Tag: UN

Humanity hits the eight billion mark

UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — A baby born somewhere on Tuesday will be the world’s eight billionth person, according to a projection by the United Nations. “The milestone is an occasion to celebrate diversity and advancements while considering humanity’s shared responsibility for the planet,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement. The UN attributes the growth to human development, with people living longer thanks to improvements in public health, nutrition, personal hygiene and […]

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Brazil’s Lula headed to UN climate talks with vow to save Amazon

by Louis GENOT Agence France-Presse RIO DE JANEIRO Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (AFP) — Brazilian president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is expected this week at the UN climate summit in Egypt to pledge to reverse the environmental policies of his right-wing predecessor and protect the Amazon rainforest. Lula’s trip Monday to the COP27 talks in Sharm el-Sheikh will be his first international visit since beating Brazil’s far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in the October 30 […]

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CO2 pollution from fossil fuels to hit all-time high in 2022

Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt | AFP | by Marlowe HOOD Carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels, the main driver of climate change, are on track to rise one percent in 2022 to reach an all-time high, scientists said Friday at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt. Emissions from oil, fuelled by the continuing rebound in aviation, will likely rise more than two percent compared to last year, while emissions from coal — thought by some […]

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Oil and gas emissions up to three times what is reported: monitor

by Stéphane ORJOLLET and Kelly MACNAMARA Agence France-Presse SHARM EL SHEIKH, Egypt (AFP) — Planet-heating emissions from oil and gas production could be three times higher than reported, according to a satellite monitoring project launched Wednesday that the UN chief said made it harder to “cheat”. The new tool — unveiled at United Nations COP27 climate talks in Egypt — has pinpointed more than 70,000 sites spewing emissions into the atmosphere. The project, run by […]

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Island nations call for oil tax, anti-fossil fuel treaty at UN summit

  Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt | AFP | by Laurent Thomet Small island nations led calls at the UN climate summit Tuesday to tax oil companies’ windfall profits to pay for damages caused by natural disasters and enact a “non-proliferation treaty” to halt fossil fuel production. Developing nations have pressed their case at the COP27 summit in Egypt for the creation of a “loss and damage” fund, arguing that rich nations are to blame for […]

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World ‘burning up faster’ than it can recover: Pakistan PM

  Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt | AFP | Climate change is outpacing the capacity of developing nations to cope with its devastating impacts, the Pakistani premier told COP27 on Tuesday, as his country reels from historic floods. Talks at the UN climate conference in Egypt have been dominated by calls for wealthier nations to fulfil pledges to financially help poorer nations green their economies and build resilience. “The world is burning up faster than our […]

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World risks ‘collective suicide’, UN chief warns climate summit

by Laurent Thomet and Kelly Macnamara Agence France-Presse SHARM EL SHEIKH, Egypt (AFP) — The UN’s chief warned Monday that nations must cooperate or face “collective suicide” in the fight against climate change, at a summit where developing countries reeling from global warming demanded more action from rich polluters. Nearly 100 heads of state and government are meeting for two days in Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, facing calls to deepen emissions cuts […]

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World population at 8 billion humans — and still growing

  United Nations, United States | AFP | by Amélie BOTTOLLIER-DEPOIS The United Nations estimates that the global human population will reach eight billion by mid-November, and will continue to grow, albeit at a slower pace and with regional disparities, in the decades to come. Here are some key takeaways from the UN analysis: – Population growth slowdown – The UN Population Division estimates that the number of humans on Earth will grow to eight […]

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Climate change is speeding up, warns major UN report

  Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt | AFP | by Marlowe HOOD Each of the last eight years, if projections for 2022 hold, will be hotter than any year prior to 2015, the UN said Sunday, detailing a dramatic increase in the rate of global warming. Sea level rise, glacier melt, torrential rains, heat waves — and the deadly disasters they cause — have all accelerated, the World Meteorological Organization said in a report as the […]

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UN urges Musk to ensure Twitter respects human rights

  Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | UN human rights chief Volker Turk on Saturday urged Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk to ensure that respect for human rights is central to the social network following his sacking of around half the company’s employees. Reports of Musk laying off the platform’s entire human rights team were “not, from my perspective, an encouraging start”, Turk said in an open letter. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights […]

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Europe temperature rise more than twice global average: UN

  Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | by Nina LARSON Temperatures in Europe have increased at more than twice the global average over the past three decades, showing the fastest rise of any continent on earth, the UN said Wednesday. The European region has on average seen temperatures rise 0.5 degrees Celsius each decade since 1991, the UN’s World Meteorological Organization and the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service found in a joint report. As a […]

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UN rejects Russia call for biological weapons probe

  United Nations, United States | AFP | The Security Council on Wednesday rejected a resolution drafted by Russia calling for an investigation into its accusations of Washington’s involvement in the alleged development of biological weapons in Ukraine. Russia had officially requested last week a UN investigation into the accusations, which it has regularly made since the start of its offensive in Ukraine. The resolution it put to the vote on Wednesday received two votes […]

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