Posts tagged with 'climate change'
Advancing Just Transitions in the Built Environment
Advancing Just Transitions in the Built Environment
Climate change and social inequality are two of the most pressing challenges of our time. But, in the race to net zero, a narrow focus on decarbonization risks exacerbating inequality and results in a rising tide of “greenlash” (backlash against ...
Better Buildings Are Taking on the Climate Challenge 
Better Buildings Are Taking on the Climate Challenge 
In March 2024, the inaugural Buildings and Climate Global Forum convened more than 1,000 participants to spur action towards built environment decarbonization and resilience. The first-of-its-kind forum was welcome, as the sector needs a shakeup.   The big issue on the table was ...
Tragic Flooding in Brazil; A Wake-Up Call for the World
Tragic Flooding in Brazil; A Wake-Up Call for the World
After a week of record-breaking rainfall in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil is experiencing an environmental and humanitarian tragedy. The death toll from the floods is in the dozens. The number of missing persons has surpassed 100. Hundreds are injured, ...
Local Climate Action at the Forefront: How the UNEA-6 Cities & Regions Summit Elevated Subnational Governments
Local Climate Action at the Forefront: How the UNEA-6 Cities & Regions Summit Elevated Subnational Governments
“What you do in your cities resonates across the world. When you make your cities green and sustainable, you are not just local heroes, you are global heroes.” Those were the inspiring words that Inger Anderson, Director of the UN ...
The Impacts of El Niño Go Far Beyond Water
The Impacts of El Niño Go Far Beyond Water
Over the past several months, the climate pattern El Niño has disrupted different regions and sectors across the world. Zimbabwe recently declared a state of disaster, due largely to El Niño-induced drought. The city government in Bogotá, Colombia, announced water rationing as reservoir levels ...
Zero-Emission Zones Are Helping Some Cities Fight Pollution
Zero-Emission Zones Are Helping Some Cities Fight Pollution
With growing urban populations and increases in cars, trucks and buses, cities are poised to experience more harmful pollution threatening people’s health and livelihoods. But some cities around the world are turning to an emerging solution called zero-emission zones (ZEZs). These are designated ...
5 Opportunities for Micro-Greening in Low-Income Urban Settlements
5 Opportunities for Micro-Greening in Low-Income Urban Settlements
Climate-change-induced events such as heat waves and floods severely impact quality of life in urban areas. It can be financially disruptive and even fatal, disproportionately impacting settlements most vulnerable to climate risks. Greening of open spaces can be an important ...
Urban Practitioners Invited To Help Scope IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Cities
Urban Practitioners Invited To Help Scope IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Cities
At the 43rd session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2016, the Panel decided to include a Special Report on Climate Change and Cities in the IPCC’s seventh assessment cycle. This achievement marked a ...
How Improved Housing in Under-Served Communities Can Strengthen Climate Resilience
How Improved Housing in Under-Served Communities Can Strengthen Climate Resilience
In the crowded slums of Zambia, Africa, members of the Zambia Youth Federation, a social movement of the urban poor, conducted climate change research and presented it in an emotional spoken word poem. Their message let policymakers know how climate ...
Transforming Transportation 2024: Mobilizing Finance for Climate Action
Transforming Transportation 2024: Mobilizing Finance for Climate Action
If a picture can tell a whole story, then the image below of an intersection in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, shows the past, present and future of global transformation in the transport sector. During Transforming Transportation 2024, which focused on ...
4 Climate Stories That Will Define 2024
4 Climate Stories That Will Define 2024
Last year shattered global heat records. The world witnessed the effects of rising temperatures in the form of devastating wildfires, severe flooding, extreme heatwaves and more. Poor countries and communities who have contributed the least to causing the climate crisis ...
India’s Shift to Low-Carbon Construction Must Not Leave Workers Behind
India’s Shift to Low-Carbon Construction Must Not Leave Workers Behind
India aims to reduce the emissions intensity of its economy by 45% by 2030, compared to 2005 levels, and to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070. The country can’t achieve either goal without a radical transformation in its buildings and construction sector, which was responsible for around 17% of the nation’s ...
Unpacking COP28: Key Outcomes from the Dubai Climate Talks, and What Comes Next
Unpacking COP28: Key Outcomes from the Dubai Climate Talks, and What Comes Next
The COP28 climate talks began with a new fund to address the increasingly severe losses and damage vulnerable countries face from climate impacts and concluded with the first international agreement to tackle climate change’s main driver: fossil fuels. Those bookends to the Dubai summit ...
Post-Pandemic, Public Transport Needs to Get Back on Track to Meet Global Climate Goals
Post-Pandemic, Public Transport Needs to Get Back on Track to Meet Global Climate Goals
Public transport is one of the best, most cost-effective solutions available to address today’s climate and development challenges. Buses and trains can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by up to two-thirds per passenger, per kilometer compared to private vehicles. The UN’s latest ...
Lessons From China, India, Vietnam on National Transport Ambitions and Accelerating Decarbonization
Lessons From China, India, Vietnam on National Transport Ambitions and Accelerating Decarbonization
In Asia, 14 countries — accounting for 26% of global transport emissions in 2019 — have made economy-wide net zero commitments. Momentum towards zero-emission transport is growing with countries enhancing ambition and including transport-related targets in their nationally determined contributions (NDCs). However, ...
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