By UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
It is a particular pleasure to have this opportunity to share some of
my thoughts through the inaugural edition of this bulletin – which I
hope will become a vibrant medium of communication and exchange in the
period ahead – as we each do our part to keep the promise we made in
Bali and to realize success in Poznań and then Copenhagen.
By Richard Sherman and Peter Doran, IISDRS
While the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC) process is the official ‘home' for climate policy
negotiations, the road to Copenhagen will increasingly witness the
acceleration of initiatives across the United Nations system and the
intergovernmental sphere. System-wide initiatives on climate change
reflect a commitment across the UN family to support the UN
Secretary-General's commitment to play a leadership role in supporting
the international community's current efforts to address climate
change, using the Bali Action Plan and Roadmap, and to ensure that all
parts of the UN contribute to a solution.
14 June 2008: G8 Finance Ministers, meeting in preparation for the Summit of the G8 Heads of State and Government in Hokkaido-Toyako, met from 13-14 June 2008, in Osaka, Japan, and agreed to the “G8 Action Plan for Climate Change to Enhance the Engagement of Private and Public Financial Institutions.” In their final statement, Ministers supported the launch of new Climate Investment Funds (CIFs) by the World Bank, which will complement existing bilateral and multilateral efforts, until a post-2012 framework under the UNFCCC is implemented.
13
June 2008: The WFP Executive Board has adopted a new four-year strategic plan to address hunger needs arising from recent
food price increases and shortages, as well as to fight hunger more strategically.
13 June 2008: The Economic Commission for Latin America
and the Caribbean (ECLAC) held its thirty-second session from 9-13 June 2008,
in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Among the thirteen approved resolutions
were a number of elements related to climate change.
6 June 2008: The Ramsar Standing Committee held its 37th meeting from 2-6 June 2008, in Gland,
Switzerland. The Committee was charged with making the final preparations for
the documents to be considered at the tenth meeting of the Conference of the
Parties (COP10), which will take place in Changwon, Republic of Korea, from 28 October to 4 November 2008. During the meeting, the Committee approved
for transmittal to the COP a draft Resolution (DR) on climate change and
wetlands, and one on wetlands and biofuels.
5 June 2008: The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) High-Level
Conference on World Food Security: the Challenges of Climate Change and
Bioenergy, which convened in Rome, Italy, from 3-5 June 2008, adopted a
Declaration, outlining immediate as well as medium- and long-term measures to
ensure food security.
16 May 2008: The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights of the UN Economic and Social Council adopted a statement on the world
food crisis, during its fortieth session on 16 May 2008. The statement
(E/C.12/2008/1) calls on all States to address the immediate causes of the food
crisis and urges them to address its structural causes at the national and
international levels, including by: “implementing strategies to combat global
climate change that do not negatively affect the right to adequate food and
freedom from hunger, but rather promote sustainable agriculture, as required by
article 2 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.”
30
May 2008: The ninth Conference of the Parties (COP 9) to the Convention on
Biological Diversity (CBD) was held from 19-30 May 2008, in Bonn, Germany. The
COP addressed a range of issues related to climate change, including ocean
fertilization, biofuels and biodiversity, and forest biodiversity. [Photo: COP 9 President Sigmar Gabriel gaveled the meeting to
a close at 9:00 pm]
23 May 2008: Representatives from 40 donor and developing countries, meeting in Potsdam, Germany, reached an agreement on the creation of two international investment funds that will provide innovative financing for developing countries to pursue cleaner development paths and protect themselves from the impacts of climate change.
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