Climate change and development

Launch of the Commission on Climate Change and Development Report, 2009. 7 July 2009.

cotonou_online — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:30:43 +0000

The final report by the Swedish Commission for Climate Change and Development, Closing the Gaps: Disaster risk reduction and adaptation to climate change in developing countries, calls for the fight against poverty and the fight against climate change to be addressed together. The Commission was set in 2007 to look at the human dimensions of climate change.

Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate. Website.

cotonou_online — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 04:43:18 +0000

G5 Joint Statement to G8 meeting. 8 July 2009.

cotonou_online — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 04:16:44 +0000

The G5 political declaration calls for the global economic crisis to be taken as an opportunity to reform the international economic system for the benefit of everyone and for the full and immediate implementation of the G20 Summit declaration of April 2009 dealing with the financial and global crisis in an integrated fashion. They urge developed countries to immediately fulfill the existing commitment to assign 0.7% of their gross domestic product to official assistance for developing countries. They also urged developed countries to reduce their combined emissions in 2020 to a level that is at least 40% lower than those of 1990, during the second period of commitments for the Kyoto Protocol. The trade declaration adopted calls for the rules-based multilateral trading system to be fair and equitable and one that addresses the legitimate aspirations of the developing countries.

The Group of Five (G5). Official website.

cotonou_online — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 04:14:00 +0000

The Group of Five (G5), conformed by Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa, plays an active role in the rapidly evolving international order, looking to promote dialogue and understanding between developing and developed countries in order to find common solutions to global challenges. In its dialogue with the G8, the G5 has presented common positions and initiatives in priority issues such as world economy, food security, climate change and sustainable development. At present, the G5 has become a valuable independent dialogue platform, which aims to make positive contributions to ongoing discussions in multilateral fora regarding the most pressing issues in the global agenda. In this site you will find valuable information on the evolution of the G5 and its member countries.

G8 Summit. Final declarations and all background documents. 8-10 July 2009

cotonou_online — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 04:07:13 +0000

G8 Leaders meeting from 8-10 July 2009 discussed the interlinked challenges of the global economic crisis, poverty, development, climate change and international political issues. They were joined the second day by Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa. Egypt was also invited to participate in the meeting. All other members of the Major Economies Forum joined them to address trade and climate change. African Leaders and G8 partners discussed the implications of the crisis for Africa. Finally, in a broader format, leaders tackled the issue of food security. G8 Summit. Final declarations and all background documents. 8 July 2009 http://www.g8italia2009.it/G8/Home/G8-G8_Layout_locale-1199882116809_Atti.htm G5 Joint Statement to G8 meeting. 8 July 2009. http://portal3.sre.gob.mx/groupfive/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10&Itemid=10&lang=es Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate. Website: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2009/04/122097.htm

Six messages on climate change. ODI. 6 July 2009.

cotonou_online — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:49:31 +0000

ODI hosted the last in its series of Climate Change and Development meetings. Since January, 11 meetings have featured an impressive array of speakers including top scientists and thinkers, government ministers, international diplomats, NGO leaders, and policy shapers. They have discussed a wide range of topics: from the science of climate change, through sectoral issues, to policy frameworks and both radical and routine techniques for mitigation to prevent climate change, and adaptation to its realities. We have sought the latest in knowledge and insights in these areas, had some of our understandings confirmed, and others challenged. Six key messages have emerged from the series.

Suffering the Science. Climate change, people, and poverty. Oxfam. 6 July 2009.

cotonou_online — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:04:05 +0000

Climate change is a reality and its effects are apparent right now. The scientific predictions are shifting continually – they almost always look bleaker. But Oxfam’s experience in nearly 100 countries is definitive: hundreds of millions of people are already suffering damage from a rapidly changing climate, which is frustrating their efforts to escape poverty. This paper is the story of the ‘affected’. To tell this story we have brought together the voices of two communities – scientists who study the impact of climate change, and the people who are suffering harm now. In March 2009, 2,500 leading scientists gathered in Copenhagen to present updated research across the entire spectrum of climate change. This paper is based on their work, and as much as possible upon the latest science, set alongside the first-hand stories that emerge from Oxfam’s work with poor people.

Possibilities for increased Swedish trade related development cooperation (aid for trade) within the area of agriculture, climate change and poverty reduction. SIDA. June 2009.

cotonou_online — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:25:43 +0000

This review considers the links between cross border agricultural trade, climate change and poverty. The report’s objective is to provide Sida with information that can contribute to filling existing knowledge gaps in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ future Policy on Trade and Development. ‘Aid for Trade’ (AfT) is a priority area for Sweden. It is particularly important to attain ‘coherence’ among aid, poverty alleviation and climate goals in the agricultural sector due to its importance in the livelihoods of the poor. However, this is a controversial topic. Many advocates of climate change measures are sceptical of the appropriateness of increased trade.

Hang Together or Separately? How global co-operation is key to a fair and adequate climate deal at Copenhagen. Oxfam International Briefing Paper. 22 June 2009.

cotonou_online — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 13:55:22 +0000

An agreement struck at the UN climate conference in Copenhagen in December 2009 could pave the way for a post-2012 climate regime that staves off catastrophic climate change. Delay or failure will certainly multiply the costs of responding to its negative impacts. Key recommendations from this paper include: * Copenhagen must deliver a fair and adequate climate deal: one that keeps global warming as far below 2°C as possible. * Annex I countries must agree binding individual country targets that cut greenhouse gas emissions to at least 40 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020. * A UNFCCC Mitigation and Finance Mechanism must be established to match mitigation actions from developing countries with the required finance from rich countries. * Annex I countries must agree to provide sufficient funding for capacity-building, mitigation and adaptation, through the purchase of their Assigned Amount Units (AAUs) from the UNFCCC Mitigation and Finance Mechanism.

UPCOMING EVENT: EU Green Week 2009: Climate change – act and adapt. 23-26 June 2009.

cotonou_online — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 10:25:26 +0000

With a new international climate agreement due to be finalised at the Copenhagen conference in December, climate change is the natural focus for the European Commission's Green Week 2009 conference taking place from 23 to 26 June at the Charlemagne Building in Brussels. Under the slogan 'act and adapt', Green Week, the biggest annual conference devoted to European environment policy, will examine the multi-faceted challenges of reducing EU and global greenhouse gas emissions and of adapting to the climate change that is already under way. Eight of the sessions will also try to come up with a realistic vision of how a low-carbon world in 2050 would look. Over 4,000 participants from Europe and beyond are expected at the three-day event. Commission President José Manuel Barroso will give the keynote speech at the closing session on 26 June, which will look ahead at prospects for the Copenhagen agreement.

Mobile Communications to Revolutionise African Weather Monitoring. Global Humanitarian Forum. 18 June 2009.

cotonou_online — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 03:52:39 +0000

Global Humanitarian Forum, Ericsson, WMO, and Zain and other mobile operators to deploy up to 5,000 automatic weather stations in mobile network sites across Africa, where less than 300 are reporting today. • Partnership will increase dissemination of weather information via mobile phones to users and communities, including remote farmers and fishermen • First 19 stations deployed more than double Lake Victoria region weather monitoring, where 5,000 people die every year due to storms and accidents

The Politics of Climate Change. Anthony Giddens. Reivew by Duncan Green, Oxfam. 16 June 2009.

cotonou_online — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:33:48 +0000

This is definitely the right subject – enough of ‘if I ruled the world’ policy solutions by environmental snake-oil salesmen, what are the politics of getting a breakthrough on climate change in time to stop the earth frying? Giddens’ new book even gets in a dig at his fellow LSE peer Nicholas Stern, saying ‘”Extraordinarily, there is no mention of politics in Stern’s discussion, no analysis of power. It is as if the ‘global deal’ will be reached as soon as the nations of the world see reason.” Although there is a lot of good stuff in here, sadly, Giddens fails to deliver on the title’s promise – lots of policy wonkery and techno-whizzery, but the politics is actually rather thin. Very frustrating.

EU not keen on far-reaching reforms at the UN climate conference. Eurodad. 12 June 2009.

cotonou_online — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:09:09 +0000

The EU (and the US) is blocking negotiations on “The Way Forward”. Both the EU and the US would prefer that the conference is a one-time event without any follow-up mechanisms or fundamental institutional reform. However, it is noted that these groups could still hopefully support broader structural reforms if effective pressure is put on them on the next few days.

The countdown to Copenhagen: climate change, agriculture and global food security. Speech by EU Agriculture Commissioner to seminar organised by the International Food and Agricultural Trade Policy Council. 11 May 2009

cotonou_online — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 09:29:55 +0000

EU Member States' efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to meet EU greenhouse gas emission reduction commitments up to 2020. EU Decision. 23 April 2009.

cotonou_online — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 07:54:45 +0000