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| 1. UN looks to global citizens to shape development goals |
| The United Nations' MY World project is using multiple platforms, including texting and the Internet, to poll global citizens on what they feel should be the focuses of a post-2015 global development agenda. UN Dispatch (01/23) |
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| 2. Solving climate change from the top down and bottom up |
| The World Economic Forum in Davos has released multiple reports highlighting the need to address climate change. While Davos, United Nations conferences and similar events can set the agenda, they need to be complemented by "bottom up" strategies, says Richard Samans of the Global Green Growth Institute. "What I'm talking about as a bottom-up response is having specific sectors meet performance standards where it makes the most difference, like power plants. Or do things with land use that sucks carbon out of the atmosphere," he says. Responding to Climate Change (U.K.) (01/28) Reuters (01/25) PBS (01/27) |
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| 3. Rice says U.S. doesn't recognize "State of Palestine" nameplate at UN |
| ABC News (01/24) |
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| 4. Which projects are worst for the environment? |
| More than a dozen oil, gas and coal projects in China and Australia represent "carbon bombs" that will cause emissions of greenhouse gases to rise by 20% globally, according to a new report. The 14 projects -- the largest of which extract coal in China's northwest -- would emit as much as carbon each year as the U.S. Guardian (London), The (01/22) |
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| 5. Floating houses take sustainability to the seas |
| The Netherlands are building prototypes of sustainable floating houses to combat rising sea levels. BBC (01/24) |
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| 6. China's state-run media says unmarried "leftover" women "like yellowed pearls" |
| PRI's The World (Boston) (01/18) |
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| 7. Ending polio is a "proving ground" for humanity, Gates says |
| Bill Gates is helping to set the pace for global eradication of polio the same way he helped set the pace for innovation in computers. The endgame of the disease, though, is proving more difficult than he anticipated. "Polio eradication is a proving ground, a test," he told the BBC. "It will reveal what human beings are capable of and suggest how ambitious we can be about our future." BBC (01/27) |
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| 8. World body to probe legality of drone strikes |
| The United Nations has announced that it will investigate the use of drones by the U.S. and U.K. in 25 attacks in five locations. The legality of the strikes will be assessed, as well as civilian casualties and the identities of those targeted. "One of the questions we will be looking at is whether, given the local demography, aerial attacks carry too high a risk of a disproportionate number of civilian casualties," said Ben Emmerson, the UN special rapporteur leading the probe. Guardian (London), The (01/23) BBC (01/24) |
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| 9. UNDP is sharpening focus with new strategic plan |
| The United Nations Development Programme has embarked on a reorganization that would emphasize such issues as poverty reduction, sustainable development and gender equity. "Wishing that the [financial] outlook was better, however, does not deposit funds in our bank account. Therefore, UNDP is taking all necessary measures to keep spending within the new resource planning envelope," said Helen Clark, head of the UN agency. Devex.com (01/29) |
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| 10. Ban: UN must come together to solve Syria |
| United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon appealed Thursday for the Security Council to work past differences and help end the Syrian crisis. "It will be essential for the Security Council to overcome the deadlock, and find the unity that will make meaningful action possible," Ban said as part of his World Economic Forum speech. Al Arabiya (United Arab Emirates) (01/24) |
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