17 November 2008: On 14 and 15 November 2008, UN
Secretary-General was in Washington, DC, US, to take part in the Group of 20
(G20) Financial Summit. In a statement to the assembled leaders, Ban Ki-moon
stated that “today’s financial crisis should not evolve into tomorrow’s human
crisis,” adding that leaders should not use it to justify neglecting other
critical issues such as poverty and hunger, the food crisis, and climate
change.
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12 November 2008: A series of studies conducted by the
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) identify the options and
obstacles African smallholder framers face in adapting to climate change.
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14 November 2008: The first Special Session of the Committee
on Science and Technology (CST S-1) and the seventh session of the Committee
for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC 7) of the UN
Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) convened in Istanbul, Turkey, from
3-14 November 2008.
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13 November 2008: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP)
released a report on Atmospheric Brown Clouds (ABCs) that shows that, in
addition to affecting agriculture and human health, this layer of soot and
manmade particles can both aggravate, via the absorption of sunlight, and
counteract, via the reflection of sunlight and effects on cloud formation,
climate change due to greenhouse gases.
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November 2008: The Second Conference on Adaptation to
Climate Change in Developing Countries will convene on 25 November 2008, in The
Hague, the Netherlands. Plenary speakers will include representatives from the
World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO), as well as decision makers
from the EU and developing countries.
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12 November 2008: In
an address to the Global Indigenous Peoples Consultation on Reducing Emissions
from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD), taking place from 12-14
November 2008, in Baguio City, the Philippines, Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the Convention
on Biological Diversity (CBD), highlighted the opportunity for indigenous and
local communities to contribute to the formation and implementation of possible
solutions to climate change, such as REDD schemes, to ensure that their
traditional knowledge, rights and biological diversity are protected and
enhanced in the process.
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4 November 2008: At the conclusion of the High Level
Regional Policy Meeting on Networking Towards Gender and Poverty Sensitive
Energy Policies, which took place in Bangkok, Thailand, from 3-4 November 2008,
the International Network on Gender and Sustainable Energy (ENERGIA), in
cooperation with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and
the Pacific (ESCAP), launched the Policy Innovation Forum. The Forum aims to
help provide women and the poor with reliable access to energy.
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30 October 2008: Speaking at the World Leaders Forum on
International Cooperation for Green Growth taking place on 30 October 2008, in
Seoul, Republic of Korea, UN Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro noted
that many of the current challenges are due to unsustainable development paths,
and highlighted the interlinkages among the food, energy and financial crises,
as well as global warming.
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29 October 2008: In a speech delivered at the University of
Philippines, in Manila, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon indicated that his
“most immediate concern” was that the financial crisis could “eclipse the
global effort to address climate change.” He noted that, while developing
countries face the same pressures as the US and Europe, they lack the resources
to tackle the crisis.
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28 October 2008: The Second Committee on Economic and
Financial issues, of the 63rd UN General Assembly (UNGA), considered the report
of the Secretary-General on the Implementation of the Outcome of the UN
Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) and strengthening of the UN Human
Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) (document A/63/291).
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