MEGAN ROWLING THE CORONAVIRUS pandemic may have delayed the 2020 U.N. climate summit by a year, but for Jamaica, COVID-19 was no reason to stall delivering a stronger climate action plan, just completed as the Atlantic hurricane season starts. Una May Gordon, director of the climate change division at the island's Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, said the Caribbean nation aimed to submit its updated "nationally determined contribution" (NDC) to the global effort to battle climate change later this month, after approval by the cabinet. Jamaica benefited from starting work on its second climate plan early, last July,…

Building the international cooperation needed to swiftly create and distribute a coronavirus  LAURIE GOERING AROUND the world, countries and individuals are isolating themselves to try to stem the spread of COVID-19. But to find a solution to the crisis - particularly a vaccine - global cooperation will be crucial, say a growing number of leaders. "We will not be able to get out of this health crisis by simply boarding ourselves in," former U.N. climate chief Christiana Figueres has told an online event. Creating, distributing and administering an affordable, accessible vaccine will take a coordinated international effort - similar to…

BRECHT DE VLEESCHAUWER CYCLONE Idai’s recent devastation was amplified by deforestation in the region. Mozambique took the hardest hit. The country has seen between 10 and 15 percent of its forests disappear amid illegal logging and charcoal production in the past 25 years. More than 600 people were killed by Idai in Mozambique alone, many in landslides and floods. Another tropical storm, Kenneth, is due to bring strong winds and more heavy rain to the southern African nation in the coming days. Before Idai, Rami Mariano farmed corn and sesame seeds to feed his family. Looking out at his ruined…

Used refrigerators and air conditioners, imported from Europe, are straining Africa's limited power supplies as the continent battles rising heat PEYTON FLEMING On Nigeria's bustling streets, stalls selling stacks of well-worn, energy-sucking refrigerators and air conditioners are known as "tokunbo", a Yoruba word that means "from abroad". Millions of people flock to such markets across Africa each year to buy the imported appliances at bargain prices, particularly as their incomes rise, along with their ability to invest in cooling technology. In many African countries, demand for cooling devices has doubled or tripled over the past decade, particularly as climate change brings…

Disaster preparedness will be key for the flood-prone communities in Freetown and other major Sierra Leonean cities. LEE MILES The government of Sierra Leone called a state of emergency on March 25, seven days before the first case of COVID-19 was even confirmed. The virus has spread steadily since then, with 1,272 cases confirmed and 51 deaths as of June 19. At the same time, the country has begun the rapid countdown to the full onset of the annual rainy season, which raises challenges of its own, especially for the flood-prone local communities in the capital, Freetown. In mid-2019, Freetown…

NEVILLIE PEYTON A NEW weather forecasting system in Africa allows meteorologists to track approaching storms in real-time, potentially saving lives from climate-related disasters, scientists have said. The technology is already used in developed countries but was not available until recently in most of sub-Saharan Africa, according to scientists behind the project at the University of Leeds. "We had forecasting methods before but they were not as good," said David Koros, principal meteorologist at the Kenya Meteorological Department. "It's very important because we can issue information for the safety of lives, property and the environment," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. The…

SAM VARVASTAIN A RULING by the UK Supreme Court could have huge implications for British companies accused of environmental damage overseas. The April 2019 decision, in a case brought by a group of Zambian farmers against a London-based mining firm, establishes that UK parent companies can be held liable under UK law for the actions of their foreign subsidiaries. I analysed the implications of this case together with my colleague Felicity Kalunga, a PhD researcher at Cardiff University and a legal practitioner in Zambia, and our findings have just been published in Transnational Environmental Law. The idea of corporate accountability…