United Nations

COVID Killed 15 Million In 2020-21: WHO

The COVID-19 pandemic killed around 15 million people worldwide in 2020 and 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated Thursday – nearly triple the number of deaths officially attributed to the disease.The WHO’s long-awaited estimate of the total number of deaths caused by the pandemic – including lives lost to its knock-on effects – finally puts a number on the broader impact of the crisis.The figures give a more realistic picture of the worst pandemic in a century, which has, accor

6 May 2022
0

Insatiable Greed Degrading Land Around The World

Human activities are damaging and degrading the lands of the Earth in an unsustainable fashion according to a new United Nations (UN) report.Up to 40 percent of the global terrain has already been devalued, mainly through modern agriculture.If nothing changes, then an additional area of land the size of South America will be damaged by 2050.But if lands are restored and protected, they could help contain climate change and species loss.

29 April 2022
0

Coal Still Top Threat To Global Climate Goals

The number of coal-fired power plants in the pipeline worldwide declined in 2021, according to research released Tuesday, but the fossil fuel most responsible for global warming still generated record carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, threatening Paris climate goals.Since the 195-nation treaty was inked in 2015, coal power capacity under construction or slated for development has dropped by three-quarters, including a 13-percent year-on-year decrease in 2021 to 457 gigawatts (GW).Globally, ther

26 April 2022
0

Climate Change: Key UN Finding Misinterpreted

A key finding in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) climate report has been widely misinterpreted, according to scientists involved in the study.In the document, researchers wrote that greenhouse gases (GHG) are projected to peak "at the latest before 2025".This implies that carbon could increase for another three years and the world could still avoid dangerous warming.But scientists say that's incorrect and that emissions need to fall immediately.

18 April 2022
0

Fixing Our Failing Food Systems

Food prices are surging to record highs in many countries, driven by factors including climate change, violent conflict, the COVID-19 pandemic, and supply-chain disruptions.

15 April 2022
0

COVID Vaccine For All Variants Likely Before 2023

A COVID-19 vaccine effective against multiple variants is possible before the end of 2022, the head of United States (US) pharmaceutical giant Pfizer said Wednesday.Chairman Albert Bourla said the firm was also working on producing a vaccine that could provide good protection for a whole year, meaning people would come back annually for boosters, as with influenza shots."I hope, clearly by autumn...

14 April 2022
0

Golden Toad Loss Marks Massive Extinction Threat

Those lucky enough to have seen them will never forget.For just a few days every year, the elfin cloud forest of Costa Rica came alive with crowds of golden toads the length of a child's thumb, emerging from the undergrowth to mate at rain-swelled pools.In this mysterious woodland the cloud drapes over mountain ridges and "the trees are dwarfed and wind-sculpted, gnarled and heavily laden with mosses," said J Alan Pounds, an ecologist at the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve in

13 April 2022
0

Vaccine Supply Now Outstrips Demand

After two years of racing to vaccinate the world against COVID-19, the number of available doses now surpasses demand in many areas.Yet a yawning gap remains in vaccination rates between the richest and poorest countries.On Friday, Gavi, which co-leads the COVAX global distribution scheme, is holding a summit calling for more funds to address the issue of inequality in vaccine access.Huge Production More than 13 billion doses have been produced since the pandemic, 11 billion of which

11 April 2022
0

Can City Living Beat Climate Change?

With a whopping 70 percent of humanity predicted to be living in urban areas by the middle of the century, United Nations (UN) climate experts see a huge opportunity to create ideal cities that are walkable, leafy and energy efficient.Urban areas currently account for around 70 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, notes a comprehensive report on climate change solutions from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released this week.We are in the "urban cent

6 April 2022
0

World Reacts To UN Climate Solutions

Campaigners and leaders of countries vulnerable to climate change said Monday's United Nations (UN) report on stemming the climate crisis is an urgent call to action for the rich world.Here is a summary of their reactions.'Immoral' Failure "This collective failure to act at the scale and speed necessary to combat the climate crisis is irresponsible and immoral...

5 April 2022
0

Taiwan's Fatal Attractions

In the same week that Taiwanese took to the streets to repudiate Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Taiwan’s leaders rolled out the red carpet for a visit by former United States (US) President Donald Trump’s secretary of state, Mike Pompeo.

3 April 2022
0