Tonga’s capital, Nuku’alofa, is covered in ash and dust following the underwater volcanic eruption at the weekend, but the situation is calm there and first clean-up efforts are underway, UN humanitarians said on Monday.

Secretary-General António Guterres expressed his deep concern after reports of a tsunami and ash affecting Tonga following the eruption of an undersea volcano near the Pacific nation.

So-called “nature-based solutions” are an important element in tackling the climate crisis, but they also play a major role in addressing other challenges, from food security, to health, and sustainable development.

News stories about the climate crisis often contain mentions of greenhouse gases, and the greenhouse effect. Whilst most will find the analogy easy to understand, what exactly are these gases, and why are they contributing to the warming of the Earth?

2021 marked the 25th year in a row in which the key Greenland ice sheet lost more mass during the melting season, than it gained during the winter, according to a new UN-endorsed report issued on Friday. 

This year saw another steady stream of UN-backed reports reinforcing a stark message: man-made climate change is an urgent and even existential threat to life on Earth. Will the international community’s efforts to tackle the crisis, as seen at the COP26 UN Climate Conference, result in meaningful action? 

The UN cultural agency commemorated on Monday the 50th anniversary of its Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB), which created in 1971, has been promoting a long-lasting connection between people and nature.

The Sea Women of Melanesia, a group of divers who give women in the South Pacific region the skills to monitor the health of coral reefs, and create and restore marine protected areas, have been named Champions of the Earth, the UN’s highest environmental award, in the Inspiration and Action category.

The Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, has been awarded the 2021 Champions of the Earth Award, the UN’s highest environmental honour, for her policy leadership.

A picture of the Krygyz capital Bishkek, covered in a thick blanket of polluted air, spurred Maria Kolesnikova to start an environmental movement. Her efforts have been rewarded, as she’s now 2021 Champion of the Earth for Entrepreneurial Vision.

The United Nations “belongs” to the younger generation, and countries must ensure they participate in decisions on environmental protection and climate action, Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said during her visit to Costa Rica this week. 

Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka this year’s Champion of the Earth for Science and Innovation, has spent three decades helping to safeguard some of the world’s rarest primates, including endangered mountain gorillas. 

Reports of “utter devastation” caused by Super Typhoon Rai have continued to come in from the Philippines, where the UN is helping respond to urgent needs.

The UN Development Programme (UNDP) is working with local communities in Indonesia’s Kalimantan forests to protect biodiversity and generate sustainable livelihoods.

The unsafe migration of people from Haiti could be reduced by a recycling initiative which is aimed at tackling environmental degradation. 

The UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), held last month in Glasgow, was defined by a “reinvigorated multilateralism”, a top UN official said on Tuesday during an online discussion on how the summit’s outcomes will impact climate action and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

A new and disturbing high temperature record for the Arctic of 38 degrees Celsius, or just over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, was confirmed by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on Tuesday.

Around two months into a six-month residency at Dubai Expo, the UN Hub has already attracted a large number of visitors, including several delegations from UN Member States. Dena Assaf, the UN Resident Coordinator for the UAE, and Deputy Commissioner-General of the UN at Expo, says that the event is a unique opportunity to highlight the aims and messages of the Organization.

“The mountain for me is like the ocean, a space of liberty where you go where you want. We must respect these beautiful and magical places.”  

A flare-up in intercommunal fighting in northern Cameroon has forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes and brought a halt to aid operations there, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday. 

Environmental degradation enables armed groups to extend their influence and manipulate resources to their advantage, the UN chief told the Security Council on Thursday, highlighting that conflict-prevention initiatives need to factor in climate risks.

Land and water resources are “stressed to a critical point”, following significant deterioration over the past decade, according to a major new report released on Thursday by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). 

Plastic pollution has become pervasive in agricultural soils, according to a new report released on Tuesday by the UN agriculture agency, posing a threat to food security, people’s health, and the environment.

A Caribbean-based prime minister, a scientist, a group of indigenous women, and an entrepreneur were announced on Tuesday as this year’s winners of the United Nations’ Champions of the Earth awards.

Today, when the UN plans initiatives to help vulnerable communities become more resilient, the climate crisis has to be part of the equation. The UN Development Programme (UNDP) is connecting the dots between people and the impacts that climate change is having on their lives.

Improper water management, including insufficient supply and poor quality drainage systems, are contributing to excessive soil salinization – a problem that threatens global food security, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). 

Marking the 35th anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development, independent UN human rights experts on Friday issued an urgent call to “move from promises to action” on the outcomes of the UN’s landmark COP26 climate conference.

Securing the funding needed for sustainable development by involving as many actors from different sectors as possible, is more urgent than ever, amid a widening “trust deficit” between the haves and the have-nots, the UN Deputy Secretary-General said on Monday. 

Of the many agreements and initiatives announced at the 26th UN Climate Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, the UN Climate Communications Lead at the Department of Global Communications narrowed down the three that she deemed most impactful. 

The number of musk deer in Mongolia has plummeted by some 83 per cent since the 1970s, landing them on the country’s red list of critically endangered species. A UN-supported biodiversity initiative is helping to stop the deer from disappearing altogether.