Latest content: Environment and climate change

Blog by Martin Raiser and Suresh Yadav

The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is currently holding the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP16) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from 2 to 13 December.

With over 12 million tonnes of plastic entering the ocean annually, the cost of inaction is untenable. Commonwealth stakeholders are now better equipped to advocate for a bold and inclusive pathway that reflects the priorities of its members and builds momentum towards sustainable, circular economies.

One message that has resonated across the conference halls at COP29 is the urgent call for increased access to critical climate finance. 

The challenge before the Commonwealth of Nations is monumental. Climate change is no longer a distant threat — it is here, testing resilience, economies, and the future of humanity itself. Despite some important progress, the world is not yet on track to keep global temperatures below 2°C, let alone within the critical 1.5°C threshold. Achieving this will require unprecedented cooperation, courage, and commitment. The race to triple renewable capacity is hotting up. 

The voices of the Indigenous Peoples of the Iwokrama Forest, one of the last pristine rainforests in the world, echoed through the hallways of COP29 in Azerbaijan today, more than 6,500 miles from their native Guyana.

The Commonwealth Secretariat launched its Forest Carbon Market toolkit at COP29, providing a roadmap to accessing funding through the voluntary carbon market, while protecting the lives and livelihoods of Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and landowners. The Commonwealth is home to 810 million hectares of forests.

As participants gather with a shared commitment to safeguarding the planet's sustainability, the focus often rests on the earth's lands, waters, and climate. It's crucial to extend the gaze further – to the largely uncharted frontier of sustainability: the space above.

The international community must fulfil its promises to provide greater financial support to small island countries at the frontline of climate change.

Commonwealth countries must unite and use their collective voice to demand that climate finance promises are kept to prevent human suffering, the Commonwealth Secretary-General, the Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC, said at COP29 in Baku today.

Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan, points like a finger into the Caspian Sea. Today, as the world's climate negotiators, advocates and activists descend on the city for the UNFCCC's 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29), this finger also points to a greener world - but only if we stand in solidarity with nature and each other.

To advance sustainable development and climate resilience initiatives, the Commonwealth Secretariat and Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF) have partnered to accelerate collective action in the Caribbean.

Pension and sovereign funds can take concrete actions to scale up their adaptation financing, explains Daniel Wilde, Economic Adviser, Commonwealth Secretariat.

A message from the Commonwealth Secretary-General, The Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC, ahead of COP29.

This article explains the New Collective Quantified Goal and how the Commonwealth Secretariat is helping developing countries through the climate finance complexities.

Blog by Unnikrishnan Divakaran Nair, Assistant Director Climate Change and Sustainability, Commonwealth Secretariat.

Delegates from Commonwealth countries have called for "bold and innovative action" to tackle the out-of-school youth crisis worsened by climate change.

Commonwealth leaders are being urged to work harder to get rid of the barriers and biases that continue to hold back women and girls in the 56 member countries.

The Commonwealth Women’s Forum opened in Samoa today with a call for renewed action on achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls in the 56 member countries, representing one-third of humanity.

By Dr Deepa Pullanikkatil, Commonwealth national climate finance adviser; Krishan Pratap, Drua Incubator Partnership & Project Coordinator; Akil Crichlow, Assistant research officer, Climate Change, Commonwealth Secretariat; and Mxolisi Sibanda, Adviser, Climate Change, Commonwealth Secretariat