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Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves: Submit Project Concepts for Humanitarian Clean Cooking Fund (HCCF)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 29 Jun 2017 12:06:00 +0000

Applications are open for “The Humanitarian Clean Cooking Fund (HCCF)”, which is a new grant fund established by the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves (Alliance) with support from the Norwegian Agency for International Development.

The HCCF’s primary objective is to increase access to cleaner fuels and more efficient cooking technologies among crisis-affected people through the scale-up of successful cooking interventions in humanitarian settings.

HCCF also aims to foster innovations in program design and increase investment in alternative fuels and cooking technologies, which will improve health, save lives, reduce costs, and promote safety among humanitarian populations. Deadline: 21 July 2017

Funding Information

Application is open to All Countries. The Alliance is offering two competitive grants of USD $150,000 – $250,000.00 each to qualified organizations to support the scale-up of successful cooking interventions in humanitarian settings.

Eligibility Criteria

The applicant organization must be a registered partner of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves. Applicants who are not currently a Partner must be registered prior to submitting their project concept.
Applicant organizations are required to submit evidence of legal and financial operating status, as well as permission to operate in the country where the project will be implemented. Organizations can include, but are not limited to, forprofit companies, social enterprises, foundations, and non-profits. Partnerships between private sector and humanitarian organizations are encouraged to the extent that they benefit the project, but are not required.
Applicant organizations must have been in operation for at least three years and demonstrate that they have a track record in delivering similar types of projects. If applicants are submitting as part of a consortium, the lead applicant must have been in operation for at least three years.
Proposed projects must have been previously implemented (or “piloted”) and produced measurable benefits in at least one humanitarian setting.
Proposed projects should aim to improve the lives of crisis-affected people in at least two of the Alliance’s key mission areas, which are health, livelihoods, women’s empowerment, and environmental protection.
Project may take place in any country, state, or region; however, the location or beneficiaries should be mostly “off-grid,” i.e. lacking access to a large, share electrical grid.
Proposed projects must primarily benefit a humanitarian population, although co-benefits for neighboring communities are encouraged.
Proposed projects must focus primarily on cooking technologies, fuels, and/or distribution methods for a humanitarian population.

How to Apply

Applications must be submitted via email at the address given on the website.

For more information, visit Official Website

UKAID Call for Proposals: Human Development Innovation Fund (HDIF) Round 3 - Tanzania

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 29 Jun 2017 11:53:00 +0000

The Human Development Innovation Fund (HDIF) is seeking applications for its pilot and scale-up projects with an aim to identify and support innovative and market‐driven solutions that have the potential to create social impact in Education, Health and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) across Tanzania.

HDIF is a UKAID challenge fund programme managed by a Palladium Group‐ led consortium in Tanzania. HDIF works in close partnership with the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH) to transform the innovation ecosystem by providing technical assistance and promoting active knowledge management and sharing. Deadline: 8 September 2017

Challenge Statements

Early Childhood Development (ECD): To improve opportunities for ECD for vulnerable children aged 0-6 that will improve children’s readiness and receptiveness to learning, and improve their general health and well-being.

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH): To increase demand, uptake and sustainability of improved sanitation facilities, hand washing with soap at critical times and menstrual hygiene management, through innovative financing mechanisms, technology, and behavior change promotion.

Funding Information

HDIF will fund projects of GBP 500,000 to GBP 1,000,000 (exceptions can be made for compelling applications for a grant not lower than GBP 200,000) each that are either:
Pilot grants – Testing new ideas and approaches.

Scale Up grants – Scaling ideas and approaches for which there is more evidence derived through prior or current pilots or implementation in or outside of Tanzania.

Programme Components

Inspiring quad-aligned networking and strategic awards by bringing together business, civil society, government, and academia in order to cultivate the innovation ecosystem in human development.
Catalyzing the diffusion of innovations in human development.
Transforming the focus and quantity of evidence available to key stakeholders on the adoption of innovation in human development.

Eligibility Criteria

Applicants may include all non-state actors, including: for‐profit (businesses), social enterprises, civil society organisations, public private partnerships, non-Governmental organisations (NGOs), charities or societies, faith‐based organizations, community‐based organizations, academic institutions, and research institutes involved in or interested in implementing solutions to improve access to and quality of services for the poor.
Public sector, multilateral and bilateral agencies (e.g., local government, ministries, government agencies, UN agencies, and government donor agencies) are not eligible.
Public private partnerships may be supported, but the grant will not be awarded directly to a government institution (including parastatals or businesses wholly-owned by a government).
Since HDIF is focused on fostering local innovations for the benefit of Tanzanians, all proposed activities must be implemented in Tanzania, and international organisations (with no local presence) must partner with local organisations.
Only fully completed applications will be accepted.
Applications will not be deemed complete if submitted in formats different from provided templates and all required attachments are not provided.
Applications must be within the two broad areas under consideration for this funding round, i.e. WASH and ECD.
There must be no known conflicts of interest between the applicant organisation and Palladium Group, DFID, COSTECH or other members of the consortium.
Lead applicants should have proof of local registration (registration certificate).

How to Apply

Applications must be submitted online via given website.

Eligible Country: Tanzania

For more information, please visit Human Development Innovation Fund.

7 Things You Need to Know AboutCclimate Risk Insurance

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 28 Jun 2017 12:43:00 +0000

Photo by UN/Logan Abassi

1. Climate risk insurance is a practical and political solution

Climate risk insurance can help protect individuals, small businesses or entire countries from permanent damage caused by the impact of extreme weather events. In the short-term it can reduce the effect of natural disasters and, in the longer term, can contribute to preventive disaster risk reduction.

But climate risk insurance does not only have economic advantages. It is also a political tool that allows countries which are affected by climate change to become more independent; rather than waiting for months, or even longer for international aid to arrive, they are able to manage disaster risk themselves.

2. It’s no one-size-fits-all solution

Solutions to protect poor and vulnerable people from extreme weather events must always be tailored to local needs and conditions, both in terms of the types of climatic risks a region or community might face, as well as to the needs and economic abilities of potential clients.

The same applies for climate risk insurance: Localized assessments are imperative in order to understand the needs of vulnerable communities and identify how they can be best prepared in the event of a shock like a natural disaster. Climate risk insurance is no stand-alone solution: It must also always be closely linked with preventive risk management strategies, ensuring losses and damages caused by a natural disaster are kept to a minimum.

3. Innovative measures and smart support can make insurance affordable to vulnerable populations

Affording risk-based premiums remains a major challenge for vulnerable populations. Measures to increase the affordability of products are paramount to the success of insurance schemes.

To make insurance affordable, the product can be partly – or fully – subsidized by governments or other donors. Regional risk pools can also protect the poorest and most vulnerable in case of a disasterPayment plans need to be tailored to meet personal and economic circumstances of the client. Those who still struggle to afford a premium might pay for climate risk cover through an insurance for assets (IFA) scheme. Here, they will be awarded a premium in exchange for taking part in disaster risk reduction activities, such as building flood defenses in their own communities.

4. Payouts are timely and reliable

On average, international assistance will only cover about 9% of the total cost of a disaster. In many cases, individual households have to pay for costs of losses and damages themselves, or wait months for government assistance or donor aid.

By building on natural players, such as local associations, cooperatives, mutuals or savings and credit groups, insurances have access to established delivery mechanisms, ensuring payouts are timely, well-targeted and will cover more of the damage than traditional donor payments. Quicker payouts reduce the need for households to take out a loan, migrate for work or take a child out of school in order to get back on their feet.

5. A good climate risk insurance is transparent and inclusive

Successful climate risk insurance is based on the inclusive and accountable involvement of beneficiaries and other local stakeholders: A transparent insurance that involves communities in the design and implementation, is one that generates trust.

Transparency about how money is paid out, collaboration with organizations that have deep roots in the communities, alongside ensuring the participation and inclusion of women, maximises levels of meaningful involvement.

6. It’s sustainable

Economic, social and ecological sustainability is crucial for ensuring the success of climate risk insurance. Properly designed, schemes can give an incentive for risk reduction by rewarding clients for taking positive action. Higher premiums can discourage people from living in areas that are at heightened risk of flooding or landslides, or encourage them to take preventive measures, reducing their levels of vulnerability over the long term.

7. Climate Risk insurance unlocks potential

To limit their exposure to disasters, more vulnerable households will often try and avoid taking risks. They might diversify their crops, for example, reducing their levels of susceptibility but also their earning potential.

Statistics show that, with the peace of mind that comes with having insurance, households and individuals are more likely to take ‘positive risks’. Farmers might be willing to invest in increasing their grain reserves or the size of their herds, and households might be more confident sending their children to school instead of keeping them at home to work, effectively decreasing child labor and giving them a chance to fulfill their potential.

Source: EHS-UNU

MY #COP22 ENDED WITH NEW HOPE TO BABAYERS COMMUNITY IN DODOMA, TANZANIA.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 17 Dec 2016 09:02:00 +0000

Early last month I wrote blog about My COP22 in Babayu Village, Dodoma, it was the time COP22 was about to start in Marrakech Morocco. I decided to miss Marrakech for good reason that I wanted to leave remarkable footprint to lives of people in Babayu for the memory of COP22 and Nov 19.

As seen on picture, water from Dundo Spring

I devoted my attention, time and power to peoples of Babayu where access to safe and clean water was a daytime dream, the dream that I and my gifted colleagues we agreed to make it true in November 2016. The village was established in 1970 and in 1973 was the last year for Babayers to get safe and clean water from tapes, since then they have been fetching their colored water from springs particularly one known as ‘Dundo’.

Empty buckets at Dundo Spring

After drilling deep borehole which gave us a greenlight towards our intentions to change lives of Babayers, this time we built tanks base and solar panel stand. After that installation works started by installing water pump to drilled borehole and testing it. I do recall the happiness and smiles on peoples face of all ages after testing water pump and they saw safe and clean water from their home soil and rocks.

Pump testing

Within a three to five minutes’ empty buckets were full around the mouth of class c pipe from borehole but incredibly to them just ten minutes later all empty buckets and containers were full of colorless water from their own underground water.

Being sure that pump is working well, installation of two 10000 liters’ tanks followed, as well as 2300 Watts Solar panels and plumbing work continued. At the same time men and women were working on preparing pipe line to selected water point stations near community households and cattle watering point.

During final solar installation by our clean energy technicians

Complete installed tanks and solar panels

Night view of tanks and solar site

One with baseball cap is Rose Chimilila who is part of project team

One of completed water point at Wekense, a subvillage in Babayu Village

It is an exciting moment when you see community members look at your team and they smile, a smile with hope and future of success.

Many thanks to our supporter, UNDP Tanzania, My Gifted Team - Sudi Mohamed, Salmin Athuman, Rose Chimilila and Abdallah Mikulu. Our Technicians, I also thank Babayu Chancellor, Babayu Village Government, Babayu Primary School Staff and Students, Men and Women of Babayu Village.

The next steps of our project are education and practices on resilient farming by establishing demonstration farm in village which will be used as field class to all villagers.

For the Memory of #COP22 and Nov19.

MAKING MEMORY FOR #COP22 BY TRANSFORMING RURAL LIVES IN DODOMA, TANZANIA

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 21:30:00 +0000

By Tajiel Urioh,

Is 65 kilometers from Dodoma Town Tanzania where I will have my COP22, The COP that will basically focus on Sustainable Development Goals, especially in all areas of 5Ps (People, Prosperity, Planet, Peace and Partnership). I will not be in Marrakesh, Morocco but I walk on implementation of some of best practices known on addressing and responding to climate variability and changes in Chemba District, Dodoma.

Again, this is November, my birthday month of which I want to leave a green and hope footprint to my people regarding solutions to climate variability and change related challenges.

With fund from UNDP Tanzania, I and my team we dedicate our November to transform lives of more than 500 households in Babayu, Chemba District by making a 1973 promise of water true in November 2016 during COP22. The people of Babayu get their water from a natural source, and local sand dams on dried seasonal water streams. The quality of that water is not good but also such sources are drying fast and population is growing so fast.

According to Elders from Babayu told me that in May 1973, Mwl JK Nyerere during opening of Village Dispensary He made a promise to this community that he clean and safe water will be available but delivery of such promise was not accomplished as per Babayers expectations. With spirit of changing lives of others, I’m leading a team that we are working on supplying clean and safe water to this community after drilling a deep borehole that will be powered by Solar Energy.

We will educate community about best agri-practices and establishing a demonstration farm for them to learn by practices. In other hand well construct water points for domestics use as well as for cattle. We all know that on SDGs, we don’t want to leave anyone behind so women and youth will be in frontline in this transformational project.

I will not be able to give COP22 Marrakesh updates as past years, as where I will have My COP22 is a place where phone and internet network is extremely limited. So I will be disconnected to the world with regard to internet access. Moreover, I will be busy doing so called ‘My COP22’ in such rural area in Central Tanzania.

But I promised My COP22 in Rural Dodoma and November will be great and memorable to people of Babayu as negotiation will be just in Action to reflect some of ambitions of every climate activist including building climate variability and change resilience.

I can conclude that my November in Chemba District, Dodoma during COP22 will base on solutions that we all want to see. Definitely I’m missing COPs punches and lessons on Climate Diplomacy but I’m so happy to spend time in rural area and change their ability in responding to climate variability and change in their areas and be able to contribute to global efforts of achieving Agenda 2030 and Agenda 2063 for Africa.

For the memory of 19^th November and COP22 in Marrakesh.

Landmark Climate Change Agreement to Enter into Force

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 05 Oct 2016 17:53:00 +0000

Over 55 Parties covering More Than 55 per cent of Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions Ratify the Paris Climate Change Agreement

The UN’s top climate official today praised nations across the globe for acting swiftly to bring the landmark Paris Climate Change Agreement into force.

“This is a truly historic moment for people everywhere. The two key thresholds needed for the Paris Climate Change Agreement to become legal reality have now been met,” said Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

“The speed at which countries have made the Paris’s Agreement’s entry into force possible is unprecedented in recent experience of international agreements and is a powerful confirmation of the importance nations attach to combating climate change and realizing the multitude of opportunities inherent in the Paris Agreement,” she said.

In a statement issued before the threshold for ratification of the Paris Agreement was crossed, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said: "Strong international support for the Paris Agreement entering into force is testament to the urgency for action, and reflects the consensus of governments that robust global cooperation is essential to meet the climate challenge."

The Paris Agreement was adopted in Paris, France at the UN climate conference in December 2015. In order to enter into force, at least 55 Parties accounting for at least 55 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions were required, with the Agreement then entering into force 30 days later.

Today, the UNFCCC secretariat tracker shows that the number of Parties that have ratified, accepted, or approved the Agreement now covers over 55% per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. This includes the biggest and smallest emitters, the richest and the most vulnerable nations.

“Above all, entry into force bodes well for the urgent, accelerated implementation of climate action that is now needed to realize a better, more secure world and to support also the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals,” Ms. Espinosa said.

“It also brings a renewed urgency to the many issues governments are advancing to ensure full implementation of the Agreement. This includes development of a rule book to operationalize the agreement and how international cooperation and much bigger flows of finance can speed up and scale up national climate action plans,” she added.
Consequences of Entry into Force

Entry into force triggers a variety of important consequences, including launch of the Agreement’s governing body, known as the CMA. In the parlance of the UN climate change process this stands for the Conference of the Parties to the Convention serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement.

Given that the count-down to entry into force has now been formally triggered, the CMA will take place at the upcoming annual UN climate conference, known as COP22, in Marrakesh, Morocco from November 7-18. Precise dates will be announced in the coming days.

Moreover, the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) – national climate action plans - of Parties which have joined or subsequently join the Agreement transform into Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which can always be resubmitted as more ambitious plans at any point. A key feature of the Agreement is that these plans can be strengthened at any time but not weakened.

“Climate action by countries, companies, investors and cities, regions, territories and states has continued unabated since Paris and the full implementation of the agreement will ensure that this collective effort will continue to double and redouble until a sustainable future is secured,” said Ms Espinosa.

Governments will also be obligated to take action to achieve the temperature goals enshrined in the Agreement – keeping the average global temperature rise from pre-industrial times below 2 degrees C and pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees.

The fact that somewhere around one degree of this rise has already happened and global greenhouse gas emissions have not yet peaked underlines the urgency of implementing the Paris Agreement in full.

Another key milestone will be the successful conclusion of negotiations to develop the Paris Agreement’s implementation rule book. Completion of what is, in effect, a global blueprint for reporting and accounting for climate action, need to be completed as soon as possible.

Countries are also not starting from scratch. The many successful models and mechanisms for international climate cooperation set up under the UNFCCC over the past two decades, including the Kyoto Protocol, have built up a deep level of experience and knowledge on how this can be done effectively.

It is the completed rule book that will make the Agreement work and that will make it fully implementable, setting out the detailed requirements under which countries and other actors will openly report and account for the climate action they are taking in a way which promotes trust and confidence across nations to boost their own comprehensive response to the challenge of climate change.

Another key issue is to ensure that the $100 billion, pledged by developed countries to developing ones, is truly building in the run up to 2020 and that even larger sums are being leveraged from investors, banks and the private sector that can build towards the $5 to $7 trillion needed to support a world-wide transformation.

Securing a world which is safer from the extreme climate change that would undermine any attempt at future sustainable development will still take decades of rising action and constant improvement.

“The entry into force of the Paris Agreement is more than a step on the road. It is an extraordinary political achievement which has opened the door to a fundamental shift in the way the world sees, prepares for and acts on climate change through stronger action at all levels of government, business, investment and civil society,” said Ms Espinosa.

For more information on status of ratification, a list of the countries who have ratified, accepted, approved or acceded and a question and answer on the Paris Agreement and other related information please go tohttp://unfccc.int/paris_agreement/items/9444.php

Momentum for action under the Paris Agreement builds with Climate Change events in New York

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 22 Sep 2016 10:54:00 +0000

New York City is a hotbed of climate action this week, with the UN hosting events to enhance the implementation of the Paris Agreement. The eighth annual Climate Week NYC is also being convened from 19-25 September, providing a collaborative space for climate events to support the Paris Agreement and UN Sustainable Development Goals.

On the 21 st September, 31 countries deposited their instruments of ratification at the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's special event to accelerate the entry into force of the historic Paris Agreement. 60 countries have now ratified the Agreement, which requires 55 countries representing 55% of greenhouse gas emissions to enter into force.

"With today's 31 ratifications the Paris Agreement has surpassed the country barrier and is now on the brink of early entry into force. This is a powerful political symbol that governments of the world recognise the need to take urgent action against climate change" said the Chair of the Least Developed Countries Group, Tosi Mpanu-Mpanu.

"The Paris Agreement is a dynamic and inclusive agreement which focusses on supporting the needs of the world's poorest and most vulnerable countries. With entry into force imminent, it is vital that we build on this growing global unity and carry out our commitments agreed in Paris, to safeguard our planet for future generations. This requires developed countries to provide much needed support to developing countries, including the LDCs, to enable us to develop sustainably and adapt to the enormous challenges climate change presents to our communities," said Mr. Mpanu-Mpanu.

On the afternoon of 21 st September, Mr. Mpanu-Mpanu moderated an event at the UN Headquarters, in which the development of the new LDC Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Initiative was highlighted; a collaborative effort to align sustainable development and climate change goals by enabling universal access to clean, renewable energy in the world's poorest nations. This initiative gained international support in Bonn in May this year and is to be launched at COP22 in Marrakech in November 2016, the next international climate conference.

Mr. Mpanu-Mpanu said "COP22 will be an action and implementation COP, providing the opportunity to begin implementation of the Paris Agreement through concrete action in the renewables sector. This is a chance for our developed country partners to fulfil their support responsibilities under the Paris Agreement, which should be a priority given their commitment to enhance the capacity and the ability of developing countries to take effective climate change action."

"All LDCs face major challenges in scaling up renewable energy and ensuring energy access to our poorest communities. This initiative will ensure no LDC is left behind. With clean and renewable energy also comes jobs and opportunities to vastly improve the livelihoods of our people," said Mr. Mpanu-Mpanu.

The LDC Initiative will develop under the umbrella of a Global Initiative on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, which will provide a space for developing synergies and sharing best practices amongst similar initiatives, including the African Renewable Energy Initiative and initiatives proposed by the Small Island Developing States.

"This Global Initiative exemplifies how the international climate process can generate new global partnerships, powering towards a more prosperous future for the world's poor and amplifying the charge towards a clean energy economy."

European Climate Diplomacy 2016 in Tanzania

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 14 Sep 2016 07:14:00 +0000

To celebrate the European Climate Diplomacy Day, the Embassies of France and Germany, and the EU delegation organized a panel discussion on post-Cop 21 developments and their impacts on Tanzania, followed by a movie screening of “Tomorrow”, hosted by the Goethe Institut.

The Panel

The panelists were : Hon. January Makamba, Minister for the Environment, Ms Adolphine Kateka, environmental economist working with the University of Dar es Salaam., M. Dennis Mwendwa, Director for the Oil, Natural Gas and Environmental Alliance (ONGEA) and Tajiel Urioh, Climate and Environmental Activist.

Exchanges between the Minister of State for the Environment, Hon. Janyary Makamba and Her Excellency Ms Malika Berak

The debate was moderated by M. Boncour, Counsellor – Head of Cooperation and Cultural Affairs at the French Embassy to Tanzania.

This event has been the occasion to highlight ideas for a sustainable development in Tanzania.

Questions from the Public

Source: From French Embassy to Tanzania Website.

European Climate Diplomacy Day: EU and Tanzania Reinforce Partnership for Effective Climate Action

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 14 Sep 2016 00:30:00 +0000

Wednesday, 14 September, 2016; Dar es Salaam: Yesterday, on the occasion of the European Climate Diplomacy Week (12-18 September), the Delegation of the European Union, the Embassy of France and the Embassy of Germany hosted a public screening of the award-winning documentary Demain/Tomorrow (Kesho), at the Goethe-Institut. The Minister of State, Vice President’s Office, Union and Environment, Hon. January Makamba, took part in the event together with the French Ambassador, H.E Mrs Malika Berak, the German Chargé d’Affaires, Mr John Reyels and the EU Chargé d’Affaires, Ms Luana Reale.

This was the premiere in Africa of Demain/Tomorrow, by Cyril Dion and Mélanie Laurent, winner of the César award of Best Documentary Film in 2016. This globetrotting documentary focuses on the people who are promoting new initiatives and innovative approaches in areas such as agriculture, energy, habitat, economy, education, democracy. A high-level panel, including Hon. Minister Makamba, Tajiel Urioh, Climate and Environmental Activist, Dennis Mwendwa, from the Oil, Natural Gas and Environmental Alliance (ONGEA), and Dr. Adolphine Kateka from the Centre for Climate Change, University of Dar es Salaam, discussed on areas prompted by the French Head of Cooperation, Mr Phillip Boncour, who moderated the discussions, and questions raised by the audience.


The Panel

Hon. Minister Makamba said in reference to climate diplomacy, "Climate diplomacy has given us a once in a lifetime opportunity to save our human family and its habitat. Here in Tanzania, most of our key growth sectors are climate-sensitive. The Tanzanian government is determined to pursue its development path responsibly and sustainably".

Ambassador Berak in opening the event said: “Climate change is indeed an issue facing all of us. But there are also solutions: simple, human scale solutions, innovative industrial solutions, solutions to be invented by cities and local governments, partnership and network solutions…“The film you are going to see tonight for its Première on the African continent is precisely about solutions and the people who implement them all around the globe.. “Demain” is a positive movie, a movie which demonstrates that joint efforts can open nearly every single door, a movie which believes in human beings and their capacity to change the trajectories put in place by other human beings time after time.”

On his part Mr Reyels recalled that: “At the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) in Paris the whole global community pledged to curb climate change. Emerging and developing economies like Tanzania play a vital part in pursuing this global transformation. Germany is partnering with the government of Tanzania in the field of climate adaptation, e.g. to access international climate financing from the Green Climate Fund.”

Ms Reale, in her concluding remarks, stressed the importance of international cooperation to fight climate change:

“The European Union has spearheaded global efforts and we are well on track to meet our target to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by 2020. The Paris Agreement is a global response to a global problem; as our panel has clearly shown, we all have a role to play, be it small or large. All actions count. Tonight we have heard from the Honorable Minister that Tanzania is well on its way in preparing its ratification document of the Paris Agreement. The EU and all its Member States are also working to join the Agreement. We are proud, as members of the global community, to see that China and the United States of America have joined on 3 September.”

BACKGROUND

In the Paris Agreement (the 21st Conference of Parties - COP21), a total of 195 countries adopted a universal and legally binding climate deal. The major key elements include a long-term goal of keeping the increase in global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels; to aim to limit the increase to 1.5°C, since this would significantly reduce risks and the impacts of climate change; the need for global emissions to peak as soon as possible; and to undertake rapid reductions thereafter in accordance with the best available science. The adaptation focus is on strengthening societies' ability to deal with the impacts of climate change and provide continued and enhanced international support to developing countries.

The EU was the first major bloc to submit its intended contribution to the new agreement in March 2015. It is already taking steps to implement its target to reduce emissions by at least 40% by 2030. Furthermore, the EU and other developed countries support climate actions to reduce emissions and build resilience to climate change impacts in developing countries. The Paris Agreement was opened for signature at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on 22 April 2016 and will remain open until 21 April 2017, in accordance with Article 20, paragraph 1, of the Paris Agreement. As of 7 September 2016, there are 180 signatories to the Paris Agreement. Of these, 27 States have also deposited their instruments of ratification, acceptance or approval accounting in total for 39.08 % of the total global greenhouse gas emissions.

The European Climate Diplomacy Day is an outreach initiative of the European Union and its Member States and part of the EU`s commitment on climate action at home and abroad. More than 50 countries worldwide will host a dedicated European Climate Diplomacy outreach event, showcasing successful climate cooperation and highlighting the importance of partnership for effective climate action.

Source: Delegation of the European Union to Tanzania

European Climate Diplomacy Week: Public Movie Screening and Discussion with Minister Makamba

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 13 Sep 2016 23:00:00 +0000

The German Embassy and the Goethe-Institut together with the EU Delegation and the French Embassy invited to a panel discussion with the Minister for the Environment as well as experts from academia, civil society and media. Afterwards the audience saw the Africa premiere of “Demain” , César award of Best Documentary Film 2016.

Find Full Press Release Here

Source: Germany Embassy to Tanzania

AFYA YA BAHARI NDIYO AFYA YA DUNIA YETU, SIKU YA BAHARI DUNIANI

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 08 Jun 2016 06:58:00 +0000

World Oceans Day
Theme: Healthy Oceans, Healthy Planet

The world's oceans—their temperature, chemistry, currents and life—drive global systems that make the Earth habitable for humankind. They are a major source of oxygen as well as food and medicines, and are a critical part of the biosphere. World Oceans Day celebrates our world's shared oceans, and raises awareness about the crucial role they play in our lives and the important ways people can help protect them. The observance also encourages States to cooperate on matters relating to navigational safety and the prevention, reduction and control of pollution from ships. The UN General Assembly proclaimed this Day in its 2008 resolution A/RES/63/111.

The Least Developed Countries Group Want Early Entry of Paris Agreement

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 12 May 2016 14:43:00 +0000

The Chair of the Least Developed Countries group, Tosi Mpanu-Mpanu, will be in Bonn for the next international climate meeting from 16-26 May. The Bonn meeting follows the adoption of a new global agreement on climate change in Paris in December, 2015. Parties will now begin negotiating how they will reach the goals set down in Paris. In the lead up to this important meeting, Tosi Mpanu-Mpanu said:

"Reaching global agreement in Paris does not mean we can become complacent. We have drawn the blueprint and we must now begin construction of the rules and procedures that will bring the next phase of our global climate regime to life. A record-breaking 175 Parties united in New York on April 22 to sign the Paris Agreement, demonstrating that we have the political momentum to achieve this."

"Building off current political momentum, the LDCs will continue to push for early entry into force of the Paris Agreement, so that the world can benefit as soon as possible from its implementation."

"Even if current pledges are fulfilled, the world is on a path to over 3 degrees C of warming, well above the global goal of 1.5 degrees set in Paris; and that is without considering that developing countries need support to the tune of $4tn to meet these pledges."

On the issue of climate finance, Tosi Mpanu Mpanu said: "The least developed countries are the least responsible for climate change, with developed countries bearing both the historic responsibility and the capacity to respond. Public finance to support developing countries needs to rise to meet the challenge that lies before us."

On the importance of adaption, Tosi Mpanu-Mpanu stated: "The earth's oceans are rising, disease is spreading, our land is no longer producing the food we need to survive. The world must adapt to meet the unavoidable impacts of climate change head on, or face the consequences."

Tosi Mpanu-Mpanu also emphasised the necessity of pre-2020 action: "We cannot sit idly waiting for the Paris Agreement to commence, the window of opportunity to act on climate change is closing. We must harness the power of fresh global cooperation to strengthen pre-2020 action."

YOU MUST WATCH: Tanzania - 25th Session of Universal Periodic Review

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 12 May 2016 13:37:00 +0000

After presentation of Tanzania several countries provided comments on various issues that are taking place. Watch and share comments with us.

List of Countries and name of their representatives commented on Tanzania Report are:-

Costa Rica, Ms. Gaudy Calvo Valerio
Cuba, Ms. Anayansi Rodríguez Camejo
Cyprus, Mr. Christopher Zenzius
Czech Republic , Mr. Viktor Velek
Denmark, Ms. Stine Svejborg
Egypt, Mr. Mohamed Negm
Equatorial Guinea, Mr. Henri Bedaya
Philippines, Ms. Marivil V. Valles
Finland, Mr. Renne Klinge
France, Mr. Samuel Brunet
Gabon, Nadège Moucketou Mvou
Germany, Mr. Frank Jarasch
Ghana, Mr. Joseph Owusu-Ansah
Guatemala, Mr. Gabriel Orellana Zabalza
Haiti, Mr. Nazaire Altemar
Honduras, Mr. Gerson Ruiz
India, Mr. Alok Ranjan Jha
Indonesia, Mr. Robert Matheus Michael Tene
Ireland, Ms. Nuala NÍ Mhuircheartaigh
Italy, Ms. Simona Battiloro
Japan , Mr. Kansuke Nagaoka
Kuwait, Mr. Saad Ama Almehaini
Latvia, Ms. Ellen Verpoest Van Thiel
Libya, Mr. Emad M.B. Benshaban
Madagascar, Ms. Mialy Ramilison
Malaysia, Ms. Syuhada Adnan
Maldives, Ms. Hala Hameed
Mali, Ms. Aya Thiam Diallo
Mauritius, Mr. Anandrao Hurree
Mexico, Juan Raúl Heredia Acosta
Mongolia, Mr. Enkhbold Batzorig
Morocco, Mr. Mohamed Auajjar
Mozambique, Mr. Jaime Chissano
Namibia, Ms. Sabine Böhlke-Möller
Nepal, Mr. Suresh Adhikari
Netherland, Mr. Reinout Vos
Norway, Mr. Andreas Gahr Brunsvig
Oman, Mr. Mohammed Asalam Al Shanfari
Pakistan, Ms. Mariam Saeed
Panama, Mr. Portugal Falcon Moreno
Ethiopia, Mr. Molla Belete Chekole
Poland, Ms. Agnieszka KARPINSKA
Portugal, Mr. Eduardo Pinto Da Silva
Republic of Korea, Ms. Shin Duek
Senegal, Ms. Mame Diarra Bousso Fall
Sierra Leone, Ms. Yvette Stevens
Singapore, Mr. Han Jonathan Yin Cho
Slovenia, Ms. Špela Košir
South Africa, Mr. Theo Ronald Floyd Jegels
Spain, Mr. Pablo Nuño Garcia
State of Palestine, Ms. Dima Asfour
Sudan, Ms. Azza Mohammed Abdalla Hassan
Swaziland, Mr. Edgar Hillary
Sweden, Ms. Josefin Simonsson Broden
Switzerland, Mr. Lukas Heinzer
Tajikistan, Ms. Anora Karimova
Togo , Mr. Balom'ma Bedaba
Turkey, Ms. Esra Dicle
Uganda, Mr. Benedict Lukwiya
Ukraine, Ms. Dina Martina
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Ms. Fleur Heyworth
United States of America, Mr. Eric Richardson
Uruguay, Mr. Patricio Silva
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of), Mr. Edgardo Toro
Yemen, Mohamed Al-Foqumi
Zimbabwe, Mr. Charles Chishiri
Algeria, Mr. Antar Hassani
Angola, Mr. André Da Conceição Domingos
Argentina, Ms. Maria Eugenia Vazquez Pol
Australia, Ms. Renée Arian
Austria, Mr. Yannis Fotakis
Bangladesh, Mr. Shameem Ahsan
Belgium, Mr. Thomas Stevens
Bhutan, Ms. Tashi Peldon
Botswana, Ms. Bokani Edith Sesinyi
Burkina Faso, Ms. Myriam Poussi
Burundi, Ms. Marie-Ancile Ntakaburimvo
Cabo Verde, Mr. Alcides Barros
Canada, Ms. Rosemary Mccarney
Central African Republic, Mr. Serge Saboro
Chad, Mr. Angui Awada
Chile, Mr. Jaime Moscoso
China, Mr. Yang Junzhi
Congo, Mr. Damase Raoul Oko
Montenegro, Ms. Andjelka Rogac
Brazil, Ms. Regina Maria Cordeiro Dunlop

Tanzania in High-level Signature Ceremony for the Paris Agreement

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 09 May 2016 08:09:00 +0000

Remarks by H.E. Mr. Tuvako Nathaniel Manongi Chair of delegation of the United Republic of Tanzania at the national statements of the High-level Signature Ceremony for the Paris Agreement.

MABADILIKO YA TABIANCHI NA AFYA - MLIMANI TV

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 06 May 2016 12:34:00 +0000

FRENCH EMBASSY’S (TANZANIA) FUND FOR INNOVATIVE PROJECTS FOR CIVIL SOCIETIES AND COALITIONS OF ACTORS (PISCCA)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 20 Apr 2016 11:07:00 +0000

The French fund for Innovative Projects from Civil Societies and Coalitions of Actors (PISCCA) is an instrument from the French Embassy to Tanzania to support projects from local Civil Society Organizations (CSOs).

PISCCA is the successor of the French Social Development Fund (SFD). The last SFD was implemented in Tanzania between 2009 and 2012 and funded 9 projects for a total amount of 500 000 euros, covering a large scale of sectors of intervention, including education, agriculture, health and access to water.

PISCCA aims at funding small-scale project and local initiatives which contribute to the strengthening of the Tanzanian civil society and to promoting social, economic and cultural rights in the country. Its main objectives are to support local initiatives, foster networking and synergies between stakeholders on the field and strengthen the capacities of the beneficiaries and civil society organizations.

The programme will last 3 years and is starting in 2016. It comprises two calls for proposals, in 2016 and 2017.

The 2016 call for proposals is open from the 18th April to the 20th May 2016.

WHO CAN APPLY?

The eligible applicants are Tanzanian Civil Society organizations (CSO) that have been officially registered for at least 2 years.

The underlying principle of PISCCA is to encourage innovative projects carried out by motivated and ambitious small and medium-sized Tanzanian CSOs that are not already used to carrying out large-scale projects, but still show a potential for growth, strive to implement new ideas and want to make a difference in their community. Therefore, priority will be given to emerging Tanzanian CSOs who’s main sources of funding are not international donors.

The programme strongly encourages partnerships and coalitions of actors, including with more experienced organizations, non-Tanzanian organizations or local authorities. PISCCA also strongly encourages synergies and proposals presenting a capacity-building component for the holder of the project, for example through a mentoring partnership with a more experienced organization. These elements will be considered as strong assets during the selection process.

WHAT ARE THE PRIORITY AREAS?

PISCCA supports innovative short and medium-term projects that should fall under one or more of the following priority areas:

Mitigation of the negative impacts of climate change and environmental degradation
Support to most vulnerable groups
Capacity building for CSOs and networks

WHAT TYPES OF PROJECTS ARE SUPPORTED?

The selected project should:

Enhance the use of innovative methods and techniques or original development dynamics ;
Respond to a need already identified by the community, directly benefiting to it in an inclusive way and beyond the initial circle of the project holders;
Achieve tangible realizations or improvements that are sustainable when external funding comes to an end;
Anticipate the necessary running and maintenance costs.

Examples of projects that cannot be supported by PISCCA:

Prestige operations without well-defined economic or social objectives;
Projects limited to seminars/conferences or construction work;
One shot operations (scholarships, invitations, mission of experts, logistic support, etc.);
Annual or regular events/celebrations.

WHAT ARE THE FINANCING CONDITIONS?

To be eligible, the grant application has to strictly meet the following criteria:

The time-frame for the project should be comprised between 6 and 12 months. Short durations are considered an asset;

The contribution by PISCCA should be between 50 and 100 Million Tanzanian shillings (20 000 – 40 000 €) and should not exceed 90% of the project’s total costs;

The expected contribution of the applicant should be at least 10% of the total costs, for example in the form of financial contribution, allocation of dedicated human resources or equipment.

The maximum overhead rate is 7%.

In addition to the contributions provided by the applicant and the French Embassy, co-funding of the projects by other partners/donors is possible and strongly encouraged.

The grant will be disbursed in two installments: a first installment (50% of the total PISCCA contribution) will be disbursed when the contract between the French Embassy and the beneficiary is signed, and a second installment will be disbursed halfway through the project and after the submission of satisfactory midterm narrative and financial reports.

HOW TO SUBMIT A PROPOSAL?

The PISCCA call for proposals for 2016 is open from Monday 18th April to Friday 20th May.

Before filling the application form, please download and carefully read the project proposal guidelines by clicking on the link below:

PISCCA Guidelines

To submit a grant application, please download the application form by clicking on the link below and follow the instructions.

PISCCA Application Form

If you have question on the programme or the application process and did not find the answer in the guidelines, please send an email to:

piscca.dar-es-salam-amba@diplomatie.gouv.fr

NB: It is mandatory to read the guidelines before filling in the application form as it explains the requirements for a project to be considered. The proposals that do not strictly respect the different requirements and financing conditions will not be considered.

HOW WILL THE PROJECT SELECTION BE DONE?

The French Embassy’s Cooperation and Cultural Affairs unit is in charge of the first examination of the proposals and will check the following elements to ensure the pre-selected proposals meet all the requirements:

The proposal meets all the eligibility criteria;

The application form is complete and all the requested documents are provided (cf. application form and guidelines for the complete list);

The nature of the project is aligned with PISCCA’s main objectives and the proposal falls under at least one of the 3 priority areas of the call for proposals

The technical and financial implication of the applicant is described and all the financial conditions are met;

The budget of the project is realistic and the project is cost-effective.

Following this first pre-selection, the projects are submitted to a steering committee chaired by the French Ambassador to Tanzania and composed of representatives from the French Embassy, representatives from the civil society, as well as other key partners (EU, AFD).

After this process, the selection by the steering committee is made official through a written decision from the French Ambassador. The first installment of the grant is then disbursed upon signature of the contract between the beneficiary and the French Embassy.

The selected projects for the 2016 call for proposals are expected to start in June/July 2016.

SOURCE: FRENCH EMBASSY TO TANZANIA WEBSITE.

KEY FINDINGS FROM THE ENERGY ARCHITECTURE PERFORMANCE INDEX (EAPI) 2016.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 09 Mar 2016 06:23:00 +0000

The Energy Architecture Performance Index (EAPI), developed by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with Accenture, aims to provide an additional set of data to help leaders benchmark the current performance of national energy systems, and inform decision-making in the context of the changes under way in the global energy landscape.

The Global Energy Architecture Performance Index Report 2016 ranks 126 countries on their ability to deliver secure, affordable and sustainable energy.

Key Findings from the EAPI 2016 Architecture Report Series

The EAPI 2016 reveals strengths and weakness across regions as major economies struggle to take the lead

Analysis of this year’s top performers demonstrate that there are no clear-cut ‘winners’ or perfect energy architectures. The strong scores of the top performers reveal balance across the energy triangle, but room for improvement is still significant.

High-performing countries are not confined to a single region. The EAPI points to the strengths of countries beyond the usual suspects, with for example Albania (17th) and Paraguay (21st) boasting fully decarbonized electricity generation.

Low oil prices are forcing or accelerating subsidy reforms to restore fiscal balance in countries reliant on oil revenues.

The world’s largest economies still struggle to achieve balanced high performance in their energy systems. With the exception of France (4th), none of the 12 largest countries by GDP made it into the top 10 performers.

Diversification to new energy sources is creating new risks and opportunities that will require market changes and government mechanisms to ensure security of supply and access

Expansion of primary energy sources is demonstrated by year-over-year improvements in EAPI scores for diversification of energy supplies in many countries. Denmark, for example, has improved supply diversity by 15%.

The trend is driven in part by expansion of renewable energy sources. Globally, renewable electric power capacity has skyrocketed this past decade to account for approximately 6% of generation.

Progress on distributed renewable energy is opening up new avenues for providing access to electricity for people so far deprived thereof.

Digital disruption will bring new complexities to energy security as well as new benefits

Big data can mitigate traditional risks by pinpointing areas of risk and vulnerability, and digital technologies are enabling the decentralization and management of energy architectures.

The convergence of digital and physical infrastructures also creating new forms of insight and control that can enhance energy security

New capabilities are required to manage a more complex, interconnected energy system, requiring new investment in capabilities for risk protection.

A new distribution of power and energy trade flows will create challenges and opportunities

The emergence of giant economies in Asia, accounting for 35% of fuel trades in 2014, and unconventional oil production in North America, which has added over 8 million barrels per day to the market, have led to a re-balancing of supply, demand and power across the world.

More actors are becoming relevant – non-state organizations, individual citizens, corporations and new coalitions – which could strengthen or threaten international security arrangements.

As major forces prompt transformation across global energy systems, governments and industry together play crucial roles in achieving successful energy transitions

Governments shall be receptive to new opportunities and risks to energy security resulting from developments in the energy sector.

Companies play a critical role because investors, owners and operators of energy infrastructure will be essential to reaping the benefits of new technologies.

New approaches to governance for physical and technological estates will be required, creating a need for increased collaboration between operators, policy makers and national and international entities

You can download full report here

Few Ways That Climate Change Hurts You

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 07 Feb 2016 10:28:00 +0000

From floods and droughts to increases in violent conflict, climate change is taking a toll on the planet's population

Floods in Jangwani Dar es Salaam in 2014

It can be easy to think of climate change as a far-off, indirect threat that some future human population will have to overcome. And that even then, the effects of climate change won’t be too bad, or that they won’t hurt people. But as the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, emphasizes, the effects of climate change already can be seen, and members of the current human population already are its victims.

Climate change will hurt and even kill humans in a stunning variety of ways. Here are nine (sometimes unexpected) ways climate change will negatively affect people:

Heat waves: Extreme heat can be deadly, particularly among the poor who may not have the luxury of retreating to air-conditioned rooms. In Australia, for example, the number of dangerously hot days is expected to rise from its current average of four to six days per year to 33 to 45 by 2070. That will translate to more deaths: About 500 people died because of heat in Australian cities in 2011; the Australian government has projected 2,000 deaths per year by the middle of this century.

Floods: Climate change tends to make wet areas wetter and dry areas drier, and so there will be an increase in both flooding and droughts. Flooding is one of the most common natural disasters. Floods displace people from their homes, damage and destroy infrastructure and buildings, and take a toll on an economic level. In 2011 alone, 112 million people worldwide were affected by floods, and 3140 people were killed.

Drought: Unlike a flood, drought is rarely a direct killer. But extremely dry conditions that last for months or years can lead to food and water shortages and rising food prices, which can contribute to conflict. Droughts also have huge economic costs, even in developed countries. New Zealand, for instance, lost more than $3 billion from 2007-2009 because of reduced farm output from drought.

Fire: Increased heat increases fire risk, and climate change is expected to bring more wildfires. The current California drought, for instance, has raised the risk of “explosive” wildfires. And it’s not just burns and injuries from the fire that are the problems. “Smoke from forest fires has been linked…with increased mortality and morbidity,” the IPCC authors write in Chapter 11, “Human Health: Impacts, Adaptation, and Co-Benefits” [pdf].

Crop declines and food shortages: Extreme weather events, such as floods and droughts, will lead to declines in some crops in some areas. While this might be an inconvenience for people in developed countries when it comes to foods like limes and avocados, the situation will be far more dire when it comes to crops like corn and wheat and in countries that already struggle to feed their populations. Food shortages and increases in food prices, which increase the number of malnourished people, are a particular concern in those places that already suffering from food insecurity, such as large portions of Africa.

Infectious diseases: “Climate may act directly by influencing growth, survival, persistence, transmission or virulence of pathogens,” the IPCC scientists write in Chapter 11. Mosquitoes are sensitive to climate—as temperatures rise, they'll find favorable habitats in places that were once too cool for them to live, such as higher latitudes and altitudes. The diseases they transmit, such as malaria, dengue fever, rift valley fever, zika and chikungunya fever, will spread with them.

Studies show that even a small amount of warming can increase malaria transmission under the right conditions. Dengue fever is another worry; it’s increased 30-fold in the last 50 years. And thanks to infected travelers' ability to move across the globe, chikungunya fever has already spread from Africa and Asia to the Caribbean, and may be poised to cross into the mainland Americas—a warming climate will exacerbate this new-found lack of isolation.

Food- and water-borne diseases, too, are a concern. For example, heavy rainfall, which will continue to increase as climate changes, can promote the transmission of water-borne diseases, such cholera and others caused by Vibrio bacteria, particularly in places where there aren’t good methods for disposing of human waste.

Mental illness: Climate change can increase stress, and that is a problem when it comes to mental health. “Harsher weather conditions such as floods, droughts, and heat waves tend to increase the stress on all those who are already mentally ill, and may create sufficient stress for some who are not yet ill to become so,” the IPCC researchers write in Chapter 11.

"When you have an environmental insult, the burden of mental health disease is far greater than the physical," Steven Shapiro, a Baltimore psychologist who directs the program on climate change, sustainability and psychology for the nonprofit Psychologists for Social Responsibility (PsySR), told LiveScience. "Survivors can have all sorts of issues: post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, relationship issues, and academic issues among kids." Slow-developing events like droughts have even been linked to increases in suicide.

Violence and Conflict: Human violence rarely has a single cause, but many of the effects of climate change have the potential to contribute to conflict—water and food shortages, soil degradation that makes land less suitable for agriculture, the movement of people as they migrate from lands made less habitable. “Climate change can indirectly increase risks of violent conflicts in the form of civil war and inter-group violence by amplifying well-documented drivers of these conflicts such as poverty and economic shocks,” researchers write in the report’s Summary for Policymakers [pdf].

These aren't doomsday scenarios; this isn't fearmongering—we're already seeing an uptick in every item on this list. So anyone hoping to avoid the effects of climate change may be out of luck.

This article written by Sarah Zielinski and amended by Tajiel Urioh for The Green Icon

Hatua Stahiki Zitaokoa Afya yako Dhidi ya Athari za Mabadiliko ya Tabianchi

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 04 Feb 2016 12:38:00 +0000

Mabadiliko ya tabianchi ni mabadiliko ya muda mrefu kuanzia miongo mpaka milenia ya muundo wa hali ya hewa ikijumuisha jotoridi, kunyesha kwa mvua, upepo, mgandamizo wa hewa na mielekeo mingine ya tabianchi katika dunia. Kwa zaidi ya 95% mabadiliko ya tabianchi husababishwa na shughuli za binadamu ambazo hupelekea uzalishaji na ongezeko la gesi joto kwenye angahewa na hatimaye kupelekea ongezeko kubwa la joto kama tunaloshuhudia sasa hivi, ukame, majanga ya mafuriko, vimbuka, kubadilika kwa mgawanyo na muda wa mvua kunyesha, kuzuka na kuenenea kwa magonjwa mbalimbali, kuzama kwa visiwa, kuongezeka kwa maji chumvi, kuhama hama na migogoro ya rasilimali kama ilivyo kati ya wakulima na wafugaji.

Matatizo ya kiafya ambayo yanachangiwa mabadiliko ya tabianchi katika kuenea na kutokea kwake ni malaria, homa ya bonde la ufa, denge, kipindupindu, magonjwa ya moyo na mfumo wa upumuaji, kiharusi, saratani, utapiamlo, zika, msongo wa mawazo, udumavu wa watoto, magonjwa ya mfumo wa fahamu. Haya ni baadhi tu ya matatizo ya kiafya ambayo mabadiliko ya tabianchi yana mchango katika kutokea na kuenea kwa kasi zaidi.

Nyanya zikiwa zimekauka shambani huko kishapu Shinyanga.
Picha na Tajiel Urioh, September 2015

Ili uwe na Afya nzuri unahitaji maji safi na salama, hewa safi, chakula bora na makazi salama, lakini vitu hivi vyote vinaathiriwa na mabadiliko ya tabianchi. Kutokana na ukame hali ya uzalishaji wa chakula bora na cha kutosha inazorota kwa kasi, shughuli mbalimbali za uzalishaji viwandani na majumbani zinachangia sana uchafuzi wa hewa na kupelekea matatizo ya kiafya. Upatikanaji wa maji safi na salama unazidi kuwa changamoto kubwa sana kutokana na ongezeko kubwa la joto duniani linalosababishwa na mabadiliko ya tabianchi, ebu fikiri maisha pasipo maji!, maji ni uhai. Leo hii watu wanahama makazi yao kwa kutopenda kutokana na athari za mabadiliko ya tabianchi katika maeneo yao, kwa mfano majanga ya ukame, kuongezeka kwa magongwa, vimbunga, mafuriko, migogoro ya rasilimali na mengiyo, mwisho wa siku haya yote yanathiri ustawi wa afya yako na jamii.

Ila kuna tumaini moja kuwa ukichukua hatua sasa unaweza kupunguza na kubadili ukali wa hali hii jinsi unavyoathiri afya yako na jamii inayokuzunguka. Kikubwa ni kubadili mienendo ya maisha ya kila siku na kuhamasisha wengine wafanye hivyo kwani pasipo ushiriki wa pamoja athari zitaendelea. Mienendo ya kubalidili ni jinsi tunavyotumia rasilimali mbalimbali zinazotuzunguka pasipo kujali kuwa kizazi kijacho kitazihitaji pia na idadi yao itakuwa kubwa yetu sasa. Mwenendo mwingine wa muhimu kubadili ni jinsi tunavyotumia vyombo vya moto vya usafiri, pale inapowezekana tembea kwa miguu, tumia baiskeli au usafiri wa umma, hapa utakuwa umeokoa kuzalisha gesi joto ambayo ni kisababishi cha mabadiliko ya tabianchi. Ukijijengea hulka ya kupanda miti utachangia kwa kiasi kikuwa kupunguza gesi joto katika angahewa na kuokoa dunia na afya yako dhidi ya athari za mabadiliko ya tabianchi. Uchomaji na matumizi ya mkaa huchangia mabadiliko ya tabianchi na matatizo ya kiafya hivyo basi ni wajibu wa kila mmoja wetu kutafuta vyanzo mbadala vya nishati ambavyo havichafui mazingira na kuongeza matatizo ya kiafya kwake na jamii inayomzunguka.

Katika shughuli zetu za siku tunazalisha taka mbalimbali, uhifadhi mzuri wa taka hizo ni hatua muhimu sana kwenye makabiliano na mabadiliko ya tabianchi na kuboresha afya zetu. Athari za kuvuta hewa chafu ni kubwa kuliko uvutaji wa sigara na bidhaa nyingine za tumbaku hivyo ni wajibu wa kila mmoja kuhifadhi taka vema na kupunguza uzalishaji wake pale inapowezekana pamoja na kupunguza uchafuzi wa hewa kwa njia nyingine.

Hakuna siku nzuri kama ya leo ya kuchukua hatua stahiki katika kuhimili na kukabiliana na mabadilko ya tabianchi ili uweze kuboresha afya yako na jamii inayokuzunguka. Kuna ushahidi wa kitakwimu ambao unaonyesha kuwa gharama za kuchukua hatua sasa ni ndogo kuliko za kugharamia matatizo ya kiafya yanayosababishwa na mabadiliko ya tabianchi.

Ten Inconvenient Truths About the Paris Climate Agreement

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 26 Dec 2015 10:51:00 +0000

By Surya P. Sethi

Surya P. Sethi, India’s former Core Climate Negotiator, writes in The Wire: To those who say the Paris Accord “signals an end to the fossil fuel era”; I say please look at Bloomberg’s commodities page – fossil fuels are being produced in never before quantities and sold at the lowest ever prices in real terms.

With the current pledges we would, by 2023, likely lose the odds of even delivering the less ambitious goal of keeping global warming “well below” 2 °C.

Let me begin by giving credit where credit is due. The French, especially President François Hollande and Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, deserve the appreciation of the entire world for successfully avoiding another Copenhagen-like embarrassment. Despite the recent tragic events in Paris, France and its leaders exhibited remarkable resilience and diplomatic finesse in pulling off the Paris Agreement at COP 21.

Months before the two-week grand show at Le Bourget in Paris, the French missions in all major countries worked relentlessly to hold multiple build-up events. Live telecasts of the actual event followed while both President Hollande and Foreign Minister Fabius, as gracious and enlightened hosts, used every known tool of statesmanship and diplomacy to deliver the final agreement. They personally conducted backroom parleys, made personal phone calls, and chaired all night sessions dubbed “indaba of solutions” to achieve what to most seemed a politically impossible task of taking 195 nations across the finish line together with a universal promise to achieve a defined global warming goal. This is a first for climate negotiations. We must recognize this achievement. Vive La France!

Nothing that I say in this op-ed should take away anything from the COP 21 hosts. They did the best they could. The fact that the best the world could deliver puts us squarely on the carbon freeway to doom, or what Hindu scriptures call Pralay, is a blot on humanity and not on the COP 21 hosts. Thousands of years ago Hindu sages described Pralay as water engulfing the world. Today the scientific knowledge behind the five IPCC report recounts the catastrophic and irreversible impacts the water cycle will inflict upon our planet because of global warming unless we slow down and immediately get off the carbon freeway we are on. The Paris Agreement ignores this call of science for immediate action and instead embodies a universal promise to deliver lofty, though likely unachievable, goals in the future.

Self-deception all the way

Like the Cirque du Soleil that was born in what was once New France or the many shows that Paris itself is famous for; the climate show in Paris also carried us to a heady realm of endless possibilities and promises. And like other shows the Paris Agreement also provides temporary escape from our challenges requiring immediate attention.

As I saw visuals of delegates cheering and applauding the gavelling of the final agreement with a specially designed green gavel, I marvelled at the human capacity of self-deception. I could not help but visualise mother earth and the life-supporting ecosystem of our planet crying and wondering why these mortals are so happy with an agreement that essentially confirms the end of the world we once knew. I could not also help holding everyone present in that final plenary as being responsible for the death and misery that the Paris Agreement would unleash upon the bottom half of fellow humans and countless other species that share the same planet and the same commons.

Despite the moving presence of a visibly touched Al Gore at the final plenary, let me list the top ten inconvenient truths about the Paris Agreement that should concern anyone who is seriously committed to tackling climate change.

The Paris Agreement’s inconvenient truths

The Paris Agreement has deftly crafted language to ensure that no legislative approval is required for its ratification by USA – the world’s oldest democracy and most powerful nation. This underscores the absence of broad political commitment and support for tackling climate change in USA. What does the ratification of the Paris Agreement by USA really mean then? This fundamental question cannot be brushed aside by legal niceties. Currently USA, the world’s most developed nation is the world’s second largest polluter but has the highest historical responsibility for about 28% of the cumulative emissions and global warming since 1750.

China is currently the world’s largest economy and its largest polluter and accounted for about 16.6% of global GDP in PPP terms and 28% of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2014. However, the Paris Agreement classifies China as a developing nation whereby it can claim extra time to grow its absolute and relative emissions. China negotiated the review process most aggressively and the peaking of emissions by individual countries remains voluntary under the final Paris Agreement.

Based on the INDCs submitted by 155 countries accounting for over 90% of current greenhouse gas emissions; independent experts have identified an ambition gap of 17 gigatons or 55% of the total mitigation of 30.8 gigatons that is required by 2030 for a 66% chance of remaining below the 2oC warming limit. If the Paris Agreement truly embodies a universal commitment to remain “well below” the 2oC warming limit and “pursue efforts to limit temperature increase to 1.5°C” then why was this gap not eliminated in the Paris negotiations?

The mitigation ambition gap in the INDCs is especially troubling because it results from developed nations pledging to deliver only 38% of their fair share of the mitigation burden even as the developing nations pledged to unconditionally mitigate 126% of their fair burden share. Both the Framework Convention and the Paris Agreement require the developed nations to take the lead in mitigation. Then why does the Paris Agreement not demand that the developed nations immediately raise their voluntary pledges to match their fair share of the mitigation burden in the very least?

Even though the Paris Agreement seeks updating of voluntary pledges every five years and the accompanying COP decision encourages countries to do more in the pre-2020 period, a formal stock taking has only been agreed in 2023. Given that our current emissions trajectory, even with the voluntary pledges, will take as way beyond the warming goals we have set, why are we waiting till 2023 to take stock?

By allowing the above ambition gap to continue and formally postponing stock taking to 2023, the Paris Agreement ensures that the carbon budget available for remaining below the more ambitious 1.5°C limit is almost completely exhausted and the chance of keeping temperature rise to “well below” the 2°C limit is severely impaired. Thus the universal promise, which many have incorrectly called a universal commitment, to remain below the aspirational warming limits under the Paris Agreement is nothing more than a feel-good statement, at best, and a patently false promise, at worst. The hard choices have been kicked down the road for at least 8 years.

The longer we delay effective stock taking the more we narrow the differentiation between the developed and the developing world especially if we allow China, the world’s largest economy and many others with high per capita emissions to continue posing as developing countries. By 2023 we would have effectively delayed a meaningful accounting for differentiation by 29 years. The consequences of this will be perilous for India and other poor nations in the bottom half of the world.

By allowing the above ambition gap to continue, the Paris Agreement has also allowed the developed countries to usurp much more than their fair share of even the remaining carbon budget/space just as they have done since 1750. This effectively turns the historical responsibility of developed nations into their historical right. There is nothing in the Paris Agreement that assures, or even seeks, an equitable sharing of the limited carbon space that the global commons provide.

Historical responsibility for global warming has also been negated through the elimination of all notions of compensation for loss and damage resulting from adverse impacts of climate change.

The Paris Agreement succeeded in garnering support of many countries by including wording to address their narrow contemporary political interests. However, the legal nature or enforceability of any of the pledges and promises either on mitigation and adaptation or on finance, technology, capacity building and support remains debatable.

India and her delegates might take comfort from the fact that the Paris Agreement: (i) refers to all the relevant clauses defining respective obligations of developed and developing countries under the Framework Convention on Climate Change; (ii) specifically and repeatedly commits to following the principal of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities; (iii) specifically records obligations of developed countries towards adaptation, mitigation, finance, technology and capacity building needs of the developing countries; and (iv) records “climate justice” being an important concept “for some”. However, the above ten inconvenient truths leave India in an extremely vulnerable position.

If history is any guide, we are set to continue wrangling over operationalising the goals and good intentions expressed once again in yet another agreement and the accompanying COP decision. This will be further complicated by the need to continuously assess and bicker over relative ambition levels of individual countries in respect of their pledges towards mitigation, adaptation, finance, technology and capacity building and measuring them against science based assessment of what is essential to delivering the aspirational warming goal. And since there is no framework that binds some or all to undertake specific climate actions a mechanism will have to be crafted that can coax countries to periodically raise their voluntary contributions to meet global goals within the bounds of their national circumstances.

To those applauding the gavelling of the Paris Agreement the above might look like a solution. But to me this unfolds the first act of the proverbial ‘tragedy of the commons’ wherein individual nations acting rationally, responsibly and in good faith, within the context of their national circumstances, end up severely undermining the best interest of the planet they share as a group. Even if one is sufficiently optimistic and reckless to ignore history and hopes that all of the above will be sorted out by the time of the first stock taking in 2023 and even if one is naïve to also assume that by 2023 nations will put global interests above their national interest; would it not be a case of locking the barn after the horse has bolted. As stated above, with the current pledges we would, by 2023, likely lose the odds of even delivering the less ambitious goal of keeping global warming “well below” 2 °C.

To those who have hailed the Paris Agreement as a “turning point” in climate negotiations and a “major leap for mankind”; I say it is a turn into a dead end and a leap into disaster foretold by science. To those who say it “signals an end to the fossil fuel era” and “sends signals into the heart of the markets”; I say please look at Bloomberg’s commodities page – fossil fuels are being produced in never before quantities and sold at the lowest ever prices in real terms. And to those who say that the Paris Agreement lays the foundation for zero net emissions in the long run; I say that OECD emissions should have peaked long ago but are still rising, Chinese emissions should also have started falling but they are not and the Paris Agreement sets no date for peaking by either OECD or China.

The combined emissions of OECD and China must reduce by 70% from current levels by 2030 to give the bottom half of the world the necessary carbon space to achieve a threshold level of development. Without such development, the bottom half of the world will lack the required adaptation capacity to survive the adverse impacts of climate change. The Paris Agreement does not assure this. This can only be assured by immediate and binding supply side and demand side actions and not by lofty goals and verbose promises.

List of Recent Climate Funding Announcements

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 10 Dec 2015 12:40:00 +0000

A number of climate funding announcements by developed country governments, multilateral development banks and multilateral climate funds have been made in the run-up to and at the COP 21 UN climate change conference.

The secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has compiled the list below from public sources and produced an interactive user graphic to show the essential details of each.

Announcements by Developed Country Parties

Austria will strive to provide at least EUR half a billion in climate finance between 2015 and 2020, in addition to the current Austrian pledge to the GCF.

Belgium announced at the Leaders Event a commitment to provide EUR 50 million annually until 2020, and recalled its EUR 51.6 million contribution to the Green Climate Fund.

Canada will provide CAD 2.65 billion over the next five years in international climate finance to support a transition to low-carbon economies that are both sustainable and more resilient.‎

The Czech Republic recalls its announcement to contribute approximately USD 5.3 million to the GCF for the initial replenishment period and additional approximately USD 2 million for the climate finance readiness activities.

Denmark announced that it would commit DKK 270 million (approximately USD 38 million) in earmarked climate finance in 2016, including DKK 156 million to the Least Developed Countries Fund (approximately USD 22 million) (subject to parliamentary approval).

Estonia has announced its intention to provide EUR 6 million between 2015 and 2020 for climate finance; from that EUR 1 million has already been pledged to the Green Climate Fund.

European Commission announced its intention to more than double climate finance grants from the EU budget up to 2020, reaching EUR 2 billion per year on average.

Finland intends to provide over EUR half a billion in new investment funding for developing countries over the next four years, a substantial part of which will contribute to climate finance.

France announced that it would, by 2020, (i) increase annual climate finance from current EUR 3 billion level to more than EUR 5 billion; and (ii) within this target, triple its annual adaptation finance to reach 1bn EUR by 2020.

Hungary has pledged HUF 1 billion (approximately USD 4 million) from 2016 to latest 2020 for international climate finance projects on a multilateral and bilateral basis, which is in addition to its July 2015 pledge to the GCF of HUF 1 billion.

Germany recalled that it aimed at doubling its international climate finance by 2020 compared to 2014.

Iceland will strive to provide around USD 10 million annually to climate related development efforts. Focus will be placed on geothermal development, sustainable land and ocean management, as well as gender equality in climate action.

Ireland will continue public funding ensuring EUR 175 million in climate finance over the period 2016 to 2020 mainly for adaptation and will increase our contribution to the Least Developed Countries Fund. Furthermore Ireland will commence contributions to the GCF in 2016, and is exploring avenues for mobilizing private climate finance.

Italy announced that it will increase its support for international climate finance reaching at least USD 4 billion between 2015-2020.

Japan announced that it would provide, in 2020, Yen 1.3 trillion of public and private climate finance, 1.3 times up from the current level, to developing countries.

Lithuania will continue to finance the implementation of official development cooperation projects by mobilizing additional private sector investments for transfer of the Lithuanian renewable energy and other technologies and pledge EUR 100 000 to Green Climate Fund in 2015.

Luxembourg reiterated that its climate finance contribution would reach the cumulative amount of EUR 365 million over the 2014-2020 period, which would include EUR 245 million of climate-related ODA and an additional EUR 120 million for international climate finance.
The Netherlands reiterated that it will increase its climate finance to EUR 440 million in 2015 and another 20 per cent in 2016 to EUR 550 million.

New Zealand announced it will provide up to NZD 200 million for climate-related support over the next four years, the majority of which will benefit Pacific nations. This builds on the NZD 65 million New Zealand has already spent over the last three years to help Pacific Nations secure reliable and clean energy.

Norway has announced its intent to maintain its finance for REDD+ on at least today's levels until 2020, which amounts to approximately USD 400 million per year. Norway intends to remain a major contributor of climate finance in the years to come.

Poland has announced its intention to provide USD 8 million until 2020 for climate finance, including for Green Climate Fund.

Slovenia announced its intention to increase its climate finance support by 50 per cent in 2016 compared to previous levels and will strive to maintain this level until 2020.
Sweden announced its intention to nearly double multilateral climate support in 2016 compared to 2015.

Spain announced it aims at doubling its international climate finance by 2020 compared to 2014, by mobilizing an amount of EUR 900 million by 2020.

The United Kingdom recalled that it would increase support for international climate finance by at least 50 per cent, providing at least GBP 5.8 billion between 2016-2021, aiming to spend half on adaptation.

The United States of America announced it will double its grant-based investment in support of vulnerable countries to more than USD 800 million annually by 2020 – through bilateral and multilateral channels – to reduce climate risks in key areas, including infrastructure, agriculture, health and water services.

Announcements by Multilateral Development Banks

The African Development Bank announced that it would triple its climate financing to reach nearly USD 5 billion annually by 2020.

The Asian Development Bank announced that it would more than double its annual climate financing, up to USD 6 billion by 2020. USD 4 billion will be for mitigation, USD 2 billion for adaptation.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development indicated that it would increase the share of environment/climate financing from 25-40 percent of annual commitments by 2020; this will provide USD 20 billion over the next five years, versus USD 20 billion over the last ten years.

The European Investment Bank will finance USD 20 billion a year globally for the next five years under its recently announced climate strategy commitments, a total of USD 100 billion, equal to at least 25 percent of its overall lending for the period. In order to strengthen the impact of EIB's financing, notably in developing countries, the EIB aims to increase its lending for climate action in those countries to 35 percent of total lending by 2020.

The Inter-American Development Bank announced its aim to double the volume of its climate finance by 2020, provided support of its Governors, this would mean increasing from an average of 14 percent of annual commitments over the last three years to 25-30 percent average commitment by 2020.

The World Bank Group, provided support of its Governors, pledged a one-third increase in climate financing, from 21-28 percent of annual commitments by 2020. If financial capacity were maintained at today’s level in real terms, this means reaching USD 16 billion a year in public finance. The Bank Group intends to continue leveraging its current levels of co-financing for climate-related projects, which could mean up to an additional USD 13 billion a year in 2020. The direct financing and leveraged co-financing together represent an estimated USD 29 billion.

Multilateral Climate Funds

Developed countries announced pledges totaling USD 10.1 billion during the initial resource mobilization of the Green Climate Fund.

A group of 11 ‎countries announced contributions totaling USD 248 million to the Least Developed Countries Fund, hosted by the Global Environment Facility.

The Adaptation Fund has received pledges amounting to almost USD 75 million from Germany, Sweden, Italy, and Walloon Region of Belgium.

Tanzania in World Geothermal Alliance; Cleaner Alternative Source of Energy

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 09 Dec 2015 10:01:00 +0000

Thirty-six countries gave the official start to an initiative to promote geothermal energy in developing economies as a cleaner alternative to oil, gas and coal.

The Global Geothermal Alliance, launched on the sidelines of the UN climate talks in Le Bourget, aims at a sixfold increase in geothermal electricity production and a tripling of geothermal-derived heating by 2030.

At present, geothermal is growing modestly, at three to four percent per year, providing 12 gigawatts of electricity annually.

But this is just a fraction of its overall potential of 100 gigawatts, according to the industry. Only 24 out of 90 countries with geothermal potential actually use the resource.

The alliance said its members will seek to overcome "political uncertainty" about geothermal and strengthen the industry's skills base.

The Global Geothermal Alliance initiative was sketched out in September 2014 at a summit organised by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

Members include countries on thermal "hotspots" in Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America, ranging from Kenya and Tanzania to Malaysia, the Philippines and Guatemala.

Geothermal energy entails drilling into hot rock and using the heated water to generate electricity or provide heating for communities.

It is considered exceptionally clean, as the heat extraction process requires far lower emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) compared with fossil fuels.

It is also deemed sustainable, given the almost limitless source of the energy, although individual wells can cool down or run out of water.

Obstacles to geothermal are the high cost of drilling and risks entailed in the exploration phase.

"Geothermal energy development particularly in developing countries faces important challenges," the alliance said.

"Due to risks related to geological drilling during the exploration phase, along with the associated costs, financing the early stage of the process is limited to investors that understand and accept the possible associated risks."

Statement Made by Tanzania During the the High Level Segment at the Paris Climate Change Conference

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 08 Dec 2015 13:53:00 +0000

STATEMENT BY H.E. BEGUM KARIM TAJ, AMBASSADOR OF THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA TO FRANCE AND REPRESENTATIVE OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA AT THE UNITED NATIONS CLIMATE CONFERENCE (COP21/CMP11) PARIS,

FRANCE, 8TH DECEMBER, 2015

Your Excellency, Mr. Laurent Fabius, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development of France and COP 21/CMP11 President; Ms. Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change;

Excellences, Heads of Delegations;

Distinguished Participants; Ladies and Gentlemen.

I bring to you the greetings of the President of the United Republic of Tanzania H.E. Dr. John Pombe Magufuli, newly elected and therefore could not be here in person nor send a Minister as he doesn’t have a ministerial cabinet yet. We also wish to express our solidarity to the people and government of France following the tragic events of 13th November 2015.

Mr. President;

The challenges of climate change to a country like Tanzania cannot be over emphasized. They range from sea level rise threatening the inundation of small islands across the coast of Tanzania mainland and Zanzibar to the melting of the ice cap of Mount Kilimanjaro, with dire consequences for water availability to downstream communities. Recent estimates during the preparation of our INDCs we have shown how climate change currently leads to economic loss of about 1% of the GDP and that we need not less than 500 million USD annually and over 1 billion USD by 2030 to address adaptation needs. Despite our vulnerability, we have undertaken various efforts on our own to address the impacts and we are ready to do more in terms of adaptation and mitigation provided we are supported in terms of finance, technology and capacity building.

Mr. President;

With 53.28 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves discovered, Tanzania is committed to enhance the use of natural gas which is a less emitting source of energy and other clean energy sources including geothermal, hydro, wind, solar as well as clean coal to ensure energy security for sustainable economic development. We will however need enhanced technological support and finance to the tune of 60 billion USD annually up to 2020 in the mitigation area to pursue this trajectory. With 48.1 million hectares of forested land, the country has an estimated total of 9.032 trillion tones of carbon stock, thus making the country a net carbon sink. We are still committed to continuously conserve these biomass assets for the benefit of the country and local communities and at the same time supporting the global efforts to mitigate climate change.

Mr. President;

In our submitted INDCs, the implementation of our actions will strongly depend on how the international community responds to our needs in terms of finance and technological support. Water, Agriculture and coast resources are our adaptation priorities in the INDCs. It will not be easy to implement these and the mitigation priorities in the INDCs as well as other climate challenges and pursue her economic development without international support. We therefore call upon all parties in accordance with the provisions of the Convention as well as various partners to support our efforts in the context of our national development agenda including for the implementation of the INDCs. We commend Parties that have offered their pledges to the Least Developed Country Fund, the Adaptation Fund and the Green Climate Fund and we seek increased capitalization of these funds to be able to meet their intended objectives.

Mr. President;

Tanzania underlines that the Paris agreement should be of a global nature and reflect the objective of the Convention and its Principles. It should not pose additional burden to developing countries that still need to grow and reduce poverty. It should enable developing countries to make smart choices that will allow investments over the next decades in climate resilient and low emission development pathways that can contribute to vibrant societies, robust economies and healthy environment. The principles of the Convention should remain our beacon as we navigate our way towards a new agreement within these remaining few hours so as to address climate change in a more just and inclusive manner. The agreement should catalyze action that will keep temperature increase well below 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century to keep the world relatively safe.

We look forward to a constructive engagement of all parties and we assure you of our commitment.

I thank you.

Norway Maintained the Leadership in Climate Finance; to Double its Contribution to GCF by 2020

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 06 Dec 2015 21:49:00 +0000

Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg has announced plans to scale up Norway’s commitments to the Green Climate Fund.

Norway already pledged USD 258 million to the Fund last year as part of the initial resource mobilization and has now promised to double that figure by 2020, provided that GCF can finance verified emissions reductions in deforestation and forest degradation.

Speaking at the Paris climate conference, Prime Minister Solberg stressed the importance of climate finance and Norway’s support for the Fund.

"The Green Climate Fund is now ready for business. I am pleased to announce today that Norway will significantly increase its contributions. If the Fund secures verified emission reductions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries, we will double our contribution by 2020," she stated.

Børge Brende, the Foreign Minister of Norway, also reinforced his country's support for GCF.

He emphasized the role of the Fund in adaptation projects, stating, “The Green Climate Fund will reduce developing countries’ vulnerability to climate change. Investments in adaptation to climate change are investments in development.”

GCF opened its initial resource mobilization in October 2014, rapidly reaching USD 10 billion equivalent by the end of the year.

The Fund remains open for contributions during its initial resource mobilization period and accepts them on an ongoing basis.

Is Saudi Arabia the Big Bad Wolf of the Paris Climate Talks?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 05 Dec 2015 17:28:00 +0000

The oil producing giant blocked efforts in Paris to limit global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.

Khalid Abuleif, Saudi Arabia’s chief negotiator (Photo by IISD/ENB)

Oil rich Saudi Arabia is leading a campaign to sabotage attempts by countries on the front line of climate change to include an ambitious 1.5C target for global warming in the COP21 agreement currently being negotiated in Paris.

Wealthy nations – including Germany, France and now the United States – have all signalled support for including references to the lower target in the final text, as negotiators reach the end of the first week of negotiations.

The oil producing giant Thursday night blocked efforts to include references in the Paris deal to a UN report that says it would be better to limit global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels rather than the current 2C target.

Saleemul Huq, Director of the International Centre for Climate and Development, argues that the difference between a temperature increase of 1.5 degrees and 2 degrees ‘is roughly 1.5 million people who will fall through the cracks and most of them will be in vulnerable and developing countries.’

Thoriq Ibrahim, the Maldives envoy and chair of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), said the 1.5C was a ‘moral threshold’ for his country.

Arab Block

Emmanuel de Guzman, head of the Philippines delegation, said: ‘The momentum for raising the level of ambition in Paris now opens the exciting possibility for a truly historic and transformational summit. We salute France and Germany and call for more countries to join in the call for 1.5C to protect human rights globally.’

Todd Stern, the US special envoy for climate change, told reporters Friday that concerns raised by island nations over passing a 1.5C global warming temperature rise threshold are ‘legitimate’.

‘We are in active discussions with the islands and others about finding some way to represent their interests in having 1.5C referenced [in the Paris text] in some way,’ Stern said. ‘We haven’t landed anywhere yet but we hear the concerns of those countries and we think these concerns are legitimate.’

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has also come out in favour of a strong target. When asked about the 2C target at the COP21 conference, Bloomberg said: ‘I don’t know if that’s the right target. The target should be zero [emissions] or reducing.’

But Saudi Arabia is now being accused of prioritising its oil-based economy over the survival of vulnerable nations. This goes efforts by a coalition of vulnerable countries to push the global community to adopt a new 1.5 degree global warming target.

The Climate Action Network Friday night named Saudi Arabia ‘Fossil of the Day’. A spokesman said: ‘The Saudi delegation here in Paris is doing its best to keep a meaningful mention of the 1.5 degree global warming limit out of the agreement.’

‘The Saudi’s are trying to torpedo three years of hard science, commissioned by governments, that clearly shows 2 degrees warming is too much for vulnerable communities around the world. Saudi Arabia is fighting tooth and nail to ensure the Paris agreement basically says, “thanks, but no thanks” to 1.5 degrees warming.’

Substantive Discussions

Sven Harmeling, CARE International’s climate change advocacy coordinator, explained: ‘Saudi Arabia is blocking these very substantive discussions going forward and [from] allowing ministers to understand what’s going forward.’

‘Overall we see increasing support for including the 1.5 limit in the Paris Agreement, with more than 110 countries in support, although some countries see it only in connection to below 2 degrees language. That adds pressure to those who see their fossil future threatened by a truly ambitious target,’ Harmeling told DeSmog UK.

‘However, Saudi Arabia may also want to use this to bargain on other issues which the vulnerable countries might not, e.g. in relation to other issues of the mitigation ambition package (such as long-term emission reduction goal), or response measures which is about the impacts of emission reduction i.e. reduction of fossil fuel consumption.’

Meanwhile, OPEC oil producing countries are also attempting to block language on turning economies away from fossil fuels – something generally agreed by everyone else in the negotiations.

Saudi Arabia is the 13th richest country in the world yet it refuses to make any financial contribution to the fight against climate change – this is despite claims to represent the poorest developing nations and support the end of fossil fuels.

In contrast, countries with smaller economies than Saudi Arabia – including Britain, the EU, France, Canada, Australia, Sweden and Germany – have already contributed climate finance and will continue to do so.

King Salman bin Abdulaziz, the Saudi leader, did not speak at the COP21 opening on Monday. But Ali bin Ibrahim Al-Naimi, the Saudi Minister of Oil, has said: ‘In Saudi Arabia, we recognise that eventually, one of these days, we are not going to need fossil fuels. I don’t know when, in 2040, 2050 or thereafter.’

‘The kingdom [plans] to become a “global power in solar and wind energy” and could start exporting electricity instead of fossil fuels in coming years.’

Saudi Arabia says it will make some investment in renewables and slowly reduce its dependence on fossil fuels. The country is the world’s 10th largest CO2 emitter – more than the Britain, Canada, Brazil, Australia, Indonesia and France – and it has failed to make any emission reduction pledge.

What's more, there is a strong caveat within Saudi's climate pledge, which points out the country still relies on a ‘robust contribution from oil export revenues to the national economy’.

Saudi is also looking to water down language about aligning broader financial flows to be compatible with climate objectives – ensuring that revenues raised by oil do not go back into polluting investments – which will be essential if there is to be a managed and orderly clean economic transition.

This article is cross posted from DESMOGUK with minor edit by Tajiel Urioh