5 July 2008: The Workshop on Biodiversity and Climate Change took place from 29 June to 4 July 2008, in Kushiro, Japan. It was co-organized by the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and the Kushiro International Wetland Centre, in partnership with the Japan-UNDP Partnership Fund and the Secretariats of the Ramsar Convention and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
13
June 2008: Speaking on the sidelines of the meeting of finance ministers for
the Group of Eight (G8), held in Osaka, Japan, World
Bank President Robert B.
Zoellick presented two new climate investment funds built to support the
UNFCCC's efforts to address the effects of, and mitigate, climate change.
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.
10 June 2008: The
European Project on Ocean Acidification (EPOCA) was launched on 10 June 2008.
This EU research project is a consortium of over 100 scientists from 27
organizations in nine countries to address ocean acidification. Its goal is to
document ocean acidification, investigate its impact on biological processes,
predict its consequences for the next 100 years, and advise policy-makers on
potential thresholds or tipping points that should not be exceeded.
9 June 2008: The UN General Assembly
(UNGA) considered private investment's role in mitigating climate change and
how climate change, in turn, influences private investment decisions, during
this body's first follow-up to its February 2008 thematic debate on climate
change.
June 2008: The Third African Ministerial Conference on Financing for Development will be held in Kigali, Rwanda, from 12-13 June 2008. Discussions will focus on the
theme “Climate Change, an additional challenge for meeting the MDGs in Africa.”
30 May 2008: Representatives from 51 African countries, including 40 Heads of State and Government, joined Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda from 28-30 May 2008, in Yokohama, Japan, to develop a framework for African growth at the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV).
4 June 2008: Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann (Nicaragua) was elected on
4 June 2008 to serve as President of the 63rd Session of the UN General
Assembly (UNGA), which will begin on 16 September 2008.
| Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) |
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| Conference Reporting Services (CRS) |
