6 January 2009: The Czech Republic, as is customary for the presiding country of the EU, has introduced the priorities and work programme for its six month Presidency, which will take place from January-June 2009.
12 January 2009: In his first press conference of the year, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stated that 2009 is “the year of climate change.” He stressed that the climate change summit in Copenhagen is only 11 months away and indicated that he would engage world leaders on the key issues in the negotiations, beginning later this month at the World Economic Forum in Davos and working toward a high-level meeting on the margins of the general debate in September.
9 January 2009: The Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Michel Jarraud, told journalists that, despite the current cold winter in Europe, the major trend remains one of warming.
9 January 2009: Prince Albert II of Monaco has begun a month-long visit to Antarctica to assess the impact and raise awareness of climate change.
8 January 2009: In an address to the UN Security Council, António Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), warned of new forms of displacement, with natural disasters on the rise due to climate change.
31 December 2008: The UN Environment Programme's (UNEP) Climate Neutral Network has reported that Air New Zealand successfully tested a new jatropha-fuelled jumbo jet. The airline said the experience demonstrated that jatropha biofuel is suitable for use in airplanes without the need for engine modifications.
December 2008: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) reports that, after a year where weather-related disasters resulted in approximately US$200 billion in damages, many are anticipating 2009 to be a year of progress in the fight against climate change. In particular, many are looking towards the new US administration to make big changes with regard to climate change policy.
We at IISD RS wish you all the best for this holiday season and throughout the coming year.
18 December 2008: The UN has launched a year-long advocacy campaign to help millions of internally displaced persons (IDPs), which represent 1% of the world's population, focusing on mitigating the impact of conflict and natural disasters.
17 December 2008: The Executive Board of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) has announced four calls for experts, as agreed by the Board at its 44th meeting. The calls are for experts to replace the outgoing members of the CDM Methodologies Panel (Meth Panel), the CDM Afforestation/Reforestation Working Group (A/R WG), and the CDM Small-Scale Working Group (SSC WG), as well as for experts on: coal mine fires; iron and steel industries; adipic acid; production; transport; SF6; uncertainty; and landfill aeration.
| Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) |
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| Conference Reporting Services (CRS) |
