The saying goes, what hasn’t been counted doesn’t count. Our latest datasets for the Environment and Gender Information (EGI) platform are proving this true.

In December 2015, representatives from 195 nations gathered in Paris for the 21^st Conference of the Parties (COP-21) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. After two weeks of intensive negotiations, countries approved an agreement that charts new territory for global cooperation to address climate change. [Video Below]

The world is entering a new phase of climate change defined by “failure to mitigate sufficiently and failure to adapt sufficiently,” said Saleemul Huq, director of the Bangladesh-based International Center for Climate Change and Development, at the Wilson Center on March 16. [Video Below]

Post-war countries are among the most difficult policy arenas. The challenge is not only to stop violence and prevent violence from rekindling, but moreover to help countries reset their internal relations on a peaceful path. Increasingly, researchers and practitioners are interested in the potential of natural resources in post-war settings in the hope that good governance and sustainable management can contribute to this reset. Indeed, the international community acknowledged the relevance of the link between peaceful societies and environmental issues by including both in the Sustainable Development Goals.

It’s hard to imagine today, but Kabul was once ringed with grassy areas and shrubs, a few trees in areas too. Some of my husband’s favorite recollections of early 1970s Afghanistan are of simple family picnics in picturesque parks. Hours of lounging, grilling kebab, preparing rice, and conversing were a respite from the oppressive heat of the capital. Sometimes a picnic would become an all-night, extended family gathering. The Gardens of Paghman were a favorite destination with rows of pine trees, roses, and cool fountains. Pre-war family photos reveal neatly trimmed trees, bushes, and ample grassy areas for impromptu games. The family picnic is still popular among the Afghan diaspora. In the United States, Afghan community events are often held in parks, and involve large, multi-family picnics.

A study published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences projects future sea-level rise with a new model, providing crucial information for coastal planning and further impetus to cut carbon emissions. Sifting through data on thermal expansion and retreating glaciers, the two leading causes of sea-level rise in the past century, the authors confirm that sea level is rising at an unprecedented rate.

Since its adoption after COP-21 in December 2015, the Paris Agreement has received mixed reviews. Some stakeholders, mostly industrialized countries, see the climate deal as a success. Developing countries have generally been more cautiously optimistic, welcoming the agreement as the best option under the circumstances.

Climate change is the world’s greatest environmental threat. It is also increasingly understood as a threat to domestic and international peace and security – recognized by the Department of Defense as a “threat multiplier,” by Secretary of State John Kerry as “perhaps the world’s most fearsome weapon of mass destruction,” and by President Obama, in an address to graduates of the United States Military Academy, as “a creeping national security crisis.” The Supreme Court’s temporary blocking of the Clean Power Plan highlights the Federal-State divide over how to address climate change, but because of its national security dimension, climate change also raises unique separation of powers issues between the president and Congress with regard to how the military can respond.