And the only acceptable response is ending the use of fossil fuels This year’s UN climate talks – whose motto is ‘Tiempo de Actuar,’ or ‘Time to Act’ – started Monday in Madrid against a backdrop that is as mixed as ever. While the climate crisis shows its fierce face and gets worse each day…
The disconnect between Paris temperature goals and countries’ plans and policies for coal, oil, and gas production is massive, worrying and unacceptable. The planet is in an almighty mess, we see and feel its pain daily as we watch people being flooded from their houses, hurricanes and tornadoes lashing coastal areas, wildfires consuming everything in…
This month provides the chance to reflect and re-examine the current state of our relationship with the natural world and each other. Today marks the first day of the holy month of Ramadan, during which time an estimated 1.8 billion people (approximately 24% of the world’s population) will be fasting from dawn till dusk. Ramadan…
On March 15th 2019 1.6 million school children took to the streets to demand climate action. It was an unprecedented moment in the history of climate change activism; building on decades of awareness raising and fighting climate change. Across the globe, action on climate change is accelerating at a tremendous pace; from Extinction Rebellion’s week long blockade…
Hoda Baraka on the climate action movements working to end fossil fuel extraction. The planet is only 1°C warmer than pre-industrial times, yet we are already witnessing a chain of catastrophic climate-related extremes all over the globe. If we want to avoid even more dramatic impacts, we have to stay under a 1.5°C increase in global…
Today a coalition of NGOs, including 350.org organised a mass mobilisation of hundreds of people at the Place du Pantheon, Paris, to demand that not a penny more of money is invested in the fossil fuel industry. Over five hundred people took part in a visually spectacular mobilisation. The action took place as world…
The UN climate talks (COP23) open today in Bonn against a backdrop that is as mixed as ever – on the one hand, we have grim news depicting wars, famines, poverty, financial instabilities, terrorist attacks, the rise of extremism (in political spheres and elsewhere) and the resulting forced mass migration, to name just a few…
Tomorrow the UN Climate Talks are set to begin in Bonn. Over the weekend Germany held its largest climate march ever with tens of thousands marching the streets demanding an end to coal. Leading the front were the Pacific Climate Warriors calling on world leaders to keep fossil fuels in the ground. Originally published by…
This week, an important meeting of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) World Heritage Committee came to an underwhelming end; thousands of people across the world were hoping the Committee, in its 41st session just concluded in Poland, would live up to its mandate, prioritise culture over coal, and declare as “In…
Today marks the first day of the holy month of Ramadan, during which time 1.6 billion people (approx. 22% of the world’s population) will be fasting from dawn till dusk. This month provides the chance to reexamine how we interact with the natural world: Ramadan is the month that the Qur’an was first sent down,…
Climate impacts are taking us into uncharted territory. Over the past 10 days the pressure to break ties with the fossil fuel industry has never been greater, as thousands of people attended over 260 events in 45 countries on six continents during the Global Divestment Mobilisation (GDM), demanding institutions divest from fossil fuels. At a…
This week, people all over the world are taking action to divest their institutions from fossil fuels. Hoda Baraka explains why. It is official: data from the UK Met Office, NASA and NOAA demonstrate beyond doubt that 2016 was the warmest year on record. Climate impacts are taking us into uncharted territory while affecting the planet’s most vulnerable people. This is happening…
It is official 2016 was the warmest year on record. Climate impacts are taking us into uncharted territory ravaging our planet via floods, forest fires, heatwaves, storms and drought. While our weather is running amok, governmental action remains insufficient to ensure we avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis. But we know who is…
The future is not looking good for the fossil fuel industry. The rise of renewable energy and climate policy agreements have created a tipping point marking the end of the dominance of hydrocarbons. Despite the claims that our energy mix can’t function without it, everyday there is news of the closing of coal mines, oil…
It is official – data from the UK Met Office, NASA and NOAA demonstrate beyond doubt that 2016 was the warmest year on record. Climate impacts are taking us into uncharted territory while still impacting the planet’s most vulnerable people. While the Paris Climate Agreement sets important targets, government action remains insufficient to ensure we…
Hoda Baraka 