31 July 2008: As part of the efforts to make the Beijing
Olympics environmentally friendly, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) is
providing four electric buses for use during the Games.
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1 August 2008: The United Nations plans to decrease its
carbon footprint for the month of August by increasing the temperature in its
New York Headquarters and eliminating air conditioning on the weekends. The
initiative will result in an emissions decrease of the equivalent of 300 pounds
of carbon dioxide and, if the trial period is successful and the initiative is
extended, could save the UN roughly US$1 million annually.
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July
2008: This year’s theme for the UN International Youth Day (IYD), which is
celebrated on 12 August, will be “Youth
and Climate Change: Time for Action.” IYD aims to provide the
opportunity to recognize the potential of youth, celebrate their achievements,
and bring together all stakeholders to ensure that young people are included in
decision-making at all levels.
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21 July 2008:
The UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Climate Neutral Network (CN Net)
announced that two Norwegian music festivals have joined the international
fight against climate change. The two festivals are the first music events to
sign on to CNNet, which aims to federate solutions and actions to realize a
low, even zero pollution, world.
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21 July 2008: Fourteen
developing countries - Bolivia, Costa Rica, the Democratic Republic of Congo,
Gabon, Ghana, Guyana, Kenya, Lao PDR, Liberia, Madagascar Mexico, Nepal,
Panama, and Vietnam - will be beneficiaries of funding from the Forest Carbon
Partnership Facility (FCPF), launched at the Bali climate negotiations. The
FCPF partners donor countries, the World Bank, and developing countries in an
effort to build capacity for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest
degradation.
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17 July 2008: Ministers at the Sixth UK-Caribbean Forum, which took place in London, UK, from 14-16 July 2008, highlighted the threat posed by climate change to security and prosperity, and agreed to continue to raise awareness of the threats of climate change and to work towards a rapid transition to a low carbon economy.
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17 July 2008: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP),
with the Foundation for Global Peace and Environment, launched its eighteenth International
Children’s Painting Competition on 17 July 2008.
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16 July 2008: The
Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) has announced that the 2010
Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA 2010) will include a remote sensing
survey, which will document trends in the rate of deforestation, afforestation
and natural forest expansion over the last three decades; provide easy access
to remote sensing imagery; create a methodology and framework for monitoring of
forest change; and enhance countries’ capacities to monitor, assess and report
on changes in forest cover.
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15
July 2008: The UN Economic and Social Council’s (ECOSOC) Humanitarian Affairs
Segment opened on 15 July 2008, and organized its discussions around the theme
“Building capabilities and capacities at all levels for timely humanitarian
assistance, including disaster risk reduction.” Council Vice-President and Segment President Park
In-Kook (Republic of Korea) opened discussions by noting that this year’s
Segment provided the international humanitarian community with an opportunity
to reflect on how to respond to the food crisis and the humanitarian
implications of disasters.
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July 2008. The UN Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has launched, in collaboration with
the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR) Secretariat, a
document for the implementation of Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) Priority Five
(disaster preparedness for effective response at all levels).
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