The new integrated Covenant of Mayors on Climate and Energy was officially launched yesterday (Oct. 15) at the European Parliament in Brussels, with hundreds of cities representatives in attendance. Bringing together the objectives of the Covenant of Mayors and Mayors Adapt initiatives, the Covenant of Mayors on Climate and Energy will focus on three pillars: the 2030 horizon, the integration of mitigation and adaptation, and the international dimension.
The new Covenant was created as a follow-up to a recent consultation conducted by the Covenant of Mayors Office and the European Committee of the Regions, where 97% of cities surveyed called for a new target beyond 2020, and a majority supported the integration of mitigation and adaptation goals. Following this process, signatory cities now are invited to pledge support to the new EU 2030 target of at least 40% CO2 emissions reductions by 2030, a joint approach to addressing mitigation and adaptation, and the global extension of the initiative.
For the complete article, please see Climate Observer.
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.
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”.
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.
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.