15 December 2008: Marking the end of the 2008 International Year of the Potato (IYP), the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), in collaboration with the International Potato Center (CIP), released a book entitled: “International Year of the Potato: New Light on a Hidden Treasure.”
15 December: The UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) has announced that the 2009 Global Forum on Renewable Energies and Energy Efficiency will be hosted by the Government of Mexico in the last quarter of 2009.
3 December 2008: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP), in partnership with the UN/OCHA Integrated Resource Information Network (IRIN), has launched a film series titled “Gathering Storm - The humanitarian impact of climate change.”
November 2008: In the UN World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) latest Sustainable Development of Tourism (SDT) e-bulletin, the organization highlights the launch of the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria, the Sustainable Tourism Policy Initiative at World Heritage Sites, Climate Change and Tourism, and Climate Change in the Maldives.
15 December 2008: The Adaptation Fund Board (AFB) is holding its fourth meeting from 15-17 December 2008, at the UN Campus in Bonn, Germany. The Adaptation Fund was established by the parties to the Kyoto Protocol of the UNFCCC to finance concrete adaptation projects and programmes in developing countries that are parties to the Kyoto Protocol. The Fund will be financed with 2% of the Certified Emission Reductions issued for projects of the Clean Development Mechanism and with funds from other sources.
15 December 2008: Speaking at a meeting of the UN General Assembly on the “follow-up to the outcome of the Millennium Summit: specific meeting focused on development,” taking place in New York, US, on 15 December 2008, UN Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro warned that the food, fuel and financial crises threaten to undo poverty reduction efforts.
15 December 2008: During a meeting of the Global Compact Board, which took place in New York, US on 15 December 2008, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed the importance for the private sector to take a leading role in addressing the financial crisis.
15 December 2008: The International Energy Agency (IEA) has released a study entitled “Price Caps and Price Floors in Climate Policy-A Quantitative Assessment,” which assesses the long-term economic and environmental effects of introducing price caps and price floors in a hypothetical climate change mitigation architecture that aims to reduce global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions by 50% by 2050.
15 December 2008: Speaking at the conference on “Water for Agriculture and Energy in Africa: The Challenges of Climate Change,” taking place in Sirte, Libya, from 15-17 December 2008, FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf stressed the importance of water management for food security. During the event, ministers from 53 African countries will consider a “Blue Revolution” programme designed to harness Africa’s largely untapped water resources.
13 December 2008: The UN Climate Change Conference concluded early in the morning on 13 December 2008, in Poznań, Poland, with a clear commitment from governments to shift into full negotiating mode next year in order to shape an international response to climate change.
