UN BRINGS VOICES OF PEOPLE SUFFERING EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE TO WORLD LEADERS

New York, Dec 12 2009 2:10PM
World leaders arriving at the United Nations conference in Copenhagen next week will be greeted with over100 real-life stories demonstrating the devastating impact global warming has on lives and livelihoods of people around the world.

The UN Environment Programme (<"http://www.unep.org//">UNEP) today installed the UN Climate Wall - high-tech touch-screens broadcasting the sights and sounds of a changing climate - near the conference hall where the majority of the world's heads of State and Government will embark on high-level negotiations to reach an agreement on cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

The urgency of a definitive and fair climate deal is the underlying theme of the strong messages posted on the UN Climate Wall by scientists, civil society representatives, political and business leaders, public figures, UN officials and ordinary people, UNEP said in a news relea
se.

"Reaching an agreement in Copenhagen is a political and moral imperative," said Satinder Bindra, UNEP Director of Communications and Public Information.

"The lives of millions have already been impacted by climate change. Millions more will suffer if we do not act now," stressed Mr. Bindra. "We wanted the voices of the most vulnerable to be heard as their fate, and the fate of the planet, lies in the balance."

Built by technology leader Hewlett-Packard for the "Seal the Deal!" campaign, the UN Climate Wall is a translation of the campaign's promise to bring the voices of the people to world leaders at the landmark negotiations in Denmark.

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REACHING CLIMATE DEAL WILL BOOST PRIVATE SECTOR – UN

New York, Apr 23 2009 7:10PM
Global business leaders at a United Nations-backed gathering today stressed the importance of reaching an ambitious climate change deal later this year, noting that such a pact will spur the growth of a ‘green’ economy.

Nations are expected to conclude negotiations on a successor pact to the Kyoto Protocol – the legally binding emissions reduction regime whose first commitment period ends in 2012 – at December’s UN climate change conference in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Over 400 delegates at a Business for the Environment (B4E) summit in Paris, hosted by the UN Environment Programme (<"http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=579&ArticleID=6138&l=en">UNEP) and the UN Global Compact, underscored in a closing manifesto that agreement on a new climate regime is crucial, with recovering from the current economic turmoil requiring investments in clean technologies and sustainable infrastructure systems.

“Combating climate change represents perhaps the biggest stimulus package of the first decade of the 21st century – one that can assist in delivering a resource-efficient, innovation-savvy, employment-generating global Green Economy,” said Achim Steiner, UNEP Executive Director.

Participants at the Paris meeting emphasized the need for increased transparency and a new risk paradigm that takes into account extra-financial issues in the realms of environment and governance.

“We need to shift to a longer-term orientation of value creation, one that accommodates the understanding that the sustainability of business and societies are inextricably linked,” said George Kell, Executive Head of the office of the Global Compact, a UN alliance for responsible

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EUROPEAN UNION’S CLIMATE ACTIONS COULD BE ECONOMIC BOON, BAN SAYS

New York, Oct 17 2008 5:10PM
Proposed European Union (EU) proposals on tackling climate change could also be a boon for the economy, generating millions of new jobs at a time when the world is suffering from the financial crisis, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today.

In a <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2008/sgsm11868.doc.htm">statement, Mr. Ban voiced his deep concern over the effects of the financial crisis on the developing world, especially the world’s poorest, and called for unrelenting efforts to address global warming.

“One crisis must not become an obstacle to action on another,” he said.

The Secretary-General urged the EU to continue providing leadership on climate changes, noting recent decisions taken at its summit in Brussels, Belgium, and expressed hope that it will conclude its package that could spur “green” growth and create many new jobs.

He also encouraged industrialized countries to step up their financing of clean technology and assistance to developing nations to adapt to climate change.

“The climate meeting in Poznan, Poland, offers a chance to send precisely the right signal,” the statement said, referring to the next set of talks scheduled for December. “I very much hope that world leaders will seize the opportunity.”

Nations will converge in Copenhagen, Denmark, later next year to wrap up negotiations on greenhouse gas emissions and conclude a successor pact to the Kyoto Protocol, whose first commitment period ends in 2012.

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PROGRESS REPORTED IN UN-BACKED EFFORTS TO REDUCE POLLUTION, EMISSIONS FROM SHIPS

New York, Oct 14 2008 3:10PM
The United Nations International Maritime Organization (<"http://www.imo.org/Newsroom/mainframe.asp?topic_id=1709&doc_id=10268">IMO) has reported major progress on efforts to cut polluting and global warming emissions from ships, achieve more environmentally friendly recycling of vessels and prevent contamination from harmful organisms in ballast.

Under amendments to the so-called MARPOL (marine pollution) accords unanimously adopted by IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) earlier this month, emissions of sulphur oxide (SOx), nitrogen oxide (NOx) and particulate matter from ships will be progressively reduced.

“The MEPC maintained momentum on the issue and made substantive progress in developing technical and operational measures to address such emissions, including the development of an energy efficiency design index for new ships and an energy efficiency operational index, with associated guidelines for both,” the agency said in a news release.

According to a consensus estimate for 2007, CO² emissions from international shipping amounted to 843 million tons, or 2.7 per cent of global CO² emissions, as compared to the 1.8 per cent estimate in 2000. In the absence of regulation, such emissions were predicted to increase by a factor of 2.4 to 3.0 by 2050.

MARPOL Annex VI Regulations for the Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships entered into force in May 2005 and has so far been ratified by 53 countries, representing some 81.88 per cent of the gross tonnage of the world’s merchant shipping fleet.

The MEPC discussed whether the application of measures to reduce or limit greenhouse gas emissions from ships should be mandatory or voluntary for all States. Several delegations spoke in favour of limiting mandatory reductions to those countries, mainly the more developed industrial nations countries listed in Annex 1 of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

But several other delegations said the regulatory framework should be applicable to all ships, irrespective of the flags they fly, noting that as three-quarters of the world’s merchant fleet fly the flag of countries not listed in Annex I, any regulatory regime would be ineffective if it were made applicable only to Annex I countries.

On the issue of harmful aquatic organisms in ballast water, the MEPC adopted guidelines for ballast water sampling and approval of ballast water management systems as well as arrangements for responding to emergency situations involving ballast water.

It also agreed on a guidance document on minimizing the risk of ship strikes with cetaceans, such as whales. With regard to recycling, ships will be required to carry an inventory of hazardous materials, specific to each ship.

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CLIMATE CHANGE POSES ‘DEFINING CHALLENGE’ OF OUR TIME, BAN SAYS

New York, Oct 7 2008 3:10PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today warned of the dangers of the fight against the climate change – which he characterized as the “defining challenge of our era” – getting bogged down by shorter-term problems, such as the current global financial turmoil.

Global warming “remains the defining challenge of our era,” Mr. Ban <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2008/sgsm11848.doc.htm">told reporters at his monthly press conference at UN Headquarters. “The danger is that, as with the [Millennium Development Goals], the magnitude of the threat will be obscured by shorter-term problems, and in particular the deepening financial crisis.”

He voiced hope that the next set of UN climate change talks in the Polish city of Poznan in December will produce results through increased cooperation, agreement on a timeframe of work, and, “above all, a strong willingness [on] the part of developed and developing nations alike to lead on an issue that all agree is an existential threat to our planet.”

The Secretary-General acknowledged that in the face of immediate economic difficulties, the fight against climate change could take a back seat.

“Grave as it may be, today’s financial crisis is a passing storm from which we will recover,” he said.

But he warned that “we cannot say that about the potential catastrophe of global warming.”

In a related development, Mr. Ban today lauded Japan’s leadership in fighting climate change through its “Cool Biz” programme, from which the United Nations has drawn inspiration for its own “Cool UN” scheme.

Japan’s initiative aimed to slash electricity consumption through raising thermostats in office buildings and encouraging all levels of Government personnel to shed their jackets and ties.

It “has been an inspiration for the United Nations not just symbolically but literally,” he said in a message, delivered by UN University (UNU) Rector Konrad Osterwalder in Tokyo, on receiving the East Asian nation’s “Cool Biz” award.

In August, the UN launched its own “Cool UN” initiative, with temperatures being raised by five degrees from 72 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit in most parts of the landmark Secretariat building in New York.

“This practical step to reduce emissions and increase staff awareness of climate change was the ultimate win-win,” the Secretary-General said. “We achieved a reduction in emissions equivalent to 3,000 tons of carbon dioxide. We saved money.”

He said that a reverse process – turning down the thermostat by five degrees Fahrenheit – will take place in the winter.

“Cool UN is just part of the Organization’s efforts to address this global threat,” Mr. Ban said, noting the renovation of UN Headquarters will lead to a “greener and more efficient United Nations.”

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CLIMATE CHANGE THREATENS INTERNATIONAL PEACE, PACIFIC ISLAND STATES TELL UN DEBATE

New York, Sep 26 2008 9:10PM
Pacific Island States spoke out at the General Assembly today on the issue of climate change, promising to table a draft resolution during the climate session that will call on the United Nations to investigate the threat posed by global warming to international peace and security.

Tonga’s Prime Minister Feleti Vaka’uta Sevele used his address to the Assembly’s annual General Debate to urge other Member States outside the region to show their support for the draft resolution.

“The prospect of climate refugees from some of the Pacific Island Forum countries is no longer a prospect but a reality, with relocations of communities due to sea level rise already taking place,” he said. “Urgent action must be taken now.”

The resolution is expected to ask Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to commission a report on climate change and security, and to invite the Security Council and the General Assembly to work together on possible recommendations to deal with any problems identified.

Speaking earlier today, Tuila’epa Lupesoliai Sailele Malielegaoi, Prime Minister of Samoa, urged countries to convert the commitments they made about greenhouse gas reduction – whether during the landmark summit in Bali last year or elsewhere – into reality.

“Only through selfless and concerted efforts by all countries led by the major greenhouse gas emitters can we have a fighting chance of lessening the destructive impact of climate change,” he said, adding that it also enhances the chances of a credible agreement beyond the current Kyoto Protocol.

Solomon Islands’ Prime Minister Derek Sikua said he feared that the magnitude of climate change has already outgrown the existing capacity of the UN system to respond.

Many smaller countries were being left to fend for themselves against the impact of global warming, as regional groups and other organizations charted their own course.

The Prime Minister called for the UN’s Small Islands Developing States Unit to be strengthened so that it can help countries, such as those in the Pacific Ocean facing rising sea levels, with special needs.

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GLOBAL ADVERTISING LEADERS AND BAN JOIN FORCES TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE

New York, Sep 22 2008 1:10PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and nearly two dozen global advertising giants have launched a partnership to support United Nations-led efforts to reach agreement on slashing greenhouse gas emissions at a major international conference next year in Copenhagen.

“As climate change affects everyone, everywhere, the UN needs partners in the private sector and in civil society to mobilize and spur action,” Mr. Ban said today, welcoming the advertisers’ assistance.

His meeting with the sector’s leaders – representing firms including Publicis Groupe, Interpublic Group, Omnicom, MDC Partners, Ogilvy, EuroRSCG Worldwide, TBWA Worldwide, UniWorld and Deutsch –in New York coincided with the start of the General Assembly’s 63rd session and the fifth annual Advertising Week.

The Secretary-General stressed that “now is the time for action,” adding that the advertising community’s expertise will boost the UN’s ability to promote a new agreement to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, whose first commitment period ends in 2012.

The next steps envisioned will be establishing objectives to be unveiled on the sidelines of the next set of UN climate change talks in the Polish city of Poznan in December, with major talks scheduled for Copenhagen late next year.

World leaders agreed on a road map to address global warming at a landmark UN conference in Bali last December. Without effective action, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), co-recipient of last year’s Nobel Peace Prize, has warned of a 4 degree Celsius surge in average global temperatures this century, far surpassing the 0.8 degree Celsius rise in the twentieth century.

Last week, Mr. Ban appointed two new climate change envoys – Festus Mogae, former president of Botswana, and Srgjan Kerim, the immediate outgoing Assembly President – to join Gro Harlem Brundtland, former Norwegian Prime Minister, and Ricardo Lagos Escobar, who used to serve as President of Chile.

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RESTORING OZONE LAYER COULD RING IN HEALTH, ECONOMIC BENEFITS – BAN

New York, Sep 16 2008 5:10PM
Repairing the Earth’s badly-damaged ozone layer is not only to be undertaken in times of economic prosperity, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today, stressing that depleting substances harmful to the layer could propel health, social and economic progress.

Marking the <"http://ozone.unep.org/Events/ozone_day_2008/index.shtml">International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer, Mr. Ban said that efforts to tackle climate change are adversely affected when the global economic situation is in flux.

“At such moments, safeguarding the planet has often been seen as a luxury, and as a burden on economic recovery and development,” he said in a <"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=3402">message marking the Day. “But the remarkable story of the ozone layer, whose preservation we celebrate today, shows such thinking for what it is: mere myth.”

The <"http://www.unep.org/OZONE/pdfs/Montreal-Protocol2000.pdf">Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer – which opened for signature on 16 September 1987 – is the UN-backed treaty to curb the release of harmful substances into the atmosphere that contribute to both ozone depletion and climate change.

The treaty seeks to phase out chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), carbon tetrachloride (CTC) and halons by 1 January 2010.

“After decades of chemical attack, it may take another 50 years or so for the ozone layer to recover fully,” Mr. Ban said. “As the Montreal Protocol has taught us, when we degrade our environment too far, nursing it back to health tends to be a long journey, not a quick fix.”

But he pointed out that the pact also highlights how taking action in one area can lead to benefits in other arenas, including efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (<"http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/">MDGs), eight anti-poverty targets with a 2015 deadline.

The Secretary-General also called for countries to reach accord on a successor pact to the <"http://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/items/2830.php">Kyoto Protocol, whose first commitment period ends in 2012, at a conference next year in Copenhagen.

“Our goal must be a decisive new agreement that sets the world on track to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, and that provides the funding needed for vulnerable countries to adapt to the impact of climate change,” he said.

The UN World Meteorological Organization (<"http://www.wmo.int/pages/index_en.html">WMO) warned today that this year’s Antarctic ozone will be larger than it was last year, delaying the layer’s recovery.

As of 13 September, the hole measures 27 million square kilometres, exceeding the size of last year’s hole by 2 million square kilometres, according to the agency.

Meanwhile, several UN agencies have banded together for a new educational initiative to raise awareness among secondary school students on preserving the ozone layer.

The scheme called “High Sky” was announced today by the UN Environment Programme (<"http://www.unep.org/">UNEP), the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (<"http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=29008&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">UNESCO), the UN Children’s Fund (<"http://www.unicef.org/">UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (<"http://www.who.int/en/">WHO).

Targeting 13 to 16-year-olds, the project – which encourages role playing – includes books for teachers and students, as well as materials featuring Ozzy and Zoe Ozone.

Students assume the role of journalists seeking a job in a news agency, and are challenged to write an article depicting the current state of the ozone layer and its ties to climate change.

“Children are the most valuable resource on the planet,” said UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner. “Kids and their parents are protected by the ozone layer, our Earth’s protective shield, which is under continued threat.”

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RECENT NATURAL DISASTERS AMPLIFY NEED FOR URGENT ACTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE – UN

New York, Sep 2 2008 4:10PM
The destruction wreaked by Hurricane Gustav in the past week and the uprooting of some two million Indians by the worst flood in five decades has reinforced the need for countries to reach agreement on a successor pact to the Kyoto Protocol, the head of the United Nations Environment Programme (<"http://www.unep.org/">UNEP) said today.

These events “underline the increasing vulnerability of humanity to natural disasters – vulnerability that is set to rise under the scientific scenarios if climate change is left unchecked,” Achim Steiner said in a <"http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=547&ArticleID=5908&l=en">statement.

This year is already proving to be a significant year, disaster-wise, according to Munich Re, one of the world’s top insurance companies. At the halfway mark of 2008, some 400 natural disasters – including Cyclone Nargis that struck Myanmar in May – have reaped damages in excess of $80 billion.

Although the devastating May earthquake in China which claimed some 70,000 people and left almost 5 million homeless cannot be attributed to global warming, many of this year’s other disasters “are in line with the scientific predictions of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (<"http://www.ipcc.ch/">IPCC),” Mr. Steiner noted.

Less than 500 days remain before nations converge in Copenhagen, Denmark, to wrap up negotiations on greenhouse gas emissions.

“Nothing less than firm, legally binding commitments to significantly reduce pollution linked with the burning of fossil fuels will suffice alongside increased funding to climate-proof vulnerable economies and communities,” said UNEP’s Executive Director.

He also warned of other climate-related problems of urgent concern, such as the melting of glaciers in mountain ranges around the world and sea level rises threatening to submerge small island States.

“The current calamities facing the planet, from the serious threat of famine in Ethiopia to the misery and loss of life in India and the disruptions to the people of New Orleans, underline the kind of economic and human suffering the globe is facing within the coming years,” Mr. Steiner cautioned.

But he voiced optimism that the costs of taking action – less than one per cent of global GDP, according to the IPCC – will not overburden the planet.

The Nobel Peace Prize co-winning Panel celebrated its 20th anniversary on 31 August, and Mr. Steiner lauded the IPCC for its numerous contributions to environmental science since its conception.

“Over 20 years, thousands of scientists have selflessly come together to periodically sift, to weigh and to validate the scientific evidence on the links between rising greenhouse gas emissions and their impact on the global climate,” he said in an address to the body’s 29th session in Geneva, which runs until 4 September.

The IPCC was established in 1988 by the UN World Meteorological Organization (<"http://www.wmo.int/pages/index_en.html">WMO) and UNEP to help the world better understand the phenomenon of climate change.

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ACCRA TALKS BODE WELL FOR FUTURE CLIMATE CHANGE NEGOTIATIONS – UN OFFICIAL

New York, Aug 27 2008 5:10PM
Important progress has been made during the latest round of United Nations-led climate change talks in Accra, Ghana, on key issues relating to a new international agreement to tackle global warming, the world body’s top official dealing with the issue said today.

The Accra meeting was the latest in a series of UN-sponsored talks in the run-up to the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December 2009. The aim of the negotiations is to create a successor pact to the Kyoto Protocol, with first-round commitments ending in 2012, on greenhouse gas emissions reduction.

“We’re still on track, the process has speeded up and governments are becoming very serious about negotiating a result in Copenhagen,” Yvo de Boer told reporters on the final day of the week-long session.

Mr. de Boer, who is the Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (<"http://unfccc.int/meetings/intersessional/accra/items/4437.php">UNFCCC), said the “absolute highlight” of the session had been the mandate given by governments to the Chair of the working group on long-term cooperative action to compile proposals made so far and to be made in the coming weeks.

The achievement of the Accra meeting had therefore been in “roviding the basis for real negotiations to begin in Poznan,” he said, referring to the Polish city that will host this year’s UN Climate Change Conference from 1 to 12 December.

Highlighting the progress made during the past week, Mr. de Boer said there was an “encouraging and important” debate on the important topic of deforestation and forest conservation, which was crucial since deforestation accounts for about 20 per cent of the greenhouse gas emissions for which humans are responsible.

“We cannot come to a meaningful solution on climate change without coming to grips with the question of deforestation,” he stated, adding that countries had made it clear in Accra that they want that issue to be part of a Copenhagen agreement.

Discussions also focused on ways of improving the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which allows industrialized countries to offset some of their own emissions by investing in cleaner energy projects in developing countries.

Insufficient investment in Africa was cited as one of the CDM’s shortcomings. “There is a real risk of Africa becoming the forgotten continent in the context of the fight against climate change unless we manage to design a regime going into the future that takes into account in a much more comprehensive way what Africa’s specific needs are not only on adaptation, but also on fuelling clean economic growth,” said Mr. de Boer.

The meeting also discussed “sectoral approaches” – through which countries can address emissions from a whole sector of their economy. Mr. de Boer said the debate made it clear that such approaches were not about imposing targets on developing countries, but rather about what governments may or may not choose to do on a voluntary basis at the national level.

Some 1,600 participants, including government delegates from 160 countries and representatives from environmental organizations, business and industry and research institutions, attended the Accra meeting – the third major UN-led negotiating session this year and the last before the Poznan conference in December.

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UN WARNS OF IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON SOUTH ASIA

New York, Aug 25 2008 1:10PM
Climate change could have a particularly severe impact on South Asia, where a large proportion of the region’s population depends on subsistence agriculture for their livelihoods, a United Nations-sponsored conference heard today.

A six-day workshop in Dhaka, Bangladesh, starting today, is examining the effects of global warming on the predominantly agricultural region, with over two-thirds of its 1.52 billion-strong population living in rural areas.

But nearly 300 million people across South Asia are undernourished, and the region shelters 43 per cent of the world’s population living on less than one dollar a day.

“Climate is a crucial factor in formulating sustainable development strategies, and therefore has an overarching and cross-cutting role in the efforts to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals [MDGs],” said WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud, referring to the eight anti-poverty targets world leaders pledged to achieve by 2015.

“It is essential to help countries reduce climate-induced risks that might oppose the achievement of MDGs notably in terms of poverty reduction and food security.”

He Changchui, FAO Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific, emphasized the strong linkages between climate change and food security, given that agriculture both drives and is affected by global warming.

He called on governments to implement national development strategies to cope with climate change’s impacts on the farming sector.

Participants will confer on integrating mitigation and adaptation measures in South Asia and explore options for improving information and cooperation in the region.

Drawing more than 300 experts from South Asia and beyond, the event was organized by the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), along with Ohio State University and the University of Dhaka.

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NEW UN-BACKED REPORTS WARNS OF COSTS OF INACTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE

New York, Aug 22 2008 4:10PM
Government leaders must take urgent action to ensure that weather-related hazards, which are becoming more intense and frequent due to climate change, do not lead to a corresponding rise in disasters, a new United Nations-backed report released today said.

The new study identified India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Indonesia as being among global warming’s “hotspots,” or countries particularly vulnerable to increases in extreme drought, flooding and cyclones anticipated in coming decades.

Commissioned by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (<"http://ochaonline.un.org/">OCHA) and the non-governmental organization (NGO) CARE International, it examined the possible consequences of global warming in the next 20 to 30 years.

The so-called hotspot nations are already facing considerable political, social, demographic, economic and security obstacles, the report said.

“Climate change will greatly complicate and could undermine efforts to manage these challenges,” said Charles Ehrhart, one of its authors, who serves as Climate Change Coordinator for CARE International.

The impact of a natural disaster is determined by several factors, such as access to proper equipment and information, as well as the ability to exert political influence, he noted. “The striking lack of these explains why poor people – especially those in marginalized social groups like pastoralists in Africa, women and children – constitute the vast majority of disaster victims.”

The report cited the most effective means to curb human vulnerability to disasters are: boosting the ability of local and government institutions to respond to crises; empowering local people to have a stronger say in disaster preparedness, response, recovery and rehabilitation; and providing services and social protection for the most vulnerable populations.

The authors expressed hope that point out hotspots around the world will spur leaders to take action and encourage aid workers to modify their strategies to take into account the realities of new risks posed by climate change.

The new study’s launch coincided with the gathering of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (<"http://unfccc.int/2860.php">UNFCCC) that kicked off yesterday in Accra, Ghana.

The seven-day event is the latest round of UN-sponsored global climate change negotiations, bringing together more than 1,600 participants to discuss future greenhouse gas emission reduction targets ahead of a major summit set for 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

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TOYOTA AMONG SIX COMPANIES TO JOIN UN SCHEME TO CUT GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS

New York, Aug 18 2008 1:10PM
The European branch of the world’s largest car maker, Toyota, today became one of six companies to join the Climate Neutral Network (CN Net), a United Nations Environment Programme (<"http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=543&ArticleID=5896&l=en">UNEP) initiative bringing together organizations which pledge to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Toyota Motor Europe is the first car manufacturer to join CN Net, a web-based network pooling the resources of governments, local authorities, private companies and individuals to make large cuts to their carbon footprints or even neutralize them.

“The participation of a major company like Toyota is a sign that private companies are increasingly playing their part on the road to a low-carbon society,” said Angela Cropper, the Deputy Executive Director of UNEP. Toyota has sold more than 1.5 million hybrid cars worldwide.

Along with the five other companies which joined the CN Net today – the Carbon Association of Australasia (Australia), CO2focus (Norway), EcoSecurities (UK), Green Cabs (New Zealand), and Wairau River Wines (New Zealand) – Toyota Motor Europe will share ideas and best practice with the rest of the growing CN Net community for lowering their impact on the environment.

In a related development, UNEP today welcomed the launch in the Netherlands of an innovative mobile laboratory to support the international response to environmental disasters.

The Environment Assessment Module (EAM) can be rapidly deployed to disasters that involve hazardous substances, along with two fully-equipped off-road vehicles and the relevant technical expertise.

“This rapidly deployable mobile laboratory will help us to fulfil the urgent need to address environmental emergencies from their onset,” Ms. Cropper said. “This is an excellent example of integrating environmental and humanitarian concerns.”

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YOUTH PLEA FOR MORE ACTION TO COMBAT CLIMATE CHANGE IN THEIR OWN WORDS – UNDP

New York, Aug 11 2008 5:10PM
A new United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report showcases the voices of young people worldwide on how they view climate change and what they believe are the best means to tackle the issue.

The publication, launched today in New York, was produced entirely by young people between the ages of 16 and 25 worldwide and is a companion to UNDP’s Human Development Report (HDR) released last November.

“All the locals can do here is watch their homes being washed up by storm surges, rising seas and torrential rainfalls. They have no means to limit these effects which are a result of others’ actions,” wrote Casper Supaporo Village of the Solomon Islands.

In the new publication, Karimon from Bangladesh, hard hit by global warming, expressed anger about the phenomenon which impacts the world’s poorest the most. “Don’t we have the right to food, treatment, education, and financial security? Aren’t we human?”

The title, “Two Degrees of Separation Between Hope and Despair,” refers to the HDR’s warning that temperatures must not rise more than 2 degrees Centigrade above pre-industrial levels, meaning that greenhouse gas emissions must be slashed.

Backed by both UNDP and the non-governmental organization (NGO) Peace Child International, the report also points out every day steps youth can take – such as recycling and conserving electricity – to taking action by lobbying governments to implement feed-in tariffs, which would encourage people to produce enough renewable energy for their homes through solar or wind power and sell the excess to the national electricity grid.

The youth version of the HDR highlights the importance of engaging young people to promote “good governance in order to have good citizenship that is well-informed at a very young and early age,” Cecilia Ugaz, Acting Director of the UNDP’s Human Development Report Office, told reporters at the publication’s launch.

The publication – which includes stories, drawings, poems and testimonials from young people from around the world – will also be presented tomorrow on International Youth Day in Quebec City, Canada, during the World Youth Conference.

In a related development, more than 1,000 people are expected to attend the next round of UN climate change talks from 21-27 August in the Ghanaian capital, Accra.

“At the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali in 2007, the international community embarked on a two-year negotiating process which is both critically important and under severe time pressure,” Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), said today. “We are now eight months into these negotiations, and while progress has been made, there is no doubt that we need to move forward quickly.”

Negotiations to conclude a successor to the Kyoto Protocol, whose first commitment period ends in 2012, are expected to wrap up at the end of 2009 in Copenhagen.

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NEW GLOBAL SOIL DATABASE CAN HELP TACKLE CLIMATE CHANGE, FOOD INSECURITY – UN

New York, Jul 21 2008 1:00PM
A new database on the world’s soils offers insights that can be helpful in addressing climate change and food production, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (<"http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2008/1000882/index.html">FAO)

“The more information we have about soil properties, the more we can evaluate the quality of our natural resources all over the world and their potential to produce food now and in future scenarios of climate change,” Alexander Muller, FAO Assistant Director General for Natural Resources and Environment Management, said.

FAO says the information in the database can contribute to improving knowledge on current and future land productivity as well as the present carbon storage and carbon sequestration potential of the world’s soils.

It can also help identify land and water limitations, and assist in assessing the risks of land degradation, particularly soil erosion risks.

Based on the soil database, FAO has produced a global Carbon Gap Map which helps identify areas where soil carbon storage is greatest and the physical potential for billions of tons of additional carbon to be sequestrated in degraded soils.

FAO notes there is growing interest in finding ways to increase carbon sequestration in soils, which are large carbon reservoirs. The chemical and physical properties of soils also help to determine how well a soil will perform as a filter of wastes, as a home to organisms, as a location for buildings and as pool for carbon, noted Mr. Muller.

FAO soil expert Freddy Nachtergaele added that soil characterization data are a key piece of the picture of how an ecosystem works. “Soil properties also tell us whether the soil has the potential to store enough water to keep plants growing through a drought or to withstand a flood,” he said.

“Farmers’ knowledge of soil properties also forms the basis of managing fertilizer application efficiently thus reducing avoidable nutrient losses to the environment,” he added.

FAO and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis combined recent regional and national updates of soil information worldwide and incorporated the FAO-UNESCO Soil Map of the World into a new Harmonized World Soil Database (HWSD).

The European Soil Bureau Network, the Institute of Soil Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and ISRIC World Soils also contributed to the information.

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UN EMBARKS ON WORLDWIDE SURVEY TO ASSESS DEFORESTATION

New York, Jul 16 2008 11:00AM
As part of efforts to gain a comprehensive understanding of the world’s forests, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (<" http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2008/1000884/index.html">FAO) and its partners will be carrying out a global remote sensing survey of these vital ecosystems.

Global concern has been growing in recent years over deforestation, loss of carbon stored in forests and the role of forests in climate change, giving rise to increased interest in monitoring to protect forests and to track emissions from deforestation.

FAO and its partners have set out to jointly prepare the next Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA), a comprehensive data collection on the state of the world’s forests – to be released in 2010 – that will strengthen the capacity of all countries to monitor their own forests.

“The need to improve national forest monitoring is overwhelming as the demand for information has never been greater,” noted Jan Heino, FAO Assistant Director-General for Forestry. “National policy processes are striving to address cross-cutting issues such as poverty alleviation and food security related to forests.”

As part of this effort, they will be undertaking a global remote sensing survey of forests that will greatly enhance knowledge on land use change, including deforestation, reforestation and natural expansion of forests.

The assessment will cover the whole land surface of the Earth with about 9,000 samples.

“Deforestation continues at an alarming rate of about 13 million hectares annually at the global level,” noted Mr. Heino.

“By combining remote sensing technology with field data collection, we improve the quality of both methods. This provides more accurate information on forest trends and new information on the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation,” he stated.

FAO has been supporting countries to monitor their forests through initiatives such as the agency’s national forest monitoring and assessment (NFMA) programme, which involves a global network of forest monitoring specialists in 176 countries who share information and experiences, as well as national experts who lead the assessments.

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UN TELECOM AGENCY TO ASSESS HOW TECHNOLOGY IMPACTS CLIMATE CHANGE

New York, Jul 11 2008 1:00PM
The United Nations International Telecommunication Union (ITU) today announced that it is examining how to slash greenhouse gas emissions from information and communication technologies (ICT).

Since the Kyoto Protocol was adopted in late 1997, the number of ICT users has tripled globally, and the sector releases some 2 to 3 per cent of all emissions.

But ITU stressed that these technologies are also part of the solution to climate change, and could help curb emissions by anywhere between 15 and 40 per cent, depending on the methodologies used to come up with the estimates.

The agency’s newly-created Focus Group, which seeks to wrap up its work plan by next April, will create internally agreed standards to assess the effect of the technologies on the environment.

“ICTs are a contributor to global warming, but more importantly they are the key to monitoring and mitigating its effects,” said the agency’s Secretary-General Hamadoun Touré.

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CLIMATE CHANGE WILL HAVE MAJOR IMPACT ON FISHING INDUSTRY, SAYS UN AGENCY

New York, Jul 10 2008 11:00AM
Climate change is already impacting the world’s oceans and will have serious consequences for the hundreds of millions of people who depend on fishing for their livelihoods, according to the <a href-"http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2008/1000876/index.html">United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Changes in sea temperatures alter the body temperature of aquatic species used for human consumption and therefore impact their metabolism, growth rate, reproduction and susceptibility to diseases and toxins, FAO said today, at the start of a four-day scientific seminar in Rome on climate change and marine fisheries.

Impacts on fisheries that have already been observed include an increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, such as the El Niño phenomenon in the South Pacific; the warming of the world’s oceans, with the Atlantic in particular showing signs of warming deep below the surface; and warmer-water species increasing toward the South and North Poles.

There has also been an increase in salinity in near-surface waters in hotter regions, while the opposite is occurring in colder areas because of greater precipitation, melting ice and other processes. In addition, the oceans are becoming more acidic with probable negative consequences for coral-reef and calcium-bearing organisms.

Fishing communities in the world’s high-latitudes, as well as those that rely on coral reef systems, will be most exposed to the impact of climate change. Fisheries located in deltas, coral atolls and ice-dominated coasts will be vulnerable to flooding and coastal erosion because of rises in sea level.

FAO says that some 42 million people work directly in the fishing sector, the great majority in developing countries. Counting in those who work in processing, supply, marketing and distribution, the fishing industry supports several hundred million jobs.

Aquatic foods have high nutritional quality, contributing 20 per cent or more of average per capita animal protein intake for more than 2.8 billion people, again mostly in developing countries.

Fish is also the world’s most widely traded foodstuff and a key source of export earnings for many poorer countries. The sector has particular significance for small island States.

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CLIMATE CHANGE, UN REFORM AND GLOBAL FOOD CRISIS TOP GENERAL ASSEMBLY AGENDA

New York, Jul 9 2008 3:00PM
Climate change, reform of the United Nations Security Council and the global food crisis have been top priorities for the General Assembly during its 62nd session, according to its President Srgjan Kerim.

“Climate change poses special threats and places extra demands on a considerable group of countries. For them the threat is far from abstract and remote, but clear and present and may already affect the actual livelihoods of their people,” Mr. Kerim told reporters today in New York.

Commenting on the outcome of the Group of Eight (G-8) meeting in Japan, he added that the summit had highlighted the fact that certain countries were especially vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change.
Mr. Kerim said he believed that climate change had become a defining agenda for the General Assembly, citing the fact that it had been the main topic of debate last September and that three further debates had taken place this year.

On the global food crisis, the Assembly President said it was “an immediate challenge with a practical inter-linkage with most of our main priorities: the global food crisis has serious repercussions on reaching the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and it has an impact on financing for development.”

Mr. Kerim said he was convening a special session of the Assembly to discuss the food and energy crisis on 18 July.

Referring to Security Council reform, Mr. Kerim said that, after 14 years of discussions, Member States knew quite well the various positions that had been put forward, including the option of an intermediary solution, which would entail agreeing on a set of reforms which would be reviewed after 10 or 15 years.

“It seems, however, that it is difficult to reach agreement for negotiations on this basis,” he said. “Under these circumstances, the only way one can imagine is to open negotiations based on all positions expressed so far and to conduct them in various configurations.”

He added that “all of us agree that the Security Council does not reflect anymore the realities of the 21st century and thus needs to adapt its working methods and composition.”

On other issues, Mr. Kerim said the Assembly’s aim was to maintain full, continuous and high-level commitment to reaching the MDGs – the set of anti-poverty targets world leaders pledged to achieve by 2015.

The President said he had proposed having an annual review meeting on the Goals until 2015 and that a leaders meeting was being prepared for September.

Turning to UN management reform, Mr. Kerim called for a unified budget for the whole Organization, saying that it would allow for more transparency, control and efficiency.

Commenting on the Capital Master Plan, for renovating the UN’s New York Headquarters, he said that he hoped that the refurbishment of the buildings would also “lead to a renewal of UN management practices as well – hopefully leaving the building may also lead to a clearing of heads and a change in the mindset of officials.”

Mr. Kerim concluded his briefing with journalists by saying that in his speeches and recent travels he had been speaking about the need for a new culture of international relations.

“This new culture I believe must rest on the principles of human rights, human security, responsibility to protect, shared responsibilities and sustainable development,” he said.

“But let me stress that this new culture is not just about major institutional reforms but really about a change in our mindset: it is about changing our focus from States and security and the well-being of States to also the well-being of people,” he added.

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GLOBAL CONSENSUS ON CLIMATE CHANGE MORE FEASIBLE NOW THAN EVER – ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT

New York, Jul 8 2008 2:00PM
Not only is it more pressing than ever, but it is now more achievable than ever for the international community to reach agreement on how to combat climate change, Srgjan Kerim, President of the United Nations General Assembly, said today.

“To achieve this we need to build on our previous work and strengthen the ability of the UN system to assist vulnerable countries build their capacity and capability to adapt, while ensuring that the system works together more coherently to deliver more than the sum of its parts,” he told a special one-day Assembly debate on the issue.

The head of the 192-member body also called for stepped up efforts to transfer technology to developing countries that cannot otherwise afford it, as well as to ensure sufficient funding to help the neediest.

“We have the technological capability and scientific know-how,” he said, but warned that “a global consensus can only be secured if all countries can share in the benefits from action to address it – in particular the most vulnerable countries.”

Emphasizing that addressing global warming is intrinsically linked to sustainable development, the President also voiced concern over the impact of climate change on least developed countries (LDCs), landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) and small island developing states (SID.

Also addressing the debate, Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro underscored the “articularly immediate and severe” burden placed on the poor by climate change.

Citing the UN’s Human Development Report, she noted that 1 in 19 people in developing countries will likely feel the impact of global warming, compared to only 1 in 1,500 in the 30 industrialized and market-economy countries that make up the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Ms. Migiro pointed out that the most vulnerable risk being flooded out of their homes, face greater health risks and find access to water impeded by climate change.

“These trends would be alarming enough individually, but taken together they amount to a development crisis – unless action is taken on a war-footing, the world will not only miss the Millennium Development Goals, we will see existing development gains unravel as well,” she said, referring to the eight anti-poverty targets with a 2015 deadline.

Today’s debate was the third one on climate change convened by Mr. Kerim during the Assembly’s 62nd session.

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COST OF CURBING CLIMATE CHANGE NOT AS HIGH AS ASSUMED, SAYS UN OFFICIAL

New York, Jun 30 2008 7:00PM
The price tag of addressing climate change is not as great as believed, the head of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (<"http://www.ipcc.ch/">IPCC) emphasized today.

Global warming has resulted in an average temperature increase of 0.74 degrees Celsius in the last century and the sea level has climbed 17 centimetres, Rajendra K. Pachauri <"http://www.un.org/News/briefings/docs//2008/080630_Climate_Change.doc.htm">told reporters in New York.

“But the good news is that the cost of taking action is really not all that high,” he said.

One scenario assessed by the IPCC showed that limiting temperature surges to 2 to 2.4 degrees Celsius would cost at most 3 per cent of global GDP by 2030, “but that is really the upper limit as a matter of fact,” Mr. Pachauri noted.

He also stressed that the cost will actually be negative, which “means you might actually gain by taking some of those measures.”

Seizing the window of opportunity to take decisive action is key, said Mr. Pachauri, who was a co-laureate of last year’s Nobel Peace Prize.

“We have up to 2015 by when we could allow emissions to increase,” he said, adding that the more rapid their decline, the more that severe impacts could be avoided.

Along with Lord Stern of Brentford, author of the Stern Review on the economics of climate change, Mr. Pachauri was one of the keynote speakers at the high-level segment of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), which kicked off today at UN Headquarters in New York.

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GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT SAYS ‘CLIMATE REFUGEES’ ARE ALREADY A REALITY

New York, Jun 24 2008 2:00PM
Climate change is forcing people around the world to leave their villages or even their countries because of the increased frequency of floods and droughts and the re-emergence of diseases, General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim said today.

“The topic of climate refugees is no longer a concept – it is a sad fact,” Mr. Kerim <"http://www.un.org/ga/president/62/statements/ghfg240608.shtml">told the first annual meeting of the Global Humanitarian Forum, held in Geneva.

He said the impact of global warming was already so intense that it was altering the lives of the world’s most vulnerable people, calling for “a global alliance for action” to devise solutions to the problems raised by climate change.

“Each nation, each city, each town, each community and individual has a stake,” he said, stressing that climate change affected nearly every aspect of human activity, including the environment, health, migration, energy, good governance, security and economic development.

During his statement to the Forum, Mr. Kerim also highlighted the work of the 192-member General Assembly this year on climate change, including the debate earlier this month between Member States and financial institutions on the role that private investments can play in tackling the problem.

Mr. Kerim, who is on the first leg of an official visit to four European countries, held talks yesterday in Bern with Swiss President Pascal Couchepin, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Michael Ambuehl and parliamentarians. The discussions focused on UN reform, the global food crisis and climate change.

The Assembly President heads to Liechtenstein tomorrow and then Austria and Italy for the final legs of his trip.

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UN AGENCY DEVISES CALCULATOR TO ESTIMATE CARBON FOOTPRINTS OF FLIGHTS

New York, Jun 19 2008 3:00PM
The United Nations International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has unveiled a carbon calculation tool on its website that allows travellers to estimate the “carbon footprint” for any given flight they take.

The Carbon Calculator uses only publicly available and verifiable information to make its calculations about the amount of carbon dioxide emissions from a flight, taking into account such variables as aircraft type, route data, passenger load and the amount of cargo.

Roberto Kobeh González, President of the <"http://www.icao.int/index.html">ICAO Council, said the calculator should benefit both individuals and organizations and will improve as a tool as more technical and operational information becomes available.

“The Carbon Calculator responds to the wish of many travellers for a reliable and authoritative method to estimate the carbon footprint of a flight, so they can choose the programme best suited to offset the impact of their trips on climate change according to the amount of carbon dioxide they are responsible for,” Mr. Kobeh said.

It has been introduced by the Montreal-based ICAO as part of efforts to support the UN Climate Neutral Initiative, which calls for all parts of the UN system to determine their total carbon emissions, and is being backed by the UN World Tourism Organization (<"http://www.unwto.org/index.php">UNWTO).

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is also recommending the methodology used in the Carbon Calculator to its member airlines for use in their carbon-offsetting programmes, in part to achieve a more consistent approach to estimating the carbon footprint of flights.

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YOUNG ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISTS TELL THEIR STORY AT UN CHILDREN’S CONFERENCE

New York, Jun 17 2008 11:00AM
A young Australian filmmaker and an Indian child combating water waste are among the 700 children from over 100 countries that are sharing their stories on how to create a better, healthier planet at a United Nations environment conference in Norway.

The biannual Tunza International Children’s Conference, organized by the UN Environment Programme (<"http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=538&ArticleID=5838&l=en">UNEP) in partnership with the Norwegian NGO Young Agenda 21, and with Bayer AG as one of the main sponsors, began today in Stavanger.

One of the largest global children’s conferences in the world, the weeklong gathering brings together children between the ages of 10 and 14 who are engaged in environmental issues, aiming to increase their awareness and equip them with skills to promote environmental projects in their communities.

“The 700 children attending the Tunza Conference are a powerful sign of the creativity, energy and dynamism that children are capable of to protect our planet,” said UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner.

“We can all learn from them, and we should all take heart in the fact that increasing numbers of children are becoming a force for positive change as we move towards greener lifestyles,” he added.

In addition to presenting environmental projects, participants will go on field trips and learn about energy, climate change and fair trade, as well as plant trees in support of UNEP’s Seven Billion Tree Campaign. They will also learn about becoming an eco-journalist, photographing the environment and planning practical environmental projects.

This year, in partnership with the UN Children’s Fund (<"http://www.unicef.org">UNICEF), UNEP will highlight the initiatives of dozens of young activists through “My Story” – a series of short video clips that will be posted at www.unep.org.

Among the stories are those of a 13 year old in Australia who is making a documentary called “A Kid’s Guide to Climate Change,” for which he interviewed a local indigenous leader, visited a wind farm and a wave generator, and built a model solar car.

Other examples include a 14 year old in India who is campaigning against water waste in his community, a 13 year old in Cameroon who is running clean-up campaigns and tree plantings, and a 13 year old in the United States who has helped organize a recycling drive and collected 100,000 pounds of e-waste.

This is the seventh edition of UNEP’s <"http://www.unep.org/Tunza/children/inner.asp?ct=events&ev=int_children_conf&c

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LATEST UN CLIMATE CHANGE TALKS END WITH CALLS FOR SPEEDIER NEGOTIATIONS

New York, Jun 13 2008 10:00AM
The latest round of United Nations-sponsored global climate change talks ended today in Bonn, Germany, with calls to step up the pace of negotiations in the run up to next year’s crucial summit in Copenhagen.

“We now have a clearer understanding among governments on what countries would ultimately like to see written into a long-term agreement to address climate change,” said Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). “But with a little more than a year to go to Copenhagen, the challenge to come to that agreement remains daunting,” he added.

The talks, which brought together participants from 170 countries, led, among other things, to an agreement that practical technology transfer efforts would be scaled up – in particular for Africa, small island developing States and least developed countries.

“What is ultimately required is a clever financial architecture to generate the money developing countries will need to green their economies and adapt to the inevitable effects of climate change,” Mr. de Boer said.

Two further rounds of UN-sponsored negotiations will take place this year in Ghana and Poland.

A further series of major UNFCCC negotiating sessions are planned for 2009, culminating at the UN Climate Change Conference to be held in Copenhagen in December 2009.

The aim of the negotiations is to create a successor pact to the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012, on greenhouse gas emissions reduction.

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Eighteen images from around the world, all taken while the photographers have been on official UN trips and activities, have been selected to illustrate the impact that both nature and humankind have on the planet.

Opening the exhibition last night, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said it showed “we all have a duty to safeguard this beautiful fragile Earth for future generations.

“By contrasting the beauty of unspoiled nature with the terrible damage disasters can wreak, these photos inspire awe and a solemn sense of responsibility,” he said.

Ahmad Fawzi, Director of the News and Media Division of the UN Department of Public Information (DPI), said the images are just a small sample of the work of the department’s photographers – whether in missions, conflict zones, disaster areas or other regions of the globe.

“This exhibit… visually ‘reads’ from cold to hot, from ice to fire, with glaciers melting to water, images of deforestation and scorched earth, illustrating the dramatic changes taking place in our planet’s environment,” Mr. Fawzi said, speaking on behalf of Under-Secretary-General Kiyotaka Akasaka for Communications and Public Information.

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PRIVATE INVESTMENT KEY IN TACKLING CLIMATE CHANGE, SAYS ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT

New York, Jun 9 2008 7:00PM
With trillions of dollars needed to combat climate change in coming decades, private investments are essential, General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim said today.

Despite the efforts of the UN and other international and regional institutions, the world body approximates that nearly 90 per cent of the funds needed to address global warming will derive from the private sector, Mr. Kerim <"http://www.un.org/ga/president/62/statements/remarksgpicc90608.shtml">said at an Assembly event with the theme “Global Private Investments and Climate Change.”

Additionally, in 2030, some $200 billion will be needed to return emissions to current levels, while a recent report pointed out that without stepped-up action, poorer nations’ GDP would plummet over 10 per cent, he said.

Today’s event follows up on an Assembly debate on climate change held in February, and the President told participants in his opening address that he chose to convene the meeting given the need to “deepen our collective understanding on how the private sector relates to climate issues” and Member States call for a surge in financing to address the issue.

“Financial institutions shape our economies in many and varied ways,” he said. “Investment decisions taken today will inevitably affect the world’s emission profile in the future.”

The goal of the event, which also featured an interactive panel discussion, is two-fold, the President said, hoping to ascertain how decisions taken by private investors affect climate change and how global warming influences their financial choices.

“We don’t want climate change to be reduced to an environmental issue,” he told reporters after speaking at the event. “It is rather an issue of sustainable development and sustainable development must be based on economic growth.”

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ON WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY, UN OFFICIALS CALL FOR END TO CARBON ADDICTION

New York, Jun 5 2008 11:00AM
Top United Nations officials have marked World Environment Day by urging individuals, companies and governments alike to kick their addiction to carbon dioxide, a main contributor to global warming.

Top United Nations officials have marked <" http://www.unep.org/wed/2008/english/About_WED_2008/index.asp">World Environment Day by urging individuals, companies and governments alike to kick their addiction to carbon dioxide, a main contributor to global warming.

“Our world is in a grip of a dangerous carbon habit,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his message for the Day, which is observed annually on 5 June.

“Addiction is a terrible thing. It consumes and controls us, makes us deny important truths and blinds us to the consequences of our actions,” he added.

The main celebrations for the Day – whose theme this year is “Kick the Habit: Towards a Low Carbon Economy” – are being hosted by New Zealand, one of five countries that has pledged to become “climate neutral.”

Mr. Ban stressed that global warming was becoming the defining issue of the era and will hurt the rich and poor alike. “Mitigating climate change, eradicating poverty and promoting economic and political stability all demand the same solution: we must kick the carbon habit,” he stated.

Earlier this year, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) launched a climate neutral network of corporations, cities and companies, known as <" CN" target="_blank">http://www.climateneutral.unep.org/cnn_frontpage.aspx?m=49">CN Net, to energize the growing trend towards carbon neutrality.

“If we are to move the global economy to a greener and cleaner one, a sharp reduction in the inefficient use of fossil fuels allied to an increased up take of renewable energy must be at the centre of the international response,” said UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner.

He noted that the Nobel-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (<"http://www.ipcc.ch/">IPCC) concluded that greening the global economy might cost as little as a few tenths of global gross domestic product (GDP) annually over the next 30 years.

“It will also be a driving force for innovation, new businesses and industries and employment opportunities across the developed and developing worlds,” he added.

There are promising signs, driven by the existing emissions reduction treaty – the Kyoto Protocol – and even deeper emissions reductions are on the horizon, he noted. For example, close to 60 countries have targets for renewables, including 13 developing countries, while around 80 have market mechanisms in place to encourage renewable energy development.

On the occasion of World Environment Day, UNEP has launched a guide to low-carbon living, entitled “Kick the Habit: The UN Guide to Climate Neutrality,” as well as “Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation in the Tourism Sector,” a report prepared in collaboration with the UN World Tourism Organization (<" http://www.unwto.org/index.php">UNWTO).

Adopting a low-carbon lifestyle does not necessarily require drastic changes, according to UNEP. Simple changes such as waking up to a traditional wind-up alarm clock rather than an electronic one, or drying clothes on a washing line versus a tumble dryer can all help to reduce greenhouse gases.

Mr. Steiner pointed out that some choices are big – from smart taxes to encourage offshore wind farms as opposed to more coal-fired power stations – while others are small, such as thinking about which appliances to buy and how to travel.

“But multiplied across the world and acted upon by 6.7 billion people, the public have the power to change the future – have the power to personally and collectively influence economies to ‘Kick the CO2 Habit’,” he said.

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AFRICA’S EFFORTS TO TACKLE CLIMATE CHANGE RECEIVE $92 MILLION BOOST – UN

New York, May 29 2008 8:00PM
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Japan today announced a new $92 million initiative to help Africa adapt to global warming.

“Climate change is one of the most critical issues that governments and citizens around the world need to address,” said Olav Kjorven, <"http://www.undp.org/">UNDP Assistant Administrator and Director of Bureau for Development Policy.

The programme, announced today during the high-level Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), will be launched in August.

The UNDP/Japan initiative seeks to help governments revise their current anti-poverty strategies to come into line with climate change’s potential effects on development.

“As a result of climate change, many African countries will experience increased water scarcity and worsened health and food security,” Mr. Kjorven said, stressing that global warming threatens economic and social progress.

“Unless we act now, climate change may threaten everything we will attempt to achieve in the future,” he added.

Of the $92 million, $11 million will be allocated to projects in collaboration with the UN Children’s Fund (<"http://www.unicef.org/">UNICEF), the UN World Food Programme (<"http://www.wfp.org/english/">WFP) and the UN Industrial Development Organization (<"http://www.unido.org/">UNIDO).

UNDP and Japan have joined forces in the past on successful projects, in countries such as Afghanistan and Sudan and in the areas affected by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

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UN-BACKED SUMMIT TO SPOTLIGHT PRIVATE SECTOR’S ROLE IN TACKLING CLIMATE CHANGE

New York, May 12 2008 4:00PM
The United Nations will take part in a global meeting next year to assess how a new global climate change policy can also address the needs of the business community, it was announced today.

The World Business Summit on Climate Change, which will take place next May in Copenhagen, Denmark, seeks to ensure that the successor pact to the Kyoto Protocol will provide the right incentives to slash greenhouse gas emissions.

Along with the <" http://www.unglobalcompact.org/">UN Global Compact – the world body’s voluntary corporate citizen initiative – the gathering will be convened by the Copenhagen Climate Council, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and the Pew Center on Global Climate Change.

Organizers expect hundreds of top executives, government officials, leading experts and heads of civil society to attend to assess how the private sector can play a role in addressing global warming through innovative business approaches, new joint ventures and the development of low-carbon technologies.

The World Business Summit is expected to produce recommendations to be forwarded onto world leaders negotiating a successor pact to the <" http://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/items/2830.php">Kyoto Protocol, expiring in 2012. Those talks are scheduled to wrap up at a key UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (<" http://unfccc.int/2860.php">UNFCCC) in December 2009, also to take place in Copenhagen.

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I Give Up, Says Brazilian Minister Who Fought to Save the Rainforest

Reuters

Marina Silva: departure greeted with dismay

Brazil has been accused of turning its back on its duty to protect the Amazon after the resignation of its award-winning Environment Minister fuelled fresh fears over the fate of the forest. The departure of Marina Silva, who admitted she was losing the battle to get green voices heard amidst the rush for economic development, has been greeted with dismay by conservationists.

"She was the environment's guardian angel," said Frank Guggenheim, executive director for Greenpeace in Brazil. "Now Brazil's environment is orphaned."

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USING ART TO INSPIRE ACTION ON THE ENVIRONMENT – NEW UN CAMPAIGN

New York, May 7 2008 4:00PM
Art can be a catalyst for environmental action – that’s the message today from a United Nations seminar and exhibit which are bringing together artists from around the world.

Mia Hanak, Founding Executive Director of the Natural World Museum, which is co-sponsoring the events in New York, said that, “art is a vehicle for environmental action and social change. Our collective goal is to ignite people’s passion for being a part of the global solution and together inspiring people to take bold actions in finding new ways to embrace sustainable lifestyles.”

The seminar and art exhibition are also sponsored by the UN’s Environment Programme (<"http://www.unep.org">UNEP) and Department of Information (<" http://www.undpi.am/">DPI), under the title, “art changing attitudes toward the environment.”

Seven artists from different regions of the world are exhibiting photographs focusing on the environment at UN Headquarters in New York until the end of May.

Indian-born photographer Subhankar Banerjee has photographed the Arctic region over the past eight years and said today that the area suffered from negative perceptions as a “hostile wasteland” and that its indigenous peoples had also suffered from intolerance. “I hope that my work would help unlearn many of these intolerances against a whole part of our planet and our indigenous friends who call this home,” he said.

The events are part of the “<" Unlearning" target="_blank">http://www.un.org/Pubs/chronicle/tolerance/seminar.html#">Unlearning Intolerance Seminar Series” which was initiated by the UN in 2004. Eric Falt, Director of Outreach with DPI, said that the aim was to “examine intolerance, as well as to explore ways to promote respect and understanding among peoples.”

“In previous years,” he said, “the series has focused on anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, genocide and the role of the media in promoting tolerance.”

Ms. Hanak said, “We are sending out a call to action through the arts to break down our barriers and activate environmental and social transformation. We can each do our part in turning the tide in public awareness - and just remember one person can make a difference and together we can create change.”

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INDIGENOUS PEOPLES MOST AFFECTED BY CLIMATE CHANGE, ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT SAYS

New York, May 1 2008 2:00PM
Indigenous peoples are “most directly affected by environmental degradation caused by climate change,” and are “the stewards of some of the most precious biologically diverse regions of the world,” the President of the General Assembly said today.

In a statement Srgjan Kerim said he was encouraged that the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, which is currently meeting in New York, has chosen climate change as the special theme of this year’s session.

He added that indigenous issues are inextricably linked to progress toward the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and that there was a “need to draw attention to what has been described as a ‘development emergency’, which is being exacerbated by rising high food and energy prices.”

Mr. Kerim also welcomed the fact that this was the first session of the Forum since the adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007.

He said “the Declaration marks a milestone in the recognition of the rights of indigenous peoples worldwide. More than that, it is an important call for justice and to put an end to social exclusion and marginalization of approximately 370 million people worldwide and to ensure that their identity will be preserved.”

He stressed that “indigenous people are affected in a disproportionate manner by a high level of poverty and extreme poverty as well as the lack of access to health and education services.”

Some 3,300 delegates have gathered in New York for the seventh session of the Permanent Forum, a subsidiary of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), which is wrapping up tomorrow after two weeks.

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TEN NEW PARTICIPANTS SIGN ON TO UN SCHEME TO SLASH EMISSIONS

New York, Apr 23 2008 1:00PM
A Latin American beauty corporation, a boutique French advertising agency and a United Kingdom think tank are among ten new participants which have signed on to a United Nations Internet-based scheme in a bid to hasten climate neutrality.

The Climate Neutral Network (<"http://www.climateneutral.unep.org/cnn_frontpage.aspx?m=49">CN Net), launched in February and set up by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) in cooperation with the UN Environment Management Group, is an online forum to tackle the challenge of rising greenhouse gases.

The project assists entities aiming to slash their greenhouse gas emissions by making the strategies of pioneer organizations’ public as way to inspire those trying to reach their climate-friendly goals and by offering a forum for like-minded groups to network and shared best practices on the issue. It also aims to bring developed and developing country participants together to promote development.

“A small but growing band of countries, cities and corporations are making the clear and explicit statement that aspiring to low, even zero, emission economies is not some unobtainable pipe-dream but a path to profitability, stability and sanity in an increasingly unstable world,” UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner <"http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=531&ArticleID=5776&l=en">said today in Singapore at a two-day summit organized by his agency and the UN Global Compact.

He said that CN Net will spur the transition to a low-carbon world and alter the way business is conducted.

“The existing and new participants are leading by example and proving the art of the possible and a determination to be part of a global climate solution,” Mr. Steiner observed.

The new members of CN Net are: <ul>
<li>Belcorp, a Peruvian beauty corporation; Inoxia, a French advertising agency; </li>
<li>BlindSpot, a UK research centre focusing on sustainable development; Incentive Sol, a Brazilian online carbon-trading venture; </li>
<li>Sempre Avanti Consulting, a New Zealand-based carbon-neutral consultancy; </li>
<li>Carbon Clear, a UK organization helping businesses and individuals reduce their carbon footprint; </li>
<li>Wright Communications, New Zealand’s only public relations firm specializing in corporate responsibility and sustainability communications; </li>
<li>Planète Urgence, a French non-governmental organization (NGO); and</li>
<li>The Regional Ozone Network in Europe and Central Asia (ECA), created in 2003 to assist one dozen countries in the area phase out ozone-depleting substances; </li><li>UNEP. </li></ul>

They join four countries (Costa Rica, Iceland, New Zealand and Norway), four cities (Arendal, Norway; Rizhao, China; Vancouver, Canada; and Växjö, Sweden) and five corporations (Co-operative Financial Services of the UK, Interface Inc. of the United States, Natura of Brazil, Nedbank of South Africa and Senoko Power of Singapore), who signed on in February.

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UN-BACKED PROGRAMME FOR CLEAN ENERGY PROJECTS PASSES 1000 MILESTONE

New York, Apr 14 2008 5:00PM
A mechanism under the United Nations-backed Kyoto Protocol that allows industrialized countries to generate credits through investment in emission reduction projects in developing countries reached a milestone today, approving its 1000th clean energy project.

The project in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 34,000 tons annually, according to a news release issued by the secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (<"http://unfccc.int/2860.php">UNFCCC), the parent treaty of the <"http://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/items/2830.php">Kyoto Protocol.

To be registered with the Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and then earn Certified Emission Reduction (CER) credits, projects must pass a rigorous process of approval and independent third-party monitoring designed to ensure that emission reductions claimed by a project are real, verifiable and additional to what would have taken place without the project.

Rajesh Kumar Sethi, Chair of the CDM Executive Board, who signed off on the project at a joint coordination workshop in Bonn, Germany, noted that with 1,000 projects in 49 countries in just two and a half years, the mechanism has shown its potential.

At the same time, “it’s clear that there is still much greater potential that can be realized, while respecting the imperative of ensuring environmental integrity and making the mechanism as simple as possible,” said Mr. Sethi.

The Bonn workshop brought together about 240 representatives of CDM regulatory implementers and national stakeholders who discussed, among other things, registration of CDM projects and issuance of CERs, emissions baseline setting and monitoring methodologies, and accreditation of third-party certifiers.

The CDM has been hailed as one of the Kyoto Protocol’s greatest successes by UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer, who said that it “rovided developed countries with a degree of flexibility in how they meet their commitments under the Kyoto Protocol.”

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BANGKOK CLIMATE CHANGE TALKS GOOD START, BUT ‘HUGE’ TASK LAYS AHEAD – UN OFFICIAL

New York, Apr 10 2008 4:00PM
The climate change talks held last week in Bangkok were successful in devising a schedule for negotiations leading to a long-term international agreement on the issue, but actually devising an accord that all countries will sign remains a major challenge, a top United Nations official told reporters today.

Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (<"http://unfccc.int/2860.php">UNFCCC), said the outcome of the first round of negotiations on a new global climate change agreement to succeed the Kyoto Protocol – set to expire in 2012 – was “a good beginning.”

The Bangkok talks, held from 31 March to 4 April, was the first meeting since last December’s landmark UN Climate Change Conference in Bali, Indonesia, in which 187 countries agreed to launch a two-year process of formal negotiations on strengthening global efforts to fight, mitigate and adapt to the problem of global warming.

Last week’s meeting “did manage to make a good beginning towards a good end,” Mr. de Boer said at a press conference in New York, noting that countries identified exactly how issues will be taken up for the rest of 2008, which topics will be taken up at the three meetings that will happen during the rest of 2008 and which areas in the Bali outcome need to be further explored.

The meeting also mapped out the focus of the next major climate change conference, to be held in December 2009 in Poznan, Poland, which will address the issue of risk management and risk reduction strategies, technology and the key elements of a shared long-term vision for joint action in combating climate change, including a long-term target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

While the Bangkok meeting was a success, the challenge ahead is “huge,” he added.

“We basically have one and a half years in which to craft what I think is one of the most complicated international agreements that history has ever seen, with a great deal at stake from the point of view of different interests,” Mr. de Boer said.

“At the same time, I believe that countries recognize that failure is not an option in all of this. The impacts of climate change are being seen around us already today.”

Earlier this week, the UN World Health Organization (<"http://www.who.int/en/">WHO) released a report on the dangers to human health posed by climate change. Also, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (<"http://www.ipcc.ch/">IPCC) presented new findings at its meeting in Budapest, Hungary, pointing to increased water stress as a result of climate change.

“So this is clearly an issue that’s recognized as one that has to be dealt with now, and has to be dealt with significantly,” stated Mr. de Boer.

The Executive Secretary-General outlined several challenges that need to be addressed in the negotiating process, which is set to conclude in Copenhagen by the end of 2009. The first is the need for further and meaningful engagement of major developing countries.

The second hurdle is providing financial resources that will make it possible for these countries to engage without harming their primary concerns surrounding economic growth and poverty reduction.

At the same time, he added, those finances will not begin to flow unless major industrialized countries make significant emission reduction commitments.

“It is my firm belief that we will only address those challenges in a process where people feel their legitimate interests are respected at the negotiating table,” he stated.

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WORK OF NOBEL PRIZE-WINNING CLIMATE CHANGE PANEL HAILED BY UN OFFICIAL

New York, Apr 9 2008 1:00PM
The head of the lead United Nations agency on weather, climate and water has lauded the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), whose Nobel Prize-winning efforts have helped the world better understand the impact of global warming on the planet.

“Key <"http://www.ipcc.ch/">IPCC messages have now been widely publicized with the support of many nations and of the United Nations, and serve as the basis for an international mobilization in the domain of climate change,” said Hong Yan, Deputy Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (<"http://www.wmo.ch/pages/index_en.html">WMO).

Addressing an IPCC meeting which began today in Budapest, Hungary, Hong Yan noted in particular the panel’s latest research on the impacts of climate change on water, which he said reinforced the need for countries – especially in the developing world – to strengthen the monitoring and observational capacities of their National Meteorological and Hydrological Services.

He said the work on climate change and water covers a number of WMO’s concerns, such as the link between global warming and large-scale changes in the hydrological cycle, including changing precipitation patterns, the melting of continental ice and changes in the frequency and intensity of droughts.

“All these aspects of the climate system are central to WMO’s expertise and these results highlight the need to further support research and observations,” he stated.

Established in 1988 by WMO and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the IPCC and its more than 2,000 scientists and experts have grappled with science and economics of climate change and its likely impacts. It was recognized for its groundbreaking work in 2007 when it was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, along with former United States Vice-President and climate change activist Al Gore.

WMO has been supporting the Panel’s work in a variety of ways, including as the principal provider of the scientific and technical information that underpins IPCC assessments.

Mr. Hong Yan stressed the commitment of WMO to assisting the Panel in its work and in facilitating the increasing involvement of scientists from both developed and developing countries to meet the challenges of global climate change – one of the “defining challenges of the 21st century.”

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CLIMATE CHANGE WILL TAKE HEAVY TOLL ON HUMAN HEALTH – UN OFFICIALS

New York, Apr 7 2008 11:00AM
Top United Nations officials have warned that global warming and its effects, including a rise in air and sea temperatures and extreme weather patterns, endanger not only the planet but also pose a major threat to human health.

In his message marking this year’s <"http://www.who.int/world-health-day/en/index.html">World Health Day, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon noted that, in addition to causing more frequent and more severe storms, heat waves, droughts and floods, climate change jeopardizes the quality and availability of water and food, “our fundamental determinants of nutrition and health.”

He stressed the need to “give voice to this often-overlooked reality, ensuring that protecting human health is anchored at the heart of the global climate change agenda.”

The Secretary-General added that it is the world’s poor – who contributed the least to climate change – that will bear the brunt of the human suffering resulting from the crisis.

For example, malnutrition and climate-related infectious diseases will take their heaviest toll on the most vulnerable – small children, the elderly and the infirm. Women living in poverty face particular risk when natural disasters and other global-warming related dangers strike.

Stressing that “climate change is real, it is accelerating and it threatens all of us,” Mr. Ban called for collective action to combat the scourge, for the sake of the planet as well as for those inhabiting it.

“The core concern is succinctly stated: climate change endangers human health,” <"http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2008/pr11/en/index.html">said Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General of the UN World Health Organization (WHO). “The warming of the planet will be gradual, but the effects of extreme weather events – more storms, floods, droughts and heat waves – will be abrupt and acutely felt.”

She noted that human beings are already exposed to the effects of climate-sensitive diseases, including malnutrition, which causes over 3.5 million deaths per year, diarrhoeal diseases, which kill over 1.8 million, and malaria, which kills almost 1 million.

Recent events such as the European heat wave in 2003, Hurricane Katrina – which struck the United States in 2005 – and cholera epidemics in Bangladesh are just a few examples of what can be expected in the future.

“These trends and events cannot be attributed solely to climate change but they are the types of challenges we expect to become more frequent and intense with climate changes,” she stated. “They will further strain health resources which, in many regions, are already under severe stress.”

To address the health effects of climate change, WHO is coordinating and supporting research and assessment on the most effective measures to protect health, particularly for the most vulnerable such as women and children in developing countries.

It is also advising Member States on the necessary changes to their health systems to protect their populations, and will be working closely with them in the years ahead to develop effective means of adapting to a changing climate and reducing its effects on human health.

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Organized by the UN International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the International Symposia on ICTs and Climate Change will take place in Kyoto from 15 to 16 April and in London from 17 to 18 June.

“Climate change is a concern for all of humanity and requires efforts on the part of all sectors of society, including the ICT sector,” said ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun I. Touré. “ITU is committed to achieving climate neutrality and to working with our membership to promote the use of ICTs as an effective tool to combat climate change.”

ICTs are estimated to contribute some 2 to 2.5 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, and that is likely to grow as technology becomes more widely available.

However, they can also be an important tool in efforts to combat climate change, especially through the development of more energy efficient devices, applications and networks, and their environmentally sound disposal. “ICT can therefore be a key enabler to a low carbon economy while also promoting growth,” according to the ITU.

“We have already seen in ITU a phenomenal level of effort put into finding ways to reduce power consumption in ICT networks and devices, as well as looking at ways that ICTs can help other industries contribute to this global challenge,” stated Malcolm Johnson, Director of ITU’s standardization arm.

Recent ITU activities related to climate change include a workshop examining how ICTs in vehicles can help mitigate and monitor climate change and a series of tutorials on reducing energy consumption in the technology sector.=

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CLIMATE CHANGE THREATENS DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS OF WORLD’S POOR – UN OFFICIAL

New York, Mar 31 2008 11:00AM
Climate change is among a host of new challenges that is making it increasingly difficult for the world’s poorest people to escape from poverty and hunger, the head of the United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development (<" http://www.ifad.org">IFAD) said today.  

Most of the world’s poor live in rural areas of developing countries and depend on agriculture to survive. In addition, millions of small-scale farmers and members of the rural poor live in areas that face serious risk from degradation and desertification due to climate change.

“Put simply, the price of development just went up,” said IFAD President Lennart Båge. “Substantial and additional money will be needed to help poor countries adapt to climate change.”

The implications of climate change, as well as the rise in global food prices and biofuels top the agenda of talks in Paris today between Mr. Båge and senior French officials, representatives of civil society and researchers.  They will be discussing how to help the rural poor in a world where nearly one billion people live in extreme poverty and hunger.

“We can expect future climate change to put almost 50 million extra people at risk of hunger by 2020,” Mr. Båge stated. “Those least responsible for the problem will be hit first, and hardest.”

He noted that Africa is likely to bear the brunt of this, with at least 75 million people there facing increasing water shortages and lack of good quality water.

Closely linked with climate change are rising food prices and the expansion of biofuels. The increased demand for biofuels has sparked concerns that the poor rural people living in marginal areas may lose their lands to those seeking additional land for fuel production.

Many of the world’s poorest people are already feeling the pinch from soaring food prices, which have already sparked riots in numerous countries, including Burkina Faso, Cameroon and Mozambique. “Security may very well prove to be a serious issue in the not-too-distant future,” said Mr. Båge.

France and IFAD have a long history of collaboration in developing countries, especially in Africa. To date, France has provided more than $255 million for IFAD-supported poverty reduction programmes and projects. It has also contributed nearly $42 million to IFAD’s Special Programme for sub-Saharan Africa.

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GLOBAL WARMING CONTINUES, REGARDLESS OF LA NIÑA WEATHER PATTERN – UN AGENCY

New York, Apr 4 2008 6:00PM
The long-term trend of global warming is continuing, despite the current La Niña weather phenomenon that is bringing relatively cooler temperatures to parts of the Equatorial Pacific region, the United Nations World Meteorological Organization (<" http://www.wmo.ch/pages/index_en.html">WMO) said today.

Worldwide temperatures this year are expected to be above the long-term average, even though La Niña is also likely to persist through to the middle of 2008, WMO said in a press statement issued in Geneva.


WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud said that while there will always be both cooler and warmer individual years, the overall trend in temperatures is still upwards.


“For detecting climate change you should not look at any particular year, but instead examine the trends over a sufficiently long period of time,” he said.


Parts of the central and eastern Pacific Ocean have experienced significantly cooler sea-surface temperatures in recent months, WMO reported, and cooling has also been recorded over China, Central Asia, Turkey and the Middle East.


But Australia, Scandinavia, Russia, the western United States, Mexico, north-eastern Brazil and the southern part of South America have generally experienced higher-than-average temperatures since last December.

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LATEST ROUND OF UN CLIMATE TALKS TO START NEXT WEEK

New York, Mar 28 2008  6:00PM
A fresh round of United Nations-sponsored climate change talks, expected to draw 1,000 participants, will kick off next week in Bangkok, Thailand.

This five-day meeting seeks to push the so-called “Bali Roadmap” – agreed upon by 187 countries at the landmark UN Climate Change Conference in Bali, Indonesia, last December – forward. Under this guide, key issues during the upcoming negotiations will be adaptation, mitigation, the deployment of climate-friendly technology and financing.

In Bangkok, attendees are expected to lay out a work plan for the negotiations for a successor pact to the Kyoto Protocol which expires in 2012, as well as discuss how developed nations can curb their emissions.

“The challenge is to design a future agreement that will significantly step up action on adaptation, successfully halt the increase in global emissions within the next 10 to 15 years, dramatically cut back emissions by 2050, and do so in a way that is economically viable and politically equitable worldwide,” said Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (<"http://unfccc.int/meetings/intersessional/awg-lca_1_and_awg-kp_5/items/4288.php">UNFCCC).

The negotiations process is scheduled to conclude next year at a major summit in Copenhagen, Denmark.

In a related development, the Kyoto Protocol’s Adaptation Fund Board wrapped up its inaugural meeting today in Bonn, Germany.

The Fund seeks to finance concrete adaptation projects and programmes in developing countries.

Characterizing it as “unique,” Mr. de Boer pointed out that it is “not reliant on donor funding or overseas development assistance. This is the climate regime beginning to become self-financing.”

At present, the Fund is backed by a 2 per cent levy on the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which allows industrialized countries to generate credits through investment in emission reduction projects in developing countries. It is worth some €37 million currently, and its value is expected to surge to $80 million to $300 million in the 2008-2012 period.

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ON WORLD METEOROLOGICAL DAY, UN ISSUES CALL FOR IMPROVED CLIMATE OBSERVATIONS

New York, Mar 25 2008 11:00AM
The United Nations weather agency is marking World Meteorological Day by <" http://www.wmo.ch/pages/mediacentre/press_releases/pr_811_en.html">calling for improvements to climate observation technologies to help people and economies adapt to climate change, climate variability and extreme weather.

The Day – observed today in Geneva – commemorates the entry into force on 23 March 1950 of the <" http://www.wmo.ch/pages/governance/policy/documents/wmo_convention.pdf">World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Convention, and the following year WMO was designated a UN specialized agency.

The theme of this year’s Day is “Observing our Planet for a Better Future,” highlighting the necessity of monitoring meteorological and hydrological phenomena to aid countries in their quest to achieve sustainable economic development.

In his <" http://www.wmo.ch/pages/wmd/message_en.html">message marking the occasion, WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud said that natural disasters are increasingly impacting developing countries, with nine out of 10 of them being linked to hydrometeorological hazards – a phenomenon that has collectively caused 1.2 million deaths and $900 million in damage between 1980 and 2000.

Natural hazards cannot be prevented, but suitable early warnings based on better observations can help to significantly minimize their harmful effects, he said.

Also, Mr. Jarraud pointed out that the number of vulnerable communities is climbing in recent decades due to increased urbanization; population shifts into fragile areas such as coasts, lowlands and floodplains; and expansion into arid areas.

“The increase in the intensity and frequency of extreme events that is expected in association with climate change will further exacerbate their vulnerability,” he noted. “Decision-makers and emergency response managers will therefore require more information to formulate the most appropriate contingency plans.”

Increasingly, information related to weather, climate and water is key to supporting agriculture, transport, energy production and water resource management, which can promote development, WMO’s Secretary-General added.

The Day will be commemorated in Geneva at WMO headquarters through addresses, films, a photo exhibition and an anthology of poems.

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UN AGENCY APPEALS FOR DATA ON WORLD FORESTS FOR MOST DETAILED STUDY YET

New York, Mar  6 2008  1:00PM
In preparation for the most comprehensive picture ever drawn of the state of the Earth’s forests, which cover 30 per cent of its land and are a crucial factor in mitigating climate change, the United Nations agricultural agency today put out a call for accurate data.  

“Stronger support from countries and advances in communication technology will make the next Global Forest Resources Assessment the most comprehensive and reliable yet,” Jan Heino of the Forestry Department of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said of the assessment that will be published in 2010.

The last survey was produced with the help of over 800 people in teams working in 172 countries and many more are likely to be involved this time around, with some 220 experts are attending this week’s meeting at FAO to kick-start the process.

Started over 60 years ago, the Global Forest Resources Assessment process provides information on how much forest exists, how it is being managed and how it is being lost, according to an FAO <" http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2008/1000804/index.html">press release.

Global forest cover currently amounts to just under four billion hectares. Although the rate of net loss of forest has decreased in recent years, the world is still losing about 200 square kilometres of forest a day, FAO data indicates.

Besides generating unprecedented information on deforestation, new forestation and natural forest expansion, the new survey will provide insight into the land uses that are replacing forests and the forests’ role in climate change, the agency said.  

In addition, the 2010 assessment will expand knowledge of the biological diversity of forests and will include a special study on trees outside forests, a survey of the area of forest under sustainable forest management, and data on forest policy.  

Among the new technologies being used is an ambitious new global remote sensing survey that uses satellite data from 1975, 1990, 2000 and 2005.

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Junk mail is more than just an annoyance; it's an environmental crisis. Every year, junk mail production destroys 100 million trees, creating as much global warming pollution as 3.7 million cars.

http://www.care2.com/news/member/577339509/658178

We need to have the optition to Opt out. 

I am being forced to kill, create pollution & leave wildlife homeless! That is not right.

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GREEN INVESTMENT REQUIRES PREDICTABLE CARBON PRICE, MINISTERS AGREE AT UN MEETING

New York, Feb 25 2008  1:00PM
Predictable carbon pricing is needed to direct world investment flows toward an economy that could minimize climate change, close to 140 governments agreed today as they concluded a major meeting on the subject in Monaco, the United Nations Environmental Programme (<"http://www.unep.org/">UNEP) says.

“Sufficiently high and long-term predictable price for carbon will be central for mobilizing capital for the new economy,” according to the summary by Roberto Dobles, Costa Rican Environment and Energy Minister and President of UNEP’s Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum, which ended Friday, and discussed the theme of “Mobilizing Finance for the Climate Challenge.”

The five-day Forum set new priorities for UNEP and was the largest gathering of environment ministers since last December’s landmark UN Climate Change Conference in Bali, Indonesia, which ended with 187 countries agreeing to launch a two-year process of formal negotiations on a successor pact to the Kyoto Protocol.

In adopting a medium-term programme of work at the meeting, participants decided on a new strategy to strengthen and refocus UNEP's response to climate change as well as its handling of disasters, conflicts, ecosystem management, environmental governance, harmful substances, hazardous waste and resource efficiency, UNEP said.

“This decision is a major milestone in achieving a consensus among the international community as well as civil society and the private sector to set new and transformational directions for this environment programme of the UN,” Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director, said at the meeting’s close.

In regard to financing to meet the challenges of global warming, many participants urged that the Adaptation Fund of the Kyoto Protocol become quickly operational to ‘climate proof’ vulnerable economies, according to the President’s summary.  

In addition, many maintained that the Clean Development Mechanism of the Protocol, which may eventually generate up to $100 billion of investment flowing from North to South into clean and green energy projects, needed to be "supplemented by significant contributions from industrialized countries.”

"Developing countries no longer need to be convinced of the advantages of green growth, but they do need financial and technical assistance in order to make the transition to lower carbon economies,” the summary noted.

A transformation in the marketplace was noted by private sector participants at the meeting, who said that renewable energy had 'shed its fringe image' and was now a mainstream business, although there remained a 'lack of activity' in poorer developing countries.

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