond to climate change and achieve a green recovery
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Striving for better: following LDC leadership in addressing the climate crisis
26 January 2021Guest blogger Gebru Jember sets out the principles guiding the least developed countries’ initiative on effective adaptation and resilience
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How to green Africa from the grassroots
4 January 2021As COVID-19 prompts rethinks, investing in renewable energy, regenerative agriculture and skills could help Africa handle future crises
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What does the Biden win mean for climate action?
12 November 2020On climate finance, faster emissions cuts and setting the climate action traffic signal for business from red to green, a Biden administration could produce big shifts
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Are India’s social protection schemes ‘future fit’?
9 October 2020COVID-19 has highlighted the value of India’s social protection schemes for the extreme poor. With some tweaking, these schemes can be true game changers
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Local must lead action to tackle world’s multiple interconnected challenges
8 October 2020Sam Greene distils key messages drawn from lively online dialogue with the 500-plus participants from over 70 countries who joined the 14th International Conference on Community-based Adaptation to climate change
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The politics at play in Vietnam’s food system
16 September 2020Guest blogger Christophe Béné discusses how perception, personal beliefs and values can overrule science and evidence in policymaking – and how this is influencing policies and crisis narratives around food safety in Vietnam