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UNITAR Holds Seminar on Environmentally Induced Migration and Climate Change

Climate-L.org - IISDRS — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 13:27:56 +0000

27 April 2010: The UN Institute for Training and Reaserch (UNITAR) held a seminar on Environmentally Induced Migration and Climate Change on 20 April 2010, in New York, US. The event was part of the Migration and Development Series, which is supported by the International Migration Organization (IOM), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and the MacArthur Foundation as partners.
The Seminar examined the role of sudden-onset disasters (storms, floods), as well as slow-onset environmental changes (desertification, droughts, land degradation, water scarcity) in propelling both internal and international migration. Participants discussed the linkages between migration and development and the environment, as well as the responsibilities of a range of actors and fields of intervention – from humanitarian assistance and disaster preparedness to climate change adaptation and sustainable development.
During the seminar, participants highlighted that: uncertainties about the impacts of environmental degradation and climate change on migration remain; more emphasis needs to be put on the impact for developing countries of environmentally-induced migration; greater clarity about the legal frameworks applying and affording protection to those displaced by/or migrating from/environmental hazards is essential; it is important to ensure consistency between policies for development, environmental protection, climate change and migration; and building capacities in developing countries to implement policies that deal with migration as a result of climate change and environmental degradation is key. [Seminar Website] [IISD RS Sources]

UN Releases Fourth Edition of Facts for Life

Climate-L.org - IISDRS — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 14:09:24 +0000

April 2010: The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Bank, has published the fourth edition of “Facts for Life.”
A section on emergencies, preparedness and response notes that an estimated 26 million people were displaced by armed conflicts and violence in 2007, while each year up to 50 million people are displaced due to disasters. The report suggests that climate change could increase these numbers.
The report highlights that girls, boys and women typically are the most affected by emergencies and that displacement undermines livelihoods and social support mechanisms. This can lead to family separations and increase children’s vulnerability to discrimination, abuse, violence, poverty and exploitation. The publication provides information on how to prevent child and maternal deaths, diseases, injuries and violence. [The Report]

WORLD URBAN FORUM 5 DEVELOPS RECOMMENDATIONS TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE INCLUSIVE CITIES

Climate-L.org - IISDRS — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 11:08:00 +0000

The fifth World Urban Forum (WUF-5), which took place from 22-26 March 2010, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, under the theme “The Right to the City: Bridging the Urban Divide,” was hosted by the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) and the Government of Brazil. The event gathered a record of over 13,700 participants from 150 countries to discuss issues related to the sustainability of cities in the context of rapid urbanization, and a changing climate and environment. During the forum, UN-HABITAT Executive Director Anna Tibaijuka unveiled the World Urban Campaign, which will provide a platform for action for local communities, neighborhoods and leaders to promote democracy and human rights, and enhance global health, food security and energy efficiency.
On 23 March, congress members of several countries participated in a debate on “Parliamentarians of the world about climate changes and human settlements,” coordinated by Peter Goetz, President of the Global Parliamentarians on Habitat. On 25 March, participants engaged in a dialogue on “Sustainable Urbanization: Cities in a Changing Climate,” during which they addressed broad concepts and ideas, and then held thematic open debates on: “Sustainable urbanization: cities in a changing climate,” which presented policies and practices that cities, governments and communities around the world are embracing to address the challenges of climate change; “Reducing vulnerabilities to climate change,” which stressed the need to address climate change impacts within a framework that acknowledges the presence of the urban divide and embraces social inclusiveness; and “Promoting inclusive and environmentally sustainable cities,” which addressed how cities can reduce their carbon footprint and effectively engage the informal sector in low carbon economic growth, while fostering inclusive economic development.
UN-HABITAT, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), and the World Bank jointly launched a Global Greenhouse Gas Standard for cities, which will provide a global and harmonized protocol for quantifying the amount of greenhouse gases emissions attributable to cities and local regions. It is expected that this common methodology for calculating GHG emissions on a per capita basis will support policy and access to finance, allowing cities to compare their performances.
During the closing ceremony, Tibaijuka called on governments and leaders at all levels to “provide the requisite resources and to make investments that will provide sustainable cities in a changing climate.” Participants also considered the recommendations from the World Urban Forum, which will be presented to the UN-HABITAT Ministerial Governing Council, a subsidiary organ of the UN General Assembly, scheduled to be held in Nairobi, Kenya, in April 2011. The Rio Declaration endorsed by participants outlines recommendations related to the need to promote civil society participation and governance to build inclusive policies and cities. The sixth World Urban Forum will be hosted by the Government of Bahrain in 2012.
Links to further information
World Urban Forum-5
UN-HABITAT Executive Director’s speech

Event: Seminar on environmental migration and climate change

Climate-L.org - IISDRS — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 14:47:47 +0000

This seminar is part of the UNITAR Migration and Development Series. Over 20 million people were displaced by sudden-onset climate-related disasters in 2008 alone. Estimates have suggested that between 25 million to one billion people could move as a result of climate change over the next 40 years, with 200 million being the most widely cited figure. This one-day seminar aims to present a nuanced picture of the interrelation between migratory decisions and environmental degradation, exacerbated through climate change; and bring together the migration, development, climate change and environment perspective. This seminar is designed for the members of Permanent Missions. UN staff and interested representatives of civil society and the private sector.

date: 20 April 2010
location: New York (New York), United States of America
www: http://www.unitar.org/ny/international-law-and-policy/migration-and-development-series/migration-and-climate-change

Event: 2010 World Youth Conference

Climate-L.org - IISDRS — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 22:53:00 +0000

The World Youth Conference 2010 – organized by the Government of Mexico in partnership with the United Nations system and civil society organizations – aims to bring together government representatives and civil society organizations to identify priorities of action on youth, and youth policies, to be addressed before the deadline set by the international community to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

dates: 23-27 August 2010
location: Leon (Guanajuato), Mexico
e-mail: information@youth2010.org
www: http://www.youth2010.org/

AFRICA CARBON FORUM HOPES TO HELP BOOST AFRICA

Climate-L.org - IISDRS — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:08:00 +0000

The second Africa Carbon Forum, which was held from 3-5 March 2010, in Nairobi, Kenya, sought to help build on growing interest in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) in Africa, and concluded with expectations for a boost in Africa’s share of the global carbon market. The Forum was held under the Nairobi Framework, an initiative launched in 2006 to help developing countries, particularly those in sub-Saharan Africa, to increase their participation in the CDM. It was organized by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank, the African Development Bank (AfDB), the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the UNFCCC Secretariat and the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA), and brought together about 1,000 members of the public and private sectors.
Highlighting the prospects for the continent, John Kilani, Director of the Sustainable Development Mechanisms programme of the UNFCCC Secretariat, noted the growing number of projects in Africa and a growing number of countries hosting projects. He added that “some project developers are even prepared to pay a premium for offset credits originating from Africa, no doubt because they are confident in the long-term growth prospects for CDM on the continent.”
Also speaking during the Forum, Henry Derwent, IETA President and CEO, commented that, “Africa Carbon Forum 2010 has been a serious and businesslike meeting of people with African emissions reduction projects and people who want to invest in them. Africa’s slow start in the CDM business seems now to have been more about finding the right ways to structure projects in the sectors that are Africa’s national specialties than about a fundamental incompatibility.” The third Africa Carbon Forum is scheduled to be held in March 2011, in Morocco.
Links to further information
African Carbon Forum website
UNFCCC press release
UNEP press release

IFAD GOVERNING COUNCIL CONVENES 33RD SESSION

Climate-L.org - IISDRS — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 09:32:00 +0000

The Governing Council of the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) held its 33rd session from 17-18 February 2010, in Rome, Italy, to discuss: the Eighth Replenishment of IFAD’s resources; IFAD’s budget; revisions of IFAD’s lending policies and criteria; progress on the performance-based allocation system; progress on the Global Mechanism of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD); and a synthesis of the global meeting of the Farmers’ Forum 2010. Among other things, the Council called for investment in smallholders to accelerate progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.
Link to further information
IFAD Governing Council website

UNFPA Releases Report on Young People and Climate Change

Climate-L.org - IISDRS — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:24:23 +0000

November 2009: As part of its flagship publication, the State of the World Population Report, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) has released the fourth edition of the youth supplement, which focuses on young people and climate change.
The publication, titled “At the Frontier – young people and climate change,” focuses on the impact of climate change on young people’s lives, their livelihoods, rights and development, as well as how they are preparing to meet these challenges. The publication describes the experiences of seven young people from Brazil, Marshall Islands, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, the Philippines and the US. [The Report]

UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF and WFP Joint Executive Board Meeting Focuses on Climate Change

Climate-L.org - IISDRS — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 16:42:00 +0000

15 January 2010: The Joint Session of the Executive Boards of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the World Food Programme (WFP) convened on 15 January 2010, in New York, US, and focused on the issue of climate change. On behalf of the four agencies, UNDP Administrator Helen Clark spoke on how the UN agencies, within their different but complementary mandates, can support countries in addressing the climate change challenge, through their programmatic activities at the country level to support capacity building to adaptation and mitigation, and access to climate financing. She noted that 40% of development investment from ODA and concessional lending is sensitive to climate risk and stressed that climate adaptation needs to be built in national development plans.
Clark also stressed that UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF and WFP will work to ensure that climate change solutions are prominent in the assistance they provide to developing countries, including development and emergency assistance, disaster risk reduction, adaptation and mitigation, joint programming, monitoring and evaluation, and knowledge sharing. She noted that a variety of multi-donor trust funds that can be used to transfer resources to finance adaptation and mitigation are already in place, such as the UN REDD (reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation) Programme. In addition, during the meeting, the Malawi Climate Change Programme was presented to illustrate the use of the ‘One UN Fund’ to mobilize available resources.
Clark highlighted that the UN Development Group (UNDG) has developed guidelines to support the UN Country Team on how to mainstream disaster risk reduction and environmental sustainability into the programmatic activities at the country level and that specific guidelines on climate change will be issued soon. [UNDP Press Release]

Event: Joint meeting of the Executive Boards of UNDP/UNFPA, UNICEF and WFP

Climate-L.org - IISDRS — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 14:10:53 +0000

The joint meeting of the Executive Boards of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP) will address climate change, among other agenda items. The provisional annotated agenda, list of documents and workplan for the session are contained in document DP/2010/L.1.

dates: 15-18 January 2010
location: New York (New York), United States of America
www: http://www.undp.org/execbrd/adv2010-first.shtml