The Rohingya must be able to return home
For the Rohingya, a Muslim minority group predominantly from Myanmar's western Rakhine state, this has been another grim year with few tangible solutions to end their continued persecution and statelessness. Last year, 287 Rohingya refugees travelled by sea to Bangladesh from Myanmar. That number shot up this year, with about 1,920 of them having made the journey, according to UNHCR estimates. This has also been yet another deadly year for the marginalised refugees, who in order to escape violence, undertake treacherous sea journeys to find a temporary home. On Tuesday, after almost a month of being stranded at sea, a boat carrying more than 180 Rohingya was rescued by Indonesian authorities. Not everyone made it, with 20 passengers, including women and children, reported to have died of hunger and exhaustion. The third boat to have been allowed to land in the Indonesian province of Aceh in recent weeks, it is just the latest reminder of the plight of those who undertake such hazardous voyages. "Sometimes I feel I am not human," was the expression of one ethnic Rohingya who wrote in these pages last year from the Bangladeshi coastal town of Cox's Bazar, home to one of the world's largest refugee camps.
India targets net-zero carbon emissions by 2070, says Modi
India’s economy will become carbon neutral by the year 2070, the country’s prime minster has announced at the COP26 climate crisis summit in Glasgow. The target date is two decades beyond what scientists say is needed to avert catastrophic climate impacts. India is the last of the world’s major carbon polluters to announce a net-zero target, with China saying it would reach that goal in 2060, and the United States and the European Union aiming for 2050.
COP26: What climate summit means for one woman in Bangladesh
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
Why China's climate policy matters to us all
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
Deliver on promises, developing world tells rich at climate talks
A crucial U.N. conference heard calls on its first day for the world's major economies to keep their promises of financial help to address the climate crisis, while big polluters India and Brazil made new commitments to cut emissions. World leaders, environmental experts and activists all pleaded for decisive action to halt the global warming which threatens the future of the planet at the start of the two-week COP26 summit in the Scottish city of Glasgow on Monday. The task facing negotiators was made even more daunting by the failure of the Group of 20 major industrial nations to agree ambitious new commitments at the weekend.