The UN Security Council meets this morning to discuss Sudan as the war nears its third year, with fighting intensifying across multiple regions and civilians facing deepening humanitarian catastrophe. Senior UN political and humanitarian officials are expected to brief ministers on a conflict marked by shifting front lines, advanced weaponry and widespread displacement. The meeting comes amid fresh warnings that atrocities in Darfur, including acts bearing the “hallmarks of genocide” in El Fasher, signal a dangerous escalation. Follow the live coverage below, UN News App users click here.
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SECURITY COUNCIL LIVE: Briefing on threats to international peace and security
The UN Security Council meets today to hear a briefing on threats to international peace and security following Israel’s recent recognition of the northern region of Somalia as an independent and sovereign state. Follow live below and UN News app users can click here and go here for all our in-depth meeting coverage.
LIVE: Security Council meets on Venezuela, Iran, Somalia
The Security Council convened earlier today for a packed agenda, adopting a resolution extending the authorisation of the African Union support mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) and hearing a briefing on Iran and the implementation of resolution 2231, which endorsed the 2015 nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Members are set to reconvene at 3 pm for an emergency meeting requested by Venezuela, amid heightened tensions between Caracas and Washington. Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Khaled Khiari is expected to brief ambassadors. Follow live below and UN News app users can click here.
LIVE: Security Council meets on escalating violence in Sudan
Senior UN political and humanitarian officials are set brief the Security Council this afternoon as members meet to discuss the rapidly deteriorating situation in Sudan, where intensified fighting – including in the Kordofan region – has driven widespread civilian harm and displacement. The region has seen a sharp escalation, including a deadly drone attack on a UN peacekeeping base that killed six Bangladeshi peacekeepers. The meeting was requested by Sudan and Transitional Prime Minister, Kamil Eltayeb Idris, is expected to attend. Follow live below and UN News app users can click here.
Security Council LIVE: Ambassadors debate deepening crisis in eastern DR Congo
The UN Security Council meet this morning in New York to discuss the rapidly deteriorating situation in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), amid intensified fighting and mass displacement. The UN Peacekeeping chief briefed on recent peace efforts – including the Washington Accords between the DRC and Rwanda, signed just days before violence surged again – heightening fears of a worsening humanitarian emergency and regional spillover. Follow live below and UN News app users can click here. Find our recent reporting here on the crisis and go here for all our in-depth meeting coverage.
SECURITY COUNCIL LIVE: Emergency session as Sudan crisis reaches breaking point
As fighting in El Fasher reaches a devastating new peak, the Security Council meets this morning in an emergency session to address the rapidly deteriorating situation in Darfur, where civilians are facing starvation, mass displacement and reports of summary executions. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have seized much of the city, ending months of siege and capturing the Sudanese army’s last stronghold in the region. Hospitals, schools and displacement camps are under attack, with entire neighborhoods emptied as families flee. Senior UN humanitarian and political officials are expected to brief. Follow our in-depth live coverage from 10am; UN News app users can go here.
African Countries Urged to Seize Economic Opportunities Through New Climate Plans
UN Climate Chief highlights potential for millions of new jobs, secure energy, rising living standards
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, 15 September 2025 -/African Media Agency (AMA)/UN News- African governments are being encouraged to present their new national climate plans as opportunities to supercharge economies and boost living standards across the continent, as deadlines approach for all countries in the Paris Agreement to submit these plans.
“Strong new national climate plans are blueprints for stronger economies, more jobs and rising living standards, across all African nations. Strong plans open the door to new industries, large-scale investment, more affordable clean energy accessible to all, and more resilient infrastructure, as climate disasters hit African nations harder each year,” said UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell.
“Africa is not just on the frontlines of climate impacts; it is also at the forefront of solutions. Right across the continent, we are already seeing massive potential and innovations which cut planet-heating pollution and build more climate-resilient economies. Strong new national climate plans are the key to converting that potential into real-economy outcomes at scale, including the millions of new jobs they create,” Stiell added.
The United Nations is calling on all countries to submit their new plans, formally called Nationally Determined Contributions, or NDCs, as soon as possible ahead of key milestones, including the UN Secretary General’s September Climate Summit and November COP30 in Brazil. September will be an important milestone, but submissions will continue in the run-up to COP30, with each plan helping to limit global heating to 1.5 degrees Celsius and protect all peoples, while also unlocking jobs, growth, and economic benefits at home.
While particular responsibility rests with the largest economies, whose choices determine the global trajectory of emissions, it is essential that every nation puts forward its most ambitious plan, both to strengthen humanity’s collective response and to drive each nation’s own prosperity and security.
Examples from Across Africa
- In South Africa, the NDC process is framed around a just transition that protects workers and communities while scaling renewables to strengthen energy security. International partnerships are signalling momentum, bringing together governments, public financiers, and private investors to support South Africa’s shift from coal to clean energy – growing from USD 8.5 to 11.6 billion.
- Nigeria is advancing a whole-of-government and society approach, linking climate action to job creation, poverty reduction, and improved energy access. Over 85 million people still lack electricity, making decentralised renewables critical. Large-scale solar is expected to generate 33,905 direct green jobs by 2030, the micro-solar sector is already employing youth as “energy officers,” the Great Green Wall has restored more than 5 million hectares, and the country’s extensive mangroves provide carbon storage and flood protection. With a population projected to surpass 400 million by 2050 and GDP already over USD 470 billion, Nigeria has unparalleled potential to be a powerful leader in Africa’s green transition. Its upcoming climate plan is being designed as a national investment strategy to generate millions of green jobs by 2035 and secure a strong share of the USD 2.2 trillion global clean energy market. The transformation is already underway: over 170 solar mini-grids are already operational, bringing reliable electricity to nearly 6 million people, while young entrepreneurs are driving innovation in recycling, clean transport, and sustainable agriculture.
- Morocco has emerged as a regional leader in renewable energy, with the Ouarzazate solar complex among the largest in the world. It stands as a positive example of how national ambition can deliver clean power at scale.
- Recent milestone UN climate events, including Climate Week in Ethiopia and the Adaptation Expo in Zambia, have showcased innovative and practical new climate solutions emerging right across African nations, helping them to be scaled up and replicated across the continent and globally.
Africa Leading the Way
Momentum for strong climate action by and for African nations is building following the Africa Climate Summit in Addis Ababa last week, where leaders called for climate action to be treated as a driver of development and investment; and the Nairobi Declaration agreed by African leaders at the Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi in September 2023, which highlighted the continent’s role as a driver of global solutions. Countries are being urged to turn political signals into concrete plans that deliver for people and economies, echoing Simon Stiell’s message that delivery is the essential driver of climate justice and economic opportunity.
Through initiatives like the African Continental Free Trade Area, African nations can build resilient regional supply chains, export green goods and services, and foster shared prosperity across borders.
Climate finance remains central and a vital enabler of stronger climate actions by vulnerable and developing countries. Climate finance is not charity but an investment in shared prosperity, essential to convert climate ambitions into real-economy outcomes, strengthen global supply chains which all economies rely on, and ensure the vast benefits are spread much more widely across all nations in Africa and the developing world.
The COP29 UN Climate Conference in Azerbaijan last year reached a new global agreement to triple climate finance to USD 300 billion per year. This must be delivered in full, and a new Finance Roadmap expected at COP30 in Brazil this November will be key to scaling climate finance to USD 1.3 trillion annually by 2035.
Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) on behalf of UN Climate Change.
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About Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)
NDCs are the central mechanism under the Paris Agreement through which countries outline plans to reduce emissions and build resilience. Done well, NDCs serve as investment roadmaps that attract capital, create jobs, lower health costs, and deliver affordable, secure clean energy. Under the Paris Agreement, countries are required to submit new NDCs every five years. The third round of NDCs are due in 2025 and will detail countries’ intended climate actions through 2035.
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UN and Ethiopia urge Africa Climate Summit to send a clear message: COP30 must deliver for African nations
Climate Week in Addis Ababa shows: “Africa is a colossal coiled spring of climate action possibility”
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, 5 September 2025 -/African Media Agency (AMA)/UN News- The Africa Climate Summit next week is an unmissable opportunity to send a clear global message, according to a powerful joint statement issued today by UN Climate Change and the Government of Ethiopia: “Africa is ready to supercharge climate action, but COP30 must ensure Africa is fully enabled to do so.”
The joint statement – issued at Climate Week today in Addis Ababa – comes as nations around the world prepare for the crucial COP30 global climate conference in Brazil in November.
The statement – from H.E. Dr Fitsum Assefa, Ethiopia’s Minister of Planning and Development, and Mr Simon Stiell, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary – sets the stage for the Africa Climate Summit starting this coming Monday 8 September, in Addis Ababa.
“This Climate Week has shown that no continent holds greater potential than Africa for climate actions that transform lives and economies for the better. With the world’s youngest population, vast natural resources, unparalleled renewable energy potential, and extraordinary diversity and human ingenuity, Africa is a colossal coiled spring of climate action possibility,” said the statement.
“This Climate Week has shown that African innovators are putting forward pioneering solutions, to boost climate resilience and cut planet-heating emissions. However, it has also highlighted again that only a fraction of this potential has yet been realized. Global decarbonisation is charging ahead, with clean energy investments hitting $2 trillion last year alone, driving economic growth and millions of new jobs, but only a fraction of that investment is flowing to African nations.”
The two leaders pointed to recent United Nations climate COPs delivering concrete global outcomes that should materially benefit Africa and other developing nations.
“But to realize these benefits, COP30 must take the next concrete steps forward: with ambitious outcomes which convert agreements into results on the ground, and scalable solutions which drive a new era of implementation… Because when all nations are empowered to take bold climate actions, this strengthens the entire global economy and lifts up all the world’s 8 billion people,” the statement concludes.
Read the full Joint Statement at this link: Joint statement by UN Climate Change and the Government of Ethiopia | UNFCCC
During the Climate Week, Ethiopia also announced its bid to host the COP32 UN Climate Conference in 2027.
“We have the capacity, the facilities, the location, the connectivity to host the much-anticipated climate summit,” Ethiopian President H.E. Taye Atske-Selassie said.
The joint statement and announcement of Ethiopia’s bid for COP32 cap a highly productive Climate Week attended by delegates from 119 countries, and hundreds of representatives from NGOs, investors and other international organizations.
During the Climate Week, in focused workshops and “implementation labs” over 40 initiatives driving implementation were featured, so they can be replicated in other markets and scaled up. Noura Hamladji, UN Climate Change Deputy Executive Secretary said:
“Climate Week has been about connecting the international climate process to people’s daily lives. We’ve worked together here in Addis to help translate pledges into actions. From community mini-grids to recycling innovations in Kibera, Kenya; to green bonds in Morocco and digital platforms tracking ambition across the continent: we’ve heard from innovators of climate action that is profitable, scalable, and irreversible.”
The Climate Week also advanced work on key issues being negotiated at COP30 in Brazil, across issues including climate adaptation, finance pathways, and a just transition.
Negotiators also participated in solutions-focused workshop, as part of Climate Week’s new approach this year, aiming to bring the intergovernmental process and real-economy implementation closer together. By clustering mandated meetings in the COP process together, the Climate Week also delivered cost savings and efficiencies.
Mrs Hamladji thanked the Government of Ethiopia for its leadership in hosting the Climate Week: “Ethiopia has long stood as a symbol of African independence, a founding member of the United Nations, and today the diplomatic capital of Africa — home to the African Union and the UN Economic Commission for Africa”.
“This is a country whose influence in regional diplomacy, security, and sustainable development, together with its innovative and dynamic society, made it an ideal setting for the week’s vital work”.
H.E. Dr Fitsum Assefa, Ethiopian Minister of Planning and Development said:
“By gathering here for Climate Week, a global platform for Parties and non-Party stakeholders, we reaffirm Addis Ababa’s role as a hub of the Global South, a place where ideas are exchanged, partnerships forged, and practical solutions launched. This Climate Week is not just an event. It is a bridge between negotiation and implementation. It is where ambition meets action, where commitments are translated into real solutions that reach communities, restore ecosystems, and advance sustainable development.”
Mukhtar Babayev, President of COP29 in Azerbaijan said:
“Each region has its own challenges and solutions. This high-level ministerial event convened by the COP29 Presidency within the Climate Week in Africa will serve as an important space for in-depth engagement on Africa’s core challenges, with a focus on potential solutions through maximizing the opportunities for effective actions.”
Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) on behalf of UN Climate Change
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UN Climate Week Kicks Off in Addis Ababa to Boost Solutions and Speed Up Real-World Climate Actions
Outcomes to feed into Africa Climate Summit and COP30 UN Climate Conference in the Amazon this November
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, 1 September 2025 -/African Media Agency (AMA)/UN News-Today marks the start of Climate Week – a milestone United Nations event to boost real-world climate solutions, and advance crucial climate issues, ahead the COP30 global climate conference in Brazil, this November.
Climate Week will bring together governments, financiers including development banks, businesses, civil society, and Indigenous Peoples, to help speed up delivery of pledges and climate actions on the ground, in African countries and around the world.
Organized by UN Climate Change and hosted by the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Climate Week will feed into the second Africa Climate Summit next week – a major rallying point for African nations ahead of COP30 in Belém, Brazil.
“We are at a vital moment in the world’s climate journey. Climate Week in Addis Ababa is a chance to share and scale up real-world solutions, and help spread the real-life benefits of climate action to more people across Africa and around the world: more resilient economies, more jobs, better health and quality of life, more secure and affordable clean energy for all,” said UN Climate Change Executive Secretary, Simon Stiell.
“Climate Weeks aim to connect the international climate process to people’s daily lives and to real economies. At the heart of our programme is the Implementation Forum (3-4 Sept) — bringing together negotiators with implementers in governments, financiers, businesses, civil society, and Indigenous Peoples,” said UN Climate Change Deputy Executive Secretary Noura Hamladji.
With a strong focus on investment and collaboration, new Implementation Labs will focus on key challenges and opportunities, including in adaptation finance, strengthening public-private sector partnerships, scaling up agricultural, forest and food-related climate actions, and empowering communities, among many others.
A Stepping Stone for the Africa Climate Summit and COP30
The Climate Week is global in scope, but its solutions are deeply relevant to Agenda 2063 – Africa’s vision for inclusive growth, sustainability, and resilience. Climate Week in Addis Ababa has been deliberately timed to take place just ahead of the Africa Climate Summit 2 (ACS2), hosted in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 8-10 September 2025.
The Summit marks a crucial moment for the continent’s climate leadership, where African leaders will advance work on climate finance, adaptation, cutting greenhouse gas emissions, green growth and community empowerment, ahead of COP30.
Ethiopia’s Minister of Planning and Development, Fitsum Assefa, said: “This strategic alignment ensures that Africa’s climate priorities do not remain regional aspirations but are elevated into the global agenda. What we build in Addis Ababa through both the Africa Climate Summit 2 and Climate Week will strengthen implementation, unlock finance, and set the stage for COP30 and beyond. Together, these moments demonstrate that climate solutions must be locally rooted yet globally resonant if we are to build a sustainable future for all.”
“By strategically connecting Climate Week, the Climate Change and Development Conference in Africa, and the Second Africa Climate Summit, we establish a unified platform that turns dialogue into practical, scalable climate solutions and funding, fostering a resilient and green continent,” said Mosses Vilakati, Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment, African Union Commission.
The key outcomes of the Climate Week, including official statements linking to the Africa Climate Summit from UN Climate Change and the Government of Ethiopia, will be shared by news release in the afternoon of Thursday 4 Sept (Addis time) in English, Arabic and French, and posted on the UNFCCC website: www.unfccc.int
The Opening Ceremony & Start of the Implementation Forum (3 Sept, 09:30h EAT) will be livestreamed in English, French et Arabic with speakers to include:
1. H.E. Dr. Fitsum Assefa, Minister of Planning and Development of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
2. H.E. Taye Atske Selassie, President of Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
3. Ms. Noura Hamladji, Deputy Executive Secretary UNFCCC
The Closing Ceremony (4 Sept, 16:00h EAT) will be livestreamed in English, French, Arabic, with speakers to include:
1. H.E. Dr. Fitsum Assefa, Minister of Planning and Development of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
2. Mr. Simon Stiell, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary
Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) on behalf of UN Climate Change
More information and visuals
Learn more about Climate Week
Consult the full CW2 Agenda & event calendar (with webcast links when available)
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Despite pandemic, UN mission in Abyei continues to provide vital assistance
In spite of the challenges due to the coronavirus pandemic, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Abyei with other agencies, continue to provide vital protection, humanitarian and recovery assistance to vulnerable populations, senior UN officials told the Security Council on Monday.
NEW YORK, USA, April 27, 2021,-/African Media Agency (AMA)/-Jean-Pierre Lacroix, head of UN Peacekeeping, briefed ambassadors on recent developments concerning the oil-rich border area, where the UN interim security force, UNISFA, has been deployed since 2011 to protect civilians and humanitarians.
“The six-month reporting period was marked by continued rapprochement between the Sudan and South Sudan”, Mr. Lacroix said, noting however, that the rapprochement “did not translate into significant improvements on the ground”, where the security situation remains tense.
He also informed the Council members that there had been “modest progress” towards the benchmarks set out in Security Council resolution 2550, and that all requested aerial and ground monitoring missions were approved by the Governments of the Sudan and South Sudan in October last year. Most of them were conducted during the reporting period.
In addition, four of the ten closed border crossings had also been opened, including the El-Meiram-Aweil crossing – a major goods transit route, Mr. Lacroix said.
Tensions remain
Relations between the Ngok Dinka and Misseriya communities also remained tense, marked by violent clashes.
In one particular incident, on 30 December 2020, several shops and properties were destroyed at the Amiet market, and five Ngok Dinka and seven Misseriya were wounded. Similarly, on 15 February, three armed men, suspected to be Ngok Dinka, opened fire on a civilian vehicle outside Abyei town, severely wounding six civilians, who were brought to a UNISFA hospital for treatment.
Mr. Lacroix went on to note that the general security situation in Abyei area remained also volatile and unpredictable, with the most prevalent threats being shooting incidents as well as an increased presence of unidentified armed groups.
During the reporting period, some 47 security incidents were recorded, including 23 attacks on civilians that resulted in five fatalities and serious injuries.
A UN World Food Programme (WFP) humanitarian convoy, comprising 49 trucks, en route to Abyei town was held up by a Misseriya crowd, which demanded half of its cargo in return for passage. After two days of negotiations it was decided that the convoy would return to Khartoum, but 15 trucks were looted in the incident, Mr. Lacroix added.
Wider regional dynamics
Briefing alongside Mr. Lacroix, Parfait Onanga-Anyanga, UN Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, also highlighted the impact of the coronavirus pandemic in the region, adding that the start of COVID-19 vaccinations – though limited at present – in both Sudan and South Sudan was a welcome development.
He also informed the Council of his trip to Sudan, as well as of wider regional dynamics, including the tensions between Governments of Ethiopia and Sudan over the Grand Ethiopia Renaissance Dam, which could have a “direct impact” on the configuration of UNISFA.
“I urge both Governments to reach a swift and peaceful resolution to these disputes. Such an outcome will have a positive impact on preserving UNISFA’s role in enhancing the security and stability of Abyei and the border area between Sudan and South Sudan”, Mr. Onanga-Anyanga added.
Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) on behalf of UN News.