Following COP21 in Paris, CEOs, policy-makers, multinational companies, national business associations, high-level experts, and multilateral development partners will meet on May 24th and 25th at a global conference to discuss private sector investment opportunities resulting from the COP21 agreement and the role of the private sector in taking climate action.

If you think your electricity bill is too high, you’re probably right - but it’s not just because energy is expensive. The average monthly bill for electricity is over $110, and almost $40 of that is from energy that your home is wasting. This is a problem - but for a homeowner who’s serious about sustainable living, it’s not insurmountable.
The Cost of Convenience
There’s no denying that the modern world is convenient. We can travel farther, communicate faster, and achieve more than at any other point in history. All of this is possible through our society’s mastery of electricity.
It’s electricity that powers the factories where cars are made. It’s electricity that powers the internet, lets us pay with credit and debit cards, and literally lights up our lives. According to the Energy Information Administration, the last few decades have seen explosive growth in the amount of energy consumed across the country. The truth of the matter is that there aren’t many new things that don’t involve a lot of energy being spent at some point in the process, and we’re quite literally paying the price for it.
Now, in a perfect world, we’d never waste the slightest bit of energy we produced. Unfortunately, reality is a little less than ideal, giving rise to the following considerations.
- First, perfect use of energy is an unobtainable goal. We literally do not have the capability to use 100% of our energy without any kind of waste. When we say that a product is “energy efficient”, what we really mean is “it’s one of the least-wasteful choices we have”.
- Second, the only practical way to have zero waste is to use zero energy. In other words, to truly eliminate waste, we’d have to give up almost everything our society has created. It doesn’t take an expert to realize this has exactly no chance of happening.
This doesn’t mean all is lost, though. While we can’t expect to be perfect, we canmake a serious commitment to reducing energy waste when and where it’s practical to do so. There are many ways to save energy in your home, and when every household takes a few small steps to reduce waste, the total result is incredible. For now, though, let’s take a look at the infographic below and see which parts of your home are using the most energy.

One of the most critical points of climate change is how it can affect food supplies for a growing global population. Farmers are trying to adapt to an increasingly variable climate by coming up with solutions to help mitigate the impacts of climate change on their local communities.
This week, with #photo4climate Instagram Challenge we’ve been learning how #agriculture is being affected on local communities around the world, from Philippines to South Africa. Therefore, we are much pleased to announce this week’s winner photo: congratulations Allan F. Castañeda. Your photo truly illustrates how agriculture is one of the most vulnerable sector affected by climate change. Thank you. Your photo will be displayed at Climate Action 2016 at Connect4Climate booth space on People's Haus. More details here.
Here is the original caption:
#Climatechange greatly affects the proper schedule of harvesting especially the quality of the harvest.
During rainy season, farmers were forced to harvest their rice ahead of the exact season of harvesting due to incessant rain that cause flooding. When summer, it also affected the growth of rice due to lack of adequate water or irrigation caused by dry season, hence affecting also the availability of having a healthy and abundant grain harvest in our #agriculture. This was taken at Padre Garcia in the province of Batangas in the Philippines. #Photo4Climate
[video:https://youtu.be/8f6E2t_BxS4]
Connect4Climate and Artists Project Earth have teamed up to promote the climate challenge message through music. By combining artists Eminem and TS1 from Kenya a strong call for action is presented. Join the Movement.
Source: Connect4Climate, 2013

Every year, the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam - IDFA welcomes some 2,500 international documentary professionals in Amsterdam during eleven days of films, industry events, panel discussions and much more. IDFA 2016 will take place November 16-27. Entry for the 2016 festival is now open. Deadlines are May 1 and August 1.

In 2001, Rock in Rio created a social project named “For a Better World,” which purpose was primarily focused in social projects. It is now also supporting environmental projects, focusing on minimizing the Festival’s negative impacts and enhancing the positive ones through natural, social, and financial resources.
Rock in Rio invested over 31 million dollars in different activities: building up and refurbishing school for less fortunate teenagers, investing on equipment; planting trees in burnt areas in Portugal and in the US; compensating carbon footprint; developing campaigns related to waste recycling and water consume; among others.
For the upcoming editions, Rock in Rio decided to embrace the reforesting project over the margins of the Xingu River in the Amazon, not only by planting trees, but also by bringing up hope to those who live there. Our goal is to plant over 1 million trees, but we are aiming on increasing this number to 3 million, counting on the support of our partners, fans, and artists.
The World Bank has already donated 1 million trees as an endorsement to the importance of this project to the planet.
In addition, this project generates an enormous social benefit and financial wise, by contributing to the quality of water and climate global balance. Above all, Rock in Rio’s goal is to leave a legacy to world’s population.
Due to our partnership with FUNBIO (Brazilian Biodiversity Fund) and Instituto Sócio Ambiental (Social Environmental Institute), the planting of trees will be made using the muvuca technique, ensuring the continuity of the Amazon species, contributing therefore to the biodiversity.
In order to kick off the Project in the best way possible, Rock in Rio will produce a concert in August 27, 2016. Plácido Domingo and an orchestra will perform on a floating stage over the Negro River for 200 guests. The planting of trees will then start in October 2016.
Considering the above, Rock in Rio will launch a massive campaign. The purpose is not only the planting of trees and its social and economic impacts, but mainly to instigate a change on people’s behavior, encouraging the adoption of positive daily practices. That will be highlighted in all our communication channels contributing to the climate change combat.
During the 2016 Opening for Signature of the Paris Agreement, held at United Nations Headquarters in New York on 22 April, 175 Parties (174 countries and the European Union) signed the Agreement, and 15 States deposited instruments of ratification.
[video:https://youtu.be/m-FM845giaI]
Leonardo DiCaprio addressed the United Nations at the Paris climate agreement signing ceremony in New York City on April 22, this is what he said:
"Thank you, Mr. Secretary General, for the honor to address this body once more. And thanks to the distinguished climate leaders assembled here today who are ready to take action.

Leonardo DiCaprio addressed the United Nations at the Paris climate agreement signing ceremony in New York City on April 22, this is what he said:
[video:https://youtu.be/m-FM845giaI]
"Thank you, Mr. Secretary General, for the honor to address this body once more. And thanks to the distinguished climate leaders assembled here today who are ready to take action.
President Abraham Lincoln was also thinking of bold action 150 years ago when he said:
“The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. As our case is new so we must think anew and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves and then we shall save our country.”
He was speaking before the U.S. Congress to confront the defining issue of his time—slavery.
Everyone knew it had to end but no one had the political will to stop it. Remarkably, his words ring as true today when applied to the defining crisis of our time— climate change.
As a UN Messenger of Peace, I have been traveling all over the world for the last two years documenting how this crisis is changing the natural balance of our planet. I have seen cities like Beijing choked by industrial pollution. Ancient Boreal forests in Canada that have been clear cut and rainforests in Indonesia that have been incinerated. In India I met farmers whose crops have literally been washed away by historic flooding. In America I have witnessed unprecedented
There is no doubt in the world’s scientific community that this a direct result of human activity and that the effects of climate change will become astronomically worse in the future.
I do not need to throw statistics at you. You know them better than I do, and more importantly, you know what will happen if this scourge is left unchecked. You know that climate change is happening faster than even
Now think about the shame that each of us will carry when our children and grandchildren look back and realize that we had the means of stopping this devastation, but simply lacked the political will to do so.
Yes, we have achieved the Paris agreement. More countries have come together to sign this agreement today than for any other cause in the history of humankind—and that is a reason for hope—but unfortunately the evidence shows us that it will not be enough.
Our planet cannot be saved unless we leave fossil fuels in the ground where they belong. An upheaval and massive change is required, now. One that leads to a new collective consciousness. A new collective evolution of the human race, inspired and enabled by a sense of urgency from all of you.
We all know that reversing the course of climate change will not be easy, but
Renewable energy, clean fuels and putting a price on carbon pollution are beginning to turn the tide. This transition is not only the right thing for our world, but it also makes clear economic sense, and is possible within our lifetime.
But it is now upon you to do what great leaders have always done: to lead, inspire and empower as President
We can congratulate each other today, but it will mean nothing if you return to your countries and fail to push beyond the promises of this historic agreement. Now is the time for bold unprecedented action.
My friends, look at the delegates around you. It is time to ask each other—which side of history will you be on?
As a citizen of our planet who has witnessed so much on this journey I thank you for all you have done to lay the foundation of a solution to this crisis, but after 21 years of debates and conferences it is time to declare no more talk. No more excuses. No more 10-year studies. No more allowing the fossil fuel companies to manipulate and dictate the science and policies that effect our future. This is the only body that can do what is needed. You, sitting in this very hall.
The world is now watching. You will either be lauded by future generations, or vilified by them.
Lincoln’s words still resonate to all of us here today:
“We will be remembered in spite of ourselves. The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down, in honor or dishonor, to the last generation… We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of Earth.”
That is our charge now—you are the last best hope of Earth. We ask you to protect it. Or we—and all living things we cherish—are history.
Thank you."
Originally posted on EcoWatch

The Italian Government, through its Ministry of Environment, signed an agreement with the Ministry of Environment of the Kingdom of Morocco, the host country of COP22 at the end of this year. The agreement was reached during a bilateral meeting between the Italian Minister of the Environment, Gian Luca Galletti, and his Moroccan counterpart Hakima El Haite.
Galletti said in a statement: “This agreement comes at a crucial moment of the global fight against climate change. While many governments gather in New York to sign the Paris Agreements, Italy reinforces its support of North African states in their transition to a sustainable and inclusive development model. Italy is also contributing to the launch of an economy less dependent on coal.”
The agreement is the result of an intense negotiation and it envisions bilateral cooperation on different topics, including governance, integrated management of coastal areas, the prevention of hydrocarbon pollution, the promotion of green production, environmental education for sustainable development, integrated management of solid waste, and the use of economic means to promote sustainable development.
Close perspective of the Prime Minister of Italy Matteo Renzi signing the Paris Agreement at the General Assembly of the United Nations - Photo: Leigh Vogel
On April 22 (International Mother Earth Day) all eyes were on the United Nations (UN) in New York City, US. More than 170 world leaders signed the Paris Agreement on climate change. One of the peak moments of the ceremony was the speech of the Hollywood star and United Nations Messenger of Peace Leonardo DiCaprio: "This is the body that can do all it's needed. The world is watching you."