Article

Democracy is under pressure worldwide. In this issue, we present individuals who impress us with their commitment to democracy, as a sign of our solidarity and to inspire others.

Julia Mickiewicz switched from journalism to politics and then to NGOs. She is the co-founder of the feminist organisation FemGroup Belarus. Today, she lives in exile – still she continues in her unwavering struggle for gender equality, diversity, and social justice.

Gender equity is Irina Alkhovka’s personal and professional passion. In 2021, the human rights campaigner had to leave her home country, Belarus, where she was being prosecuted for her political activism.

Darya Afanasyeva is a Belarusian feminist activist, a blogger, lesbian, and a former political prisoner. To her the term “former” seems odd in this context. As she says, such an experience will stay with you for life. 

COP29 was expected to deliver a global goal for climate finance that meets the challenges of the future. It failed to do so. Instead, it launched international carbon markets that create new loopholes for fossil fuel emitters.

Funding climate protection through carbon certificates for soil may seem beneficial at first. However, a greater focus on soil health and supporting farmers in adopting sustainable practices would be far more effective in practice.

Geogenic hydrogen—often called "white" or "natural" hydrogen—is gaining attention in recent reports as an alternative energy source in the transition away from fossil fuels. Formed deep within the Earth by geological processes, it promises to be a cheaper and less energy-intensive alternative to "green" hydrogen, which is produced from renewable electricity. However, this untapped resource comes with a large to-do list of research, policy development, social and environmental safeguards.

Nuclear weapons and the development of other means of destroying people are a matter of justice and human security. They reflect the priorities of governments and powerful institutions that control decisions on spending.

For the Azerbaijani regime, hosting the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku represents a chance to obscure its poor climate record and relentless attacks on civil society.

The UN Conference on Biological Diversity (COP16) in Cali, Colombia, ended in early November with important resolutions, but no agreement on the key issue of financing biodiversity conservation.