TheCable

Despite directly impacting communities, health and livelihoods, climate-related reports usually take a back seat to dominant news beats like politics and business. Climate Watch aims to ensure you never miss important stories on climate change and actions being taken towards limiting its impact.

Here is a round-up of last week’s climate stories:

• It is no longer news that climate change is an aggravating factor for conflict and armed activities in different parts of the world. This is why Antonio Guterres, United Nations (UN) secretary-general, said countries need to consider adding climate risks to their economic and financial decisions. He said conflict-prevention initiatives need to factor in climate risks because environmental degradation enables armed groups to extend their influence and manipulate resources to their advantage. Find out more here.

• Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said young Nigerians have the responsibility to confront climate change and usher in the age of renewable energy and green solutions. He said the youths will confront the problems of global warming and a world moving away from fossil fuels and so they need to find solutions through innovative ideas. Read more here. 

• To ensure development thrives in West Africa, the Ford Foundation has launched a $3 million extractive industry and climate change governance fund for countries in the region. The organisation said the five-year initiative would promote equitable governance of natural resources for sustainable and inclusive development in the region. The fund is to support a network of resource governance organisations, civic actors and anti-corruption organisations to address inequality as it relates to the natural resources sector in the region. It will also address the needs of local communities affected by resource extraction. Find out more here. 

• US President Joe Biden last week set in motion a plan to make his government carbon neutral. He ordered all federal agencies to buy electric vehicles, power facilities with wind, solar and nuclear energy, and to use sustainable building materials. The directive will also see government transform its 300,000 buildings, 600,000 cars and trucks, and use its annual purchases of $650 billion in goods and services to meet the goal of a federal government that stops adding carbon dioxide into the atmosphere by 2050.