“Glass less than half full” – Glasgow climate finance outcomes leave much room for improvements despite some wins Article Progress on core climate finance issues at COP26 proved to be key to break deadlocks and to reach often inadequate compromises in the Glasgow Climate Pact. By Liane Schalatek
Could a Green New Deal Clean Up Africa’s Dirtiest Electricity Grid? Civil society organisations in South Africa are proposing a post-WW2-style economic recovery programme to steer energy transformation for the state utility that echoes Roosevelt’s New Deal in the USA. But the country has been thrown into an even deeper energy crisis, following an explosion at one of the country’s newly-minted power stations. Could this make the ‘Green New Eskom’ idea even more relevant? By Leonie Joubert
Livestock and Maize at Sharp Edge of Climate Emergency in Southern Africa Southern Africa is warming at twice the rate of the global average. Worsening drought and rising temperatures are likely to bring about a collapse of two keystone agricultural activities — livestock and maize farming — warns the latest climate science, presented in the long-awaited United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) new report. By Leonie Joubert
Neither Climate Nor Jobs A continuing insistence on nuclear will be detrimental to our ability to power a Just Transition: while the jobs it creates are few and primarily for the highly skilled, its enormous costs will likely result in austerity policies. pdf
Net Zero Is Not Zero Recent carbon-neutrality pledges may seem ambitious, but merely serve to promote a new set of false climate solutions under a different guise. Such pledges may persuade many people, but the climate isn’t buying it. By Maureen Santos and Linda Schneider
Discourse matters: the net-zero agenda and Africa’s priorities Commentary Where in the global dialogue is the aspiration for adaptation, equitable climate finance and inclusivity? What practical actions will the global community take to address these cardinal objectives? For African countries - which have contributed least to climate change but remain most vulnerable to its impacts - these objectives are as important as net-zero ambitions.
Real ambition vs. false solutions: What’s at stake during COP26? Analysis COP26 takes place against the backdrop of nationalist health policies with daunting consequences, failed promises to adequately scale up climate action and financial support, and an unprecedented push for false solutions that divert global attention from the urgent need to phase out fossil fuels. By Sebastien Duyck and Nikki Reisch
Broken Promises - Developed countries fail to keep their 100 billion dollar climate pledge Analysis At COP26 in Glasgow, past failures and shortcomings in climate finance mobilization and delivery must be ruthlessly addressed by presenting an implementation plan for future improvements. By Liane Schalatek
Climate Action Network: “We know our duty and responsibility” Interview CAN – the Climate Action Network - is the largest international civil society network, that has monitored the UN climate negotiations for many years. Whether at national or international level, how can civil society participation be ensured at all in times of pandemic? What does this mean for the capacity for action and strategy of a global network like CAN? A conversation between Tasneem Essop, Executive Director of CAN International and Barbara Unmüßig, President of the Heinrich Böll Foundation By Barbara Unmüßig
Finding Common Ground to Tackle Climate and Mental Health Links between environmental disasters and mental health are increasingly coming into focus as ticking time bombs. It is vital that spatial planning strategies at local government level are adapted with this dual threat to societal welfare in mind. By Marcela Guerrero Casas