Global Unification the Gambia (GU) is a youth-led, community-based, research and development organisation, established 2006.  In partnership with relevant institutions, our objective is to provide education, skills and strengthen the capacity of young people, groups working with youths and local communities to enable them participate effectively in sustainable development processes of The Gambia. We work with young people and local communities, supporting their efforts to move out of poverty, access quality health care services and adapt to the impact of climate change.

In 2008, we decided redirected more of our efforts towards creating awareness on environmental protection, sustainable management of forest resources, biodiversity conservation and climate change solutions geared to reducing the threats to livelihood security among local communities cause by the changing climate. As result in 2009, we developed a five year action plan that is dedicated to climate change education and creating pro-poor climate action projects. Under this strategy, we do sensitisation, trained traditional communicators, youth leaders, women cooperative societies on adaptation skills and support public access to climate change information. We lobby policy makers at national and international level for policy shift toward green economy, promote youth participation on discussion and decision on sustainable development issues in the country.

Some of our previous projects are climate talk; rethinking our future, a year radio advocacy program, National Stakeholders Workshop on community based adaptation, which was a platform to identify barriers to adaptation in the Gambia and proposed sustainable solution, Green School initiatives, which promote tree planting in schools, where we award prices to most green school. We also celebrate major international days such as world environment day, earth day, earth hour etc.  Please visit this link for update list of past activities.

Daniel Chávez Ortiz is known as The Ecological Boy in his hometown Ciudad Guzman, Jalisco, in Mexico. Why? Daniel, 11, has been developing environmental campaigns to tackle climate change.

“It all started when I was six years old. My mother received an e-mail with a presentation about how batteries aren’t properly recycled, and that they have been poisoning the water,” Daniel told Connect4Climate. “After I saw that presentation, I started to cry, because I realized how people can harm the planet.”

That email set the ball rolling. Shortly after, Daniel decided he wanted to spread the message and “educate everyone.” More specifically, he wanted to teach people what to do with used batteries.

[video:https://vimeo.com/126840694]

 

His first project took place at his school. Daniel brought a container to his classroom andencouraged his classmates to collect used batteries. “When I realized how well it had gone, I got excited and so I decided to go to other schools to do the same thing,” Daniel said, encouraged by the feedback.

After that, Daniel was invited to appear on a local television show, where he learned about the concept of global warming. At that point, Daniel’s family got involved with his cause and started to help him.

“My mom attended a free course about global warming to help me learn more about this new interest,” he said, “but the course was in English and we didn't speak or write English. We needed to translate the text and had to use a translator. I was able to get more and new information about the topic, which allowed me to share my concerns about this growing problem with others,” he said.

For the next year, Daniel collaborated on an online television program in Mexico called “Futuro Cercano” (which translates into  “Future Close”) where he gained his new nickname “El Guardian del Habitat” (The Guardian of the Habitat) Now, he is involved in a new online project, which will be aired on April 26. In June, he will give a lecture at the Instituto Tecnológico Superior de El Grullo (a public University in El Grulo, Jalisco, Mexico).

“Now, I am 11 years old and I feel like I need to do even more,” said Daniel.

 

Leaders from across government and business are sending a clear message to the world this week that climate change is a risk that cannot be ignored, and, importantly, that they are ready to work together to bring down emissions.

Seventy-three countries and 22 states, provinces and cities – together responsible for 54 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions and 52 percent of GDP – joined over 1,000 businesses and investors in signaling their support for carbon pricing through a series of initiatives being announced at the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Leadership Summit on Tuesday.

The list includes countries like China and South Africa that are planning carbon pricing, as well as Russia and countries at high risk from climate change, like the Marshall Islands. It includes business ranging across industry, energy and transportation, and institutional investors with more than $24 trillion in assets.

This is a wake-up moment. Carbon pricing if expanded to this scale and then globally has the potential to bring down emissions in a way that supports clean energy and low-carbon growth while giving businesses the flexibility to innovate and find the most efficient choices. 

“The science is clear. The economics are compelling. We are seeing a shift toward the economic architecture that will be necessary to avoid a 2-degree-warmer world, an architecture that supports green growth, jobs and competitiveness,” said World Bank Group Vice President and Special Envoy for Climate Change Rachel Kyte.

To move carbon pricing use and understanding forward, the World Bank Group, World Economic Forum, and We Mean Business Coalition announced that they would convene a carbon pricing leadership coalition with business and government leaders.

Since 1997 ClimateCare has specialised in projects that tackle climate change and deliver sustainable development outcomes. Winners of a Queen’s Award for Sustainable Development, ClimateCare recently announced targets to cut 20 million tonnes of CO2 and improve the lives of 20 million people by 2020. CEO Edward Hanrahan shares his thoughts about what makes a successful climate and development programme.

 

In a recent story written by Ashley Halligan, an analyst at Software Advice, she gave recognition to four global urban sustainability initiatives that are lesser known in terms of environmental innovation. Some are lesser known because of being historically volatile--whether in terms of violence or excess waste--or, perhaps, being nonexistent altogether.

In an article outlining the initiatives of Medellin, Colombia; Naples, Italy; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and, Songdo, South Korea, Halligan outlines vastly different approaches to creating environmental sustainability goals and becoming global leaders for these initiatives.

Medellin, for example, has a violent history. Once being deemed the most violent city in the world, it's now a 2012 awardee of the Sustainable Transport Award, alongside long-respected San Francisco.

Naples, on the other hand, has been infamous for its devastating trash crisis, with alleys, parks, and squares literally piled with waste--mostly linked to the local Camorra (mafia-like organization). Residents have taken matters into their own hands hosting guerrilla gardening groups and flash-mob clean-ups.

Philadelphia, a U.S. city not particularly known for its environmental forwardness, vowed in 2008 to become the country's "greenest" city when Mayor Mike Nutter gave his inaugural speech. With a six-year, 14-initiative project underway, Philadelphia shows that any city can overcome current challenges.

Lastly, Songdo, represents an entirely different approach to sustainability. A city built from scratch atop South Korean swampland, Songdo is the country's first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Neighbhorhood--all of its buildings also either meet or exceed LEED standards.

To read more about these sustainability projects across the globe, visit the original story here.

BOULDER, CO – The Climate Reality Project’s fourth annual 24 Hours of Reality broadcast, 24 Hours of Reality: 24 Reasons for Hope, will be presented live from Brooklyn, New York, on September 16-17 at 12 PM EDT.

This year’s broadcast marks a turning point in the global movement for climate solutions, celebrating innovation and progress in fighting climate change around the world and kick starting a year of concerted action. Each hour, former U.S. Vice President and Climate Reality Chairman and Founder Al Gore will introduce a new reason to be hopeful about solving climate change and invite viewers worldwide to dedicate a day in the coming year to helping end the climate crisis.

Airing one week prior to the U.N. Climate Summit, this year’s 24 Hours of Reality program focuses on specific milestones in efforts to address the climate crisis – from the plummeting cost of solar panels to the rise of action at the national level. Building on the previous three installments of award-winning programming, this year’s broadcast will feature field reports with activists, town hall-style discussions with experts, one-on-one interviews with celebrities, and artistic performances.

“Carbon pollution is already having a profound impact on our climate, but the good news is that we have all the tools we need to overcome this challenge,” said Al Gore. “It’s time our leaders stop asking ‘What do we do?’ and instead ask ‘How can we accelerate the shift to a sustainable future powered by cheap, clean renewable energy, with sustainable agriculture and forestry.’ This year’s 24 Hours of Reality will signal a transition in the global conversation on climate change where we highlight the solutions at hand and empower individuals to take simple actions to aid this global fight.”

The first 24 Hours of Reality began with the idea that much can change in a day. That’s why, throughout the program, viewers will be asked to dedicate a day to making a difference in the climate fight. The combined efforts from viewers across the world will make 24 Reasons for Hope the kickoff for a global commitment to better our communities and transition to a clean energy future.

“24 Reasons for Hope will ask each of us to dedicate a day to make a difference,” said Ken Berlin, President and CEO of The Climate Reality Project. “Climate change is big and complex, but that means there are hundreds of ways to contribute. Whether it’s a parent organizing a renewable energy fair at school, or a young professional pledging to become a Climate Reality Leader, or a student working to elect a clean energy candidate, we all have different ways and different days to contribute.”

In addition to former Vice President Al Gore and Climate Reality Project President and CEO Ken Berlin, a variety of international celebrities, musicians, advocates, and other special guests will join the broadcast.

This is huge - another reminder to urgently act on climate change.

The year 2014 ranks as Earth’s warmest since 1880, according to two separate analyses byNASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) scientists. 2014 was 0.69°C (1.24°F) above the 20th century average of 14.1°C, making it the hottest year on record since NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center began taking measurements in 1880.

The 10 warmest years in the instrumental record, with the exception of 1998, have now occurred since 2000. This trend continues a long-term warming of the planet, according to an analysis of surface temperature measurements by scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute of Space Studies (GISS) in New York.