UN - Climate changes

1. Why climate action now comes down to speed, finance and cooperation

   Temporarily exceeding the 1.5°C global warming goal set in Paris is widely considered inevitable. The challenge now is to keep that overshoot as small and short as possible by cutting emissions faster, unlocking finance and strengthening international cooperation.

2. Less than 4 years from development goals deadline, progress shows what’s possible

   For Benin, making progress on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has meant finding new ways to finance development.

3. As freshwater reserves shrink, countries must prepare for a new water reality

   The world is entering a period in which abnormal water supplies are becoming the norm, with river flows, groundwater and glaciers all showing signs of sustained disruption, the UN weather agency warned on Thursday. 

4. Highly persistent toxic waste threatens ‘many, if not all, human rights’

   Poor management of toxic chemicals and hazardous waste threatens “many, if not all, human rights,” the newly appointed independent human rights independent expert on the rising threat told the Human Rights Council on Monday. 

5. The world just had the hottest August ever

   Earth just had the hottest August on record, according to newly released weather data.