10 Twitter Accounts to follow for Climate Diplomacy news during COP24
COP24 might be in Katowice, but for the rest of the world it’s on Twitter. Navigating through this sea of news and expert profiles is not the easiest task, however. With this is mind, we’d like to share our favourite Twitter accounts with our followers so that you can be up-to-date throughout the event.
1. COP24
The official account of the COP24 is the central hub for official information on venue, session and event updates.
COP is the ultimate forum for international climate diplomacy – we can’t help but be there. Whether you can attend our side events or not, follow us and we’ll keep you on top of COP24’s highlights.
The UNFCCC is the ‘mother’ of the Paris Agreement; and like any mother, it is keeping a close eye on every step and detail of COP24 that influences the development of the accord. Follow them if you want to feel like you are onsite.
Climate Home is the place to keep up-to-date on climate-related news all year round, and will surely not disappoint during the COP24. Apart from their timely reporting, they are currently doing a special coverage of the latest climate and environment-related developments in Brazil in light of the country’s recent political developments.
Cañete is the EU Climate Action and Energy4Europe Commissioner, as well as an avid twitterer. If anything is seen, said or done on EU climate action, it is almost certain that he will tweet about it. A definite must-follow!
6. Josh Busby
If you are looking for an academic perspective and are interested in US climate policy, follow Josh Busby. Apart from maintaining a Twitter account that follows the latest global climate developments, Busby authors many insightful articles on climate & security, climate governance, health and foreign policy.
If you are interested in the climate wild card China, follow chinadialogue. They are not your typical minute-by-minute news page, but certainly provide some insight into China’s role in the global climate community.
8. Carbon Brief
Carbon Brief is a website dedicated to analysis and fact-checking of energy policy and climate change science (with a focus on the UK). Their Twitter feed provides a broad overview of what is (or should be) on the agenda in climate politics.
9. Alex Randall
Randall’s tweets will surely have you reflecting on climate migration. Follow him if you would like to know all about climate-related migration, what is happening and why.
10. Connect4Climate
Connect4Climate is a community of civil society and international organizations, private and public sector players, media, academic institutions, youth networks and much more. Not only does this account speak to a broad public, but its multi-actor nature also inspires the kind of cross-sectoral cooperation that is so crucial for climate action.
Should you come across any other must-follow Twitter channels touching upon climate diplomacy issues, let us know @ClimateDiplo.
Even as the US officially pulled out of the Paris Agreement earlier this week, it might be too soon to lose hope on the country's long-term commitments to climate action. If a Democrat wins the upcoming presidential elections, which are set for November 2020, a reaccession process could begin shortly after the withdrawal is complete. In the meantime, however, the effect on trade policy could be significant.
European peatlands could turn from carbon sinks to sources as a quarter have reached levels of dryness unsurpassed in a record stretching back 2,000 years, according to a new study. This trend of “widespread” and “substantial” drying corresponds to recent climate change, both natural and human-caused, but may also be exacerbated by the peatlands being used for agriculture and fuel.
Tackling Food Security and Protracted Crisis in Horn of Africa
The Kingdom of the Netherlands has contributed $28 million to back FAO's work to boost the resilience of food systems in Somalia, Sudan, and South Sudan - part of a new initiative to scale-up resilience-based development work in countries affected by protracted crises.
A group of five small countries have announced that they will launch negotiations on a new Agreement on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainability, which, if successful, would constitute the first international trade agreement focused solely on climate change and sustainable development. The initiative also breaks new ground by aiming to simultaneously remove barriers for trade in environmental goods and services and crafting binding rules to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies. Small countries can pioneer the development of new trade rules that can help achieve climate goals, but making credible commitments, attracting additional participants, and ensuring transparency will be essential ingredients for long-term success.