United Nations

St. Sophia's Cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine

UNESCO Adds Sites in Kyiv and Lviv to List of World Heritage in Danger

The agency has been trying to protect Ukraine's historic sites since the beginning of the war with Russia

An aerial view of the city's canal system taken in 2012

UNESCO Recommends Adding Venice to List of World Heritage in Danger

Throngs of tourists and rising water levels are threatening to overwhelm the historic city

Audrey Azoulay, the director-general of UNESCO, announcing the United States' request to return to the organization

The United States Is Rejoining UNESCO

The country's tumultuous relationship with the organization stretches back 40 years

Wildfire during Greece's 2021 heatwave, which experts have linked to climate change

The Next Five Years Will Almost Certainly Be the Warmest on Record, U.N. Says

Earth is likely to pass 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming over pre-industrial levels, a key climate threshold, by 2027, according to a new report

Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO's director-general, meeting with Ukrainian officials during her visit to the country last week

Rebuilding Ukraine's Cultural Sector Will Require Nearly $7 Billion, UNESCO Says

The agency's director-general traveled to the war-torn country to pledge additional support

Global carbon dioxide emissions reached an all-time high in 2022.

U.N. Climate Change Report Calls for Urgent Action

Countries must strive for more ambitious emissions goals over the next decade, scientists say

Conference president Rena Lee of Singapore announces an agreement was reached on Saturday.

Historic Treaty Protects Marine Life in the 'High Seas'

The United Nations agreement will help conserve 30 percent of the planet’s oceans by 2030

Climate change, pollution and biodiversity are all contributing to the rise of drug-resistant super bugs.

'Superbugs' Could Kill Up to Ten Million Additional People Each Year by 2050

A new U.N. report warns that climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss are helping create pathogens that can evade our medications

A soldier standing guard over the Odesa Opera and Ballet Theater in March 2022

UNESCO Adds Odesa to List of World Heritage in Danger

The new designation is intended to offer additional protection and resources to the historic port city

In purple, a hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica on September 10, 2009

The Ozone Hole Is on Track to Mend Itself Within Decades

The worldwide phaseout of ozone-depleting substances is allowing the atmosphere to recover, a new U.N. report finds

Shirin Neshat's Offered Eyes

Public Art Installation Opens in Solidarity With Iranian Protesters

"Eyes on Iran," located in a public park on Roosevelt Island, faces the United Nations across the water

Flooding caused by heavy monsoon rains and exacerbated by human-caused climate change has killed nearly 1,700 people in Pakistan this year. Countries at COP27 agreed that major emitters of greenhouse gases should create a fund to deal with similar crises.

Five Major Storylines From the COP27 Climate Summit

Delegates agree to a loss and damage fund, but some experts worry the conference didn’t go far enough to address climate change

President Biden speaks at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on November 11. 

New Rules Could Slash 36 Million Tons of Methane by 2030

Biden announced plans for tackling the powerful greenhouse gas, which could go into effect by the end of next year

The U.N. predicts the world population will reach eight billion by November 15.

Global Human Population to Reach Eight Billion by November 15

While U.N. officials warn against “population alarmism,” some experts say this milestone should be a wake-up call

Ugandan youth climate activist Leah Namugerwa speaks during the Sharm El-Sheikh Climate Implementation Summit of the UNFCCC. 

What You Need to Know About the COP27 Climate Summit

World leaders are gathered in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, to discuss climate action

Palcaraju glacier inside Huascarán National Park in Peru

One-Third of Iconic World Heritage Glaciers Will Melt by 2050, Study Finds

A new report from Unesco and the International Union for Conservation of Nature provides a bleak outlook for glaciers amid global warming

Climate disasters, like flooding in Pakistan, have led to climate justice advocates pushing for "loss and damage" to be paid to developing countries.

Denmark Will Pay ‘Loss and Damage’ to Developing Countries for Climate Change Impacts

The country has pledged $13 million, which will go to the Sahel region in northwestern Africa and other impacted areas

In closing remarks at the 1969 U.N. General Assembly in New York, Black recalled an Apollo 12 astronaut who, while in orbit, remarked on the Earth’s beauty. “Some of us down here are not so sure,” she said.

Shirley Temple Black's Remarkable Second Act as a Diplomat

An unpublished memoir reveals how the world’s most famous child actress became a star of the environmental movement

Detail of Ronald N. Sherr's General Colin Powell, 2012, oil on canvas

Colin Powell, First Black Secretary of State, Dies of Covid-19 at 84

The decorated general broke racial barriers in the U.S. military but attracted criticism for his part in paving the way for the Iraq War

Oluwaseyi at a Movie screening hosted by her organization in commemoration of Global Recycling Day 2021.

How Nigeria's Oluwaseyi Moejoh's Conservation Activism Is Spreading Across Africa and Beyond

The founder of U-recycle Initiative Africa, current law student, and all-around force for positive change is a powerful advocate for a sustainable planet

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