Greening the Islands Foundation
For decades, islands have been promoted as summer escapes for short stays, crowded beaches, and concentrated demand. Today, a new paradigm is emerging, one that encourages tourists to travel less but stay more, fostering deeper connections with local environments, cultures, and communities. Shaped by geographic isolation, limited resources, rich traditions, and fragile ecosystems, islands are …
Author: Gilberto Figueiredo, Wilson Negrão Macêdo. Islands are among the territories most exposed to climate change, yet they are also emerging as some of the most powerful drivers of the global energy transition. Their isolation, vulnerability, and close relationship with natural systems make islands ideal testing grounds for resilient, decentralized, and people-centered solutions. …
Islands at the Frontline of Climate Action: Lessons from Ilha das Onças at COP30 Read More »
Welcome to this month’s roundup, where we uncover the shifting geopolitics of climate finance to the intricate survival mechanisms of the natural world. We highlight the planet in flux. Islands are adapting to shrinking aid, scaling natural defenses, and unlocking the ocean’s deepest secrets. The geopolitics of climate finance and shifting alliances and …
Global Island News Roundup: Resilience and Revelation Across the Ocean’s Edge Read More »
by Gianni Chianetta and Francesco Luise In January 2026, the central Mediterranean was struck by Cyclone Harry, a powerful Medicane (Mediterranean hurricane) that brought devastation especially to Sicily and Malta. The storm’s intensity served as a brutal reminder that the climate crisis is no longer a distant threat for the region, but a harsh reality. …
This month’s news from the frontlines of the energy transition to the uncharted depths of the ocean floor, we highlight how islands are not just facing the climate crisis, they are rewriting the rules of engagement. Small Island Developing States lead renewable energy transition – innovation and equity in action Small Island Developing States (SIDS) …
Global Island News Roundup: Resilience and Revelation Across the Ocean’s Edge Read More »
By their nature, small islands are at the front line of climate change. Rising sea levels, increasing water scarcity, biodiversity loss and extreme heat intersect most acutely where land, sea and livelihoods are tightly interwoven. In the Mediterranean, one of the world’s most popular travel destinations, these pressures are even stronger because of tourism, which …
Island ecosystems—isolated, land-limited, and tourism-dependent—face significant waste management challenges, including inadequate infrastructure and environmentally harmful practices like dumping and burning. This study explores how circular economy (CE) principles—reduce, reuse, recycle—can transform waste into a resource and strengthen local resilience. A refined definition of “small islands” which incorporates both UN criteria and tourism intensity to capture …
COP30 in Brazil has recently concluded, bringing the global energy situation and the steps needed to reduce the use of fossil fuels back to the centre of international debate. Among the most relevant takeaways is the crucial role of island territories, identified as some of the areas most urgently requiring an energy transition capable of …
The Role of Islands in the Global Decarbonisation Agenda Read More »
A decade on from the Paris Agreement, hosted in the emblem of the climate crisis – the Amazon forest – Belém’s COP30 was highly anticipated. It was labeled the “COP of truth”, and indeed delegates could feel climate change impacts themselves, with heat and humidity that even locals struggle to cope with, and grasp the …
Small islands at COP30: Setbacks, Unstoppable Truths, and New Climate Superpowers Read More »
Welcome to this month’s roundup, where we track the accelerating pressures facing small island communities and the global efforts to secure justice, resilience, and climate finance. From stalled commitments at COP30 to new regional coalitions, island nations continue to lead the world in demanding fair support and sustainable futures. US$476B in Projected Losses Collide with …
Global Island News Roundup – Finance Crisis, Social Justice, and Island Resilience Read More »
