Who is going to foot the bill to protect nature?

That's a big question as the need to save fast-vanishing ecosystems that provide our clean air, water and food - and preserve threatened global biodiversity - becomes increasingly evident.

Pandemic-hit rich nations are already struggling to raise the $100 billion a year they've promised for climate action - and preserving nature could cost seven times that much annually over the next decade, experts suggest.

A range of new initiatives are now trying to ramp up finance, such as by ensuring conservation areas that today exist mostly on paper get long-term cash for their basic operations, as long as they effectively curb deforestation and poaching in return, and give local people jobs. 

In Uganda, lawmakers want to ensure that all government bodies keep action on climate change in mind when they're making plans. They've passed a bill that will require agencies to show how they're tackling the problem in order to receive budget appropriations.

People in Bududa district, in eastern Uganda, know how they'd like to see more money spent: on relocating their homes out of a landslide-prone area.

A lawsuit brought by a group of 48 survivors of a deadly 2019 landslide opens in court this week, charging that the government has violated their rights by failing to protect them.

When it rains, "I cannot even eat and my heart becomes heavy with fear," says Robinah Nandutu, who was buried to her chest in mud in the disaster. "I keep on looking up the mountain because I am scared the landslide will come again."

Mexico's national government, meanwhile, has shown little ambition in ramping up emissions-cutting goals this decade or in reducing its dependence on oil and gas - but cities like Mexico City and Guadalajara are pushing ahead on their own.

"We can't be using fossil fuels," says Juan Manuel Portillo, a banana merchant at Mexico City's Central de Abasto market, home to one of the world's largest urban solar power projects. "We need to change people's way of thinking."

Should delegates to the COP26 U.N. climate talks, set for Glasgow in November, get COVID-19 vaccines ahead of more vulnerable people in their countries to enable them to attend? 

Dr. Ahmed Ogwell Ouma, deputy director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, isn't so sure such "queue-jumping" would be acceptable. He urges wealthy G7 countries to work harder to help poorer parts of the world access much-needed vaccines if they want to make COP26 a success.

See you next week!

Laurie

Uganda to state agencies: No cash without a climate plan
A new bill says officials must set aside part of their budgets for climate change measures if they want government funding

Mexico slow to shift climate gear, but some cities speed ahead
Two of Mexico's largest urban areas are pushing on with plans to become carbon-neutral but the federal government has been criticized for unambitious climate action

Queue-jumping? Global vaccine shortage imperils Glasgow climate talks
As poor countries focus on immunising the most vulnerable as vaccines run short, climate negotiators could miss out, health experts say

EXPLAINER: Who will foot the bill to protect nature?
New efforts are needed to safeguard biodiversity and conserve the natural systems behind the world's clean air, water and food. But funding is short

From beef to chocolate, illegal deforestation found behind many everyday foods
Environmentalists and some UK, EU and U.S. lawmakers are calling for legislation that would stop goods grown on illegally cleared land from ending up on shop shelves

Extreme weather was the biggest reason for people to flee homes in 2020
Wilder weather linked to climate change caused 98% of last year's displacements, with many from short-term evacuations but others lasting months or longer

After a deadly landslide in climate-hit Uganda, survivors sue for action
The landslide killed 28 people and destroyed hundreds of homes. Now 48 survivors are taking the government to court for failing to protect them

Air pollution costs each American $2,500 a year in healthcare - study
Air pollution also contributes to 107,000 premature deaths per year in the United States, a report finds

Fossil fuel giants and banks under fire for rise in single-use plastics
With a projected surge in production of throwaway plastic, a new index spotlights the companies making the raw ingredient from oil and gas and the banks funding them

In South Africa, a zero-waste food bus hopes to drive away hunger
With food insecurity rising due to COVID-19, an activist decided to bring affordable groceries to low-income communities in Johannesburg