The Temas Blog

Caribbean Public Health Authority on Track for Launch in 2010

Keith R — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 02:34:56 +0000

From the Caribbean Community (CARICOM): REGION GEARS UP FOR HEALTH AUTHORITY IN 2010 Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Ministers of Health meeting in Washington DC, USA at their 18th Caucus fully endorsed the time table for the establishment of the Caribbean Public Health Authority (CARPHA) in 2010. Among the actions leading up to the start up of CARPHA are the [...]

More Brazilian States Opt for Smoke-Free Environments

Keith R — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 03:18:18 +0000

The push for smoke-free environments continues to march across Brazilian states — how long before federal legislators decide to extend such protections nationwide? Today the governors of the southern state of Paraná (PR) and the western state of Amazonas (AM) signed new tobacco control laws, joining Ceará (CE), Rio de Janeiro (RJ) and São Paulo (SP) [...]

A WEEE Bill for Amazonas

Keith R — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 20:36:21 +0000

This week Amazonas (AM) became the latest state in which a bill on “technological trash” (lixo tecnologico or e-lixo) – the Brazilians nickname for what is known elsewhere as WEEE or e-waste — has been introduced. Unlike bills recently introduced in the northeastern states of Bahia and Pernambuco, which are based primarily on a Law on [...]

A Global Initiative on Efficient Lighting

Keith R — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 18:32:05 +0000

From the Global Environment Facility (GEF): Lighting Up the Climate Change Challenge A new global initiative to accelerate the uptake of low energy light bulbs and efficient lighting systems was launched today by the Global Environment Facility and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The close to $20 million initiative, the Global Market Transformation for Efficient Lighting [...]

Prospects for Jatropha-based Biodiesel in LAC

Keith R — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 11:45:13 +0000

From the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA): Jatropha touted as “one of the best alternatives” for biodiesel production in the Americas Argentina, Brazil and Costa Rica discussed the generation of fuels from Jatropha curcas, also known as physic nut or piñoncillo. According to Jamil Macedo, coordinator of a hemispheric agroenergy network, “Despite its limitations, the [...]

Improving State-Level Environmental Governance in Brazil / Melhorar Gestão Ambiental Estadual no Brasil

Keith R — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 22:35:45 +0000

Temas Observation: Note how this loan/project is being marketed. The headline trumpets “green growth” when in reality the program is more about strengthening environmental governance/institutions, arguably not as sexy a topic. The Bank argues that this is about ensuring economic growth is as green as possible through good regulation by competent, properly-equipped environmental [...]

Support for an Agreement on REDD

Keith R — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 00:39:31 +0000

It’s interesting to see the high-level support expressed at the Summit on Climate Change by the Latin American nations of Colombia, Ecuador and Guyana for an internationally-agreed mechanism for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) in the post-2012 climate change accord to be negotiated later this year in Copenhagen. However, conspicuous by their [...]

New Facility to Insure Renewable Energy Projects in Developing Countries

Keith R — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 00:04:46 +0000

From the Global Environment Facility (GEF): Innovative Renewable Energy Insurance Facility Introduced to Cover Risks in Developing Countries RSA Insurance Group (RSA), and CarbonRe, with support from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), have launched an innovative mechanism for insuring renewable energy projects in developing countries. The global renewable energy insurance [...]

IDB-GEF Grant to Help Haiti Fight Environmental Decay / Don de BID-FEM pour aider Haïti à lutter contre la dégradation de l’environnement

Keith R — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 23:11:06 +0000

From the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB): Haiti to combat environmental decay with IDB funds A $3.44 million grant will support sustainable land and forest management practices, improve preservation of Macaya Park The Inter-American Development Bank on Sept. 23 approved a $3.44 million grant to help Haiti combat rapid environmental degradation through the integration of sustainable land and forest [...]

A New Recycled Content Standard for Paper/Board in Brazil

Keith R — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 02:18:51 +0000

As more and more public administrations (municipal, state, federal) in Brazil mandate the procurement and use of recycled paper, whether by law or green procurement policy, the pulp and paper industry has seen the writing on the wall and asked Brazil’s technical strandards-setting body, the Brazilian Association of Technical Norms (ABNT), to formulate a Brazilian [...]