There have been unprecedented wildfires in the Arctic since the beginning of June, according to the World Meteorological Organization. In June alone, they emitted 50 megatons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, an amount equivalent to Sweden’s annual carbon dioxide emissions.
In progress at UNHQ
Noon Briefings
A humanitarian emergency in Burkina Faso is worsening as recurrent armed attacks and insecurity continue to force people to flee their homes. Nearly 220,000 people are now displaced - 50,000 more than in May - and rains are impeding access to basic services.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration have agreed to work together in implementing Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment — GLOBE. UNEP and GLOBE will cooperate on citizen science and in collecting and distributing environmental data.
A new Food and Agriculture Organization report finds that 41 countries — 31 of which are in Africa — require food assistance, as cyclone damage and rainfall deficits in 2019 caused significant agricultural production shortfalls in Southern Africa, and severe dryness in East Africa negatively affected harvests.
The cholera outbreak in Yemen has reached more than 460,000 suspected cases in 2019, exceeding the 380,000 total suspected cases in all of 2018. While the United Nations and partners operate 1,200 treatment facilities, funding remains an urgent issue, with only 32 per cent of the $4.2 billion response plan met.
Following Sunday’s demonstrations in Sudan, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet called on the authorities to lift restrictions on the Internet and launch proper independent investigations into allegations of excessive use of force, specially attacks on hospitals.
The World Food Programme is scaling up its relief operation for conflict-displaced people in north-east Democratic Republic of the Congo, where renewed inter-ethnic violence has forced tens of thousands from their homes. The country faces the world’s second-largest hunger crisis after Yemen, with 13 million people food insecure.
More than 1.4 million refugees in over 60 host countries will need resettlement in 2020, the High Commissioner for Refugees finds in its report, “Projected Global Resettlement Needs 2020”. Those most at risk include refugees from Syria (40 per cent), South Sudan (14 per cent) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (11 per cent).
The World Meteorological Organization said today the Earth is set to experience its five warmest years on record from 2015-2019. Increasing greenhouse gas concentrations will fuel the global heat – and accompanying ice melt, glacier retreat, sea level rise, ocean heat and extreme weather for generations to come.
Today is Micro-, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Day. Under the theme “Big Money for Small Business: Financing the SDGs”, it focuses on how small businesses can help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular, those related to promoting innovation, creativity and decent work for all.