Inter Press Service | News and Views from the Global South

Inter Press Service | News and Views from the Global South

World Environment Day is being observed today globally. The theme for 2019, “Beat Air Pollution,” is a call to action to combat this global crisis. Chosen by this year’s host, China, this year’s topic invites us all to consider how we can change our everyday lives to reduce the amount of air pollution we produce, and thwart its contribution to global warming and its effects on our own health.

Ecuador in Frontline to Address Climate Change Matilde Mordt As the UN commemorates World Environment Day, UNDP would like to take this opportunity to commend Ecuador's efforts to address climate change and its commitment to raising its climate ambition. Ecuador is at the forefront of delivering climate action, and in the frontlines of Nationally ... MORE > >

We Must do More to Speed up Ending Fossil Fuel Subsidies Niklas Hagelberg Fossil fuels-oil, gas, coal and their derivatives-pollute the atmosphere and emit the greenhouse gases that are ramping up global heating to dangerous levels. But did you know that governments around the world are subsidizing this pollution? Historically, governments around the world have used ... MORE > >

Standing up for the clean air we deserve! Mahamadou Tounkara (GGGI) - Air pollution has become the number one environmental problem affecting people's health, impacting 300 million children worldwide and contributing to the premature death of 600 thousand children every year. Indoor air pollution from cooking on open fire using firewood or charcoal is a ... MORE > >

Mobilisation Needed for Climate-Related Disasters Tharanga Yakupitiyage Climate-related displacement and food insecurity is not a future possibility, but it is already happening and it's only projected to worsen without urgent action in coming years. Yesterday, ahead of World Environment Day, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) sounded the alarm on the growing ... MORE > >

Watch Out: Your Money Is Being Used to Destroy the World! Baher Kamal Perhaps the most direct way to introduce this tough issue is what the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, stated just one week ahead of the 5 June World Environment Day, which focuses this year on air pollution, caused chiefly by the use of fossil fuels both in transport, industry ... MORE > >

Renewables to Become the Norm for the Caribbean Desmond Brown Jamaica and other Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are embracing renewable energy as part of their plans to become decarbonised in the coming decades. The Prime Minister of Jamaica, Andrew Holness, has committed the island nation to transitioning to 50 percent renewable energy by ... MORE > >

Against All Odds, Indigenous Villages Generate Their Own Energy in Guatemala Edgardo Ayala In the stifling heat, Diego Matom takes the bread trays out of the oven and carefully places them on wooden shelves, happy that his business has prospered since his village in northwest Guatemala began to generate its own electricity. And it managed to do so against all odds, facing down big ... MORE > >

The Amazon Seeks Alternatives that Could Revolutionise Energy Production Mario Osava A large steel wheel, 14 meters in diameter and 1.3 meters wide, could be the energy solution of the near future, generating 3.5 megawatts - enough to supply a city of 30,000 people, according to a company in the capital city of the state of Amazonas in northwest Brazil. An internal fluid, which ... MORE > >

Q&A: Guyana's Roadmap to Become a Green State Desmond Brown In 2008, the then president of Guyana, Bharrat Jagdeo, established within the Ministry of the Presidency the Office of Climate Change. Guyana became the first country in the region to do so. A year later, Jagdeo set out a vision to forge a new low carbon economy in the Caribbean nation. Jagdeo's ... MORE > >