Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, mayor of Freetown, Sierra Leone, is on a mission to plant a million trees over the next two years, increasing vegetation in her city by fifty percent while shoring up eroding riverbanks and increasing biodiversity. “This isn’t just about planting trees; it’s about growing trees, and it’s about ensuring that each one of us is part of the process,” she says. “A million trees is our city’s small contribution to increasing the much-needed global carbon sink.”
This talk was presented at an official TED conference.
Leaders and stakeholders from various domains will meet this week at the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organisation (ACTO) Summit to address the pressing and interconnected issues of climate change, biodiversity, and Indigenous rights.
Young people and future generations are environmental stewards of the future. The Climate Champions Team, in support of the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions, are committed to strengthening youth agency in climate action.
The 67th annual Commission on the Status of Women (CSW67), the UN’s largest annual gathering on gender equality and women’s empowerment, will take place this year from 6 – 17 March under the theme, “Innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls”.
The demands of the most impacted — particularly African, Indigenous, youth, and women voices — must be centered throughout these next two weeks at COP27 and beyond, writes Carissa Patrone Maikuri, Program Coordinator, Drawdown Lift, Project Drawdown
