Several new pledges were made on the second day of COP26, the UN climate conference, but the reforestation commitment made by the public and private sector attracted the most attention.
In today’s Colombia-tinged COP26 episode of The Lid Is On, Conor Lennon and Laura Quinones discuss the main events of the day, as well as Prince William, methane, and sausage rolls.
The 26th UN climate conference, or COP, opened with a World Leaders Summit on Monday, and a characteristically blunt speech from UN chief António Guterres. It’s the start of a mammoth two-week event, which some are calling the last best chance to save the planet.
Conor Lennon and Laura Quinones are on the ground throughout the conference, to give you a flavour of what it’s like to be in Glasgow, and to speak to some of those involved, from climate change activists, to artists, UN leaders and more.
For UN Secretary-General António Guterres, this is a pivotal moment for mankind, which is on the brink of global catastrophe, but has the tools to create a fairer, cleaner world, if the political will can be found.
In September, Mr. Guterres outlined his vision of how international cooperation needs to develop over the next 25 years, in “Our Common Agenda”, which lays out a pathway for a sustainable future.
Kaylee Werner was a teenager when a gunman attacked the Tree of Life Synagogue in the US city of Pittsburgh, on October 27, 2018. It was the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the nation’s history, with 11 people killed and nine injured.
Kaylee, who is Jewish, wasn’t at the synagogue that day, but she bears the scars: one of her relatives was killed, and she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. She now campaigns for religious tolerance and gun control.
Kaylee Werner was a teenager when a gunman attacked the Tree of Life Synagogue in the US city of Pittsburgh, on October 27, 2018. It was the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the nation’s history, with 11 people killed and nine injured.
Kaylee, who is Jewish, wasn’t at the synagogue that day, but she bears the scars: one of her relatives was killed, and she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. She now campaigns for religious tolerance and gun control.
Andrew Young’s long and eventful career saw him at Martin Luther King’s side during the civil rights era, becoming the first African-American US Ambassador to the United Nations under Jimmy Carter, and subsequently a two-term Mayor of Atlanta.
But the man he looked up to was Ralph Bunche, one of the earliest officials at the United Nations, and a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.
In this episode of The Lid Is On, Mr. Young shares his memories of Ralph Bunche, and what made him such an impressive figure in the history of the UN.
When it started, less than a decade ago, Formula E, the fully electric car racing championship, struggled to be taken seriously by the motorsports industry.
But today, major manufacturers are queuing up to be involved in the series, which is growing in popularity, just like the electric cars it has been designed to promote.
Backed by the UN, Formula E’s success is part of the biggest push ever - from governments, manufacturers, and consumers - to end our reliance on polluting, fossil-fuelled engines.
Refugee farmers who grew up cultivating crops in Somalia have returned to the land, albeit in the United States, decades after fleeing their country’s civil war.
They’ve been resettled in the US state of Maine after living for years in UN-supported refugee camps in Kenya.
They are among thousands of Somalis who fled persecution and conflict in the Horn of Africa country who benefitted from resettlement programmes in third countries like the US.
For this latest Lid is On podcast from UN News, Daniel Dickinson reports from Maine.
The unprecedented rise in people requiring humanitarian assistance will continue unless countries collaborate better to combat conflict, climate change and disease, including COVID-19.
That’s the firm belief of the UN’s top aid official, Mark Lowcock, who leaves this week after four years heading its Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
He spoke in depth to UN News’s Dianne Penn.
Music credit: Ketsa, ‘Wounds’
Today, women are still in the minority across Vanuatu’s Police Department, but times are changing.
When Sergeant Bianca Simeon joined the Vanuata Police Maritime wing 11 years ago, she was their first woman recruit. Inspector Lili Joel is one of only two women superintendents, and Sera Bula Joseph is one of the rare women police engineers.
