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SPECIAL COP22

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Global Climate Action

Description

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/paris.jpg" style="width: 1000px; height: 299px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">OPINION</strong><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"> </span><br />
It has been a really unprecedented year for global climate action</h3>

<p>From the Paris agreement to a new deal on another kind of greenhouse gas, the world is doing a lot to slow climate change. <a href="http://connect4climate.org/article/it-has-been-really-unprecedented-yea…; target="_blank">READ MORE</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/13.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 259px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">INFORMATIVE</strong><br />
13 SDG: Climate Action</h3>

<p>Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. <a href="http://connect4climate.org/article/13-sdg-climate-action" target="_blank">READ MORE</a></p>

<h3 style="line-height: 20.0063px;"><strong style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">CLIMATE TOOL</strong><br />
The Climate Tracker</h3>

<p><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">The "Climate Action Tracker" is an independent science-based assessment, which tracks the emission commitments and actions of countries. </span><a href="http://connect4climate.org/article/climate-action-tracker" style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;" target="_blank">READ MORE</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/F12_ClimateAction_.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 179px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">VIDEO</strong><br />
#Film4Climate Global Climate Action trailer</h3>

<p><a href="https://www.connect4climate.org/video/film4climate-global-climate-actio…; target="_blank">WATCH IT</a></p>

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Forests

Description

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/5646.jpg" style="width: 1000px; height: 300px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">ARTICLE</strong><br />
The importance of urban forests: why money really does grow on trees</h3>

<p>Mature trees clean air, lower stress, boost happiness, reduce flood risk – and even save municipal money. So why are they cut down when cities develop – and how should the UN’s new urban agenda protect them? <a href="http://connect4climate.org/article/importance-urban-forests-why-money-r…; target="_blank">READ MORE</a><br />
 </p>

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<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/Kamilia_Safi_.JPG" style="width: 1000px; height: 288px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">INFOGRAPHIC</strong><br />
Forests Provide Vital Resources to 1.3B people</h3>

<p><a href="http://connect4climate.org/infographics/forests-provide-vital-resources…; target="_blank">CHECK IT</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/F6_Forests_.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 158px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">VIDEO</strong><br />
#Film4Climate Forests trailer</h3>

<p><a href="https://www.connect4climate.org/video/film4climate-forests-trailer" target="_blank">WATCH IT</a></p>

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Water

Description

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/_BZJDF.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 191px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">ARTICLE</strong><br />
How can we better value water as global shortages start to threaten economies?</h3>

<p>With water shortages exacerbating inequalities and causing damage to economies, making sure the commodity is properly valued by all is essential. <a href="http://connect4climate.org/article/how-can-we-better-value-water-global…; target="_blank">READ MORE</a></p>

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<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/Drought_%20by%20Sebri%20Wafa-16x9.jpg" style="width: 1000px; height: 237px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">REPORT</strong><br />
High and Dry: Climate Change, Water, and the Economy</h3>

<p>A new World Bank reports finds that water scarcity, exacerbated by climate change, could hinder economic growth, spur migration, and spark conflict. <a href="http://connect4climate.org/article/high-and-dry-climate-change-water-an…; target="_blank">READ MORE</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/1617.jpg" style="width: 1000px; height: 280px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">INFOGRAPHIC</strong><br />
Why Waste Water</h3>

<p>Extreme weather, including droughts and floods, will mean more uncertain water supply. <a href="https://www.connect4climate.org/infographics/why-waste-water#" target="_blank">CHECK IT</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/F15_Water_.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 224px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">VIDEO</strong><br />
#Film4Climate Water Trailer</h3>

<p><a href="https://www.connect4climate.org/video/film4climate-water-trailer" target="_blank">WATCH IT</a></p>

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Agriculture

Description

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/bt-terrace%20farm%20fields%20and%20homes-1024x690.jpg" style="width: 1000px; height: 230px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">BLOG POST</strong><br />
Foster Climate-Smart Agriculture</h3>

<p>A growing global population and changing diets are driving up the demand for food. <a href="http://connect4climate.org/article/foster-climate-smart-agriculture" target="_blank">READ MORE</a>.</p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/women_farmers_0.jpg" style="width: 1000px; height: 269px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">BLOG POST</strong><br />
Advancing women’s land and resource rights</h3>

<p>Development practitioners know secure land rights for women are important for the well-being of rural families, whether a woman is head of her household or lives in a household headed by a man. <a href="http://connect4climate.org/article/advancing-women%E2%80%99s-land-and-r…; target="_blank">READ MORE</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/10-17-2016Greenhouse.jpg" style="width: 1000px; height: 246px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">REPORT</strong><br />
Agriculture must adopt climate-smart practices to better help poverty reduction</h3>

<p>The rapid transformation of farming and food systems to cope with a warmer world, such as adopting climate-smart practices, particularly to curb greenhouse gas emissions, is critical for hunger and poverty reduction, the United Nations agriculture agency said today in a new report. <a href="http://connect4climate.org/article/agriculture-must-adopt-climate-smart…; target="_blank">READ MORE</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/elijah_mumo_-_a_farmer_tills_his_land_so_as_to_plant_drought_resistant_crops.jpg" style="width: 1000px; height: 233px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">INFOGRAPHIC</strong><br />
Livestock diversity helps cope with climate change</h3>

<p>Livestock diversity or animal genetic resources are terms used to describe the pool of 38 species of domesticated birds and mammals with more than 8 800 breeds currently used for food and agriculture. <a href="http://connect4climate.org/infographics/livestock-diversity-helps-cope-…; target="_blank">CHECK IT</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/F1_agriculture.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 223px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">VIDEO</strong><br />
#Film4Climate Agriculture trailer</h3>

<p><a href="https://www.connect4climate.org/video/film4climate-agriculture-trailer&…; target="_blank">WATCH IT</a></p>

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Cities & Mobility

Description

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/3000.jpg" style="width: 1000px; height: 217px;" /><br />
<span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">OPINION</span><br />
Two billion more people will live in cities by 2035. This could be good – or very bad</h3>

<p>Cities are like magnets. Without a better model for growth, people will still come – but they will live in awful conditions. <a href="http://connect4climate.org/article/two-billion-more-people-will-live-ci…; target="_blank">READ MORE</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/89.jpg" style="width: 1000px; height: 216px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">REPORT</strong><br />
How Can We Finance the Resilient Cities of the Future?</h3>

<p>By 2030, without significant investment to improve the resilience of cities around the world, climate change may push up to 77 million urban residents into poverty. <a href="http://connect4climate.org/article/how-can-we-finance-resilient-cities-…; target="_blank">READ MORE</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/cITIES_158.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 211px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">INFOGRAPHIC</strong><br />
Transit oriented development with land values</h3>

<p><a href="http://connect4climate.org/infographics/transit-oriented-development-la…; target="_blank">CHECK IT</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/F2_cities_.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 172px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">VIDEO</strong><br />
#Film4Climate Cities And Mobility trailer</h3>

<p><a href="https://www.connect4climate.org/video/film4climate-cities-and-mobility-…; target="_blank">WATCH IT</a></p>

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Young & Future Generation

Description

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/980x.jpg" style="width: 1000px; height: 285px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">OPINION</strong><br />
Young People Hold the Key to Mobilizing Climate Action</h3>

<p>As I look toward our planet’s future, I reflect on numerous examples from our past, in which young generations not only helped lead, but also provided the main spark that forced older decision-makers to push through change. <a href="http://connect4climate.org/article/young-people-hold-key-mobilizing-cli…; target="_blank">READ MORE</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/DGHSD.jpg" style="width: 1000px; height: 204px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">INITIATIVE</strong><br />
Youth4Climate</h3>

<p>This initiative celebrates the power of youth. <a href="https://www.connect4climate.org/initiatives/youth4climate" target="_blank">READ MORE</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/artigo3.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 220px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">OPINION</strong><br />
COP22: Are you listening to our voices?</h3>

<p>Collective efforts for far-reaching changes (climate change) are possible and realistic should politicians choose to listen to the voice of their young people. <a href="https://www.connect4climate.org/article/cop22-are-you-listening-our-voi…; target="_blank">READ MORE</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/F13_Young_.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 263px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">VIDEO</strong><br />
#Fim4Climate Young & Future Generation Trailer</h3>

<p><a href="https://www.connect4climate.org/video/fim4climate-young-future-generati…; target="_blank">WATCH IT</a></p>

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Energy

Description

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/energy.jpg" style="width: 1000px; height: 265px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">ARTICLE</strong><br />
Renewables made up half of net electricity capacity added last year</h3>

<p>Experts hail rapid transformation that will see clean energy outgrow fossil fuels in the next five years - but warn UK is failing to exploit huge potential. <a href="http://connect4climate.org/article/renewables-made-half-net-electricity…; target="_blank">READ MORE</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/LUZ.jpg" style="width: 1000px; height: 231px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">REPORT</strong><br />
IEA raises its five-year renewable growth forecast as 2015 marks record year</h3>

<p>Renewables have surpassed coal last year to become the largest source of installed power capacity in the world. <a href="http://connect4climate.org/article/iea-raises-its-five-year-renewable-g…; target="_blank">READ MORE</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/ALC.jpg" style="width: 1000px; height: 201px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">INFOGRAPHIC</strong><br />
Energy Outlook for 2040</h3>

<p>As the world tries to become more and more eco-friendly, we ask the question “What will energy production look like in 2040 and what is being done to make the world a greener place?" <a href="https://www.connect4climate.org/infographics/energy-outlook-2040" target="_blank">CHECK IT</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/MOR2.jpg" style="width: 1000px; height: 175px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">MORROCO</strong><br />
Morocco Could See 100 Percent Green Energy Use by 2050</h3>

<p>Morocco could run on 100 percent green energy by the year 2050, according to new research on the matter from Stanford University. <a href="http://connect4climate.org/article/morocco-could-see-100-percent-green-…; target="_blank">READ MORE</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/F5_Energy_.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 187px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">VIDEO</strong><br />
#Film4Climate Energy trailer</h3>

<p><a href="https://www.connect4climate.org/video/film4climate-energy-trailer" target="_blank">WATCH IT</a></p>

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Health

Description

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/fhg.jpg" style="width: 1000px; height: 252px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px;">ARTICLE</strong><br />
Air pollution more deadly in Africa than malnutrition or dirty water, study warns</h3>

<p>Annual human and economic cost of tainted air runs to 712,000 lost lives and £364bn, finds Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. <a href="http://connect4climate.org/article/air-pollution-more-deadly-africa-mal…; target="_blank">READ MORE</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/FDS.jpg" style="width: 1000px; height: 257px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px;">REPORT</strong><br />
WHO releases country estimates on air pollution exposure and health impact</h3>

<p>A new WHO air quality model confirms that 92% of the world’s population lives in places where air quality levels exceed WHO limits. <a href="http://connect4climate.org/article/who-releases-country-estimates-air-p…; target="_blank">READ MORE</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/Screen%20Shot%202016-10-29%20at%2012.03.38%20PM.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 231px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px;">INFOGRAPHIC</strong><br />
Climate Change Threatens Your Health</h3>

<p><a href="https://www.connect4climate.org/infographics/climate-change-threatens-y…; target="_blank">CHECK IT</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/F8_Health_.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 185px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">VIDEO</strong><br />
#Film4Climate Health trailer</h3>

<p><a href="https://www.connect4climate.org/video/film4climate-health-trailer" target="_blank">WATCH IT</a></p>

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Oceans

Description

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/PEIXE.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 173px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px;">ARTICLE</strong><br />
Humanity driving 'unprecedented' marine extinction</h3>

<p>Report comparing past mass extinction events warns that hunting and killing of ocean’s largest species will disrupt ecosystems for millions of years. <a href="http://connect4climate.org/article/humanity-driving-unprecedented-marin…; target="_blank">READ MORE</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/Screen%20Shot%202016-10-29%20at%2012.10.20%20PM.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 228px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px;">INFOGRAPHIC</strong><br />
What is Marine Litter?</h3>

<p><a href="https://www.connect4climate.org/infographics/what-is-marine-litter" target="_blank">CHECK IT</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/Screen%20Shot%202016-10-29%20at%2012.14.56%20PM.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 223px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px;">MOROCCO</strong><br />
Road to COP22: Protectin Morocco's Coastline</h3>

<p>Increasing temperatures, rising sea levels and ocean acidification amplify extremes of climate change. Finding a solution to minimise the impact on coastal areas has become a priority. <a href="http://connect4climate.org/article/road-cop22-protectin-moroccos-coastl…; target="_blank">READ MORE</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/F9_Oceans_.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 155px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">VIDEO</strong><br />
#Film4Climate Oceans trailer</h3>

<p><a href="https://www.connect4climate.org/video/film4climate-oceans-trailer" target="_blank">WATCH IT</a></p>

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Waste

Description

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/Screen%20Shot%202016-10-29%20at%2012.22.28%20PM.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 252px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px;">ARTICLE</strong><br />
A Sustainable Food System Could Be A Trillion-Dollar Global Windfall</h3>

<p>A new report makes a strong bottom-line case for more earth-friendly farming — and eating — practices. <a href="http://connect4climate.org/article/sustainable-food-system-could-be-tri…; target="_blank">READ MORE</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/Screen%20Shot%202016-10-29%20at%2012.24.41%20PM.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 209px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px;">REPORT</strong><br />
Reducing Food Loss and Waste</h3>

<p>About 24 percent of all calories currently produced for human consumption are lost or wasted. <a href="http://connect4climate.org/article/reducing-food-loss-and-waste" target="_blank">READ MORE</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/Screen%20Shot%202016-10-29%20at%2012.27.16%20PM.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 279px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px;">SOLUTIONS4CLIMATE</strong><br />
BuffetGO: a solution for food waste, climate change and world hunger</h3>

<p>13% of all the US greenhouse gas emissions result from the food supply chain continues to be widely ignored. <a href="https://www.connect4climate.org/article/buffetgo" target="_blank">READ MORE</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/Screen%20Shot%202016-10-29%20at%2012.29.16%20PM.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 260px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px;">INFOGRAPHIC</strong><br />
Food loss and waste facts</h3>

<p>Every year around the globe 1.3 billion tonnes of food is lost or wasted, that is a 1/3 of all food produced for human consumption. <a href="http://connect4climate.org/infographics/food-loss-and-waste-facts" target="_blank">CHECK IT</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/Screen%20Shot%202016-10-29%20at%2012.31.13%20PM.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 253px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px;">MOROCCO</strong><br />
Morocco Lets Nothing Go To Waste</h3>

<p>Morocco looks at waste as a resource which can be better managed to fuel the economy and reduce environmental impacts. <a href="http://connect4climate.org/article/morocco-lets-nothing-go-waste" target="_blank">READ MORE</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/F11_Waste_.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 180px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">VIDEO</strong><br />
#Film4Climate Waste trailer</h3>

<p><a href="https://www.connect4climate.org/video/film4climate-waste-trailer" target="_blank">WATCH IT</a></p>

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Education

Description

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/Screen%20Shot%202016-10-29%20at%2012.33.43%20PM.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 258px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px;">OPINION</strong><br />
Our kids learn their ABCs in school. But why not climate change?</h3>

<p>The classroom is the right place to start educating our citizens about the greatest challenge they will face. <a href="http://connect4climate.org/article/our-kids-learn-their-abcs-school-why…; target="_blank">READ MORE</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/Screen%20Shot%202016-10-29%20at%2012.35.40%20PM.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 218px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px;">INITIATIVE</strong><br />
#Teach4Climate Back to School 2016 Campaign</h3>

<p>Teaching young people about climate change – its causes, effects, and what we can do about it – is vital. <a href="https://www.connect4climate.org/teach4climate-campaign" target="_blank">READ MORE</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/Screen%20Shot%202016-10-29%20at%2012.38.15%20PM.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 200px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px;">ARTICLE</strong><br />
Two-thirds of US students are taught climate change badly, study finds</h3>

<p>Just 38% of US schoolchildren were taught that climate change is linked to fossil fuels, with many teachers spending less than an hour a year on the subject. <a href="http://connect4climate.org/article/two-thirds-us-students-are-taught-cl…; target="_blank">READ MORE</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/Screen%20Shot%202016-10-29%20at%2012.39.53%20PM.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 195px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px;">INFOGRAPHIC</strong><br />
What Can We Do About Climate Change?</h3>

<p><a href="https://www.connect4climate.org/infographics/what-can-we-do-about-clima…; target="_blank">CHECK IT</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/fhsduigysdfg.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 177px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">OPINION</strong><br />
Films as a Tool in Education for Sustainable Development</h3>

<p>Towards Raising an Environmentally-conscious Generation in India. <a href="https://www.connect4climate.org/article/films-tool-education-sustainabl…; target="_blank">READ MORE</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/F14_education_.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 277px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">VIDEO</strong><br />
#Film4Climate Education Trailer</h3>

<p><a href="https://www.connect4climate.org/video/film4climate-education-trailer&qu…; target="_blank">WATCH IT</a></p>

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Conservation

Description

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/Screen%20Shot%202016-10-29%20at%2012.42.40%20PM.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 191px;" /><br />
<span style="font-size: 13.008px;">OPINION</span><br />
5 ways to help the Arctic as the planet warms</h3>

<p>The Arctic—home to diverse wildlife and many cultures—is changing faster than any other part of the planet in the face of climate change. <a href="http://connect4climate.org/article/5-ways-help-arctic-planet-warms" target="_blank">READ MORE</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/Screen%20Shot%202016-10-29%20at%2012.46.27%20PM.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 240px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px;">REPORT</strong><br />
WWF's Living Planet Report 2016</h3>

<p>The future of our Planet is in our hands. WWF's Living Planet Report 2016 shows the scale of the challenge - and what we can do about it. <a href="https://www.connect4climate.org/article/wwfs-living-planet-report-2016&…; target="_blank">READ MORE</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/Screen%20Shot%202016-10-29%20at%2012.48.18%20PM.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 233px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px;">GALLERY</strong><br />
What We Fight For</h3>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/F3_Conservation_.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 183px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">VIDEO</strong><br />
#Film4Climate Conservation trailer</h3>

<p><a href="https://www.connect4climate.org/video/film4climate-conservation-trailer…; target="_blank">WATCH IT</a></p>

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Gender

Description

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/Screen%20Shot%202016-10-29%20at%2012.58.10%20PM.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 200px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px;">ARTICLE</strong><br />
Economic gender parity nearly two centuries off, WEF finds</h3>

<p>Progress in closing the global workplace gender gap is slowing dramatically, according to a World Economic Forum study, with a notable exception in Rwanda, a country still emerging from the aftermath of genocide that has become the world's leader on equal pay. <a href="http://connect4climate.org/article/economic-gender-parity-nearly-two-ce…; target="_blank">READ MORE</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/Screen%20Shot%202016-10-29%20at%201.02.42%20PM.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 239px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px;"><span style="font-size: 13.008px;">REPORT</span></strong><br />
The Global Gender Gap Report 2016</h3>

<p>Through the Global Gender Gap Report, the World Economic Forum quantifies the magnitude of gender disparities and tracks their progress over time. <a href="http://connect4climate.org/article/global-gender-gap-report-2016" target="_blank">READ MORE</a></p>

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<strong style="font-size: 13.008px;">OPINION</strong><br />
The invisible lives of the girls who get left behind</h3>

<p>The economic empowerment of women is vital to global development. If gender gaps in labour markets were completely closed, as much as $28 trillion could be added to global annual GDP by 2025. <a href="http://connect4climate.org/article/invisible-lives-girls-who-get-left-b…; target="_blank">READ MORE</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/Screen%20Shot%202016-10-29%20at%201.06.00%20PM.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 213px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px;">BLOG POST</strong><br />
Women at the forefront of peacebuilding</h3>

<p>Sixteen years since the adoption of UN Security Council resolution 1325 in 2000, the women, peace and security agenda remains relevant and critical in the face of rising violence, extremism and deadly conflicts. <a href="http://connect4climate.org/article/women-forefront-peacebuilding" target="_blank">READ MORE</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/Screen%20Shot%202016-10-29%20at%201.08.24%20PM.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 265px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px;">INFOGRAPHIC</strong><br />
Gender equality – Where are we today?</h3>

<p><a href="https://www.connect4climate.org/infographics/gender-equality-%E2%80%93-…; target="_blank">CHECK IT</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/F7_Gender_.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 168px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">VIDEO</strong><br />
#Film4Climate Gender trailer</h3>

<p><a href="https://www.connect4climate.org/video/film4climate-gender-trailer" target="_blank">WATCH IT</a></p>

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Innovation

Description

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/Screen%20Shot%202016-10-29%20at%202.31.59%20PM.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 238px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px;">OPINION</strong><br />
How Virtual Reality Can Help Us Feel the Pain of Climate Change</h3>

<p>It's hard to comprehend the concept of oceans getting more acidic. Unless you become the coral. <a href="http://connect4climate.org/article/how-virtual-reality-can-help-us-feel…; target="_blank">READ MORE</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/Screen%20Shot%202016-10-29%20at%202.35.12%20PM.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 245px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px;">ARTICLE</strong><br />
Poor countries have the edge on climate innovation</h3>

<p>The developing world and emerging markets are among the most exciting places for climate policy and innovation, according to a former White House official. <a href="http://connect4climate.org/article/poor-countries-have-edge-climate-inn…; target="_blank">READ MORE</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/Screen%20Shot%202016-10-29%20at%202.42.31%20PM.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 264px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px;">ARTICLE</strong><br />
UN awards Moroccan fog-water harvesting project</h3>

<p>The system, developed and installed by Morocco based NGO Dar Si Hmad, is said to be the largest fog-water harvesting system in the world. <a href="http://connect4climate.org/article/un-awards-moroccan-fog-water-harvest…; target="_blank">READ MORE</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/F16_innovation_.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 254px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">VIDEO</strong><br />
#Film4Climate Innovating for Climate Solutions Trailer</h3>

<p><a href="https://www.connect4climate.org/video/film4climate-innovating-climate-s…; target="_blank">WATCH IT</a></p>

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Consumption

Description

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/Screen%20Shot%202016-10-29%20at%202.48.43%20PM.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 224px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px;">ARTICLE</strong><br />
Human Consumption of Earth's Natural Resources Has Tripled in 40 Years</h3>

<p>Humans' appetite for gnawing away at the fabric of the Earth itself is growing prodigiously. <a href="http://connect4climate.org/article/human-consumption-earths-natural-res…; target="_blank">READ MORE</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/Screen%20Shot%202016-10-29%20at%202.52.11%20PM.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 255px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px;">REPORT</strong><br />
Global Material Flows and Resource Productivity </h3>

<p>In recent years, interest in resource efficiency and sustainable management of natural resources has increased considerably, standing out as one of the top priorities on the international political agenda. <a href="http://unep.org/documents/irp/16-00169_LW_GlobalMaterialFlowsUNEReport_…; target="_blank">READ MORE</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/Screen%20Shot%202016-10-29%20at%202.55.13%20PM.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 248px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px;">INFOGRAPHIC</strong><br />
The True Environmental Cost of Eating Meat</h3>

<p>Do you know the real cost of a steak? We’re not talking about the dollars that people shell out to buy one, but rather the environmental cost of creating it? <a href="http://connect4climate.org/infographics/true-environmental-cost-eating-…; target="_blank">CHECK IT</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/Screen%20Shot%202016-10-29%20at%202.57.18%20PM.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 164px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px;">GALLERY</strong><br />
Industrial scars: The environmental cost of consumption</h3>

<p>Environmental artist J Henry Fair captures the beauty and destruction of industrial sites to illustrate the hidden impacts of the things we buy. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2016/oct/24/industrial-…; target="_blank">SEE IT</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/F4_COnsumption_.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 165px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">VIDEO</strong><br />
#Film4Climate: Become a climate-friendly consumer trailer</h3>

<p><a href="https://www.connect4climate.org/video/film4climate-become-climate-frien…; target="_blank">WATCH IT</a></p>

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Price On Carbon

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<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/Screen%20Shot%202016-10-29%20at%203.02.42%20PM.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 203px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px;">BLOG POST + INITIATIVE</strong><br />
Global Cooperation through Carbon Markets Could Cut Climate Mitigation Costs Dramatically</h3>

<p>Greater cooperation through carbon trading could reduce the cost of climate change mitigation by 32 percent by 2030, according to a new World Bank report. <a href="http://connect4climate.org/article/global-cooperation-through-carbon-ma…; target="_blank">READ MORE</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/Screen%20Shot%202016-10-29%20at%203.06.18%20PM.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 204px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px;">INITIATIVE</strong><br />
The solution to climate change: #PutAPriceOnIt</h3>

<p>The goal of the Put A Price On It campaign is to put a price on carbon pollution by mobilizing the support of generations most affected by climate change: young people. <a href="https://www.connect4climate.org/article/solution-climate-change-putapri…; target="_blank">READ MORE</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/Screen%20Shot%202016-10-29%20at%203.08.55%20PM.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 230px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px;">INFOGRAPHIC</strong><br />
Capacity building for CO2 mitigation from international aviation</h3>

<p><a href="http://connect4climate.org/infographics/capacity-building-co2-mitigatio…; target="_blank">CHECK IT</a></p>

<h3><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/F10_Carbon_.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 187px;" /><br />
<strong style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">VIDEO</strong><br />
#Film4Climate Put a Price on Carbon trailer</h3>

<p><a href="https://www.connect4climate.org/video/film4climate-put-price-carbon-tra…; target="_blank">WATCH IT</a></p>

Global Cooperation through Carbon Markets Could Cut Climate Mitigation Costs Dramatically

Greater cooperation through carbon trading could reduce the cost of climate change mitigation by 32 percent by 2030, according to a new World Bank report released today at an international carbon event in Vietnam.

New modelling analysis undertaken for the State and Trends of Carbon Pricing 2016 report shows that increased international carbon trading could enable large-scale emissions reductions at much lower cost than at present, based on the carbon mitigation goals spelled out in countries’ national climate plans under the Paris Agreement -- the Nationally Determined Contributions, or NDCs. By the middle of the century, an international market has the potential to reduce global mitigation costs by more than 50 percent.

The goal of limiting emission reductions to meet a 2°C or lower target will be difficult to achieve cost-efficiently without more carbon trading, according to the report, prepared by the World Bank and launched at the 15th Assembly of the Partnership for Market Readiness.

“The more we cooperate through carbon trading, the larger the savings and the greater the potential to increase ambition by countries in the short term,” said John Roome, Senior Director for Climate Change at the World Bank. “To be effective, carbon pricing policies must be coordinated with other energy and environmental policies –this will require collaboration within and between countries.”

The Paris Agreement, reached at COP21 in late 2015, sets up a framework for global cooperation through carbon markets. Over 100 countries consider carbon pricing initiatives as part of their NDCs, through emissions trading within or across borders, international crediting, carbon taxation and other measures.

Under this new cooperative framework, one country can benefit from mitigation activities resulting in emission reductions in another country to fulfill its NDC. The report indicates that financial flows of 2–5 percent of gross domestic product in countries with lower-cost mitigation activities could be realized for investments that will reduce emissions by 2050.

The report also shows that momentum on carbon pricing has continued to grow. In 2016, 40 national jurisdictions and over 20 cities, states, and regions are putting a price on carbon, including seven out of 10 of the world’s largest economies. The coverage of carbon pricing initiatives on global emissions has increased threefold over the past decade, translating to the equivalent of around 7 gigatons of carbon dioxide (GtCO2e), or about 13 percent of global GHG emissions. In addition, governments raised about US$26 billion in revenues from carbon pricing initiatives in 2015. This represents a 60 percent increase compared to the revenues raised in 2014.

This year saw the launch of two new carbon pricing initiatives: British Columbia put a price on emissions from liquefied natural gas plants alongside its carbon tax, and Australia implemented a safeguard mechanism to the Emissions Reduction Fund, requiring large emitters that exceed their set limit to offset excess emissions.

Looking ahead, next year could see the largest ever increase in the share of global emissions covered by carbon pricing initiatives in a single year. If the Chinese national Emissions Trading System (ETS) is implemented in 2017 as planned, it would become the largest carbon pricing initiative in the world, surpassing the EU ETS. Initial estimates show that emissions covered by carbon pricing initiatives could increase from 13 percent to between 20 and 25 percent of global GHG emissions.

In April, the High Level Panel on Carbon Pricing called upon the international community to double the percentage of global emissions covered by explicit carbon prices to 25% by 2020 and to double it again to 50% within a decade. Heads of State from Canada, Chile, Ethiopia, France, Germany and Mexico are among the leaders calling for this increased commitment.

The report was prepared with the technical support of Ecofys and Vivid Economics.

To download the full report, visit https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/25160

This post was originally posted here.

Human Consumption of Earth's Natural Resources Has Tripled in 40 Years

Humans' appetite for gnawing away at the fabric of the Earth itself is growing prodigiously. According to a new UN report, the amount of the planet's natural resources extracted for human use has tripled in 40 years.

A report produced by the International Resource Panel (IRP), part of the UN Environment Programme, says rising consumption driven by a growing middle class has seen resources extraction increase from 22 billion tons in 1970 to 70 billon tons in 2010.

It refers to natural resources as primary materials and includes under this heading biomass, fossil fuels, metal ores and non-metallic minerals.

The increase in their use, the report warns, will ultimately deplete the availability of natural resources—causing serious shortages of critical materials and risking conflict.

Growing primary material consumption will affect climate change mainly because of the large amounts of energy involved in extraction, use, transport and disposal.

Irreversibly Depleted

"The alarming rate at which materials are now being extracted is already having a severe impact on human health and people's quality of life," said the IRP's co-chair, Alicia Bárcena Ibarra.

"We urgently need to address this problem before we have irreversibly depleted the resources that power our economies and lift people out of poverty. This deeply complex problem, one of humanity's biggest tests yet, calls for a rethink of the governance of natural resource extraction."

The IRP says the information contained in the new report supports the monitoring of the progress countries are making towards achieving the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. It also shows the uneven way in which the materials exploited are shared.

The richest countries consume on average 10 times as much of the available resources as the poorest and twice as much as the world average.

This total—almost three times today's amount—will probably increase the acidification of the world's waters, the eutrophication of its soils and waters, worsen soil erosion and lead to greater amounts of waste and pollution.

The report also ranks countries by the size of their per capita material footprints—the amount of material required in a country, an indicator that sheds light on its true impact on the global natural resource base. It is also a good way to judge a country's material standard of living.

Europe and North America, which had annual per capita material footprints of 20 and 25 tons in 2010, are at the top of the table. China's footprint was 14 tons and Brazil's 13. The annual per-capita material footprint for Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean and West Asia was 9-10 tons, and Africa's was below 3 tons.

Unprecedented Amounts

Global material use has rapidly accelerated since 2000, the report says, as emerging economies such as China undergo industrial and urban transformation that requires unprecedented amounts of iron, steel, cement, energy and building materials.

Compounding the problems, there has been little improvement in global material efficiency since 1990. The global economy now needs more material per unit of GDP than it did at the turn of the century, the IRP says, because production has moved from material-efficient economies such as Japan, South Korea and Europe to far less materially-efficient countries such as China, India and some in south-east Asia.

The report says uncoupling the increasing material use from economic growth is the "imperative of modern environmental policy and essential for the prosperity of human society and a healthy natural environment."

This will require investment in research and development, combined with better public policy and financing, creating opportunities for sustained economic growth and job creation.

The IRP also recommends putting a price on primary materials at extraction to reflect the social and environmental costs of resource extraction and use, while reducing consumption. The extra funds generated, it says, could then be invested in R&D in resource-intensive sectors of the economy.

It is concerned that the expanding demand for materials that low-income countries are likely to experience could contribute to local conflicts such as those seen in areas where mining competes with agriculture and urban development.

This article was originally posted on EcoWatch.

UN awards Moroccan fog-water harvesting project

A Moroccan fog-harvesting project was awarded a UN Climate Change prize in Bonn, Germany.

The system, developed and installed by Morocco based NGO Dar Si Hmad, is said to be the largest fog-water harvesting system in the world.

Thanks to the project, more than 400 people from isolated villages on the edge of the Sahara Desert in Morocco have access to running water.

This has been of enormous value to the village women who used to spend more than three hours a day walking to fetch water from far-away wells.

Dr. Jamila Bargach, Executive Director of Dar Si Hamd, said: “Berber women bore the laborious task of carrying water from distant wells – a burden that greatly limited opportunities for young women.”

Fog harvesting utilises a specialised mesh that traps water droplets from the fog.

The condensed trapped droplets then fall into a container, which slowly fills up to form a significant reserve of water.

Dar Si Hmad’s project involves 600 square meters of mesh netting, seven storage reservoirs, six solar panels and more than 10,000 meters of piping.

Bargach said: “The fog project should not simply be reduced to the story of technical and success: there are more complex and intertwined stories to tell... One narrative is that of curiosity and aspiration; one of motivation and quest for dignity; and one of rigour and determination.”

The system has received the prize under the Momentum for Change Women for Results focus area for providing a sustainable water source to combat the effects of desertification.

UNFCCC Spokesman Nick Nuttal said: “It is impressive to see so many original and creative ways to tackle climate change... It’s also great to see a winner from Morocco, this year’s host of the United Nations Climate Change Conference.”

This article was originally posted here.

Poor countries have the edge on climate innovation

The developing world and emerging markets are among the most exciting places for climate policy and innovation, according to a former White House official who advised the Obama administration in the run-up to the COP20 summit in Lima, Peru.

Some developing nations are already looking at climate technologies as a major economic opportunity, said Kelly Sims Gallagher, now a professor and director of the Centre for International Environment and Resource Policy at Tufts University in the United States.

She made the remarks on the opening day of Science Policy Research Unit’s (SPRU) 50th anniversary conference at Sussex University in Brighton, UK.

Developing countries have several advantages that put them in a good position to innovate, Gallagher told SciDev.Net.

There is less existing built infrastructure, which tends to create a lock-in effect, making it difficult to adopt cleaner and more efficient technologies.

And the cost of renewables and other energy efficiency technologies is now low enough to make investing in them a sensible economic decision, she said.

Very few governments have rushed to get domestic policies in place after Paris [the 2015 climate treaty], she noted, adding that it is a big agenda, and poorer countries may have a competitive edge.

Gallagher acted as an adviser to Obama on the US-China deal that was widely seen as a tipping point for climate policy success during COP21 in Paris.

"The cost of renewables and other energy efficiency technologies is now low enough to make investing in them a sensible economic decision."

Discussions on innovation generally overlook the developing world but China’s investment in industries of the future has created healthy competition, according to Gallagher, and “a lot of other developing countries are starting to experiment in the same way.”

India-based wind energy company Suzlon, which operates in 19 countries, is one example, Gallagher told SciDev.Net. “Ethiopia has written an innovation strategy that very explicitly includes a focus on adaptation and resilience of technologies,” she said.

Bangladesh is another example of a country looking at this policy area strategically, “not only as a matter of survival but also as an economic opportunity,” Gallagher explained.

“I actually think the least developed countries could be the pioneers in those technologies,” she said, and then sell them to industrialised countries.

The scale of the climate change challenge needs deep structural and systemic change, said Lord Nicholas Stern, professor at the London School of Economics in the UK. “Over the next 15-20 years we need an investment of $90 trillion for (green) infrastructure.”

Commenting on governments’ policy moves after the Paris accord, Gallagher said she was disappointed by the slow pace so far. “Very few countries, or negotiators, or government leaders, or even NGOs for that matter looked past Paris,” she told SciDev.Net.

“There was such an overriding focus on whether or not [an agreement] was even possible, that nobody had started thinking about the aftermath and the post-Paris agenda, which is clearly national and sub-national policy-making.”

This blog post was originally posted here.

How Virtual Reality Can Help Us Feel the Pain of Climate Change

It's hard to comprehend the concept of oceans getting more acidic. Unless you become the coral.

It’s not easy to get people exercised about ocean acidification. Yes, it’s a nasty consequence of climate change, a potential death sentence for oysters, clams, sea urchins and, most of all, coral. But it’s slow-motion extermination, out of sight of most humans, and that makes it difficult for us to feel much of a connection—let alone any responsibility—for the calamitous process.

Researchers at Stanford, however, believe a good way to help people become more aware of their impact on nature may lie in a particularly unnatural experience—virtual reality (VR) immersion.

“Some experiences may not be well-suited for VR,” says Jeremy Bailenson, professor of communications at Stanford and director of its Virtual Human Interaction Lab (VHIL). “But if we leverage what is special about the medium—the fact that you can move your body and interact with a scene—then we can create intense experiences that actually change you.”

Bailenson has been researching the value of VR as a teaching tool since the late 1990s, and he’s found that it can have considerably more impact than simply knowing that damage is being done to the natural world. Once someone can see, hear and even feel what’s happening from the perspective of plants and animals, he or she tends to understand their fate in a more visceral way and is more motivated to take action, he says.

That notion was borne out in a recent study by Bailenson and a team of scientists from Stanford, the University of Georgia and the University of Connecticut. They determined that immersing people in a VR experience was clearly more effective in getting through to them than simply showing them a video on the same subject.

The key was to have people become the coral.

In two worlds

The Stanford team worked with marine biologists to build a virtual replica of a reef around the Italian island of Ischia. Underground volcanic vents there have been spewing carbon dioxide, and that has given researchers the opportunity to closely analyze the effect on marine life—specifically how, as ocean water absorbs more carbon dioxide and becomes more acidic, it corrodes coral and the shells of crustaceans.

From that model, the researchers programmed a VR experience that speeds up the destructive process, allowing a person to first interact with a reef full of life, and then be an up-close-witness to decay as species disappear. Ultimately, the person takes on the perspective of a coral, one whose branches break off with an audible crack.

At its best, virtual reality, says Bailenson, enables you to have a “dual presence,” where you know you’re still in a room wearing a headset, but also actually can feel that you’re at the bottom of the sea. It’s important, he says, for the VR environment to respond your body’s movements.

It also should to be an experience that stimulates multiple senses, including touch when possible. The coral reef VR, for instance, creates the sensation of a fishing net brushing against you. If it feels natural, notes Bailenson, the brain is able to treat the experience as authentic.

That said, Bailenson concedes it’s still difficult to measure the long-term impact of VR immersion. In other words, can it actually spur people to change their behavior for an extended period of time? In a previous study, Bailenson found that people who chopped down virtual trees, using a joystick that vibrated like a chainsaw, used 20 percent less paper afterwards than others who read about cutting down trees or watched a video about the process.

But that study and most of the other research to date has relied on follow-up questionnaires a week or two later. So, researchers haven’t really been able to determine how long VR-induced empathy endures. Bailenson thinks that is about to change.

“With the advent of mobile equipment, we are planning to run longitudinal studies, which means collecting data from very large, demographically diverse data sets,” he says. “This will be very important in discovering the impact of VR on the general public—from children to the elderly, and those from all socio-economic statuses and backgrounds.”

Teachable moments

Bailenson and the Stanford team have already begun taking steps to move virtual reality teaching beyond the research lab. Earlier this year, the Stanford Ocean Acidification Experience and a related VR documentary were featured in an arcade at the Trebeca Film Festival. “For a week, we had a constant line of people,” says Bailenson. “They were waiting in line to learn about marine science.”

And last week, the VR experience was made available to the public as a science education tool. It can now be downloaded for free and experienced on HTC Vive, a high-end virtual reality system that sells for about $800. While the consumer market for VR systems is still relatively small, the consensus is that sales will start to take off in the coming holiday season now that prices have begun dropping and headsets are no longer so unwieldy. Next year, according to the VR industry consulting firm KZero, more than 170 million units could be sold.

Bailenson hopes Stanford’s software will become a model for virtual reality “field trips” that will allow students to have experiences that can teach them about nature in a uniquely personal way.

To that end, he says museums have begun investing in VR systems to provide that opportunity.

“You’re not watching something, you’re doing it,” he says. “You learn by doing. These are magic, teachable moments.”

This blog post was originally posted here.

Women at the forefront of peacebuilding

War and conflicts are ravaging communities across the world today. The recent years have also seen wide-spread targeting of women and girls in conflict zones and a marked pushback on women’s rights. Sixteen years since the adoption of UN Security Council resolution 1325 in 2000, the women, peace and security agenda remains relevant and critical in the face of rising violence, extremism and deadly conflicts.

Even as women continue to bear the brunt of war, there is increased recognition of their pivotal role as peacebuilders. For example, in 2015, 7 out of 10 peace agreements signed included gender specific provisions [1]—a vast improvement compared against the analysis showing that only 73 out of 664 agreements produced between 1990 and 2000 included a reference to women. More security sector personnel are now trained to prevent and respond to sexual and gender-based violence, and more countries are implementing national action plans or related strategies.

When women are included in peace processes, there is a 20 per cent increase in the probability of an agreement lasting at least 2 years, and a 35 per cent increase in the probability of an agreement lasting at least 15 years [3]. There is a growing momentum for fulfilling the women, peace and security agenda: at the 2015 High-Level Review of the implementation of resolution 1325, more than 180 political, financial and institutional commitments were made by Member States and regional organizations.Resolution 2242, which was adopted unanimously by the UN Security Council during the 2015 Open Debate, together with the seven previous resolutions and related policy commitments on women, peace and security, provide a strong common agenda for action.

Yet, implementation of policies and international commitments on the ground remain unfulfilled. Much more needs to be done. For example, women make only 3 per cent of UN military peacekeepers [4]. In conflict-affected countries, women’s share of seats in parliament is four per cent lower than the global average of 22.7 per cent [5]. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recently urged all actors, including governments, to earmark 15 per cent of peacebuilding funds to projects that directly advance gender equality, which would not always require new funding, but rather, a prioritization within existing funds.

On 25 October 2016, the UN Security Council will convene its annual Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security, with a focus on how Member States, regional organizations and the UN have followed-up on commitments and recommendations from the 2015 High-level Review and the related Global Study on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000). The Debate will also consider future steps to advancing the agenda, taking into account new threats and emerging challenges, including the rise of violent extremism, the protracted nature of displacement and the impact of climate shocks.

The new report of the UN Secretary-General on women, peace and security (S/2016/822) brings forth information on recent trends and highlights latest development and results. It also provides an update on the status of implementation since 1 January 2015 and draws attention to areas of stagnation and regression and other concerning developments. The report features initiatives such as the new mechanism in the Security Council, the Informal Experts Group on women, peace and security, designed to ensure greater flows of quality and actionable information to the Council; the new Global Acceleration Instrument on women, peace and security and humanitarian action, aimed at catalyzing new funding for commitments on this agenda and country-level progress in a range of areas from implementation of National Action Plans to increased women’s leadership in institutions responsible for peace and security. It further notes that the priority areas identified last year continue to require urgent action.

On the 16th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, UN Women spotlights women’s leadership and the critical role they play in preventing conflict, sustaining peace and shaping more effective responses to today’s complex crises.

Read personal, unique and powerful stories of women around the world.

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The Global Gender Gap Report 2016

Through the Global Gender Gap Report, the World Economic Forum quantifies the magnitude of gender disparities and tracks their progress over time, with a specific focus on the relative gaps between women and men across four key areas: health, education, economy and politics. The 2016 Report covers 144 countries. More than a decade of data has revealed that progress is still too slow for realizing the full potential of one half of humanity within our lifetimes.

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Irreversibly Depleted

Unprecedented Amounts

This article was originally posted on EcoWatch.

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In two worlds

Teachable moments

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Read personal, unique and powerful stories of women around the world. This blog post was originally posted here.

Download the report.

Read personal, unique and powerful stories of women around the world.

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