22 October 2008: The Office of the UN High Commissioner for
Human Rights (OHCHR) convened an open-ended consultation meeting on the
relationship between climate change and human rights on 22 October 2008, in
Geneva, Switzerland.
27 October 2008: The Second Committee of the UN General
Assembly considered, on 27 October 2008, the Secretary-General's note on
Implementation of UN environmental conventions, transmitting the report
submitted by the Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, and the report of the
Secretary-General on implementation of the UN Convention to Combat
Desertification (UNCCD) and the outcome of the observance of the International
Year of Deserts and Desertification (Document A/63/294).
26 October 2008: The UN kicked off its “UNite to Combat
Climate Change” campaign on 23 October 2008, with the “Paint for the Planet”
art exhibition. The exhibition was followed on 25 October 2008 by an auction
that raised US$21,000, which will be donated to children affected by
climate-related disasters.
24 October 2008: The Sixth International Tourism Forum for
Parliamentarians and Local Authorities convened in Cebu, Philippines, from
22-24 October 2008. Attendees considered how national and local governments could
respond to the current economic downturn and maintain their commitments to
sustainability goals.
24 October 2008: During the World Food Day observance at UN Headquarters in New York, US, celebrated on 23 October, the heads of the UN, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Clinton Global Initiative called for tackling the roots of the interrelated challenges of food security, high energy prices and climate change.
24 October 2008: During a UN System Chief Executives Board
Meeting, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed the need to support the poor
amid the global financial crisis, warning that gains made towards achieving the
Millennium Development Goals could be reversed. The meeting brought together
Executive Heads of the UN specialized agencies, funds and programmes and the
World Bank and International Monetary Fund to undertake a wide-ranging
assessment of the ongoing global crisis in financial markets and the threat of
recession in the global economy.
24 October 2008: Mayors and senior officials from 36 of the
world's largest cities gathered from 22-24 October 2008, in Tokyo, Japan, for
talks on how to fight global warming in the latest meeting of the so-called C40
climate initiative.
23 October 2008: On accepting the UN Association-New York Humanitarians of the Year Award, in New York, US, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon thanked the Association for paying tribute to all the scientists, advocates and others “who have done so much at the UN to advance the climate change agenda over the years.” He underlined that turning away from the climate challenge while addressing the financial crisis would be “a double blow,” stressing the “enormous benefits” that can be drawn from making the transition to a low-carbon economy and addressing “one of the defining issues of our times.”
21 October 2008: The UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN
Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Food Programme (WFP) have submitted
reports on progress in the implementation of Article 4, paragraphs 8 and 9, of
the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and of decision 1/CP.10
to the UNFCCC Subsidiary Body for Implementation, which will hold its 29th
session in Poznan, Poland, from 1-10 December 2008.
23 October 2008: The UN Human Settlements Programme
(UN-HABITAT) has launched “State of the World's Cities 2008/2009: Harmonious
Cities,” a flagship report published every two years by the UN agency.
| Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) |
|
| Conference Reporting Services (CRS) |
