Women are disproportionately vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Although India’s national climate change action plans recognize this and include a gender dimension, female participation in policy making and climate diplomacy is negligible. Dhanasree Jayaram argues that the South Asian region as a whole urgently needs to deal with gender issues in climate diplomacy.
The impacts of Hurricane Harvey continue to be felt in the southern US. The events have sparked early debate over the links between the hurricane and climate change. Commentary from scientists suggests that warming is likely to have intensified its impact. Nevertheless, many other factors are likely to have played a role. These include Houston’s population explosion, continued building in flood-prone areas and subsidence due to groundwater over-extraction, media reports suggest.
There is an emerging consensus CO2 needs to be sucked out of the air to meet climate goals, but no discussion of which countries are responsible for acting. Countries need to start negotiating who will take responsibility for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, two scientists argued in Nature Climate Change on Monday.
Donald Trump’s announcement that he intends to withdraw the US from the Paris climate agreement has sparked renewed interest in the question of what the agreement actually requires countries to do.
Recovering after a severe crisis may serve as a critical juncture to mainstream adaptation and drive sustainable resilience outcomes. Reflecting on the failures and missed opportunities in the case of reconstruction in Nepal two years after the devastating earthquake, several important lessons can be drawn that will help other world regions better integrate energy access with resilience thinking and adaptation planning.
The UN’s top climate change official Patricia Espinosa briefed today embassies in Berlin regarding the UN climate conference in Bonn in November (COP23, 6 – 17 November). She shared shared how diplomats can contribute to making the Paris Agreement operational and highlighted where they can support ministers and leaders back home.
Tomorrow's megacities will be more crowded, but also greener. What's in them for women as they increasingly demand a space suited to their needs? Can women take the lead in designing more sustainable cities?
One of the most pressing—and distressing—climate change impacts faced by the world is storm surge, a storm-induced increase in water level exceeding normal, tidal levels. Storm surge is becoming more of a threat to coastal communities due to rising sea levels, since higher sea levels mean higher “normal, tidal levels” before surge even occurs. Affected communities face risks to their homes, infrastructure, and livelihoods, but what can we do about the problem, aside from abandoning coastal communities altogether?
In an unprecedented move, the G-20 minus 1 decided to include three separate paragraphs on climate change in the final communiqué – one spelling out a general pledge to tackle climate change, a boxed one on the US’ (rather the Trump administration’s) rejection of the Paris Agreement, and one on the rest of the leaders’ reaffirmation of their unconditional support to the Paris agreement. This was reportedly after the US’ demand of inclusion of fossil fuels in the communiqué was rejected by others.
No adaptation approach lasts forever in the face of increasing stresses posed by a changing climate. Think of each such effort's having a 'use-by' date. How then to help strengthen future resilience?