Businesses, governments, development banks and civil society have so far pledged more than $50 billion to support the UN Secretary-General's goal to achieve universal energy access by 2030. The Sustainable Energy for All initiative also seeks to double both energy efficiency and the share of renewable energy by that deadline. Dr. Kandeh K. Yumkella is [...]
Achieving sustainable energy for all is not only possible, but necessary according to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Speaking at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), Mr. Ban said it is the golden thread that connects development, social inclusion and environmental protection. Launched in September 2011, the Sustainable Energy for All initiative brings together [...]
UNESCO has called on Syrian authorities to fully investigate the recent deaths of five journalists. Director-General of Irina Bokova said the journalists, all Syrian citizens, were killed in May during a shelling. They lost their lives while trying to inform the Syrian people of the tragic events taking place in their country. Ms. Bokova also [...]
Small island developing states are concerned over rising sea levels, which many say may force them from their homes. The President of Kiribati, Anote Tong, is at the UN's Rio+20 Conference on sustainable development to deliver that message. Kiribati is an island nation located in the central tropical Pacific Ocean. President Tong told Henrique Macedo [...]
• A notorious group of human rights violators continues to act with impunity in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay. The group, known as M23, is accused of raping and killing civilians, as well as recruiting child soldiers. Pillay, who named five of the leaders [...]
A new report finds that climate change can make people more vulnerable and can also play a part in driving them into areas of conflict and ultimately across borders and into exile. The report, "Climate Change, Vulnerability and Human Mobility," is based on scores of personal testimonies from refugees in Eastern Africa. Based on discussions [...]
Timor-Leste has made significant progress towards the consolidation of peace and security and has experienced rapid economic growth, the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights told the Human Rights Council in Geneva Thursday. Ms. Magdalena Sepulveda Carmona, however, says a harsh reality of entrenched poverty and rising inequality hides behind rapid macroeconomic [...]
Heads of state are sharing their views on a sustainable future for the planet at the UN's Rio+20 conference in Brazil. Bhutan's Prime Minister Jigmi Thinley says he has a simple message to deliver: be happy. Instead of Gross National Product, Bhutan measures its developmental success by Gross National Happiness. The first pillar is promoting [...]
Bold leadership and commitment are needed in choosing a development path that addresses the major global challenges of our times. The head of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific Noeleen Heyzer warns that "we are running out of time to make the changes that must be made". She says that [...]
Ed Norton, UN Goodwill Ambassador for Biodiversity UN Goodwill Ambassador and actor Ed Norton is at the Rio+20 conference to draw attention to biodiversity issues which he says affect all aspects of life. Mr. Norton has been a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) since 2010 and spent time in the [...]
Brazil, Denmark, France and South Africa are forming a group to advance corporate sustainability reporting. The vision of the collaboration, called "Friends of paragraph 47," is that reporting on sustainability should be a standard practice among companies. Paragraph 47 of the Rio+20 outcome document says in part that "We acknowledge the importance of corporate sustainability [...]
Countries, businesses, philanthropic organizations and UN entities at the Rio+20 conference are pledging to create a cleaner, greener, more equitable world. They are making voluntary commitments in any of 23 areas related to sustainable development such as climate change, sustainable education and green jobs, but also education, gender equality and public awareness. The commitments [...]
United Nations Human Rights experts have decried the high number journalists killed or subjected to inhuman treatment in the course of their duties. Frank La Rue expert on freedom of opinion and expression and Christof Heyns expert on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions called on governments worldwide to act decisively to protect journalists and media [...]
Far from the spotlight of Rio+20, there are a lot of people trying get their causes recognized. One of them is Rueben George, Sundance Chief and Member of the Tsleil-Waututh First Nation in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Tsleil-Waututh have been fighting against an oil pipeline expansion near their Canadian home. Dianne Penn, who is in [...]
