Climate Change
Climate Diplomacy
Sustainable Transformation
North America
10 March, 2016

Quote of the month

“We very much did engage on big issues throughout our conversations and throughout our hard work this morning and over the months leading up to this meeting today. Issues that are important not just to all of our citizens but to the entire world. Whether it's how we ensure that there is no contradiction between a strong economy and a protected environment, understand how we need to work together as individual countries and indeed as a planet to address the challenges of climate change [...].”

Remarks by Justin Trudeau, Canadian Prime Minister, at the media conference on the bilateral meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama (Washington DC, 10 March 2016).


Oli Brown, SDG Knowledge Hub / IISD

A new publication on SDGs and foreign policy, prepared by researchers at the German think tank adelphi, highlights a phenomenon I call this the ‘Great Splintering’ – the fracturing of political will for collective action on the global stage. This article outlines five steps we could take to revive multilateralism.

Adaptation & Resilience
Climate Change
Conflict Transformation
Environment & Migration
Security
Water
Sub-Saharan Africa
Natalie Sauer, Climate Home News

Satellite analysis shows ‘vanishing’ lake has grown since 1990s, but climate instability is driving communities into the arms of Boko Haram and Islamic State. Climate change is aggravating conflict around Lake Chad, but not in the way experts once thought, according to new research.

Climate Change
Climate Diplomacy
Europe
North America
Asia
Natalie Sauer, Climate Home News

At a meeting of the Arctic Council, secretary of state Mike Pompeo refused to identify global warming as a threat, instead hailing an oil rush as sea ice melts. The US refused to join other Arctic countries in describing climate change as a key threat to the region, as a two-day meeting of foreign ministers drew to a close on Tuesday in Ravaniemi, Finland.

Biodiversity & Livelihoods
Environment & Migration
Forests
Global Issues
Stella Schaller, adelphi

Around 1.6 billion people depend on forests for their livelihood, and about 2.6 billion people rely directly on agriculture. Deforestation, land degradation, and unsustainable management of ecosystems threaten those livelihoods and may contribute to resource-related conflicts and social unrest.