Indigenous protests at the recently concluded COP30 echo global climate-justice demands, calling for territorial rights, forest protection and an end to extractive industries – themes strongly reflected in the discussions at the Nyéléni Global Forum on Food Sovereignty held this August in Sri Lanka.
Heavy rainfall across the region was caused by the combination of natural phenomena and climate change but in Indonesia's Sumatra, where the most lives have been lost, the scale of disaster was worsened by deforestation.
Cities in developing Asia will need US$1.7 trillion per year to respond to climate change, but investors in city-level sustainability projects want to see predictable returns and high-quality climate data.