Treaties

Leaders have agreed on a climate deal similar to the one struck in Argentina in 2018. The US has again refused to commit to tackling climate change. World leaders attending the 2019 G20 summit in the Japanese city of Osaka on Saturday agreed to a climate change deal similar to that signed in Argentina last year. Speaking at the conclusion ... Read More »

Geneva, May 11 (AP/UNB)  — Almost every country in the world has agreed on a legally binding framework for reducing polluting plastic waste, with the United States a notable exception, United Nations environmental officials said Friday. An agreement on tracking thousands of types of plastic waste emerged at the end of a two-week meeting of U.N.-backed conventions on plastic waste ... Read More »

COP24 closing plenary meeting in Katowice, Poland, 16 December 2018. Katowice, 15 December 2018 – After two weeks of crunch negotiations – with overtime – the almost 200 parties gathered in Katowice, Poland, for the United Nations COP24 two-week climate change conference, adopted on Saturday a “robust” set of implementing guidelines for the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement, aimed at keeping ... Read More »

Although their contribution to global warming is negligible, Caribbean nations are bearing the brunt of its impact. Climate phenomena are so devastating that countries are beginning to prepare not so much to adapt to the new reality, but to get their economies back on their feet periodically. Read More »

Bangkok, 11 September 2018 (Prerna Bomzan and Meena Raman) – Developing countries strongly opposed attempts to renegotiate the Paris Agreement (PA) at the recently concluded climate talks in Bangkok, given attempts by developed countries to block references to differentiation between developed and developing countries in the negotiating text being drafted to implement the PA under the PA Work Programme (PAWP). Read More »

Bangkok, 5 Sept. (Meena Raman and Prerna Bomzan) – Parties under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), have gathered in Bangkok, Thailand, from Sept. 4 to 9, to accelerate work on producing a negotiating text on the guidelines to implement the Paris Agreement (PA). Read More »

Time is running out to save the Paris Agreement, UN climate experts warned Tuesday at a key Bangkok meeting, as rich nations were accused of shirking their responsibility for environmental damage. Read More »

The United States and United Arab Emirates have signed a deal to resolve US claims that Gulf carriers have received unfair government subsidies, the US State Department said. The voluntary agreement, which applies to Etihad and Emirates airline, is similar to a deal announced in January between the United States and Qatar in which Qatar agreed to release detailed financial ... Read More »

Bonn, 4 May (Meena Raman) – Parties were divided on whether the issue of ‘modalities’ for the biennial communication of indicative information on the financial resources available to developing countries under Article 9.5 of the Paris Agreement (PA) is part of the Agreement’s mandate and therefore, part of the PA’s Work Programme (PAWP). Read More »

Bangladesh has sought Indonesia’s support in favour of Bangladesh’s request for Sectoral Dialogue Partnership with Asean. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina reiterated her government’s keen interest to intensify trade, economic and regional peace and security partnerships with Asean countries and sought support to that end. Read More »

Washington, Jan 11, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the United States could “conceivably” return to the Paris climate accord, although he stopped short of signaling any move in that direction. Read More »

Hilda Heine and Kevin Rudd Bonn – When Donald Trump was elected US president a year ago, some said the end of the Paris climate agreement was nigh. Yet, as the latest round of global climate talks in Bonn, Germany, has shown, the world’s political leaders are more committed to the deal than ever. This is good news, but the ... Read More »

By Stella Paul Bonn, Nov 19 (IPS) – As the summit of governments known as COP23 reached its conclusion in Bonn, Germany this week, two clear alliances have emerged in the global energy landscape. Read More »

Saleem Shaikh Bonn – As developing countries push the implementation of the 2015 Paris Agreement, scientists and leaders at the UN-led climate talks underway in Germany say the world will fail to meet the key goal of limiting global average temperature rise to well under two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Read More »

By Mikael Holter The main facilitators of the 2015 accord on Iran’s nuclear program, slammed as the worst deal ever by U.S. President Donald Trump, could be among the top contenders for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, according to researchers who predict potential winners. Read More »

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has urged the developed country leaders to bring their historical responsibilities and the issue of climate justice to the forefront of a robust and effective legally binding agreement to address the issues of climate change. Secondly, the actors should be identified from local to global levels for implementing adaptation and mitigation measures, with particular focus ... Read More »

American allies have decided Trump is simply not someone they can do business with. by James Gibney Of all the global consequences of President Donald Trump’s first half-year, surely one of the most surprising is the rise in multilateral diplomacy. Read More »

The Trump administration has issued its first written notification that the US intends to withdraw from the 2015 Paris climate agreement. Read More »

The Trump administration has issued its first written notification that the US intends to withdraw from the 2015 Paris climate agreement. But in the notice to the United Nations the US state department said Washington would remain in the talks process. President Donald Trump drew international condemnation in June when he first announced the US intention to withdraw. Read More »

British Airways and Easyjet have sent text alerts to customers warning of delays at EU border controls. BA said it is asking travellers to arrive early as it is expecting longer queues due to “enhanced immigration checks” across Europe. The airline has already sent text messages to customers flying back from Lyon, Madrid, Barcelona and Milan. Ryanair is also advising ... Read More »

Media captionToned-down Trump: What happened to the tough talk on Paris? French President Emmanuel Macron said he “respected” Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris climate accord but that France would remain committed. “On climate we know what our differences are,” Mr Macron said in Paris on Thursday, adding that it was important to move forward. Speaking alongside ... Read More »

Dhaka – Bangladesh and Sri Lanka on Friday signed 14 instruments, one agreement and 13 memorandums of understanding (MoU), to strengthen cooperation between the two countries in the areas of economy, agriculture, shipping, higher education, information and technology and media. The instruments were signed in presence of Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at Prime Minister’s ... Read More »

San Francisco, Jun 10 (AP/UNB)- Threatened as it is, the Earth’s climate will survive longer than Donald Trump’s presidency, Germany’s environment minister said Friday. Read More »

Statement of the March for Science Philippines on US’ withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord ‘The March for Science Philippines strongly condemns the United States under the leadership of President Donald Trump after it pulled out of the Paris Climate Accord. The US’ withdrawal from the pact is an act of blatant disagreement with the scientific consensus on the reality ... Read More »

By withdrawing the United States from the Paris Agreement, President Donald Trump abdicated not only leadership but membership of the community of nations cooperating to tackle climate change, the most serious crisis facing humanity. Trump’s announcement was shocking, even though it was not unexpected. It was shocking for showing the extreme lengths to which the President would go to deny ... Read More »

Phyllis Omido Nairobi – The announcement of the winners of this year’s Goldman Environmental Prize is an opportunity to celebrate activist leaders. But it is also a moment to recognize just how much courage their efforts (and those of a great many others) can demand. Read More »

Berlin, Jun 2 (AP/UNB)- Top European leaders pledged Thursday to keep fighting against global warming as U.S. President Donald Trump announced he was pulling out of the Paris climate accord, but they rejected his suggestion that the deal could later be renegotiated. Read More »

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage UN, Jun 1 (IPS) – The United States is expected to withdraw from the landmark Paris climate agreement, prompting mixed reactions from civil society and political representatives. Read More »

An IPS Correspondent Read More »

Chittagong – The authorities of Chittagong University have expelled a student and suspended five others on various charges. UNB news agency reported Read More »