News

War Escalates Environmental Problems in Ukraine

Mar 3, 2022 | Teresa Bergen

Some Russians are concerned about the environmental effects of the war, too. Oleg Anisimov, head of the Russian delegation at a closed-door U.N. climate conference, apologized for…

Blockchain for Critical Minerals

Mar 3, 2022 | Michael J. Walsh, Jr., Eugenia Wang, and Kathleen E. Wegrzyn

The United States relies heavily on imports to satisfy its demand for critical minerals, and importers rely heavily on China for critical and rare earth…

Tethering to Human Rights in the Pushes and Pulls of Human Mobility

Mar 3, 2022 | Jill Baggerman

We live in an era of mobility of ideas, money, and people, said Oli Brown, Associate Fellow at Chatham House. 

According to the World Bank’s Groundswell…

Egypt: The Russia-Ukraine War Has Turned Egypt's Food Crisis into an Existential Threat to the Economy

Mar 3, 2022 | Michaël Tanchum, Middle East Institute

With the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war on Feb. 24, 2022, Egypt's food security crisis now poses an existential threat to its economy. The fragile…

Ukraine: The Impact of Conflict in Ukraine on Global Food Security

Mar 3, 2022 | Gilbert F. Houngbo, International Fund for Agricultural Development

Conflict and hunger are closely intertwined -- when one escalates, the other usually follows. As in any crisis, it is the poorest and most vulnerable…

Myanmar: Hundreds of Tonnes of Illegal Timber Seized in Arakan State Last Month

Mar 3, 2022 | Burma News International

More than 540 tonnes of illegal timber were seized in Arakan State in February, according to figures from the state’s Forest Department. Timber seizures were…

Ukraine: Ukraine Is in an Environmental Crisis Too

Mar 3, 2022 | Gregory Barber and Matt Simon, Wired

In the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, the ground has been behaving strangely. In some places, it is sinking; elsewhere it “heaves”—bulging upward, according to…

1000+ Environmental, Legal, and Peacebuilding Experts and Organizations Warn of Russian Invasion’s Environmental Costs

Mar 3, 2022 | Environmental Peacebuilding Association and the Center for International Environmental Law

Fire at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant, Other Environmental Impacts Could Magnify Impacts on Human Rights and LivesIn an urgent open letter, more than 900 international law, environment,…

Climate Change: Ukraine Is a Climate Story. Because Everything Is a Climate Story

Mar 3, 2022 | Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times

You know that scene in “The Matrix” where Keanu Reeves is offered a choice between ignorance and truth, in the form of a blue pill…

Afghanistan/China: Eye on Lithium: China Chats with Taliban about Accessing Afghan Lithium, Core flies on Tesla Tieup

Mar 2, 2022 | Stockhead

The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has tweeted that Chinese companies are looking access Afghanistan’s lithium and copper deposits. China has had their…

Egypt/Ethiopia/Sudan: With World Attention on Ukraine, Nile Dam Conflict Escalates

Mar 2, 2022 | Mohamed Saied, Al-Monitor

It seems international momentum to solve the dispute between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia over Addis Ababa's start of operation of its giant and controversial hydroelectric…

Hydropolitics in the Russian – Ukrainian Conflict

Mar 1, 2022 | Mehmet Altingoz and Saleem Ali

It’s telling that one of the first actions that Russian forces took in their invasion of Ukraine was to blow up a dam on the North Crimean…

The Compounding Crises of the Pandemic, Climate Change, and Ukraine

Mar 1, 2022 | Alexander Verbeek

As Eisenhower could have told you, if you continue to prioritize the urgent above the important, most of your essential tasks will ultimately end in…

Explainer: Why Women Need to be at the Heart of Climate Action

Mar 1, 2022

Those who are most affected by climate change today–women, girls and marginalised communities–must be involved in the design and implementation of climate response actions to…

Ukraine: Environmental Organisations Call upon UN and Member States to Act on Ukraine

Mar 1, 2022 | PAX

The Russian invasion in Ukraine coincided with the start of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) in Nairobi where Member States gather to discuss the world’s…

Opportunity to Sign an Open Letter on the Environmental Dimensions of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

Feb 28, 2022 | Carl Bruch and Carroll Muffett

Are you concerned about Russia's invasion of Ukraine? Would you like to show solidarity with the people of Ukraine?  Please add your voice to the…

Dire UN Report Warns of Conflicts Worsened by Climate Change

Feb 28, 2022 | Ja'han Jones

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a body of experts assembled by the U.N. to represent 195 governments, said in its report Monday that “climate change has caused…

A Shift to Clean Energy Would Halt Russia's Petro-Thuggery and More

Feb 28, 2022 | Jonathan Overpeck

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is putting 44 million innocent lives in danger and threatening the sovereignty of a democratically governed country.

Oil and gas prices were…

DRC: Chinese Company Removed as Operator of Cobalt Mine in Congo

Feb 28, 2022 | Eric Lipton and Dionne Searcey, New York Times

A court in the Democratic Republic of Congo has sidelined the Chinese owner of one of the world’s largest copper and cobalt mines, a major…

Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq's Kurdistan Region Presidency Rejects Federal Court's Oil and Gas Ruling

Feb 28, 2022 | Rowena Edwards, Reuters

The Kurdistan Region's presidency in Iraq rejected on Monday a federal court ruling on its oil and gas activities, and said the region would continue…

Gabon: Climate Security Advisor

Feb 27, 2022 | United Nations Office in Central Africa

The United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA) is a Special Political Mission mandated to help prevent conflict and sustain peace in Central Africa.…

USA: Environmental Peacebuilding Postdoctoral Scholar

Feb 27, 2022 | Oregon State University, College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences

Dr. Jamon Van Den Hoek (www.conflict-ecology) in the Geography Program in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University seeks a…

DRC: DRC Signs Deal with Israeli Tycoon Gertler to Recover Mining Assets

Feb 27, 2022 | Patrick Ilunga, East African

The Democratic Republic of Congo has signed an “amicable agreement with the Ventura Group of Israeli businessman Dan Gertler” to end the legal dispute between…

Russia-Ukraine War: Russian Military Destroy Dam Built to Stop Water Flow to Crimea

Feb 27, 2022 | Asian News International and Sputnik

The concrete dam built by Ukraine in the Kherson region in 2014 to cut off the water supply to Crimea through the North Crimean Canal…

Ukraine/Russia: Caribbean Food Security Likely to Be Impacted by Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Feb 27, 2022 | Daphne Ewing-Chow, Forbes

As Russia began its invasion of neighboring Ukraine on February 24, the world watched— and reacted. On top of the deeply devastating human elements of…

Colombia: Colombian Farmers and Exporters Are Worried about Russia's Exclusion from the Swift Network

Feb 27, 2022 | Diego Vargas Riaño, El Colombiano

The Colombian agricultural sector will be affected by the consequences of the military aggression perpetrated by Russia in Ukraine. One of the sector's biggest concerns…

Ukraine/Russia: Ukraine Crisis: War in World's Breadbasket Has Big Buyers Hunting for Wheat

Feb 26, 2022 | Áine Quinn and Megan Durisin, Bloomberg

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is threatening shockwaves through two of the world’s staple grain markets, prompting countries that rely on imports from the region to…

Egypt/Ethiopia/Sudan: Egypt, Sudan Call for Unity in Nile Water Use Dispute

Feb 26, 2022 | Mawahib Abdallatif and Bob Karashani, East African

Egypt and Sudan used Tuesday’s Nile Day meeting in Dar es Salaam to call for dialogue on the use of Nile waters, making a turn…

Iraq: Iraq Shuts down Two Oil Fields, Further Curtailing OPEC Output

Feb 26, 2022 | Khalid Al Ansary and Verity Ratcliffe, Bloomberg

Iraq stopped oil production from two southern fields with a combined capacity of almost half a million barrels a day. The shutdowns curtail the ability…

Ukraine/Russia: How the Russia-Ukraine Conflict Could Drive up Food Prices in Africa

Feb 25, 2022 | Wandile Sihlobo, African Arguments

Wheat and other grains are back at the heart of geopolitics following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Both countries play a major role in the global…