All publications and documents

The three Rio Conventions have been linked – at least on paper – since the 1992 Earth Summit. While each treaty stands on its own, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), both of which were opened for signature at the Rio Earth Summit, and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the negotiation of which was called for in…

Storing water will be vital to adapt to climate change, according to a new World Bank report. The world faces a water storage gap as demand for fresh water grows and glaciers, snowpack, and wetlands decline. A new approach that integrates built and natural water storage is needed to holistically manage water throughout entire water systems. In the 1960s, farmers…

Addressing the UN General Assembly (UNGA), UN Secretary-General António Guterres highlighted his priorities for 2023. Describing 2023 as “a year of reckoning,” he urged Member States to change the mindset of decision making from near-term thinking to long-term thinking and develop a strategic vision to act decisively “in deep and systemic ways.” The Secretary-General began his speech…

China is one of the world’s major sources of infrastructure finance in developing countries. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the country’s massive scheme for financing infrastructure, is active in well over 100 countries. China has emerged as one of the most significant financiers of, and investors in, global power infrastructure, with $52 billion invested in coal power generation in the past…

Like a scene from Dune, the French–Moroccan startup Sand to Green aims to turn the desert from threat to food producer. It’s a lesson Australia also needs to learn. “If we were to try to produce all the food we will need in 2050 using current production systems, the world would have to convert most of its remaining forests,” Tim Searchinger of the World Resources Institute says. Over…

On 22-24 March, the United Nations will hold the first global conference on freshwater in almost 50 years. But what exactly is the UN 2023 Water Conference, and will it make a difference? Here are six questions and answers to bring you up to speed. 1. Why is there a need for a UN conference on freshwater? 2. What will happen at the UN 2023 Water Conference? The five interactive…