The Human Consciousness Now...Our World in the Midst of Becoming...to What? Observe, contemplate Now.
MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, Jun 25 2025 (IPS) - Poland’s embattled Prime Minister Donald Tusk emerged bruised but still standing after his government survived a parliamentary vote of confidence on 11 June. He’d called the vote, which he won by 243 to 210, just days after the presidential candidate of his Civic Platform (PO) party suffered an unexpected defeat.
Karol Nawrocki, an independent nationalist conservative backed by the former ruling Law and Justice Party (PiS) defeated liberal pro-European Union (EU) Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski in a nail-biting presidential runoff. The result offers a broader test of Poland’s democratic resilience that could have implications across the EU.
The electoral blow
Nawrocki’s path to victory was anything but predictable. The 42-year-old former president of Poland’s Institute of National Remembrance had never held elected office before emerging as PiS’s chosen candidate. Yet his populist message resonated with frustrated voters.
Economic grievances provided fertile ground for nationalist appeals. Despite Poland’s relatively low unemployment, youth unemployment of over 10 per cent is an understandable source of anxiety for younger voters. Increasingly, they’re reacting by rejecting mainstream political offerings.
This helped cause the fragmented results of the 18 May first round. Trzaskowski won only 31.36 per cent of the vote and Nawrocki took 29.54 per cent. The combined vote share of right-wing candidates – Nawrocki and far-right politicians Grzegorz Braun and Sławomir Mentzen – exceeded polling expectations. Braun and Mentzen took over 21 per cent between them, thanks to the support of many young voters.
The 1 June runoff saw Nawrocki win 50.89 per cent to Trzaskowski’s 49.11 per cent, a margin of under two percentage points. Nawrocki took 64 per cent of the rural vote while Trzaskowski commanded 67 per cent in urban centres – an established geographic divide that reflects an enduring ideological division between a conservative, nationalist Poland and its liberal, cosmopolitan counterpart.
Election interference
Disinformation is helping fuel polarisation. The election campaign unfolded against a backdrop of foreign interference concerns that echoed troubling developments across the region – particularly in Romania, where the Supreme Court cancelled the 2024 presidential election due to evidence of Russian interference.
Just days before the first round, Poland’s Research and Academic Computer Network discovered evidence of potentially foreign-funded Facebook ads targeting all major candidates. According to an investigation by fact-checking organisation Demagog, TikTok was flooded with disinformation, particularly but not exclusively against Trzaskowski. The platform’s algorithm displayed far-right content twice as often as centrist or left-wing content to new users, with pro-Nawrocki videos appearing four times more frequently than pro-Trzaskowski content. Over 1,200 fake accounts systematically attacked Trzaskowski, while another 1,200 promoted Nawrocki.
The influence operation extended beyond individual character assassination to sowing distrust in the democratic process and sharing broader far-right narratives. Fake accounts systematically promoted anti-Ukrainian sentiment and anti-immigration conspiracy theories.
Donald Trump also gave Nawrocki an unprecedented level of support: he received him at the White House just before the election and sent his Homeland Security Secretary to campaign for him in Poland as she attended the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). This year, CPAC, a US conservative platform, held two international events, in Hungary and Poland. The Polish one, timed to coincide with the runoff, offered a clear indication of how the nationalist far right has become internationalised.
Institutional paralysis
The viability of Tusk’s ideologically diverse coalition and his own political future have been called into question by the result. With critics in the Civic Coalition blaming the election defeat on the government’s communication failures and Tusk’s personal unpopularity, the confidence vote became a key test.
But even though Tusk has survived the confidence vote, it will be a tall order to implement the reforms needed to restore the democratic institutions that came under strain during the PiS administration. In eight years in power, PiS dismantled judicial independence, made public media its propaganda mouthpiece and undermined women’s rights by introducing one of Europe’s harshest anti-abortion laws. The new government’s attempts to reckon with this legacy had already been hampered by outgoing President Andrzej Duda, who used his veto power to block key reforms. Nawrocki will continue that, leaving Tusk unable to realise his promises to Polish voters and the EU.
The European Commission had counted on Tusk completing promised judicial reforms as it unlocked billions in pandemic recovery funds frozen over rule-of-law concerns during PiS rule. With progress now unlikely, the Commission faces the difficult decision of whether to maintain its funding even if the government’s unable to deliver promised changes.
Beyond the EU, Nawrocki’s foreign policy positions threaten to complicate Poland’s previously staunch backing of Ukraine. Although supportive of continued aid, Nawrocki has pledged to block any prospects of Ukraine joining NATO and prioritise Polish interests over refugee support.
High stakes
The razor-thin margin of victory in the presidential election, combined with record turnout of 72.8 per cent, tells a complex story of a divided society. While high participation suggests robust civic engagement, the deep polarisation reflected in the results reveals faultlines that extend far beyond conventional political disagreements.
The outcome offers further evidence that, when economic grievances aren’t addressed, institutional trust is allowed to erode and information environments are left vulnerable to manipulation, opportunistic politicians will exploit social divisions and anti-establishment anger.
For Poland, the coming years will test whether democratic institutions can withstand the pressures of sustained political deadlock. Poland faces potential institutional paralysis that could further erode public trust in democratic governance. Poland’s institutions will need to try to demonstrate their continuing effectiveness, and civil society and independent media will need to maintain their credibility, to help protect and nurture democratic values.
Inés M. Pousadela is CIVICUS Senior Research Specialist, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.
For interviews or more information, please contact research@civicus.org
BENGALURU, India, Jun 25 2025 (IPS) - It has been 33 years since peacebuilding was formally recognized within the United Nations system, by the then UN Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali, who defined it as a long-term structural work aimed at preventing the recurrence of violence, setting the stage for the UN’s ongoing efforts to address the root cause of conflict and not just its consequences. “Post-conflict peacebuilding is the action to identify and support structures which will tend to strengthen and solidify peace in order to avoid a relapse into conflict,” Boutros-Ghali said.
Sanam Naraghi Anderlini, Founder of International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN)
“Our entire system for peace and security was designed for interstate war. Wars today are often internal, asymmetrical, and increasingly state-non-state indistinct,” Sanam says. The change has outpaced mechanisms meant to manage it.
While the UN and the other multilateral institutions are still at the center, Sanam points out their shortcomings. “When great powers violate the rules, no one can hold them back,” she states. The fragility of international standards has been made clear by the immobility of international institutions in the face of aggression by the great powers, and that has has exposed the weakness of international norms.
“If we did not have the UN, we’d need one now”, Sanam says. However, she stresses that transformation is desperately needed, not just for institutions but also for mentality.
She argues that there is a clear choice: adopt inclusive, people-centered peacebuilding that leverages the legitimacy and abilities of actors closest to the ground or stick with a top-down, formulaic approach that hasn’t worked to address current crises.
“Today’s challenges include but are not limited to rising geopolitical tensions among nuclear-armed major powers, a seemingly inevitable climate catastrophe, technological changes that have the potential to remake every aspect of life, and the increasing powers and capabilities of non-state actors to reshape sub-national, national, and international affairs,” states this research by the Atlantic council.
The 2024 Multilateralism Index Report by International Peace Institute states that it is widely acknowledged that the multilateral systems are facing a series of crisis, and that international action in response to the wars in the Middle East, Ukraine, Sudan and Myanmar, and beyond has been largely confined to humanitarian assistance rather than peacemaking.
According to the report, and the surveys it conducted, majorities of people in most countries still have favourable views of the UN, want their country to be more involved in the UN, and believe the UN has made the world a better place. Majorities also agree that the UN promotes human rights, peace, democracy, action on infectious diseases and climate action. At the same time, perceptions of the UN varied widely by region, from strong support in Northern Europe and southeast Asia to low levels of trust across much of Latin America and the Middle East.
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the former president of Liberia, spoke about “Liberia’s story” in a video message during a recent event at the UN Headquarters commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC). She said that it was a story of suffering, but also of hope.
The former president and Nobel Peace Prize winner stated, “a country that was once brought to its knees by a protracted struggle now stands as a testament to what is achievable when national will is matched by international solidarity.” “Liberia’s journey to peace could not be walked alone,” she stated, highlighting the role played by the international community through the UN and its peacekeeping Mission UNMIL, the African Union, the European Union, the regional bloc ECOWAS, and other organizations.
The United Nations peacebuilding architecture – which comprises of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC), the Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO), and the Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) marks its fourth review this year which is mandated by general Assembly resolution 75/201 and Security Council Resolution 2558. This review comes at a time of significant geopolitical divisions and escalating risks of conflict in many parts of the world, underscoring the urgent need to act on recommendations from current and past reviews.
“If I were in charge, I’d take this moment of UN reform as a real opportunity,” says Sanam. The opening line of the UN Charter, “We the people of the United Nations, determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war”, holds immense power. She argues that now is the time to put women, peace and security at the center of global peacemaking. “These agendas came from war zones. Women and youth are the most affected and also the most active in peacebuilding.” Sanam envisions peacebuilding as an ecosystem where the UN, states, international players, and local actors are all necessary, as each has a specific role to play. “Peace is a choice, but it’s a choice that takes courage, commitment, and creativity. It takes hearing from those too often ignored and believing in the ability of local actors to drive change,” Sanam says.
With more conflicts than any time in the last 30 years, and a record number of displaced persons worldwide, the stakes could not be higher. This conversation is not merely a breakdown of what is wrong – it’s a call to reimagine what peace could be, and who gets to build it.
Sania Farooqui is an independent journalist and host of The Sania Farooqui Show, a platform dedicated to amplifying the voices of women in peacebuilding and human rights.
IPS UN Bureau
Excerpt:
Sanam Naraghi Anderlini on UN Reform and Civilian Power
UNITED NATIONS, Jun 25 2025 (IPS) - On June 23, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released their State of the Climate in Asia 2024 report, detailing the acceleration of the climate crisis in Asia. The report underscores the rapid rises in temperatures recorded across the continent and their implications on economies, ecosystems, and livelihoods.
According to WMO, 2024 was recorded as the hottest year in human history, marked by “widespread and prolonged” heatwaves. Additionally, 2024 was the first time global temperatures exceeded 1.5°C above pre-industrial temperatures, marking a significant setback for the goals in the 2015 Paris Agreement.
“It is essential to recognize that every fraction of a degree of warming matters,” said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo. “Whether it is at a level below or above 1.5C of warming, every additional increment of global warming increases the impacts on our lives, economies and our planet.”
The climate crisis has been particularly pronounced in Asia, which has warmed at nearly double the rate of the rest of the world. Throughout 2024, Asia has experienced widespread natural disasters and extreme weather patterns, as well as the hottest marine heatwaves ever recorded. Additionally, glaciers are melting at an unprecedented rate, while sea levels in the Pacific and Indian Oceans have risen well above the global average.
“The State of the Climate in Asia report highlights the changes in key climate indicators such as surface temperature, glacier mass and sea level, which will have major repercussions for societies, economies and ecosystems in the region. Extreme weather is already exacting an unacceptably high toll,” said Saulo. She added that immediate action is needed to save lives and ensure planetary longevity.
According to the report, Asia experienced extreme heat events throughout 2024, as well as several new record-highs in temperature across the continent. Powerful and persistent heatwaves were recorded in Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and the Middle East, with Myanmar reaching a record-high temperature of 48.2°C. From April to November, extreme heat patterns loomed throughout East Asia, with Japan, Korea, and China reporting monthly average temperature records being broken one after the other.
In a 2025 assessment report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, it is projected that cold extremes will occur less frequently while heat extremes will become more common in the coming decades. The Japan Meteorological Agency reports that areas in South and Southeast Asia, as well as the region spanning from the Indian Ocean to the western North Pacific, are projected to face “above-normal temperatures”, along with heightened risks of manmade fires and compromised air quality.
The WMO report also states that these extreme heat patterns in Asia are to have a significant adverse effect on the cryosphere. The High-Mountain Asia (HMA) region, located on the Tibetan Plateau, contains the largest mass of glacial ice outside of the north and south poles, spanning nearly 100,000 square kilometers of glaciers. Over the course of 2024, extreme heat patterns in the area resulted in a significant loss of glacial ice, with the Urumqi Glacier No.1 in Tian Shan experiencing its greatest loss in mass since 1959.
Additionally, the oceanic region in Asia has experienced significant ocean surface warming over the past few decades, which entails the disruption of numerous marine ecosystems, biodiversity loss, and reduced ocean health. Average sea temperatures in Asia have increased by roughly 0.24°C annually, which is nearly double the global average rate.
WMO estimates that between August and September 2024, roughly 15 million square kilometers, or one-tenth of the Earth’s entire ocean surface, was impacted by ocean surface warming, with the northern Indian Ocean and the waters surrounding Japan being especially affected. Furthermore, low-lying coastal communities residing by the Pacific and Indian Oceans are at heightened risks of flooding due to rampant sea level rises in those areas.
Throughout 2024, natural disasters and extreme weather events have ravaged communities across Asia, destroying critical civilian infrastructure, claiming thousands of lives, and wiping out livelihoods. Last July in northern India, violent landslides following a monsoon resulted in over 350 deaths. Two months later, severe flooding in Nepal killed over 246 people and resulted in damages of civilian infrastructure exceeding USD 94 million. In China, heatwaves triggered droughts that damaged over 335,200 hectares of crops, which is worth approximately $400 million USD.
WMO underscores the importance of anticipatory action and monitoring to build up resilience in vulnerable communities in Asia. A successful example of this was seen following the floods in Nepal last September, in which early flood monitoring systems enabled civilians to evacuate beforehand and allowed humanitarian workers to access the hardest-hit areas promptly and effectively.
“This is the first time in 65 years that the flooding was this bad. We had zero casualties thanks to preparedness and rescue measures, but the damage was extensive,” said Ramesh Karki, the Mayor of Barahakshetra, a municipality in Eastern Nepal.
In May of this year, climate experts, stakeholders, and policymakers convened in Singapore for the 2025 Climate Group Asia Action Summit, in which they discussed ways to fight the climate crisis and assist vulnerable communities in Asia. Most agreed that the implementation of sustainable practices is the most effective way to offset carbon emissions and reduce global temperatures.
“We should join hands to promote the sustainability of the global renewables industry…Vigorously developing renewable energy has become an important measure to help countries speed up green development and slow down global climate change,” said Yuechun Yi, the First Deputy Director-General of the China Renewable Energy Engineering Institute.
Furthermore, a host of experts agreed that it is imperative that governments have access to cutting-edge data on the acceleration of the climate crisis so that they can implement anticipatory measures to prevent large-scale disasters.
“To be resilient, the measures need to be hyper local. You need to look at local conditions. What’s happening on the ground? You need more computational power to get data at the level. Google is working with national authorities to provide information to help communities become more resilient,” said Spencer Low, the Head of Regional Sustainability at Google Asia-Pacific (APAC).
IPS UN Bureau Report
BOGOTA, Colombia, Jun 25 2025 (IPS) - Leaders heading to the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development taking place in Sevilla, Spain, from 30th June to 3rd July, know full well that they are operating in a moment of crisis.
They can see that public financing is not merely constrained, it is choked, and that the social consequences, already severe, risk becoming catastrophic. What leaders need to understand is not that they are in a hole, but that there is a way out. They can overcome the financing crisis and replace the doom loop of austerity with an upward spiral of social and fiscal success.
The scale of change in financing that is needed to overcome the crisis requires that the very welcome agreements set to be made at the gathering in Sevilla mark not an end point, easing pressures, but a starting point, enabling profound reform. The only realistic response to this crisis is a systemic one.
Leaders need not only to put in place debt relief for overindebted developing countries, including reductions in principals and in interest payments. They need to work to create a permanent institutional mechanism for sovereign-debt restructuring. They need to enable a major expansion of long-term, low-cost financing through regional and global development finance institutions.
José Antonio Ocampo
Leaders need not only to halt the freefall of development financing. They need to work to redesign financing for the twenty-first century. Embodying hope that a transformation can be realised is the growing momentum for global public investment. Colombia, Chile, Norway, South Africa and Uruguay are amongst the countries leading the call.
South Africa’s leadership of the G20’s Development Working Group has even named “global public goods and global public investment” as its “number one priority”, “aimed at the construction of a new architecture of international cooperation”.
Over fifty civil society organisations are also backing the call for global public investment, including the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition, Southern Voice, CIVICUS, and Global Citizen. A new multistakeholder commitment to advance the implementation of global public investment will be a key initiative in the financing conference’s flagship Sevilla Platform for Action.
Global public investment provides a new approach for how countries can think about, organise, and oversee the financing of global challenges. It is rooted in three principles: all benefit from the outcomes; all contribute according to their means; all decide together.
The first principle of global public investment, that all benefit from the outcomes, demonstrates that international cooperation in financing is not charity, it is collective self-interest. We need each other; we can’t afford not to cooperate with each other to achieve shared goals.
The second principle, that all contribute according to their means, helps to show everyone playing their part, which is essential both for ensuring backing and for reshaping countries’ relationships, status and power.
The third principle, that all decide together, enables equality and quality in the direction and oversight of resourcing.
The global public investment approach recognises that the crisis we are in is not only fiscal but ultimately political – a crisis of multilateralism, of collective action. It meets the world’s need for a more effective way for countries to collaborate, and for a more effective way to justify why they do. It shows that looking out for each other is how we protect ourselves; it demonstrates that through pooling of resources everyone wins out.
Though the current crisis in financing was exacerbated suddenly this year, it has been building for much longer. For years, leaders have been struggling to mobilise and structure the resourcing of public goods. But they need to resist the temptation to lower ambition. They cannot afford to settle for approaches that have been shown to not deliver. Retreating from public financing, or retreating from international cooperation, will only worsen the impacts of the global crisis.
The evidence is clear that private financing, though vital, cannot replace public financing. So too, the record shows that national action, though central, is insufficient for protecting global public goods. For the challenges we face, building a new international architecture based around global public investment is both necessary and feasible.
Global public investment harnesses both the power of mutual interest – that we are interdependent – and the power of mutuality – that we achieve more by working together. It is an approach whose time has come.
Sevilla is just the start.
IPS UN Bureau
Excerpt:
José Antonio Ocampo is Former UN Under-Secretary-General; Former Minister of Finance of Colombia; Professor at Columbia University, Member of the UN Committee for Development Policy and Advisor of Club de Madrid
SRINAGAR & BONN, Jun 25 2025 (IPS) - A packed conference room buzzing with the energy of over 300 national experts, negotiators, and implementers discussed their submissions of the First Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs) during the 62nd session of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SB62) negotiations taking place in Bonn, Germany.
The workshop was convened as part of the ongoing SB62 under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and was being held at a crucial time for global climate governance, providing a rare and vital platform for countries to exchange honest reflections on their first forays into enhanced climate transparency.
Daniele Violetti, Senior Director at the UNFCCC, while offering a snapshot of global progress, said, “As of today, 103 Biennial Transparency Reports have been submitted, of which 67 are from developing countries, including 15 Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS).”
The reports, which were due in December last year under the Paris Agreement’s Enhanced Transparency Framework, aim to enhance transparency and build trust among parties to the UNFCCC by providing a regular update on progress towards climate goals.
He lauded the extensive support provided through the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and other agencies, noting, “We at the UNFCCC Secretariat remain fully committed to collaborating with partners and enhancing the capacity of developing countries.”
Over the past five months, the Secretariat convened 17 country support events attended by 319 national experts and 11 sub-regional and regional workshops with 373 experts from 112 developing countries. Additionally, 1,700 review experts were certified under the BTR Technical Expert Review Training Program.
“This is a meaningful and valuable learning experience under the Paris Agreement,” Violetti said, stressing the importance of “reflection and mutual learning” to build “stronger national transparency systems that will serve countries well beyond this reporting cycle.”
The workshop’s agenda moved from introductory remarks to a series of concise presentations by key implementing agencies: the Global Environment Facility (GEF), Conservation International (CI), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
Esteban Bermudez Forn, Climate Change Specialist from the GEF stated that the Facility has supported the preparation of 163 BTRs in 111 countries, including multiple reports from countries advancing to their second and third BTRs. “We encourage countries to see GEF support as a savings account—prepare your BTR, but also request access to ensure you have resources available when you need them,” he advised.
Highlighting the continued availability of funds, Forn said, “We still have USD 92 million available under the current replenishment cycle. Please, if you haven’t requested support from the GEF, do it as soon as possible before the replenishment cycle ends.”
Ricardo Urlate of Conservation International spotlighted the importance of nurturing local talent, referencing a project in Rwanda that partners the government with academia. “Normally, there is a big dependency on external experts—very expensive experts from outside—and this is something that cannot continue if countries want to be more efficient and engaged,” he warned.
Through the Evidence-Based Climate Reporting Initiative, Rwanda’s Environmental Management Authority and the African Institute of Mathematical Sciences trained over 50 staff in data analysis, climate modeling, and greenhouse gas inventories. Ricardo emphasized, “The important thing is that there are a lot of options… to identify at the country level which is the one that better fits their own needs and priorities.”
CI also highlighted a sub-regional project with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), which aims to build capacity for enhanced transparency across member countries. “Reporting and transparency are two of the key elements they are supporting,” Ricardo said, pointing to the value of regional approaches.
FAO’s Marcel Bernhofs drew attention to a persistent challenge: finding appropriate executing agencies with the managerial capacity to lead projects. “This gap can create bottlenecks and delay implementation, slowing down the preparation and submission of funding requests,” he observed.
FAO’s approach emphasizes on-the-ground engagement, leveraging regional and national teams. Their Capacity Building Initiative for Transparency (CBIT) and Forestry and Other Land Use (FOLU) project, for example, “provides easy-to-access and knowledgeable technical experts” and focuses on supporting agriculture and land use sectors—areas that are “not easy, where we are really struggling quite a lot to do a good job,” Marcel acknowledged.
Marcel also stressed the importance of language accessibility: “Sometimes working in English is fine, but we also need, when we enter the detail and close discussion, to use the national languages.” FAO’s capacity-building activities, including a recent forest monitoring course in three languages, supported 2,500 participants from 141 countries.
The Value of Timely Technical Assistance
Richmond Azee from UNDP shared practical lessons on the importance of selecting the right executing partners and providing timely technical assistance. “Never let [countries] work alone on the BTRs but be ready beside them with some resources… to provide technical assistance as soon as possible and as needed to unlock some issues and overcome some challenges,” he advised.
He cited Guinea-Bissau’s experience aligning multiple reporting requirements and Niger’s successful correction of technical errors in their submission, both facilitated by UNDP’s hands-on support. “As a result, Guinea-Bissau, an LDC, submitted its BTR before December 2024… and Niger submitted on time, enhancing their understanding for the next cycle of BTRs.”
Funding Modalities and Sustainability Susanne Lecoyote, dialing in from UNEP, addressed the evolving funding modalities.
“Out of the total 111 countries that have accessed funding so far for BTRs, UNEP has supported 66,” she stated, describing how diverse modalities—such as bundled projects—help tailor support and ensure continuity for countries as they move through reporting cycles.
Susanne explained the streamlined approval process for expedited funding, typically taking just three to four months. She encouraged project coordinators to “be flexible to start preparing proposals while you are concluding your reports… do not mind about the technical review comments, because when they come in, we will provide a room for you to make amendments if needed.”
UNEP’s CBIT-GSP (Global Support Program) is a hub of collaboration, she said, “working closely with the Consultative Group of Experts, Climate Promise, Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change (PACC), Implementation and Coordination of Agricultural Research & Training (ICART) and many other initiatives to make sure that transparency-related services are provided to all countries, irrespective of whether they are supported by UNEP or other agencies.”
National Ownership and the Importance of Coordination
Rajan Dhappa from WWF shared Nepal’s experience, celebrating the country’s recent submission of its first BTR and its third Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), making Nepal the first in South Asia to do so.
“We tried our best to submit the document with the best available data and information. But BTR is a time-taking process; it requires coordination among agencies and also the technical and financial support,” he reflected.
He stressed the centrality of government ownership: “If there is a high level of ownership and if they tend to implement such projects… then every project gets a success result or every project receives its intended goal on time.”
Nepal’s work on establishing a national Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) mechanism is expected to pay dividends for future reporting.
IPS UN Bureau Report
MUTARE, Zimbabwe, Jun 25 2025 (IPS) - When load shedding was introduced over the past two years, Jose Tenete Domingos Lumboa had to deal with learning disruptions worsened by the backup generators in the eastern part of Zimbabwe.
Apart from the noise and air pollution from the diesel-powered generators, the backup system did not run the whole night.
“It was disruptive,” says the 26-year-old from Angola, who is studying Education at Africa University, a United Methodist Church-related institution.
“You have an assignment due and you are still researching online and if the electricity goes off, you cannot meet the deadline.”
Lumboa is lucky not to have missed the deadline for any of his assignments, but most of his fellow students have been missing deadlines due to rolling power cuts.
Students Jose Tenete Domingos Lumboa and Maria Kwikiriza at Africa University in eastern Zimbabwe. Credit: Farai Shawn Matiashe/IPS
A new solar mini-grid at AU, just outside Zimbabwe’s third-largest city of Mutare, is changing the lives of students like Lumboa.
The 250 kilowatt solar power plant, officially commissioned on 6 June, has 590 solar panels, a 250 kilovolt inverter system and a 600 kilowatt-hour battery bank.
The lithium batteries have a lifespan of 25 years.
The system is providing uninterrupted power to the AU’s main campus, including student hostels and laboratories.
“Annually, we had to spend a minimum of USD 216,000. That was our energy bill. Our maximum will be around USD 240,000. So, we will save around USD 240,000 per year,” says Professor Talon Garikayi, a deputy Vice Chancellor at AU, an engineer overseeing the solar power project.
In 2024, the southern African nation was hit by a punishing drought fueled by El Niño, a climate phenomenon that can worsen dry spells or storms, extreme weather events increasingly linked to climate change.
This led to a sharp drop in water levels in Lake Kariba, home to the country’s main hydropower plant, which is shared with Zambia.
The authorities were forced to roll out load shedding schedules lasting for more than 18 hours.
Lake Kariba was generating less than 20 percent of its installed capacity of 1050 megawatts (MW) at the time.
Jose Tenete Domingos Lumboa, a student at Africa University working on his laptop. Credit: Farai Shawn Matiashe/IPS
In April 2024, the government declared the drought a national disaster—the worst in 40 years—which left more than half the population food insecure.
Institutions like AU had to turn to diesel-powered generators, which are expensive to run.
And students like Lumboa had to bear the brunt of load shedding at AU.
Reverend Alfiado Zunguza, AU Board of Directors chairperson, says this makes education expensive.
“We felt like it was critical to invest in this solar power plant to ensure the university continues to be reliable in its operations and its systems that are critical in advancing the knowledge of the continent,” he says.
“The university was spending USD 240,000 a year for electricity, making education expensive. So we want to reduce the cost of education at AU, making it more affordable to as many people as possible.”
He says in the long run, AU is saving more, and the funds can be channeled towards infrastructure development, research labs, and capacity building.
The Zimbabwe government, through its National Energy Policy, is planning to generate 2,100 MW by 2030 from renewable energy and biofuels like ethanol.
Maria Kwikiriza, who is from Uganda and is studying law, says that by investing in renewable energy, the institution is contributing to a clean environment.
Lithium batteries at the new solar power plant at Africa University in eastern Zimbabwe. Credit: Farai Shawn Matiashe/IPS
“The campus is now quiet. The oil from the generator was affecting my breathing. We now have access to WiFi all night, which is essential for our studying,” says the 25-year-old who has asthma.
Zimbabwe, a country of 15.1 million people, has 62 percent electricity access and relies heavily on coal and hydropower for its energy needs.
The AU is improving electricity access to the community through its new solar power plant.
Reverend Peter Mageto, AU vice chancellor, says his institution is releasing electricity, which will benefit surrounding communities.
“So, we are glad that we are venturing into this so that the electricity supply authorities can provide electricity to the underserved communities,” he says, adding that this project is part of the AU’s strategic plan running from 2023 to 2027.
Mageto, who is from Kenya, says he brought with him lessons learned from Kenya, which is one of the nations doing well in renewable energy in Africa.
Dr. James Sally, chief executive officer of Africa University, Tennessee, says the solar mini-grid was funded by AU Tennessee Corporation, which founded AU Zimbabwe more than 30 years ago.
“No donor provided funding for this project and that is the uniqueness of it. That is what I am talking about—sustainability,” says Sally, who is also the associate vice chancellor for institutional advancement at AU.
Garikayi says AU is working to generate 1.4 MW by October, enough to cover the university’s farm and its residential areas.
This solar power plant will become the biggest in Manicaland Province after a 200 kW solar mini-grid in Hakwata in Chipinge, a 140 kW solar power plant at Victoria Chitepo Provincial Hospital and a 150 kW solar power plant at Mutambara Mission Hospital, funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
He says if he has excess electricity, it will be extended to nearby Old Mutare, which has a school, an orphanage, and a hospital.
“We will be able to say there are 1,200 business units within Manicaland. Everyone within the region can now use the energy we would have been allocated,” Garikayi says, adding that the AU will reduce the load from the national grid.
Lumbo is planning to replicate this solar power plant in his country, Angola.
“I was talking to my fellow countrymen about taking this technology back home. It improves students’ welfare and boosts our confidence,” he says.
IPS UN Bureau Report
NEW YORK, Jun 24 2025 (IPS) - The world is losing interest in investing in others, especially when it comes to humanitarian aid. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has slowed to critical levels, weakening emerging markets and further slowing growth across developing nations.
As of 2025, FDI has dwindled to its lowest levels yet, largely due to heightened trade tensions among barriers for international investment. Lowered levels of FDI indicate a move to domestic and isolationist efforts, increasing the likelihood of failed budgetary cooperation to international intergovernmental bodies such as the United Nations.
This is already evident in the UN’s budgets for the Secretariat and for humanitarian aid operations. With many of the UN’s largest donors deciding to cut back on their contributions, the organization will now see a 20 percent reduction in its workforce (6,900 jobs), in addition to sizing down humanitarian aid operations globally. On June 20th, Spokesperson for the Secretary General Stéphane Dujarric remarked, “no office in the UN will be exempt from the 20 percent reduction, and that includes the Secretary General’s office.” This would suggest that the cuts have been brought on due to the reduced budget, and not a want for managerial optimization of the UN’s staff. Under U.S. President Donald Trump, nearly USD 1.5 billion in missed payments have contributed to a USD 3.7 billion budget cut to the UN. This financial strain has been further exacerbated by multiple overdue payments from China. Together, China and the U.S. make up a little over 40 percent of the UN’s total budget.
These cuts have also been seen across the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), where “the deepest funding cuts ever to hit the international humanitarian sector” have occurred. This has resulted in resulting in OCHA to presenting their new global “hyper-prioritized” appeal, aimed at supporting 114 million people facing life threatening necessities worldwide. The new plan asks for USD 29 billion in funding, a decrease of USD 15 billion called for in the previous plan.
“We have been forced into a triage of human survival,” said Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator .“The math is cruel, and the consequences are heartbreaking. Too many people will not get the support they need, but we will save as many lives as we can with the resources we are given.”
The Global Humanitarian Overview for 2025 originally called for USD 44 billion and aimed to reach about 180 million people out of the nearly three hundred million in need. However as of June, only USD 5.6 billion has been received, less than 13 per cent of the appeal. As a result, aid will be disbursed not purely by human necessity, but by cruel and cold calculations.
With the new calculations, the new plan was designed with three goals. Firstly, by reaching the people facing the most urgent conditions, using a scale ranking humanitarian need for aid, prioritizing cases that reached level 4 (Extreme) and level 5 (Catastrophic) as a starting point for disbursement. Second, the prioritization of life-saving support, according to the planning already concluded in the 2025 Humanitarian Response. Third, ensuring that limited resources are directed based on where they can do the best, accounting for speed of disbursement capabilities.
In his statement on the situation, Fletcher concluded by saying: “Brutal funding cuts leave us with brutal choices. All we ask is 1 percent of what you chose to spend last year on war. But this isn’t just an appeal for money – it’s a call for global responsibility, for human solidarity, for a commitment to end the suffering.”
The Investment-Aid Correlation
Credit: Unsplash/Salah Darwish
The shortfall in humanitarian aid funding has directly coincided with global FDI pull backs, reflecting an investor who is less donor-confident, having a decreased interest in bilateral engagement, and overall lack of security about putting money towards fragile states. For the 2023 financial year, developing economies received USD435 billion in FDI (which was USD 867 billion in 2022), the lowest since 2005. A larger slowdown has also been seen for advanced/high-income economies receiving USD 336 billion in 2023, the lowest since 1996. FDI as a portion of gross domestic product (GDP) accounted for 2.3 percent of developing economies in 2023, which is only half of what it was in 2008 at its peak year.
To combat the shortfalls of decreased FDI, The World Bank identified a three-policy priority plan, specifically for developing economies. The first priority would be to “redouble efforts to attract FDI” by easing restrictions and speeding up investment. According to the World Bank, a 1 percent increase in countries’ labor productivity has been associated with a 0.7 percent increase in FDI inflows.
The second priority would be to “amplify the economic benefits of FDI”, which will involve offering a greater quality of development post investment, and uplifting sectors that create opportunities for underrepresented groups. The third priority would be to “advance global cooperation” by creating initiatives to increase multi-sectoral/international flows, offering geopolitical relief, and creating structures to support developing economies.
By boosting FDI, this plan would also encourage UN member states to expand or maintain their current humanitarian contributions. FDI can be seen as a signal for the depth of global connectedness, with stronger investment flows reinforcing a shared commitment to the delivering of aid. To establish the most efficient system, everyone is needed, and that includes the mobilization of capital and communication. An increase in FDI provides a crucial backbone for countries struggling with crises. While the UN can support and implement as many aid plans as possible, true impact depends on the individual state’s willingness to invest in these developing nations. Without this investment, these economies will remain stagnant, unable to recover and grow, falling behind the world stage indefinitely.
At the same time, official development assistance (ODA) globally is also on a downward trend.
IPS UN Bureau