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The convergence of climate change, environmental degradation and conflict poses a significant threat to peace and stability worldwide, particularly in fragile and conflict affected countries. Young people in these areas are disproportionately affected, yet they are also uniquely positioned to drive transformative solutions. The report Resilience Rising: Youth Research Informing Global Climate…
Resilience Rising: Youth Research Informing Global Climate and Conflict Responses
The convergence of climate change, environmental degradation and conflict poses a significant threat to peace and stability worldwide, particularly in fragile and conflict affected countries. Young people in these areas are disproportionately affected, yet they are also uniquely positioned to drive transformative solutions. The report Resilience Rising: Youth Research Informing Global Climate and Conflict Responses sheds light on the experiences of youth in six climate and conflict vulnerable countries – Burkina Faso, Niger, Pakistan, the Philippines, Somalia and Uganda – and provides actionable recommendations to address these challenges. Publications in English: Publications en Français : About the Report This report,…
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The challenges posed by climate change and the erosion of democracy are closely connected. Climate change threatens not only the environment but also the stability and prosperity of nations, exacerbating social and political tensions that can undermine democratic institutions. Conversely, transparent, inclusive, and accountable governance will be indispensable to reaching and implementing…
How to Foster Democratic Practices for Multilateral Climate Action
The challenges posed by climate change and the erosion of democracy are closely connected. Climate change threatens not only the environment but also the stability and prosperity of nations, exacerbating social and political tensions that can undermine democratic institutions. Conversely, transparent, inclusive, and accountable governance will be indispensable to reaching and implementing multilateral accords in the field of climate change. The Kofi Annan Foundation and the Graduate Institute’s Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy convened an expert roundtable on April 16, 2024, to explore how democratic practices can enhance multilateral climate action. The event brought together experts from international organizations, youth-based…
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At the 2021 Tokyo Nutrition for Growth Summit, national and global stakeholders made significant new policy and financial commitments to help achieve Sustainable Development Goal 2: Ending hunger and all forms of malnutrition by 2030. For its part, the African Union designated 2022 the Year of Nutrition, sending a powerful signal to its 55 member…
OpEd | Nutritious school meals are the key for Africa's children
At the 2021 Tokyo Nutrition for Growth Summit, national and global stakeholders made significant new policy and financial commitments to help achieve Sustainable Development Goal 2: Ending hunger and all forms of malnutrition by 2030. For its part, the African Union designated 2022 the Year of Nutrition, sending a powerful signal to its 55 member states to prioritize better nutrition and health for their citizens — especially for children, who are most vulnerable to the effects of malnutrition. This article was originally published by Dexex on 1 March, 2022 On March 1, the AU marks the 7th African Day of School Feeding to highlight the essential…
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This article is based on a speech on sustainable access to water given by Kofi Annan on 25 June 2018 at the World Meteorological Organisation in Geneva, Switzerland. Water is a fundamental element in our lives and for our planet, and it deserves our utmost attention. Yet this precious and limited resource…
No society can prosper without sustainable access to water
This article is based on a speech on sustainable access to water given by Kofi Annan on 25 June 2018 at the World Meteorological Organisation in Geneva, Switzerland. Water is a fundamental element in our lives and for our planet, and it deserves our utmost attention. Yet this precious and limited resource is facing unprecedented challenges in our rapidly transforming world. Global population growth, rapid urbanisation, and unsustainable production and consumption patterns are exerting increasing pressures on our Earth’s freshwater resources. Water scarcity currently affects more than 40% of the global population, and this figure is projected to rise. Millions…
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Despite its huge agricultural potential, Africa spends around US$35bn each year on food imports. This number may rise above US$110bn by 2025 due to rapid population growth, changes in dietary habits and the increasingly severe impacts of climate change. The lack of food sustainability, as well as food and nutrition insecurity in…
How to address food-sustainability challenges in sub-Saharan Africa – by Kofi Annan
Despite its huge agricultural potential, Africa spends around US$35bn each year on food imports. This number may rise above US$110bn by 2025 due to rapid population growth, changes in dietary habits and the increasingly severe impacts of climate change. The lack of food sustainability, as well as food and nutrition insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa, is likely to aggravate unless bold action is taken on six key issues. The need to boost farming productivity First, smallholder farmers’ productivity has to rise significantly, as a large majority of Africans rely on agriculture for their livelihoods. African crop yields are amongst the lowest…
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This article originally appeared in Time magazine. On Thursday, President Trump announced his intention for the United States to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, the historic global climate pact accepted and signed by 195 countries that aims to keep global temperature rise “well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels.” For the U.S. to…
Paris Agreement: Donald Trump's decision will hurt Americans
This article originally appeared in Time magazine. On Thursday, President Trump announced his intention for the United States to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, the historic global climate pact accepted and signed by 195 countries that aims to keep global temperature rise “well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels.” For the U.S. to abandon the deal that it has worked so closely with so many to achieve, will have grave diplomatic consequences. The Paris Agreement, which was ratified with unprecedented speed, is one of the world’s greatest successes of multilateral diplomacy, a shining example of how nations can work together to…
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Kofi Annan: Poor people need weather alerts This article appeared originally in French in Le Monde and English in the Africa Report. Growing up in Ghana, I learned how harsh the harmattan can be. The dry, dusty wind from the Sahara sweeps across West Africa from November to March. It brings dust…
Poor people need weather alerts
Kofi Annan: Poor people need weather alerts This article appeared originally in French in Le Monde and English in the Africa Report. Growing up in Ghana, I learned how harsh the harmattan can be. The dry, dusty wind from the Sahara sweeps across West Africa from November to March. It brings dust storms that damage airways, eyes and skin, and sudden cold spells that can jeopardise vulnerable people. Now climate change threatens to magnify its threat, as the harmattan becomes more severe and less predictable, and carries more dust. The evolving threat of the harmattan is a stark example of…
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At a conference hosted by Form Ghana and Nyenrode Business University, Kofi Annan delivered a keynote speech on the needs and challenges for forests in Africa. —– Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for your warm welcome. I am delighted to be with you today. Let me also thank Form Ghana…
Forest for the Future
At a conference hosted by Form Ghana and Nyenrode Business University, Kofi Annan delivered a keynote speech on the needs and challenges for forests in Africa. —– Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for your warm welcome. I am delighted to be with you today. Let me also thank Form Ghana and Nyenrode Business University for inviting me to join you for this important event. As a young boy, growing up in Kumasi, I used to travel with my parents to Accra or Cape Coast. During those long journeys, forests were all around us; providing clean air and water,…
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This piece was published in January 2016 in newspapers across the world. In it Kofi Annan analyses the world’s major fault-line and identifies 3 simple ways to address them effectively. What does the illegal drugs trade have in common with the death toll from the Ebola epidemic? Or our collective failure so…
The Case for Citizen Leadership
This piece was published in January 2016 in newspapers across the world. In it Kofi Annan analyses the world’s major fault-line and identifies 3 simple ways to address them effectively. What does the illegal drugs trade have in common with the death toll from the Ebola epidemic? Or our collective failure so far to address climate change (the climate agreement in Paris marks the beginning, not the end, of the road) or the security council’s inability to stop the violence in Syria and Iraq? In each case – as with so many other crises in our world – they have…
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PARIS – The climate-change agreement reached here on December 12 was a rich victory for diplomacy. Both the agreement itself and the atmosphere of cooperation that permeated the proceedings represent a sea change from the failed Copenhagen summit in 2009. But while we should congratulate world leaders on their success, Paris marks…
The Grassroots of Climate Change
PARIS – The climate-change agreement reached here on December 12 was a rich victory for diplomacy. Both the agreement itself and the atmosphere of cooperation that permeated the proceedings represent a sea change from the failed Copenhagen summit in 2009. But while we should congratulate world leaders on their success, Paris marks the beginning, not the end, of the road. It is now our collective duty to hold our leaders to account and ensure that they turn promises into action – especially in the world’s most vulnerable regions, such as Africa. We should applaud China, India, the United States, and…
