Although urban centers are often ill-prepared to meet the basic needs of rapidly expanding populations, the urban poor are incredibly resourceful people, with their own networks and the proven capacity to save and invest in the betterment of their communities. Climate change can stimulate action that improves and transforms the most vulnerable urban communities.

This video, narrated by UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Angélique Kidjo, tells the stories of the winners of the 2015 Momentum for Change Awards, under the Urban Poor category.

The Hindu Kush Himalayan region encompasses an area of 4.2 million km2 of hills and mountains in the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan. With its vast expanses of snow and ice, the region it is known as the water tower of Asia, which is being significantly affected by climate change. The meltwater from Himalayan snow and ice feeds 10 large river systems of South Asia: the Amu Darya, Brahmaputra, Ganges, Indus, Irrawaddy, Mekong, Salween, Tarim, Yangtze and Yellow Rivers.

The Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN) is a network of 22 governments in the Asia-Pacific region that promote research, the participation of developing countries in research, and strengthens the links between policy-makers and scientists. As part of their ‘APN Global Change Perspectives’ series of policy briefs, APN have published this concise look at three case studies - India, Nepal, and Pakistan - concerning efforts to upscale the application of low-carbon and energy-efficient technology in the construction sector.

Almost as much energy is used for refrigeration, air conditioning and insulation worldwide as for transport or heating. On behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the GIZ ‘Proklima’ project has now been working for some 15 years to help introduce environment- and climate-friendly alternatives to ozonedepleting industrial gases (such as chlorofluorocarbon, CFCs) in partner countries. Proklima thus supports developing and emerging countries in fulfilling their obligations arising from the Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer.

Initiated by the detection of the so called “ozone hole” over the Antarctic, the Montreal Protocol on Substances that deplete the Ozone Layer came into force in 1987. The Protocol regulates the phase-out of production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances, such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) in refrigeration and air conditioning. This phase-out has led to the introduction of new, environmental-friendly technologies in industrialized countries.

INDO-European Research Facilities for Studies on MARine Ecosystem and CLIMate in India (INDO-MARECLIM) was the first India-EU joint research initiative under the 7th Framework programme of EU co-ordinated by NERCI. The overall objective of INDO-MARECLIM was to use and extend the research infrastructure at Nansen Environmental Research Centre India (NERCI) in order to strengthen scientific cooperation within climate and marine scientific cooperation between scientists and students from India and Europe.