Abdoulaye Thiam, a journalist with Le Soleil in Senegal, will lead an organization of African journalists devoted to reporting on climate change until the new media group meets for its first general assembly in 2017. Thiam is among more than 70 journalists from 40 African countries who are represented in…
A woman from Sudan, living in an Ethiopian refugee camp, explains that drought sent her family to live by the river, but they couldn’t stay there because of the fighting. A Somali farmer living in Uganda tells a similar story of drought and conflict that made it impossible to stay…
At COP22, the optimism of a sustainable future collided with a trepidation of shifting political dynamics that cast a shadow on Marrakech. Yet there was another positive development that captured less dramatic headlines: Gabon and Equatorial Guinea ended their 30-year dispute over oil-rich territories that both countries claim. The Gabon-Guinea…
Ban Ki-Moon was in Morocco for Tuesday’s high-level sessions at COP22, but perhaps it comes as no surprise that most of the questions at the Marrakech press conference were about Donald J. Trump, the president-elect of the United States who has denied the reality of climate change as a U.S….
Cameroon’s Celestine Ketcha Courtes, the mayor of Bangangte and a champion on climate issues, was leading the way again Friday as the Women4Climate initiative was launched at COP22 in Marrakech. Ketcha Courtes joined Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo and other women in climate leadership in the effort to empower women…
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, in a discussion of the Sudanese conflict, remained optimistic Saturday about the hope for peace even as he stressed the causal relationships between conflict and climate that have brought so much suffering to the Horn of Africa region. “Almost invariably, we discuss Darfur in a…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
On this eve of November 4, the day the Paris Climate Change Agreement enters into force, the world is focused on what everyone from global finance leaders to ordinary citizens can do to reduce carbon emissions and protect the planet from catastrophic warming. “As the world heads into COP22 in…
There are lots of ways to get to Morocco for COP22 climate talks, but if travelers are making the long trip from South Africa’s tip to Marrakech, there’s a chance that a connecting flight may go through George Airport. From a sustainability standpoint, what’s exciting about George is that it’s…
Four African countries are among the world’s five most dangerous for walking and cycling, a new UN Environment Programme report on transportation finds, but positive change is making big strides. From Uganda’s student bike-sharing programs, to Zambia’s village bicycle ambulances and Namibia’s bicycle-based recycling pickup service, Africans are taking an…
Rwanda is ready to host international climate talks with air conditioning refrigerants at the forefront, as nearly 200 countries try to work out a deal to remove hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) from the environment faster. The week-long meeting in Kigali begins Saturday, where national delegates will discuss an amendment to the Montreal…
The European Parliament has given its go-ahead for the EU to approve the Paris climate agreement, with its 28 member nations expected to sign the pact this week and push past the global threshold needed to enter the deal into force. Ratification by the EU, which accounts for about 12…
Morocco, host of the COP22 conference in Marrakech this November, was one of 31 countries to ratify the Paris Agreement on climate Wednesday. The Moroccan commitment, alongside that of Ghana, Uganda, Madagascar and Niger, brings to 60 the nations that have ratified the action plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,…