Dr Gitinji Gitahi, Amref Group CEO speaking at an event at UNGA80. Credit: Friday Phiri
By Friday Phiri
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 9 2025 (IPS)
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the UN’s body on climate science, has over the years, repeatedly and steadily reported on the science of global warming leading to the changing climate with visible impacts.
IPCC Assessment Reports, particularly the Sixth Assessment chapter on health and well-being (AR6, 2021–2022), highlight an increased burden of climate-sensitive diseases, rising demand for emergency and preventive care, and health system disruptions as some of the direct impacts of climate change on primary health care.
Hope and Despair at UNGA80
On the sidelines of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA80) in New York, during NY Climate Week, the health sector, as they have done recently, showed up to highlight these climate-health realities for global leaders.
As the UN Secretary-General convened over 120 heads of state and ministers at the UN Climate Summit, where over 100 countries pledged to update their national climate commitments ahead of COP30 in Belém, Brazil, the health sector followed keenly and pointed out the importance of health inclusion in climate action plans, popularly known as the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)’s Paris Agreement.
However, this positive mood was dampened by one of the world’s major emitters, the United States’ absence on the list of progress. Reason? President Donald Trump does not believe in the concept of Climate Change.
And he reminded the global community of his opinion during his address to UNGA, when he continued on his anti-climate change trajectory, referring to climate change as “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world.”
But as they did in President Trump’s first term when his administration actively rolled back climate regulations, including pulling the US from the Paris Agreement, climate campaigners have yet again responded with defiance.
Africa’s Call for Equity and Justice
Women advocates participated in a Climate Action event during UNGA80. Credit: Friday Phiri
“Such statements are scientifically false and morally indefensible. For millions of Africans, climate change is not a debate. It is a daily reality. When powerful leaders mock the climate emergency, they undermine the global solidarity urgently needed to save lives and livelihoods,” commented Mithika Mwenda, Executive Director of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance.
Amref Health Africa’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Githinji Gitahi, echoed this urgency, noting that communities across Africa don’t need science to be convinced about the climate crisis, as it is their daily lived reality. Referencing the Lusaka Agenda, which calls for aligning global health financing with country priorities, and the Belem Action Plan Summary Version, which outlines concrete adaptation actions for health resilience, Gitahi outlined Africa’s concrete policy asks—integrating health into NDCs, prioritizing climate-health financing, and ensuring equity in negotiations and climate action.
“It is unfortunate that countries that contribute a paltry 4 percent of global emissions are asked to do more,” said Gitahi. “It is for this reason that at Amref, we place equity and justice at the core of our programming. Communities most affected—women, children, youth, pastoralists, and those in informal settlements—not only require support to adapt but are also best positioned to shape meaningful solutions. We cannot afford to get sidetracked and dwell on climate science, which is clear as day.”
In fact, for communities in Africa, they don’t need science to be convinced about the climate crisis—it is their daily reality. They don’t have to wait for meetings and discussions like this one to decide on their fate. But even as they adapt using their means, our asks are clear: strengthening primary health care through climate-resilient infrastructure, early-warning systems, surveillance, and community-centered adaptation solutions.
A panel discussion on Africa’s Primary Healthcare equity at UNGA80. Credit: Friday Phiri
The key to all these objectives lies in integrating health in climate plans to not only unlock financing but also support integrated implementation of climate action, particularly for health-determining sectors such as agriculture and water, among others, that have a direct bearing on health outcomes.”
Health sector’s call for strong leadership on the climate crisis
Multilateralism continues to be under serious pressure, and President Trump’s tirade on climate change exemplified the continued geopoliticking and outright mistrust in global processes.
“We want to raise the ambition, because we are in a crisis. We need leaders to be in crisis mode about the science that is guiding us. It’s guiding us on health, but somehow, leaders are ignoring the science,” said Mary Robinson, Former President of Ireland, pointing out that leaders hold the key to rebuilding multilateralism and galvanizing investment and action for the interconnected pressing threats overwhelming the health sector.
And in keeping with the leadership, on the sidelines of UNGA80, stakeholders took time to highlight the importance of women leadership for climate action, in view of gender-differentiated impacts of climate change.
“It is generally agreed that climate impacts are gender-differentiated. Women and girls often bear higher risks from climate change impacts—yet they remain on the sidelines in key discussions and policy decisions,” said Desta Lakew, Amref Health Africa Group Director for Partnerships and External Affairs.
Speaking at a roundtable co-organized with Women in Global Health and Pathfinder International, Lakew called for deliberate efforts to let women take the lead. “It is time we let women lead, as their active participation leads to interventions that reach the people most affected and therefore deliver stronger resilience for communities.”
Brazil Takes the Lead
Despite the noted gloomy picture resulting from climate denialism and dwindling multilateral trust, the health sector is determined to ensure climate and health are not left behind. And Brazil, the COP30 Presidency Designate, is already supporting the agenda.
Through the Belem Climate and Health Action Plan, which is set to be tabled at COP30, Brazil has outlined adaptation solutions, encompassing health surveillance, technological innovation, and the strengthening of multi-sectoral policies, to build climate-resilient health systems. It proposes a global collective effort for health and seeks the voluntary adoption by UNFCCC Parties and the endorsement of civil society and non-state actors.
“Don’t tell me there’s no hope at all; together we stand, divided we fall,” said Mariângela Batista Galvão Simão, Secretary of Health and Environmental Surveillance at Brazil’s Ministry of Health. “Discussions can’t start with financing. You need to have a solid plan and the Belem Climate and Health Action Plan will bring together health and climate agendas in Belem, including surveillance and monitoring as the first line of action.”
In the words of Dr. Agnes Kalibata, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, “For every family that goes to bed hungry, for every child deprived of nutrition… the pace of global climate action remains painfully inadequate. This inequity is not only a moral failing; it is a direct threat to global security and stability.”
Therefore, as the global community heads to COP30, Africa is calling for health inclusion in NDCs for evidence policy and implementation, financing for climate-resilient primary health care in the context of adaptation support rooted in equity and historical responsibility as enshrined in the UNFCCC, and community-centered solutions with women and youth taking the lead.
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Children in Bangladesh riding a boat through a flooded river to attend school. Bangladesh is one of the most climate-sensitive regions in the world. Credit: UNICEF/Suman Paul Himu
By Oritro Karim
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 8 2025 (IPS)
In recent years, international climate financing has declined sharply, leaving billions of people in developing nations increasingly vulnerable to natural disasters and unable to adapt effectively. With major cuts in foreign aid, these communities are expected to face the brunt of the climate crisis, while wealthier nations continue to reap economic benefits.
A new report from Oxfam and CARE Climate Justice Center, Climate Finance Shadow Report 2025: Analyzing Progress on Climate Finance Under the Paris Agreement, showcases the significant gaps in climate financing for developing countries in the Global South, and the far-reaching implications for climate resilience and global preparedness.
This comes ahead of the 30th United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference (COP30), in which world leaders, diplomats, and civil society groups will converge in Belém, Brazil, from November 10–21, to discuss strategies to strengthen global cooperation, advance inclusive and sustainable development, and accelerate efforts to address the climate crisis. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) states that there will be a major focus on allocating public funds for mitigation and adaptation efforts in developing countries, aiming to mobilize at least USD 300 billion annually by 2035 for developing countries and a yearly USD 1.3 trillion over the same period.
In the report, CARE and Oxfam found that developing countries are paying disproportionately high disbursements to wealthy nations in exchange for comparatively modest climate finance loans—spending about seven dollars for every five dollars they receive in return. This, compounded with “the most vicious foreign aid cuts since the 1960s”, shows a nearly 9 percent drop in climate funding in 2024, which is projected to drop by a further 9-17 percent in 2025.
“Rich countries are failing on climate finance and they have nothing like a plan to live up to their commitments to increase support. In fact, many wealthy countries are gutting aid, leaving the poorest to pay the price, sometimes with their lives” said John Norbo, Senior Climate Advisor at CARE Denmark. “COP30 must deliver justice, not another round of empty promises.”
As of 2022, developed nations reported pledging approximately USD 116 billion in climate funding for developing countries. However, the actual amount delivered is less than one-third of the pledged total — estimated at only USD 28–35 billion. Nearly 70 percent of this funding came in the form of loans, often issued at standard rates of interest without concessions. As a result, wealthy nations are driving developing countries deeper into debt, despite these nations contributing the least to the climate crisis and lacking the resources to manage its impacts.
It is estimated that developing countries are indebted by approximately USD 3.3 trillion. In 2022, developing countries received roughly USD 62 billion in climate loans, which is projected to produce over USD 88 billion for wealthy countries, yielding a 42 percent profit for creditors. The countries issuing the highest concessional loans in climate financing were France, Japan, Italy, Spain, and Germany.
“Rich countries are treating the climate crisis as a business opportunity, not a moral obligation,” said Oxfam’s Climate Policy Lead, Nafkote Dabi. “They are lending money to the very people they have historically harmed, trapping vulnerable nations in a cycle of debt. This is a form of crisis profiteering.”
Despite wealthy nations issuing high loans to developing countries, Least Developed Countries (LDCs) received only 19.5 percent of the total public climate funding over 2021-2022, while Small Island Developing States (SIDs) received roughly 2.9 percent. Only 33 percent of this funding went toward climate adaptation, a “critically underfunded” measure according to Oxfam, as the majority of creditors favor investing in mitigation efforts that deliver faster financial returns. Additionally, only 3 percent of this funding went to gender equality efforts, despite women and girls being disproportionately impacted by the climate crisis.
The report also underscores the dire impacts of the misallocation of climate financing and funding cuts, as vulnerable communities in particularly climate-sensitive environments find themselves with far fewer resources to adapt to natural disasters.
In 2024, communities in the Horn of Africa were ravaged by brutal cycles of droughts and flooding, which displaced millions of civilians and pushed tens of millions into food insecurity. In Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, massive floods caused over 180 civilian deaths, displaced 600,000 people, and the resulting damage led to billions of dollars in losses. According to figures from UNICEF, around 35 million children in Bangladesh experienced school disruptions in 2024 due to heatwaves, cyclones, and floods, posing serious risks to their long-term development. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) warns that global temperatures are on course to rise to a “catastrophic” 3°C by the end of the century, with extreme weather events expected to intensify further.
Ahead of the COP30 conference, Oxfam has urged wealthy nations to honor their climate finance commitments, including the delivery of the full USD 600 billion pledged for the 2020–2025 period, aligning with the UN’s target of mobilizing USD 300 billion annually. The organization also called for a substantial increase in global funding for climate adaptation and loss management, alongside the implementation of higher taxes on the wealthiest individuals and fossil fuel companies—which could generate an estimated USD 400 billion per year. Additionally, Oxfam emphasized the need for developed countries to stop deepening the debt of climate-vulnerable nations by expanding the share of grants and highly concessional financing instead of standard loans.
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Oxfam and CARE Climate Justice Centre argue that wealthy nations are profiteering through climate finance loans. Credit: CARE Climate Justice Center
By Oxfam and CARE Climate Justice Center
THE HAGUE, Netherlands , Oct 8 2025 (IPS)
New research by Oxfam and the CARE Climate Justice Centre finds developing countries are now paying more back to wealthy nations for climate finance loans than they receive—for every USD 5 they receive, they are paying USD 7 back, and 65 percent of funding is delivered in the form of loans.
This form of crisis profiteering by rich countries is worsening debt burdens and hindering climate action. Compounding this failure, deep cuts to foreign aid threaten to slash climate finance further, betraying the world’s poorest communities, who are facing the brunt of escalating climate disasters.
Some key findings of the report:
“Rich countries are treating the climate crisis as a business opportunity, not a moral obligation,” said Oxfam’s Climate Policy Lead, Nafkote Dabi. “They are lending money to the very people they have historically harmed, trapping vulnerable nations in a cycle of debt. This is a form of crisis profiteering.”
This failure is occurring as rich countries are conducting the most vicious foreign aid cuts since the 1960s. Data by the OECD shows a 9 percent drop in 2024, with 2025 projections signaling a further 9–17% cut.
As the impacts of fossil fuel-fueled climate disasters intensify—displacing millions of people in the Horn of Africa, battering 13 million more in the Philippines, and flooding 600,000 people in Brazil in 2024 alone—communities in low-income countries are left with fewer resources to adapt to the rapidly changing climate.
“Rich countries are failing on climate finance and they have nothing like a plan to live up to their commitments to increase support. In fact, many wealthy countries are gutting aid, leaving the poorest to pay the price, sometimes with their lives,” said John Norbo, Senior Climate Advisor at CARE Denmark. “COP30 must deliver justice, not another round of empty promises.”
Adaptation funding is also critically underfunded, receiving only 33 percent of climate finance, as investors favor mitigation projects with more immediate financial returns.
Ahead of COP30, Oxfam and CARE are calling on rich countries to:
Live up to climate finance commitments: Provide the full USD 600 billion for 2020–2025 and clearly outline how they plan to scale up to the agreed USD 300 billion annually, and lead on the USD 1.3 trillion Baku to Belém roadmap.
You can read the full report here.
The CARE Climate Justice Center (CJC) leads and coordinates the integration of climate justice and resilience across CARE International’s development and humanitarian work. The CJC is an initiative powered by CARE Denmark, CARE France, CARE Germany, CARE Netherlands, and CARE International UK.
Results of a global survey by Oxfam International and Greenpeace show 8 out of 10 people support paying for public services and climate action through taxing the super-rich.
The research was conducted by first-party data company Dynata in May-June 2025, in Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Kenya, Italy, India, Mexico, the Philippines, South Africa, Spain, the UK and the US.
The survey had approximately 1 200 respondents per country, with a margin of error of +-2.83%. Together, these countries represent close to half the world’s population.
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Excerpt:
Képzeld el, hogy otthonod világítását teljesen a saját igényeidhez tudod igazítani. A sínes lámpák ebben segítenek, hiszen az elhelyezésük és irányításuk számtalan lehetőséget rejt magában. Akár a nappalidról, konyhádról, hálószobádról vagy gyerekszobádról van szó, ez a rendszer sokoldalúan alkalmazható.
A sínes világítás nagy előnye, hogy egyszerűen áthelyezhetőek a lámpák, és a fény irányát az aktuális hangulatod vagy szükségleteid alapján változtathatod.
Teremts hangulatos légkört a nappaliban
A nappaliban a sínes lámpák különösen praktikusak, mert különböző zónákat különböző megvilágítással láthatsz el. Az olvasósarok praktikus megvilágítást kaphat egy meleg fényt adó lámpával, míg a központi térben széles szögű fényforrások szolgálhatnak általános világításként. A TV környékén a fókuszált fényekkel kiemelheted a fali dekorációkat vagy érdekességeket.
Praktikusan megvilágított konyha
A konyha olyan hely, ahol a megfelelő világítás elengedhetetlen. A sínes lámpák segítségével könnyedén irányíthatod a fényt a munkapult, konyhasziget és az étkezőasztal környékére. Spotlámpák alkalmazásával precíz megvilágítást biztosíthatsz, ami hozzájárul az ételek elkészítésének kényelméhez és biztonságához. A modern sínrendszerek variálhatóságát nagymértékben növeli, ha dekoratív függőlámpákat is integrálsz.
Háló: a pihenés megvilágítása
A hálószobában a sínes lámpák használatával kellemes, pihentető hangulatot teremthetsz. A mennyezeti világítás helyett választhatsz finomabb, lágyabb fényforrásokat, amiket az ágy köré helyezhetsz el. A falak mentén vagy a szekrények előtt felszerelt világítással könnyen elérheted a kívánt légkört.
Gyerekszoba – a multifunkciók királysága
A gyerekszoba az a hely, ahol a világításnak különösen sokoldalúnak kell lennie. A sínes lámpák itt is remek megoldást nyújtanak, hiszen különböző típusú világítást alkalmazhatsz a falak, a padló és az asztalok körül. Az opál diffúzoros lámpák kellemes általános fényt adnak, míg az íróasztal mellett helyi világítást helyezhetsz el a tanuláshoz.
Az irodai világítás előnyei
Az irodai környezetben a sínes világítás rugalmassága révén biztosíthatod, hogy a fény mindig a megfelelő helyre kerüljön. A lámpák gyors áthelyezésének lehetősége növeli a hatékonyságot, a minőségi világítással pedig kiküszöbölhető a szemfáradtság. Ilyesmi különösen fontos lehet tervezői vagy mérnöki munkáknál, ahol elengedhetetlen a megfelelő színvisszaadás és a precíz megvilágítás.
Az Elter Világítást is érdemes megemlíteni, mint a hazai piac meghatározó szereplőjét. A családi vállalkozás immár 30 éve foglalkozik lámpák kis- és nagykereskedelmével, és három bemutatótermük is van országszerte. A világítást nem csupán termékeik szorulnak rájuk, hanem világítástervezést, tervezést és beszerelést is vállalnak. Engedd szabadjára a kreativitásodat, és hozz létre otthonodat teljes mértékben kielégítő megvilágítási megoldásokat!
The post Rugalmas világítási megoldások: sínes lámpák az otthonodban appeared first on Biztonságpiac.
In recent years, the international relations of African countries have been increasingly analysed through the lens of multipolarity and the growing economic, political and strategic competition between external powers. This debate started to gain prominence around 2018–19, when The Economist identified a “new scramble for Africa”. It has since intensified in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine finally
exposed the sharp divides as Russia, on one side, and Ukraine and its Western partners, on the other, sought to mobilise African governments in pursuit of international support for their respective positions within the UN.
The world’s political superpower – the US – has been in a process of relative disengagement from Africa for more than a decade now. By contrast, China, India, Turkey and, to a lesser extent, Brazil and Middle Eastern countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have expanded their presence on the continent in the areas of trade,
investment, diplomatic support and security engagement. At the same time, Russia, a major player during the Cold War, has renewed its engagement, although, arguably, its activities remain more limited both in scope and in scale. The increasing presence in Africa of the BRICS – South Africa became a member in 2010, while Egypt and Ethiopia followed in 2024 –
is another manifestation of today’s shifting power relations and multipolarity. Similarly, the recent entry of the African Union (AU) into the G20 underscores the external recognition of Africa’s importance. Moreover, it demonstrates the continent’s growing ambition to shape international politics and defend its interests vis-à-vis the rest of the world. [... ]A common thread running through all the chapters in this volume is that in Africa, multi-polarity is not simply a tale of the decline of the West and the rise of competitors like China, Russia, the UAE and Turkey. Rather, there is a complex reconfiguration of power relations under way in which African governments, institutions and societies have their say in negotiating the terms of engagement with the rest of the world, despite the undeniable persistence of asymmetries in terms of material power.
Africa’s digital transformation is deeply intertwined with questions of power, strategic influence, and an evolving world order.1 As multipolarity reshapes international relations, the continent has become a focal point in the intensifying competition among major global powers for digital supremacy. Key actors that embrace techno-optimistic narratives and stand ready to partner with the region include the European Union (EU) and its member states, the United States (US), China, and India, among others.
With European Parliament elections and leadership changes for both the EU and the AU focusing attention elsewhere, 2024 could in some respects be considered a ‘slow news’ year and continued the longer paralysis felt in the continent-to-continent relationship. Fundamental changes in the Sahel were ongoing. Elsewhere, progress was made in trade relations while the EU continued to place strong emphasis on its Global Gateway initiative to promote investment and increase its visibility. Changes at the European level, notably a new balance of power in the European Parliament and European Commission (also reflecting ongoing electoral shifts in the member states), pointed to a more transactional and assertive approach to the EU’s cooperation with Africa.