Dear Reader,

Below we list the latest news from our website related to international affairs and issues such as sustainable development.

Read these stories and more, plus information about forthcoming events, by following the links below.

Philip Brown

Secretary, UNA Coventry Branch
philip@unacov.uk

Recent News Highlights

See our website for more of our recent news articles.

Green Week 2021

There were over 50 online events during Coventry & Warwickshire Green Week 2021, a remarkable achievement. The following videos are available to watch. Sustainable Pensions Sustainability and Science: Our Greener lab Sustainable Careers Engineers Without Borders and Green Week Green Week Giki Presentation Transforming Smart Sustainable City Strategies into Performance Evaluation Systems

Read more.

Does Climate Change Cause Conflict?

As global temperatures climb, the risk of armed conflict is expected to increase substantially, according to experts across several fields. In June 2019 Stanford University published an article investigating how much climate change affects the risk of armed conflict. They cited a study published in the journal Nature which said that intensifying climate change will increase the future risk of …

Read more.

COP26 Youth Summit

COP26 Youth Summit will be an event for young people leading up to COP26. It will be called "Youth4Climate: Driving Ambition" and will take place in Milan, Italy from 28-30 September 2021. The events will comprise a mix of in-person and virtual participation. Applications to attend are now closed. Youth engagement in climate policy is becoming a hot topic. Prevailing …

Read more.

UNA-UK initial statement in response to the Integrated Review

Article first published on UNA-UK website 23 March 2021. On 16 March 2021 the government published its Integrated Review of security, defence, development and foreign policy. The Review was billed as the largest of its kind since the end of the Cold War and presented a timely opportunity for the United Kingdom to consider the totality of global opportunities and challenges it …

Read more.

UK's Integrated Review Encapsulates Government's Vision of "Global Britain"

The UK government published the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy on 14 March 2021. It was the product of over a year of work across government and of consultation with a wide range of external organisations and thinkers, including UNA-UK, and sets out the UK government's vision for Global Britain. It is a comprehensive review of …

Read more.

Appointment of UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Should be Merit-Based

Article first published on UNA-UK website 9 March 2021. Over 50 former diplomats, parliamentarians and civil society leaders have signed an open letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson calling on him to champion an open and inclusive appointment process for the UN’s Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC), the UN’s most senior humanitarian official. The letter, coordinated by UNA-UK, urges the UK to encourage the …

Read more.

UNA-UK’s response to UK funding cut to Yemen

Article first published on UNA-UK website 2 March 2021. On 1 March 2021 the UK announced it would be donating £87 million in aid to Yemen, less than half the funding donated in 2020-2021. This alarming announcement comes after warnings that Yemen faces the worst famine the world has seen in decades. The high-level pledging event, hosted by the governments of Sweden …

Read more.

UN climate report a red alert for the planet

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)’s Initial NDC Synthesis Report published on 28 February 2021 measures the progress of national climate action plans, known as Nationally Determined Contributions or NDCs, ahead of the 26th session of Conference of its Parties (COP26) this November in Glasgow. It found that even with increased efforts by some countries, the combined impact …

Read more.

Faced with world's largest humanitarian crisis UK cuts aid to Yemen by 73%

In its November 2020 Spending Review, the UK Government announced it would reduce Official Development Assistance (ODA) from 0.7 per cent to 0.5 per cent of Gross National Income (GNI). At the UN Pledging event for the Humanitarian situation in Yemen on 2 March 2021, Minister for the Middle East and North Africa, James Cleverly, said that UK aid to …

Read more.

Forthcoming Events

If you have an idea for an event you want us to organise, please contact events@unacov.uk

Climate and SDG Forum April 2021

Coventry Climate Action Network, the Sustainable Development Forum and anyone else interested in these issues are invited to attend telemeetings at 7pm on the first Tuesday of every month in 2021 to share experience and plan activities by visiting the link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82205125165?pwd=Wng1YldmV2VpL0l2dXBIcElxbDk4UT09 Meeting ID: 822 0512 5165 Passcode: 492479

Read more.

University of Warwick City of Culture Events Programme

University of Warwick will be putting on a year-long programme of events from May 2021 to April 2020 as part of City of Culture Programme. Some of these will have connections with issues of concern to the UN. See here for details

Read more.

COP26

United Nations Climate Change and the UK and Italian Governments announced on 1 April that the 26th Conference of Parties due to be held in Glasgow in November (COP26) has been postponed due to COVID-19. It is now scheduled for 1-12 November 2021. Deferring the meeting should not mean deferring climate action, according to a leaked letter signed by Cop26 …

Read more.

Produced by United Nations Association Coventry branch.

Thank you for subscribing. If you find this newsletter interesting please tell your friends to visit the unacov.uk website and subscribe!

Please follow us on Twitter @UNACoventry, on Instagram and like our Facebook page.