Climate Change
Asia
Athar Parvaiz

Since India delayed an announcement on its future carbon emissions cuts at the end of August, there has been a lot of talk about a possible shift in climate change policy by New Delhi.

Sitaram Yechury, general secretary of the Left Wing Communist Party of India (Marxist) said Narendra Modi is reneging on the “red lines” drawn by previous governments in U.N. climate change talks.

These red lines, according to Yechury, require New Delhi to refrain from announcing unilateral commitments or accepting any binding emissions cuts, and insisting on the developed world fulfilling its pledges to transfer climate finance and low-carbon technology to developing countries like India without intellectual property rights payments.     

For the complete article, please see Thomson Reuters Foundation.


Climate Change
Environment & Migration
Security
Middle East & North Africa
adelphi

In this interview, EcoPeace Directors Nada Majdalani (Palestine), Yana Abu-Taleb (Jordan) and Gidon Bromberg (Israel) explain why disengaging from a shared environment can aggravate the region’s security challenges.

Climate Change
Security
Oceania & Pacific
Delia Paul, IISD

At the conclusion of the 50th Pacific Islands Forum, Pacific leaders issued a Forum Communiqué and the ‘Kainaki II Declaration for Urgent Climate Change Action Now’ – the strongest collective statement the Forum has issued on climate change. Pacific leaders highlight the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit, the SAMOA Pathway Review, and 25th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 25) to the UNFCCC as “global turning points to ensure meaningful, measurable and effective climate change action”.

Climate Diplomacy
Private Sector
South America
Central America & Caribbean
Adriana Erthal Abdenur, Igarapé Institute

If ratified, the Mercosur-EU trade deal may reinforce the parties’ commitment to climate action. Yet, its potential relevance is weakened by a language that often stops short of concrete commitments, as well as political resistance.

Climate Change
Water
Middle East & North Africa
Theodore Karasik and Jacopo Spezia Depretto, Fair Observer

Iraq is on the verge of an environmental breakdown, and climate change is not helping. The country's fragile environment and the increasing scarcity of natural resources — particularly water — are a result of poor environmental management, as well as several political and historical factors. However, as climate change impacts add to the existing pressures, the environmental collapse turns into a security issue.