Indigenous Peoples have a wealth of wisdom to protect the world that, with the help of the sciences, can tackle crises plaguing the planet. In particular, they have dramatically contributed to the field of healthcare. Dr. Joachim von Braun, the President of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences (PAS), made this point in an interview with Vatican News on the sidelines of a Vatican-organized conference on Indigenous Peoples. Read the complete article here -Deborah Castellano Lubov Source: Vatican News For the fifth time in just eight years, mass coral bleaching is turning hundreds of sites across the Great Barrier Reef white. Coral bleaching occurs when higher-than-average ocean temperatures cause coral to experience heat stress, causing them to expel the algae that provide much of their nutrients and colour. Read the complete article here Source: SBS UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warns that the world is becoming “less safe by the day” and calls for governments to work for “peace and security rooted in human rights.” Wars tearing the world apart At the opening of the UN’s Human Rights Council on Monday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the world is becoming “less safe by the day,” with “the rule of law and the rules of war” being undermined throughout the world. “From Ukraine to Sudan, to Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Gaza, parties to conflict are turning a blind eye to international law, the Geneva Conventions, and even the United Nations Charter,” Guterres said. Read the complete article here -Christopher Wells Source: Vatican News The sixth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-6) is taking place from 26 February to 1 March 2024 at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. As the world’s top decision-making body on the environment, UNEA aims to help restore harmony between humanity and nature, improving the lives of the world’s most vulnerable people. UNEA-6 will focus on how multilateralism can help tackle the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste.... Read the complete article here Source: United Nations The extent of ice floating around the continent has contracted to below 2m sq km for three years in a row, indicating an ‘abrupt critical transition’ For the third year in a row, sea ice coverage around Antarctica has dropped below 2m sq km – a threshold which before 2022 had not been breached since satellite measurements started in 1979. Read the complete article Source: The Guardian
COP 28, the 28th Conference of the Parties, will take place from November 30 to December 12 in Dubai, United Arab Emirate. The conference will begin by delivering the first-ever Global Stocktake, a comprehensive evaluation or report card of how the global community has done with regard to the climate goals articulated at the 2015 Paris Agreement.
In a letter to the parties in July 2023, the incoming president of COP28, Sultan Al Jaber, announced that the conference would focus on four key areas:
Follow the Conference on the COP28 website
Representatives the the world’s religions have signed an appeal calling for political leaders at next month’s COP28 climate summit to take meaningful action to respond to the urgent crisis of climate change.
The Global Faith Leaders' Summit brought together 28 faith leaders to sign the 'Confluence of Conscience: Uniting for Planetary Resurgence' known as 'The Abu Dhabi Interfaith Statement for COP28', committing to addressing climate change and raising climate ambitions ahead of COP28, which will be held in Dubai at the end of November.
The Abu Dhabi Interfaith Statement “demands transformative action to keep 1.5°C within reach and serve affected and vulnerable communities.” The signatories acknowledged that as “representatives of diverse faith and indigenous traditions” they were meeting to express “shared concern for the escalating climate impacts that imperil our cherished planet, as well as our common commitment to jointly address the global crisis.”... Read more here Download the Statement |
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