NEWSROOM
Mobile moguls pledge more than $9bn to help those without internet access
Some of the world’s largest telecoms providers – including e&, China Telecom and VEON – have pledged $9bn to a UN plan to help the 2.6bn people who live without internet access.
ITU – a subsidiary of the UN – has set a goal of $100bn of investment by 2026.
Since 2021, $46bn has been raised through their Partner2Connect scheme.
Among ITU’s current plans are providing services to more than 80 million people in rural China, and the reconstruction of Ukraine’s war-ravaged infrastructure.
More than 1,000 private sector organisations have committed to support the ITU’s mission, the largest number in the organisation’s history.
South America’s climate refugees testify to Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR)
Climate refugees have testified in a unique hearing of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).
Representatives from across the Americas shared their stories, as droughts, hurricanes and desertification force increasing numbers to flee north.
The Guardian reported on the story of Higinio Alberto Ramírez, who suffered catastrophic injuries in a fire in a detention centre in Mexico as he waiting to enter the US to pay off debts incurred when a tidal wave devastated his hometown of Cedeño in Honduras.
The IACHR will deliberate on formally recognising the climate crisis as a cause of forced displacement, which would grant victims specific protections.
Carbon emissions hit new high in 2023, but enter ‘structural slowdown’ according to IEA
New figures from the International Energy Agency (IEA) reveal carbon emissions reached a new high in 2023.
Last year saw emissions rise to 37.4bn tonnes, with ever-rising energy demand and a fall in the use of hydropower. Despite the stark figures, the IEA sees reason for optimism, noting that carbon emissions have entered a ‘structural slowdown’ as renewable energy continues to grow.
Many major economies saw a decline in demand for coal to levels unseen since the 1900s, and last year was the first in which advanced economies saw more than 50% of their energy come from renewable sources.
Rare seabirds are flocking to the coast of Chile once more, after intervention by conservation trailblazers
Peruvian diving petrels have returned to Chañaral Island following a collaboration between government, academia and Island Conservation.
An invasive species of rabbits, introduced in the 20th century, had overrun the birds’ nesting grounds, causing the death of 100,000 breeding pairs of petrels.
The Island Conservation project culled the rabbits and placed solar-powered speakers on Chañaral to play petrel calls, attracting the birds back.
The success of the programme has seen the Peruvian diving petrel reclassified from ‘endangered’ to ‘near threatened.’ There are now four active nests, including two with chicks and one with a fledgling. This is the first trial of its kind in Chile but could be a sign of things to come.
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