18 March 2009: The UN-REDD Programme, an initiative on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD), has approved US$18 million for activities in five pilot countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The Programme is sponsored by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the UN Development Programme, and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). The approved sum constitutes roughly one-third of available funding under the Programme, and will be dedicated to measures such as monitoring, stakeholder engagement, enhancement of non-carbon benefits, and strengthening of institutional capacity.
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17 March 2009: Polar Days are a part of International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-2008, a scientific initiative organized through the International Council for Science and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
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12 March 2009: An online climate prediction service was recently launched by the Asia Pacific Economic Forum (APEC) Climate Center (APCC) in the Republic of Korea to help climate forecasters and researchers worldwide and to facilitate climate prediction in developing countries. APCC contributes to WMO activities and seasonal predictions, including regular updates on the state of El Niño/La Niña.
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13 March 2009: The UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) has signed a memorandum of understanding with a consortium of partners to provide financial and technical support for the building and operation of a fleet of 15 hydrogen-fuelled three-wheel vehicles in New Delhi, India. The agreement was reached by UNIDO's International Centre for Hydrogen Energy Technologies (ICHET), the UNIDO Regional Office for South Asia, and Indian partners, including: the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi; Mahindra and Mahindra; and Air Products.
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6 March 2009: “On the Frontlines of Climate Change,” an internet forum launched by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in partnership with the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Secretariat of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, has published an article on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD).
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February 2009: The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, is financing the construction of the Totoral Wind Farm, Chile's first-ever project-financed wind farm. In related news, the World Bank's Vice President for Europe and Central Asia approved a grant of US$1.5 million for the Armenia Geothermal Energy Development project funded under the Global Environment Facility's (GEF) Geothermal Energy Development Program (GeoFund).
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4 March 2009: At the Geneva Motor Show, taking place in Geneva, Switzerland, from 5-15 March 2009, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the International Energy Agency, the International Transport Forum and the FIA Foundation laid out a roadmap, the “50 by 50 Global Fuel Economy Initiative (GFEI),” to halve car emissions by 2050.
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27 February 2009: The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has announced a contest to finance proposals for promoting energy efficiency and access to renewable energy in Latin America and the Caribbean.
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27 February 2009: Carbon Finance for Agriculture, Silviculture, Conservation and Action against Deforestation (CASCADe), which is coordinated by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UNEP Risø Centre in partnership with the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development and the French National Forestry Office, recently selected four projects to move forward, pending formal approval of their Project Idea Notes.
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February 2009: The European Commission (EC) is funding the Transatlantic Dialogue on Climate Change and Security, which will be launched on 25 February 2009, by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in Washington DC, US.
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