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From Climate Home By Thoriq Ibrahim This week delegations will gather in Marrakech, Morocco to prepare for the United Nations climate negotiations scheduled to begin there next month. Those talks will also serve as the first meeting of parties to the Paris Agreement, after the required number of countries representing 55% of total global emissions formally… Continue reading Adaptation needs aren’t going away

Over a week after Hurricane Matthew struck Haiti, the country and relief organizations are still assessing the extent of damage and fatalities as concerns rise over a new outbreak of cholera. Fortunately, the densely populated capital, Port au Prince, escaped the full strength of the Category 4 hurricane, but the western cities of Les Cayes… Continue reading Damage Assessments Reveal Devastation in Haiti

As Hurricane Matthew continues its path across Florida, it leaves in its wake a tragic toll for AOSIS members in the Caribbean killing as many as 327 in Haiti, 27 in the Bahamas, four in the Dominican Republic, and one in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Sadly, the death toll may rise as aid workers… Continue reading Record Hurricane Matthew Leaves Tragedy in Its Wake

Hurricane Matthew has made landfall in AOSIS member country, Haiti, as a category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale with sustained winds near 145 mph–making it the strongest hurricane to make landfall in the country since Hurricane Cleo in 1964. In addition to powerful winds, Matthew is expected to bring a storm surge… Continue reading Hurricane Matthew Strikes AOSIS Members in Caribbean

India, in a display of remarkable global leadership, has ratified the Paris global climate agreement. The move, by a developing country still working hard to lift millions out of poverty with very low per capita emissions, shows that all members of the international community have a role to play in tackling climate change. What’s more,… Continue reading India Ratifies Paris Agreement

In what has become something of an annual tradition, AOSIS leaders gathered on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly for a luncheon to rejuvenate the group’s 26-year partnership. In that time, AOSIS has grown to include 39 members and 5 observers from Small Island States around the world, nearly one-fifth of the UN’s… Continue reading AOSIS Leaders Gather at UNGA

The Paris Agreement continued to amaze this week, with another 31 countries formally joining the treaty, including 8 AOSIS members—Tonga, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Dominica, Papua New Guinea, Antigua and Barbuda, and Singapore. That brings the total AOSIS count to 24—nearly half of the number required to bring the agreement into force and more than one-third… Continue reading World is racing against the clock and a thermometer

The high level segment of the 71st United Nations General Assembly opens today against the backdrop of compelling international challenges: Escalating conflicts, refugees, resource and territorial disputes, and an unfolding story about a potential terrorist attack in the host city will dominate the headlines. These are obviously all important issues that deserve attention of world… Continue reading Paris Agreement Ratification Moves to Global Stage

There was positive climate change news this week, well, for a change. By completing the Paris Agreement ratification process on Monday, Brazil became the third large country after the United States and China to do so, bringing the world another step closer to the agreement’s entry into force (EIF) threshold. The historic climate change treaty,… Continue reading Brazil Brings World Another Step Closer to Ratification