Global

A student passes in front of a 150-megawatt wind farm in the Philippines.
ADB/Al Benavente

LIVE: World leaders pledge to power humanity with clean energy

24 September 2021
Climate and Environment

How can the world come together to radically change the way it produces and uses energy, as part of efforts to hold back climate change and to ultimately give humanity a more secure future on planet earth? That’s the question that over one hundred countries, organizations and businesses will be discussing at the United Nations on Friday at the High-level Dialogue on Energy, the first meeting of its kind in 40 years.

Progressively more acute droughts in Somalia have prompted people to move – undermining food security and leaving women vulnerable to sexual exploitation.
IOM/Celeste Hibbert

UN chief: Window to avert devasting climate impacts ‘rapidly closing’

23 September 2021
Climate and Environment

No region is immune to climate disasters the UN chief told the Security Council on Thursday, warning that “our window of opportunity” to prevent the worst climate impacts is “rapidly closing”.

Schoolgirls in Côte d'Ivoire perform as part of activities to raise awareness about peace and human rights.
UN Photo/Hien Macline

Counting on youth, for an ‘equitable and sustainable world for all’

17 September 2021
Peace and Security

At a virtual event on Friday commemorating the International Day of Peace, the UN chief saluted the “voices, vision and commitment of young people in shaping a more peaceful world”.

No Denying It, The UN climate action podcast
UN News

Climate solutions, changemakers, and celebrities: major UN podcast series launched

25 August 2021
Climate and Environment

The UN launches No Denying It, a new 10-part climate action podcast, on Thursday, featuring interviews with inspiring young activists, and the voices of internationally renowned celebrities, such as actors Ed Norton and Michelle Yeoh.

The active engagement of youth is central for stable societies and to avert the worst threats to sustainable development, including the impacts of climate change.
ICAN/Lucero Oyarzun

Youth need ‘seat at the table’ to lead struggle for better future: Guterres

12 August 2021
Culture and Education

Young people are on the “frontlines of the struggle to build a better future”, the UN chief said on Thursday, International Youth Day.

Indigenous authorities in Tarapacá, Colombia, were consulted with before COVID vaccinations began.
OPS Colombia/Karen González Abr

End inequalities, recognize abuses, UN chief says on International Day of Indigenous Peoples

9 August 2021
Human Rights

Although some countries have begun to rectify their “heinous legacy” of discrimination against indigenous people, more action is still needed, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Monday. 

A wildfire burns in a national park in Oregon, USA.
Unsplash/Marcus Kauffman

IPCC report: ‘Code red’ for human driven global heating, warns UN chief

9 August 2021
Climate and Environment

Climate change is widespread, rapid, and intensifying, and some trends are now irreversible, at least during the present time frame, according to the latest much-anticipated Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, released on Monday.

The rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines can help stem the pandemic, but only if everyone, everywhere is inoculated as quickly as possible.
© UNICEF/Jake Verzosa

COVID-19 vaccine equality, ‘most pressing issue of our times’ – UN chief

5 August 2021
Health

The remarkable and rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines offers “great hope” that the devastating pandemic can be overcome, the UN chief told the first International Forum on COVID-19 Vaccine Cooperation on Thursday, but everyone must be reached everywhere, “as quickly as possible”. 

An eight-year-old girl hides her face at a UNICEF-supported centre in Haiti that provides temporary care and support for trafficked children while authorities search for their parents. (file)
UNICEF/Marco Dormino

Human trafficking: UN chief calls for action as COVID leaves ‘many millions’ more vulnerable

29 July 2021
Law and Crime Prevention

UN Secretary General António Guterres on Thursday urged States to take action against human trafficking, where a third of all victims are children.

Two and a half million people in the Central African Republic (CAR) are facing hunger.
WFP/Bruno Djoye

Together, we must tackle growing hunger, urges Guterres  

26 July 2021
Climate and Environment

Inefficient global food production is at the root of a huge rise in hunger as well as one-third of all emissions and 80 per cent of biodiversity loss, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has warned, in a call to all countries to transform food systems to speed up sustainable development.