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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.

The fall of the Berlin Wall and the Peaceful Revolution in the GDR made reunification possible. But the gap between East and West remains. A conversation with historian Ilko-Sascha Kowalczuk, political scientist Judith Enders and city councillor Paul Löser about fears of loss, populism and the power of positive narratives.

UNFCCC negotiations on Article 6 of the Paris Agreement risk legitimising dangerous Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) schemes and undermining precautionary work being undertaken in other UN fora.

The 16th UN conference on biodiversity in Colombia faces the challenge of delivering results for the conservation of biological diversity. In addition to financing strategies, measures to protect biodiversity and ecosystems are urgently needed.