Felipe IV a Caballo by Velázquez digitally modified to raise awareness on rising sea levels and global warning. (Original image: Museo del Prado. Tuned up image: WWF Spain/Museo del Prado campaign. Animation: Geneva Solutions)

🌍❓The missing link between facts, information and climate action. Why do we fear the climate emergency but still buy the SUVs that make the situation worse? Some thoughts on the dilemmas of information, in a context where aggressive disinformation continues to thrive.

👉 Not afraid to point fingers. Following the renewal of his mandate this week, UN special rapporteur on human rights and the environment, David Boyd, tells us how he views his role in highlighting how the climate crisis, pollution and the degradation of ecosystems is harming people and in holding governments and companies responsible for their actions.

🛡️🌳 Forest guardians. Indigenous peoples in Latin America are the best protectors of forests, according to a UN report. Deforestation rate in their lands is lower by up to 50 per cent than in other places. But as demand for products such as beef, soybeans and minerals continues to drive land and resource exploitation, they find themselves increasingly facing threats for standing in the way.

Percentage of forest protected area over time. (INForest/Geneva Solutions)

🌲 📈 Counting trees. The UN Economic Commission for Europe has launched a new data platform bringing together all sorts of information on the state of forests in the region, such as the number of wildfires or the size of protected areas. The hope is that this tool will make it easier for non specialised actors such as decision makers and students to see how countries are doing. Unlike global trends, the UNECE region is one of the few where forest areas have actually increased in the past decades.

📌 27 March | Earth Hour. Switch off your lights at 8:30 pm CET and show support for the planet! This year’s light-out event will be held online, with a surprise video for participants to share on their social media to mark the occasion.

📌 29-30 March | Gender and Biodiversity. A two part dialogue to understand the gender and biodiversity challenges, their linkages with the broader environmental and sustainable development agenda, and what opportunities are there for biodiversity action to address these issues.