COP15’s Indigenous voices on climate change film festival

As a part of our contribution to a robust discussion at the COP15 climate negotitions in Copenhagen, the United Nations University has been working hard with partners to organize the Indigenous Voices on Climate Change film festival at the National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen (4pm-6pm, 9th-13th December,2009). more…

Debate 2.0: Who’s afraid of climate change?

Scaremongering seems to be quite rampant in climate change communication these days. Some may argue that this is because the truth is in fact quite scary. While others condemn it as a dirty tactic employed underhandedly by extreme greenies, particularly as it applies to children. more…

Climate change is a feminist issue

When it emerged earlier this year that Obama’s science star John Holdren had once, back in 1977, co-authored a textbook discussing possible methods of population control, among them sterilisation, America’s rightwing fury machine triumphantly seized upon it, dubbing him Obama’s “science fiction tsar“. more…

Cutting carbon by degrees

When the first Cool Biz campaign was implemented in the summer of 2005, I just couldn’t understand why air conditioners in Japanese offices were being set at 28°C. I used to think, “Isn’t it better just to switch them off?” more…

High and dry

The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau is referred to as the Third Pole because it is the third largest mass of ice on the Earth, after the Arctic and Antarctic. Its glaciers provide a water source for 1.3 billion people in Asia. more…

Ocean energy making waves

If humanity is going to move away from fossil fuels, then a new range of renewable energy options from the ocean will have to be tapped.
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The rise of online climate activists

It seems this December’s COP15 meeting in Copenhagen has created an impressive surge of activism, especially through social media.
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Kicking the travel drug

I am forty-five years old. I consider myself to have lived a luxurious life in terms of the spectrum of experience that has been available to me and the leisure to seek it. Yet by the developed world’s standards of today, I have only ever been modestly privileged.

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Better than Star Wars: The Age of Stupid

The Age of Stupid is a must-see film. I recommend that you watch it before the climate negotiations in Copenhagen this December, because it will inspire you to take action and to push for a real and very ambitious deal. It is a real wake up call on the need to act now to save the planet. more…

Summit all up

Yesterday’s declarations by global leaders at a climate summit in New York are hot news world-wide. more…