PAMLOMO-SAUTI YA JAMII

Representatives from Foreign Missions in the Washington D.C. area sign a pledge committing to climate and environmental action in the area. (Daniel Gaush| State Department Photo) By: Caroline D’Angelo and Rebecca Rogers, U.S. State Department’s Office of Management Policy, Rightsizing, and Innovation “And today, the world has officially crossed the threshold for the Paris Agreement to take effect. Today, the world meets the moment. And if we follow through on the commitments that this agreement embodies, history may well judge it as a turning point for our planet.” — President Obama, October 5, 2016 [read the whole speech here ] On Wednesday, October 5, the global community hit the target needed for the Paris Agreement to go into force. That evening, just hours after President Obama’s remarks, ambassadors and other representatives from over 60 embassies gathered with the Director of the District of Columbia’s Department of Energy and Environment to sign a pledge c...

  Enda Kenny with Theresa May outside 10 Downing Street after the Brexit vote. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Lisa O'Carroll and Stephen Collins in Dublin Irish leaders have warned of an economic “disaster” on both sides of the border without decisive action to confront the effects of Britain’s impending departure from the EU. Amid warnings of “incalculable consequences” for the Irish Republic and  Northern Ireland as the Brexit process unfolds, Ireland’s prime minister Enda Kenny will convene an unprecedented cross-border summit of political leaders to consider what steps to take. The prospect of Brexit has already raised intractable questions about the border that runs across the island , and has vexed farmers who send half their beef to British dinner tables. The slump of sterling is squeezing Irish exporters and the future of Northern Ireland, which relies heavily on EU subsidies, is uncertain. Some forecasters fear that Ireland could be h...