The climate crisis affects the entire planet. And the African continent is feeling those effects the hardest. Africa is the most climate-vulnerable region, despite contributing the least to historic carbon emissions.
As the crisis continues, global leaders must take action to lessen its impact. African countries are doing just that. Here are a few examples.
Rwanda
Photo credit: Jon Evans via Flickr Creative Commons
Did you know that Rwanda is plastic bag-free? That’s right, since 2008, Rwanda has banned plastic bags entirely. In...
Climate Change
Things… aren’t great in the world right now. If it feels like the world isn’t making the progress we need on climate change, equality, and poverty, that’s because, well, we’re not.
It can be hard to conceptualize what this long-term progress should look like. To break it down, we created five stats that help put things in perspective. We also have some ways you can take action. We’re not powerless to these challenges, no matter how big and gloomy they...
Feeling hot? Youre not the only one. As heat waves become more frequent and severe, those living in poverty are disproportionately affected. People with lower incomes face a 40% higher exposure to heat waves than those with higher incomes. Here are six ways that heat waves can make inequality worse.
1. Increased mortality rates
Older people, those with health problems, and the very young are especially vulnerable to heat-related illness and death. These groups are also more likely to live in...
Alessandra Avram is a ONE Youth Ambassador from Italy.
It has been known for decades that we are experiencing the consequences of climate change and this emergency is hitting everyone. Rising temperatures, persistent droughts, historic floods, and crop failures are occurring with increasing frequency, and more than 3.3 billion people are vulnerable to these consequences.
This crisis is a crisis of injustices. While the entire African continent is responsible for only less than 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, it is...
It’s time to make the World Bank the “World’s Bank.”
Extreme poverty is on the increase for the first time in a generation. Countries affected by fragility and conflict are at the front line. We have 75 months to go before we use what is left of our carbon budget. After that we lose the battle to stay within 1.5°C.
The choices and actions implemented in this decade will have impacts now and for thousands of years to come. Business as...
More than a hundred Presidents, celebrities and economists have come together to propose a ten-point-plan to reform the World Bank and make it fit for the 21st Century.
It’s getting colder in the North, the leaves are changing colour, and scarves are back in our wardrobes. But as the cool breeze of winter sets in, so does our need for warmer holidays.
But there‘s a catch. Climate change is going to make taking those warmer trips a bit more difficult unless we act now. From prolonged droughts to severe flooding, the climate crisis is affecting some of the world‘s natural wonders. In fact, in Africa, three-fifths of the...
Since 1995, world leaders have met every year for the United Nations Climate Change Conference, better known as COP. At the conference, they work to find global solutions to tackle climate change and its consequences. This year, COP27 will be taking place at Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt.
But we can‘t talk about climate change without talking about climate justice. Low-income countries will be the most affected by the impacts of the climate crisis, even though they contribute the least...
We are living in a moment that will define our generation. Conflict, COVID-19, climate change, and their economic aftershocks, threaten our future, our security, and our hopes for progress and equality. Without action, millions of people will face extreme poverty and hunger. Millions more will continue to be denied access to basic healthcare like vaccines and medicines, putting lives at risk from preventable, treatable diseases.
But we can fix this
We refuse to break under these crises or the cycle of...
As an organisation created to tackle extreme poverty and preventable disease, the past year has been a stark reminder to everyone at ONE just how important this mission is.
All around the world, we have seen how a single virus has brought chaos and fear — threatening people‘s lives and livelihoods and wreaking havoc on whole economies. As is so often the case, the poorest and most vulnerable have borne the brunt of this crisis; for them, an end to...