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The Commonwealth has entered into an innovative partnership with a UN agency to enhance climate action and disaster preparedness via satellite earth observation.
Read news - Commonwealth enters new partnership to enhance climate action in small statesSecretary-General Patricia Scotland celebrated new in-roads made by Sri Lanka, chair of the Commonwealth’s action group on mangroves, by planting a mangrove plant in the country’s famous Koggala Lagoon.The area is home to 10 out of the 22 true mangrove species found in Sri Lanka, and the site of extensive mangrove restoration efforts involving local communities, businesses and the government.
Read news - Secretary-General hails progress on mangrove actionThe Secretary-General has expressed solidarity with the people of The Bahamas in a visit to the islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama which were hit by Hurricane Dorian last month.
Read news - Secretary-General vows to help The Bahamas on climate crisis during visit to hurricane hit islandsThe Commonwealth has helped Jamaica secure a grant to assist it towards establishing the first ever Caribbean green bond. The grant, valued at over $500,000, will pay for a ‘readiness initiative’ involving an analysis of the development and operation of a green bond market and the creation of regional green bond guidelines in accordance with international standards.
Read news - Commonwealth helps Jamaica secure $500,000 climate grantStrengthening Disaster Resilience in Small States: Commonwealth Perspectives offers timely and expert analysis of differentiated exposure of small states to natural disasters, including an examination of specific interventions for strengthening small states' resilience to this phenomenon.This book explores cutting-edge disaster risk reduction techniques useful for informing small states' economic and disaster risk management policies, with the aim of collating and sharing important lessons with member governments, and galvanising international efforts for reducing the impact of natural disasters.This volume highlights transformative perspectives drawn from expert discussions and analyses of a select number of topics, including, environmental governance; information and communication technologies (ICT), capacity-building, gender and blockchain.
Read publication - Strengthening Disaster Resilience in Small StatesA Commonwealth facility designed to assist smaller and more vulnerable countries tackle the damaging effects of climate change has helped them access USD 27 million of funding.
Read news - Commonwealth helps developing countries bank millions for climate actionPersonally, as a Bahamian, I thought I knew hurricanes. We all thought we did. Having lived through seven of them since 2000, we had a knowledge that came from hard-learned lessons. We thought we knew how to prepare, how to respond, and how to rebuild. Professionally, I know about the development challenges of small states. At the Commonwealth, we have researched, studied, and calculated their vulnerability.
Read news - Blog: Vulnerability and resilience after DorianWith Hurricane Dorian having swept through The Bahamas with unprecedented intensity and force, causing extensive damage to infrastructure, and having reportedly claimed at least one life to date, Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland has on behalf of the wider Commonwealth family expressed deep concern to the government and people of The Bahamas.
Read news - Secretary-General expresses concern for The Bahamas in the wake of “catastrophic” Hurricane DorianSince around 2010, the Commonwealth had been calling on the international community to look towards innovation. It was a period in which most of the memberships’ small and middle-income countries had become incapacitated with debt, whilst also facing the dire risk of more frequent and severe natural disasters.
Read news - Blog: Innovation: a light at the end of the tunnel for disaster hit nationsThe Commonwealth Secretary-General has emphasised the "immense urgency" of taking action to protect the world's oceans. Patricia Scotland joined representatives from the Commonwealth, United Nations, governments and other international organisations at the first meeting of Oceans Ambassadors, hosted by the Government of Malta.
Read news - Secretary-General urges action on oceans at Malta meetingInternational organisations must partner-up to avoid duplication and integrate efforts that assist member countries, says the Commonwealth’s head of economic policy and small states.
Read news - Commonwealth urges international organisations to integrate efforts at UN forumMalta has won the inaugural Commonwealth Award for Excellence in Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Implementation, with Namibia and the Bahamas also scooping prizes.
Read news - Commonwealth small states recognised for commitment to SDG implementationA Commonwealth initiative designed to help small and other vulnerable states access international finances for tackling the effects of climate change, is poised to go global. The proposal to scale the Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub from 10 to 39 developing small states and other vulnerable countries was approved at the Commonwealth Symposium on Climate Finance held in Malta.
Read news - Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub poised to go globalFresh alliances are set to flourish under the Commonwealth’s flagship programme for ocean action, known as the Blue Charter. On Thursday, the Commonwealth and Bloomberg Philanthropies co-hosted an intensive partnership forum for ‘champion’ countries that have volunteered to lead action groups tackling ocean issues under the Commonwealth Blue Charter.
Read news - Blue Charter champs find allies for ocean actionBorn out of the Commonwealth’s recognition of an SDG implementation deficit, the Commonwealth in collaboration with the Government of Malta and the Small States Centre of Excellence, will host the Commonwealth’s inaugural “Award for Excellence in SDG Implementation” on 26-27 June in Malta.
Read news - Blog: SDG Implementation: Has best become the enemy of better?A Commonwealth publication has revealed that the Citizenship by Investment programme is a vital source of income, accounting for 16 per cent of total government revenues in some countries.
Read news - New Commonwealth publication provokes fresh thinking on citizenship by investment‘Champion’ countries of the Commonwealth Blue Charter - a commitment made by the 53 Commonwealth member states to work together to solve ocean-related problems - are laying the groundwork for joint action and developing robust, innovative strategies to tackle the world’s most pressing ocean issues.
Read news - Action and innovation to drive Commonwealth Blue Charter champs Countries leading action for ocean health and governance in the Commonwealth will meet in London next week to share strategies and firm up plans for action under the Commonwealth Blue Charter. Agreed unanimously by leaders in April 2018, the Commonwealth Blue Charter commits all 53 member countries to work together on solving crucial ocean-related challenges.
Read news - Commonwealth Blue Charter champions to convene in LondonTo mark World Oceans Day, Head of Oceans and Natural Resources Nicholas Hardman-Mountford shares how the Blue Charter can help spur lasting global change towards sustainable ocean governance.
Read news - Blog: Commonwealth Blue Charter - A beacon of hope for the future of ocean governance24 June 2019 to 25 June 2019
Event
The Commonwealth Symposium on Climate Finance will take place on 24 -25 June in St. Julian's, Malta and will be the first international climate finance gathering of its kind
26 June 2019 to 27 June 2019
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The inaugural Commonwealth Awards for Excellence in Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) implementation in Small States will be hosted by the Commonwealth Small States Centre of Excellence at the InterContinental Hotel in Malta on June 26-27, 2019.
The Commonwealth and the International Solar Alliance have agreed to work in partnership to promote the development and scaling-up of solar power within member countries common to both organisations
Read news - Commonwealth and ISA join forces to advance solar energyThe first Commonwealth forum on sustainable energy opened yesterday in London with a call by the Deputy Secretary-General Arjoon Suddhoo for countries to act collectively on their “passion” to shift to clean energy, while tackling climate change
Read news - Countries urged to act together on clean energy transitionSince their inception in the mid-1980s, citizenship-by-investment (CBI) programmes are often accused of commodifying citizenship, unfairly favouring the very wealthy, and facilitating money laundering, tax evasion and other criminal activities.
Read publication - Weighing Up Second Passport Power in Small States