Africa

Yamide Dagnet, Senior Vice President, International at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Credit: COP30

By Joyce Chimbi
NAIROBI, Jan 15 2026 (IPS)

President Donald Trump has escalated efforts to further distance the United States from international organizations and entities focused on climate, the environment, and energy. This strategy is in step with his administration’s established approach to undermine and redirect funds and international cooperation away from climate and clean energy programs.

But where some see a catastrophic escalation, other global experts, such as Yamide Dagnet, Senior Vice President, International at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), see first and foremost a continuing formalization of damaging positions already taken by the current administration.

In January 2025, President Trump initiated a second withdrawal from the Paris Agreement on climate change to limit global warming. Simultaneously, the U.S. administration began to significantly reduce funding for climate programs, withdrawing from international climate funds such as the Green Climate Fund, cancelling billions in domestic clean energy grants, halting climate research and, overall, prioritizing fossil fuels over climate initiatives.

While conceding that the moment at hand is indeed overwhelming, especially coming on the back of COP30, Dagnet told IPS that “the rest of the world must turn this challenge into an opportunity to break new ground in climate action, financing and international cooperation.”

“I have a stubborn yet grounded optimism. The path ahead will be challenging but achieving the set-out climate goals is far from impossible. This is far from a catastrophe. Only one country has withdrawn from the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC); the rest of the world is still firmly on board.”

Regarding the exit from UNFCCC, Dagnet’s colleague Jake Schmidt from NRDC, pointed out in his blog that  the legal ramifications are such that it is unsettled constitutional law whether a president can unilaterally withdraw from international agreements that the Senate gave its advice and consent to join. The Constitution specifies the entry provisions, but it is silent on the exit provisions.

Dagnet also noted that while the withdrawal from the UNFCCC is unprecedented, making the United States the only nation outside the bedrock UN Climate Treaty, “the exit is not cast in stone; a future administration could bring the country back to the fold.”

Nevertheless, the United States will be back in the headlines come January 27, 2026, when the country will technically become a non-signatory to the Paris agreement and will not be part of international climate negotiations unless the withdrawal is reversed.

“The optimism I feel is also grounded in pragmatism. To borrow the words of author James Baldwin, ‘Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.’ The U.S. administration was not represented at COP30 and still the world pushed forward a comprehensive climate action agenda to move beyond pledges through accelerated collaboration between governments, businesses, civil society, and investors.”

In his 2025 inauguration speech, Trump called oil ‘liquid gold’ and vowed to ‘unleash’ America’s fossil fuels in the form of oil and gas. Dagnet says the die was already cast on the path forward for the United States and that the world should continue to rethink, re-strategize and reorganize, for those who are for climate action are more than those against.

Trump finds an assortment of 66 UN and non-UN entities, including those focused on climate and clean energy, that are not aligned with the United States’ national interests. They include the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which is the world’s most authoritative scientific body on climate change, UN water, UN Oceans and UN Energy.

Others are the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which is the global authority on technical and policy advice on conservation, and the UN Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing countries.

Non-UN organizations include the International Renewable Energy Agency, Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century, 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy Compact, Commission for Environmental Cooperation, Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, and Sustainable Development, and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.

Concerns are rife that communities such as those in the informal settlements will be dangerously exposed to the vagaries of climate change in the face of looming budget cuts to support climate efforts. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS

There are widespread concerns that the withdrawal will have far-reaching negative consequences on financing and technical support for climate and clean energy. But Dagnet reminds us that  the United States did not pay its dues to the UN in 2025. The UN Chief has expressed regret over the country’s exit from UN entities and urged the Trump administration to settle what is owed to the international body, as the payments are mandatory. The United States owes the largest share, amounting to about 22 percent of the regular budget.

Similarly, before this withdrawal, the United States was already failing to fulfill many of its climate finance commitments.  While this new development, alongside past insufficient funding pledges, signals a major retreat from international climate action and support for developing nations, that challenge is  not insurmountable.

Climate financing trackers found that even during President Joe Biden’s administration, the United States’ international climate finance contributions were insufficient and fell far short of goals. Dagnet notes that while the country’s actions on multilateralism represent a setback, multilateralism is also evolving and will hopefully be capable of navigating uncharted territories.

She hails the broad recognition that climate change urgently and sustainably requires global cooperation and collaboration. She further stressed that international cooperation would expand the climate finance basket, as financial support for climate action can come not only from governments but also from a diverse array of non-state and public-private actors.

“This withdrawal is not the end of the road.”

Dagnet is one of nine members of the GHG (Greenhouse Gas) Protocol Steering Committee, which is the primary governing body providing direction and oversight to the GHG Protocol. The Protocol provides accounting standards and tools to help the corporate sector, countries and cities track progress towards climate goals.

The development of such standards is facilitated through a transparent multi-stakeholder governance process, drawing on expertise from business, finance, governments, academia, auditors and civil society in a milestone move and landmark partnership, she says.

The GHG Protocol is leading the global harmonization of greenhouse gas accounting with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), as part of the COP30 Action Agenda, to enable comprehensive decarbonization action. This collaborative effort will strengthen the enabling conditions (in terms of policy, benchmarking, and governance) that are paramount to achieving sectoral breakthrough and will shape the journey towards the next global stocktake, or inventory taking, on progress towards climate goals in line with the Paris Agreement.

Subnational efforts also keep Dagnet pragmatically optimistic and solutions-focused. Indeed, she felt energized after attending the Resilient Cities Forum 2025 in London, a remarkable highlight as a major international platform where global leaders and experts converged to tackle urban resilience, emphasizing collaboration, best practices and practical innovation for sustainable, equitable cities.  She was inspired by the various and clear visions for a healthier planet.

“The resolve was stronger than ever,” says Dagnet.

“Importantly, we have locally designed tools, international frameworks and corporate standards to turn our vision towards a more prosperous, healthier and greener future into our lived reality. The worst we can do is to give up our imagination and ability to innovate.”

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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"Alapvető nézeteltérések" vannak az Egyesült Államok és Dánia között Grönland jövőjéről, de folytatódnak a tárgyalások a vita rendezése érdekében - jelentette ki Lars Lokke Rasmussen dán külügyminiszter Washingtonban szerdán, miután Grönland külügyminiszterének oldalán tárgyalt J. D. Vance amerikai alelnökkel és Marco Rubio külügyminiszterrel.

The government in Mogadishu has accused the UAE of undermining its sovereignty.

BBC Sport Africa provides all the information on the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations as Morocco face Senegal in the final of the 35th edition of the continent's biggest sporting event.

Wengen plant eines der ambitioniertesten Energieprojekte der Schweiz: Eine Transportleitung soll Fernwärme von Lauterbrunnen ins Dorf auf 1274 m ü. M. bringen. Das Projekt gelingt nur, wenn die Hoteliers mitziehen. Maximilian Dinkelaker vom Victoria Lauberhorn tuts.

Mohamed Salah's Afcon dream was ended by Sadio Mane and Senegal on Wednesday night - but how many more chances will the Liverpool forward have to win the competition?

The pause starting on 21 January will bar foreign nationals who "would take welfare and public benefits".

This Wednesday, the Conference of Presidents adopted the following statement in support of multilateralism and the rules-based international order and supporting Greenland and Denmark.

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

Burkina Faso sack coach Brama Traore after their last-16 exit at Afcon 2025, while 10 high-ranking members of Mali's football federation resign.

L'Indice Harmonisé des Prix à la Consommation (IHPC) au Bénin a clôturé l'année 2025 sur une légère note de croissance.

L'Indice Harmonisé des Prix à la Consommation (IHPC) au Bénin a enregistré une progression de 0,1 % au cours du mois de décembre 2025. Cette légère variation porte le niveau général des prix à 101,8, contre 101,7 un mois plus tôt. Selon les données de l'Institut National de la Statistique et de la Démographie (INStaD), cette dynamique mensuelle s'explique principalement par la poussée des coûts liés au logement et à l'équipement lors des fêtes de fin d'année.

L'effet des fêtes sur le panier de la ménagère

L'accroissement de l'indice en décembre est « essentiellement imputable » à l'augmentation des prix dans deux divisions de consommation majeures. La division « Logement, eau, électricité, gaz et autres combustibles » a progressé de 0,2 %. Parallèlement, le segment « Vêtements et chaussures » affiche une hausse de 0,3 %.

Dans le détail, deux sous-classes de biens ont particulièrement contribué à cette tendance : les combustibles solides (+0,8 %), en raison d'une forte demande de charbon de bois pour les festivités de fin d'année ; les vêtements (+0,4 %), dont l'évolution est directement liée aux achats de fin d'année.
Cette pression à la hausse a toutefois été tempérée par le repli des prix des « Poissons et autres fruits de mer » (-0,4 %) et des « Carburants et lubrifiants » (-0,2 %).

Une inflation structurelle sous contrôle

Malgré ces fluctuations saisonnières, l'inflation sous-jacente, qui exclut les produits aux prix volatils comme les produits frais et énergétiques, reste stable. Elle s'établit à 100,4, marquant une hausse contenue de 0,1 % par rapport au mois de novembre.

Concernant la provenance des produits, une divergence apparaît en variation mensuelle : les prix des « Produits locaux » ont crû de 0,2 %, tandis que ceux des « Produits importés » ont reculé de 0,2 %.
Le glissement annuel (évolution par rapport à décembre 2024) révèle une progression de 1,4 % du niveau général des prix. Cette évolution est largement dominée par la catégorie « Produits alimentaires et boissons non alcoolisées », qui bondit de 4,9 % en un an.

Cette cherté annuelle est particulièrement portée par deux segments spécifiques. Les produits frais, avec une envolée de 7,9 % ; Les produits énergétiques, en hausse de 7,0 %.

L'analyse de l'INStaD met également en lumière des écarts de prix significatifs entre les grandes villes. En moyenne nationale, le kilogramme de maïs séché se vend à 189 FCFA, mais il atteint 241 FCFA à Porto-Novo contre seulement 155 FCFA à Bohicon.

La viande de bœuf sans os, produit de référence pour de nombreux ménages, illustre parfaitement ces disparités. Elle coûte 3 500 FCFA à Cotonou, alors qu'elle est accessible à 2 000 FCFA à Natitingou.

Au terme de l'année 2025, le taux d'inflation en moyenne annuelle pour le Bénin ressort à +1,1 %. Ce chiffre confirme la maîtrise globale du coût de la vie au niveau national, maintenant le pays dans une position stable au sein de l'espace UEMOA.
M. M.

'If Mercosur fails, we can forget the European Union as a global player,' Commission president told her party's MEPs

Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius recently said Article 42.7 of the EU Treaty would “definitely” apply if the US invaded the mineral-rich Danish territory

Cardiologist Dr. Marwan Sultan, then Director of the Indonesian Hospital in north Gaza, in February 2025 showing damage to hospital equipment following an Israeli attack on the facility a few months prior. In July 2025, Dr. Sultan was killed in an Israeli strike on the apartment where he was sheltering with his family. Credit: PHR/GHRC

By Ed Holt
BRATISLAVA, Jan 14 2026 (IPS)

Israel must lift all restrictions on medicine, food and aid coming into Gaza, rights groups have demanded, as two reports released today (Jan 14) document how maternal and reproductive healthcare have been all but destroyed in the country.

In two separate reports released jointly, Physicians for Human Rights (with the Global Human Rights Clinic at the University of Chicago Law School) and Physicians for Human Rights–Israel (PHR-I) show how the war in Gaza has led to rising maternal and neonatal mortality, births under dangerous conditions, and the systematic destruction of health services for women in Gaza.

The reports from the two groups, which are independent organizations, provide both detailed clinical analysis of the collapse of Gaza’s health system and its medical consequences as well as firsthand testimonies from clinicians and pregnant and breastfeeding women in Gaza forced to live and care for their newborns in extreme conditions.

And the organizations say that with conditions improving only marginally for many women despite the current ceasefire, Israel must roll back restrictions placed on aid and immediately help ensure people in Gaza get access to the healthcare they need.

“Israel’s destruction of Gaza’s health infrastructure, combined with untreated malnutrition resulting from restrictions on food and medical supplies, including baby formula, has created an environment in which the fundamental biological processes of reproduction and survival have been systematically destroyed, resulting in known and foreseeable harm, pain, suffering, and death,” Sam Zarifi, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) Executive Director, said.

“Israel must immediately allow food and essential medical material to enter Gaza with a proper medical plan for helping the besieged population,” he added.

Israeli military operations following Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, have left massive destruction across Gaza, including to healthcare facilities. According to UNICEF, 94 percent of hospitals have been damaged or destroyed.

Destroyed incubators and equipment at the Kamal Adwan Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in north Gaza, following the targeting and raid of the facility by the Israeli forces in December 2024. Credit: PHR/GHRC

Maternal and reproductive healthcare has suffered. Before the war, Gaza had eight neonatal intensive care units with 178 incubators. Today, the number of incubators has dropped by 70 percent. In the north, there were 105 incubators across three NICUs, now there are barely any functional units remaining, UNICEF told IPS.

It says that the numbers of low birth weight babies have nearly tripled compared to pre-war levels and the number of first-day deaths of babies increased by 75 percent.

The PHR and PHR-I reports paint a similar picture.

The PHR report, which focuses on the period between January 2025 and October 2025 when a ceasefire was agreed, details how between May and June last year, the Palestinian Ministry of Health reported a 41 percent decrease in the birth rate in Gaza compared to the same time period in 2022; there was a significant increase in miscarriages that affected more than 2,600 women, and 220 pregnancy-related deaths that occurred before delivery.

The ministry also reported a sharp increase in premature births and low birth weight cases; over 1,460 babies were reported to be born prematurely, while more than 2,500 were admitted to neonatal intensive care. Newborn deaths also increased, with at least 21 babies reported to have died on their first day of life.

Meanwhile, the PHR-I report includes personal testimonies illustrating the severe problems pregnant women and women with newborns have faced in Gaza during the war, from lacking safe routes to care and being forced to give birth in unsanitary, dangerous conditions to battling hunger and severe food shortages as they try to breastfeed their children.

One woman, Samah Muhammad Abu Mustafa, a 30-year-old mother of two from Khuza’a, Khan Youni, described how when her contractions began in the middle of the night, because there were no vehicles and very few ambulances, which are reserved for shelling or other critical emergencies, she had to walk a long distance through rain. When she eventually reached the hospital, she said it was “horrifying.”

“I swear, one woman gave birth in the corridor, and her baby died. It was very crowded, and the doctors worked nonstop. I felt as though I could give birth at any moment. After giving birth to my eldest daughter, I was told I should not deliver naturally again because my pelvis was too narrow. Despite this, the doctors said I would have to deliver naturally because a cesarean section required anesthesia, and there was not enough available. I stood for three hours until it was finally my turn, without sitting even for a moment,” she said.

But despite the October 2025 ceasefire, massive problems remain with women’s access to and the provision of, maternal and reproductive healthcare in Gaza.

“Maternal health units in Gaza are largely non-functional and face critical shortages of essential medicines, consumables, and equipment,” Lama Bakri, project coordinator in the Occupied Territories Department at PHR-I, told IPS.

“Neonatal and diagnostic equipment remains scarce or blocked, including portable incubators for premature and low-birth-weight newborns. Although some aid has entered since the ceasefire, these gaps are not being addressed at the scale required, and meaningful improvement in the immediate future remains unlikely.”

Malnutrition also remains a serious problem.

“The ceasefire has allowed us to significantly scale up our nutrition response, but we are still treating pregnant and breastfeeding women for acute malnutrition in alarmingly high numbers,” Ricardo Pires, Communication Manager, Division of Global Communications & Advocacy at UNICEF, told IPS.

He said that between July and September 2025 about 38 percent of pregnant women screened were diagnosed with acute malnutrition.

“In October alone, we admitted 8,300 pregnant and breastfeeding women for treatment, about 270 a day, in a place where there was no discernible malnutrition among this group before October 2023,” he added.

UNICEF has documented almost 6,800 children admitted for acute malnutrition treatment in November 2025 compared to 4,700 cases in November 2024. So far, the number of admitted cases more than doubled in 2025 compared to 2024: almost 89,000 admissions of children to date in 2025, compared to 40,000 cases in 2024, and almost none before 2023.

“What we’re seeing is that no child meets minimum dietary diversity standards, and two-thirds of children are surviving on just two food groups or less. Around 90 percent of caregivers reported their children had been sick in the previous two weeks, which compounds the malnutrition crisis,” Pires said.

And there are fears for the longer-term demographic future of Gaza given the damage to maternal and reproductive healthcare.

“For Gaza’s demographic future, the implications are serious. Even with reconstruction, we will be dealing with a generation of children who were scarred before they took their first breath, children who may face lifelong health complications, developmental challenges, and the effects of stunting. The rebuilding must start now, but we should be clear-eyed: the damage to maternal and newborn health will echo for years, potentially decades,” said Pires.

But others say that with cooperation between international actors and the right political will, the situation need not remain so dire.

“To rehabilitate the population after everything that has happened is going to be a real issue, [but] now there is a Board of Peace, the needs of pregnant women and maternal and reproductive healthcare can be prioritized,” Zarifi told IPS.

“The capacity and the will exist among Gazans and Gazan healthcare workers to rebuild the healthcare system, including maternal and reproductive health services,” added Bakri. “The primary obstacle is not technical or professional but political: Israel’s control over Gaza’s borders and the restrictions on the entry of essential equipment, medical supplies, and reconstruction materials. With unrestricted access to what is needed to rehabilitate hospitals, rebuild destroyed units, and restock essential medicines, recovery is entirely feasible. Whether maternal and reproductive healthcare can return to pre-war levels depends on sustained international pressure to allow that access.”

Although some aid has entered since the ceasefire, these gaps are not being addressed at the scale required, and meaningful improvement in the immediate future remains unlikely.

However, while both NGOs like PHR and PHR-I and others, alongside international bodies like the UN, stress that any recovery and reconstruction in Gaza requires the ceasefire to hold and consolidate, repeated violations underline its fragility, and the effect that has on women.

Meanwhile, PHR and PHR-I point out that extreme weather and ongoing Israeli restrictions on medicine and food getting to Gaza to this day continue to severely affect pregnant women, new mothers, and babies. On top of this, Israel has also announced it will bar 37 international aid groups from working in Gaza, potentially compounding the problems.

Bakri said such measures were jeopardizing what small gains had been made since the ceasefire and “raise serious concerns about whether the situation can improve.”

“Even after the ceasefire, while bombardment has decreased, the reality these women face remains catastrophic – not only for their bodies and well-being but for the survival of the entire society,” said Bakri.

Zarifi added, “We are worried that the restrictions placed by Israel on some of the major actors in the humanitarian response will hamper access to assistance for those that need it. We have raised questions with the Israeli government as to why specific medicines are not allowed to be brought into Gaza and they say that they are not stopping them from being brought in but they can be brought in by commercial means. That is hard for people who can barely put any money together. These medicines should definitely be coming in through humanitarian channels.”

He also highlighted how important the issue of accountability is in ensuring any progress is made in rebuilding healthcare in Gaza and also limiting the probability of similar devastation in the future.

Both reports concluded that the harms caused by Israeli attacks are not isolated incidents but part of an ongoing pattern of systematic damage to the health of women and their children in Gaza, amounting to reproductive violence.

Israel has denied this and said that attacks on hospitals in Gaza have been because the medical facilities are being used by Hamas, and it has maintained that its forces adhere to international law.

While under international law healthcare facilities have special protection even in war, and attacks on them are prohibited, that protection is lost if they are deemed to fulfill criteria to be considered military objectives, such as housing militaries and arms.

However, any attack on them must still comply with the fundamental principles of distinction, proportionality and precautions in attack and failure to respect any of these principles constitutes a breach of international humanitarian law, according to the UN.

“These attacks are part of a deliberate policy designed to create a domino effect of suffering. From starvation and militarized aid distribution by the GHF, to lack of access to clean water, repeated displacement orders, living in shelters under continuous bombardment, and exposure to infections, disease, and harsh weather, the attacks on maternal and reproductive healthcare are another piece of this puzzle. Together, these conditions were created to systematically destroy the fabric of life in Gaza and reduce the population’s ability to survive,” said Bakri.

“The Israeli government has justified attacks on healthcare facilities by saying this was a problem caused by Hamas. We haven’t had an indication of this but it might be true. But in any case there has to be an investigation of these incidents and we hope the Israeli government will carry out such an investigation,” said Zarifi.

“But what is really alarming to us is that the norms prohibiting attacks on healthcare have been repeatedly violated, and there are also laws governing the protection of women and children that appear to have been violated. The only thing that makes these norms work is accountability. There has to be accountability for what happened, as it is the only way we can ensure that what has happened won’t happen in other conflicts. Impunity is watched by other actors around the world,” he added.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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The Commission president told her centre-right allies that the EU will have its own security strategy this year

Le Maroc renforce sa visibilité sur la scène numérique régionale et internationale. Un expert marocain prend la présidence du Forum de la Gouvernance de l'Internet d'Afrique du Nord (NAIGF).

L'expert marocain Abdessamad Moutei a été élu président du Forum de la Gouvernance de l'Internet d'Afrique du Nord (NAIGF), à l'issue de la réunion du comité consultatif de l'organisation, tenue en ligne mardi 13 janvier 2026.

Cette élection, acquise à l'unanimité des membres du comité, consacre « la reconnaissance d'une longue expérience dans le domaine des politiques numériques et de la gouvernance de l'Internet », selon le communiqué publié à cette occasion. Elle illustre également « le rôle moteur que joue le Maroc dans le développement de l'écosystème numérique en Afrique du Nord ».

Le NAIGF, qui opère sous l'égide du Forum sur la Gouvernance de l'Internet des Nations unies (IGF), constitue une plateforme régionale clé pour la concertation autour des politiques publiques liées au numérique. Il vise notamment à formuler une vision commune des pays nord-africains sur les enjeux stratégiques de l'Internet, à renforcer la coopération entre gouvernements, secteur privé et société civile, et à relever les défis liés à la cybersécurité, à la fracture numérique et à l'intelligence artificielle.

Professeur de l'enseignement supérieur et directeur adjoint chargé de la formation continue et des stages à l'Institut supérieur de l'information et de la communication (ISIC), Abdessamad Moutei a affirmé que son mandat sera placé sous le signe d'un agenda ambitieux. Il entend œuvrer pour « une intégration plus forte des pays d'Afrique du Nord dans l'économie numérique mondiale », tout en insistant sur « la nécessité de protéger la souveraineté numérique de la région ».

« Notre priorité sera de développer une infrastructure numérique sécurisée et inclusive, au service de tous », a-t-il déclaré, soulignant l'importance d'une approche équilibrée entre ouverture technologique et maîtrise des enjeux.

Cette nouvelle gouvernance du NAIGF s'inscrit par ailleurs dans une dynamique régionale renforcée. L'Égypte a été désignée vice-présidente du Forum, représentée par l'expert Shedy Hamed, traduisant « une volonté de collaboration étroite entre les puissances numériques de la région afin de porter une voix unifiée sur les scènes continentale et internationale ».

Le Forum d'Afrique du Nord sur la Gouvernance de l'Internet fait le lien entre les initiatives nationales, le Forum africain et le Forum mondial des Nations unies, consolidant ainsi la participation de la région aux débats globaux sur l'avenir du numérique.

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A mother and a son with mask were riding on a motorcycle in a street of Bangkok. The capital of Thailand experienced high level of PM2.5 particle pollution. Credit: Pexels/Maksim Romashkin

By Keran Wang, Sheryl Rose Reyes and Taisei Ukita
BANGKOK, Thailand, Jan 14 2026 (IPS)

Take a deep breath.

Did you know that in many countries in Asia and the Pacific, the air we breathe falls short of the safety standards for air quality set by the World Health Organization? While the start of a new year signals new beginnings, it also marks the continuation of the recurring air quality crisis across many countries in the region.

In 2024, 25 of the most polluted cities were in the Asia-Pacific region, with dangerous levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) that significantly exceeded the annual maximum levels of 5 micrograms per cubic meter.

Oftentimes, when we think of air pollution, we associate it with car exhaust and factory chimneys belching black smoke. But air pollution is not just the cost of urban development – it is a multi-hazard crisis caused by wildfires, sand and dust storms, and volcanic eruptions that respect no borders. Access to clean air is a human right and countries who contribute the least to air pollution are often the most vulnerable.

Rising temperatures create a vicious cycle: rising heat leads to intensifying wildfires, releasing toxic smoke composed of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and PM2.5 into the air we breathe. Furthermore, heat accelerates the breakdown of waste, generating even more pollutants.

Volcanic eruptions add sulfur dioxide and volcanic ash to the mix, and these pollutants can linger in the atmosphere for months. The result? Climate change exacerbates air pollution, which in turn aggravates the climate crisis — a feedback loop that puts both human health and ecosystems at risk and transforms local hazards into regional challenges.

Can a heavily polluted environment be restored? In principle, yes, but doing so requires transformative change and collective action in our economy and society. Improving urban mobility requires prioritizing efficient public transport, including low-emission vehicles, cleaner, greener alternatives such as walking, cycling, and ride-sharing.

Nature-based solutions, including green cooling corridors, can further improve air quality by lowering surface temperatures and providing buffers against desertification, land degradation, drought, and sand and dust storms.

However, not all sources of air pollution can be addressed through emission reductions alone. There are inherent limits to prevention at the source, particularly for air pollution caused by natural hazards. This requires a shift in focus from mitigation toward adaptation and preparedness.

Earth observation plays a critical role in monitoring, early warning, and informed decision-making. Advanced sensors aboard platforms such as Sentinel-5 Precursor and Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS) detect key atmospheric pollutants including nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), tropospheric ozone, and carbon monoxide at unprecedented spatial and temporal scales.

The collaboration of ESCAP with regional partners for the Pan-Asia Partnership for Geospatial Air Pollution Information exemplifies how satellite data can be integrated with surface observations to create robust monitoring systems. These datasets enable tracking transboundary pollution events, from agricultural fire smoke to volcanic sulfur emissions to urban photochemical smog.

Satellites bridge the existing gaps from ground-based observations, providing authorities with the spatial coverage needed to understand and monitor air pollution and formulate effective policies.

The Clean Air for Sustainable ASEAN project recognizes that addressing the transboundary air pollution crisis requires strengthened monitoring and decision-making capacities enabled by technology-driven solutions. The application, Check Phoon (Thai: Phoon, meaning dust), or the PM2.5 Monitoring System, developed by the Geo-informatics Information and Space Technology Development Agency of Thailand, is an innovative platform that leverages space technology to support air quality monitoring and public health protection by providing real-time, high-resolution PM2.5 concentration data across Thailand.

The application is available in both web-based and mobile applications, and the system integrates satellite data, such as from Himawari, meteorological information, PM2.5 sources including hotspots (active fire detections), and ground-based validation from PM2.5 monitoring stations.

Building on the framework of SatGPT for flood hotspot mapping, an iteration of SatGPT for volcanic hazards has been proposed with potential to support the understanding and management of air pollution linked to volcanic activity. has been proposed with potential to support the understanding and management of air pollution linked to volcanic activity.

The Regional Action Programme on Air Pollution advances air quality management through science-based cooperation, sharing of best practices, and strengthened technical and financial support across ESCAP member States.

Complementing this effort, the Regional Space Applications Programme facilitates the sharing of Earth observation data and expertise that are critical for monitoring air pollution and assessing the impacts.

These initiatives contribute to accessible and actionable geospatial information that strengthens early warning systems, enabling authorities to forecast and quantify air quality with greater precision.

The transboundary nature of air pollution demands a stronger and more urgent call to action. While the Asia-Pacific region has demonstrated remarkable resilience in the face of cascading disasters, regional cooperation must accelerate to match the scale and pace of this evolving crisis.

Keran Wang is Chief of Space Applications Section, ESCAP; Sheryl Rose Reyes is Consultant, Space Applications Section, ESCAP; Taisei Ukita is former Intern, Space Applications Section, ESCAP.

The authors would like to thank Sangmin Nam, Director of the Environment and Development Division of ESCAP, for his contributions to this article.

IPS UN Bureau

 

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