UNITED NATIONS, November 12 (IPS) - The US took another step backward –to break ranks with the United Nations– when it voted against a draft resolution calling for the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT).The negative vote followed an announcement by President Trump last month that the US plans to resume nuclear testing after a 33-year hiatus. The US stood alone on the UN vote, which was supported by almost all member States in the General Assembly’s First Committee.
WASHINGTON DC, November 12 (IPS) - The climate crisis is getting worse and requires fundamental changes to societies, economies, and our global financial architecture in response. While extreme economic inequality is on the rise – the world’s billionaires now hold more wealth in the world than every country except the U.S. and China – the impacts of climate change are also unequally felt, with the poor in the Global South and North most at risk.
BELÉM, Brazil, November 11 (IPS) - “Devastating climate damages are happening already, from Hurricane Melissa hitting the Caribbean, Super Typhoons smashing Vietnam and the Philippines to a tornado ripping through Southern Brazil,” said Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change, on the eve of COP30 in the Amazonian City of Belém. “This is why COP must achieve three things: It must send a clear signal: nations are fully on board for climate cooperation—that means agreeing to strong outcomes on all the key issues.”
OSLO, Norway, November 11 (IPS) - When world leaders now gather in Belém, Brazil for the UN climate conference, expectations will be modest. Few believe the meeting will produce any breakthroughs. The United States is retreating from climate engagement. Europe is distracted. The UN is struggling to keep relevant in the 21st century.
Read the full story, “The Top Climate Leaders Are Now in The Global South”, on globalissues.org →
BELÉM, Brazil, November 11 (IPS) - Indigenous leaders from across the Amazon region are calling on climate negotiators to base climate initiatives on the recognition of the land rights of affected Indigenous communities. From the COP30 venue in Belém, these leaders are demanding full participation in the design and implementation of proposed projects.
KARACHI, Pakistan, November 11 (IPS) - When 23 children died in India’s Madhya Pradesh after consuming contaminated cough syrup in early September, the news barely registered across the border. In Pakistan—where self-medication is rampant and syrup bottles are household staples—the tragedy strikes dangerously close to home.
Read the full story, “A Lesson for Pakistan in Indian Sweet Syrup Death”, on globalissues.org →