12 December 2008: On the sidelines of the 14th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC, which took place in Poznań, Poland, the Climate Change programme of the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) launched a new project on capacity building and adaptation to climate change with seven regional centers of excellence in Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and the South Pacific.
9 December 2008: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) have announced the completion of the nearly US$1 million Joint Geophysical Imaging project in Kenya. The project tested new seismic and drilling techniques to tap steam from hot underground rocks, and found wells of steam able to generate 4-5 MW of electricity, with one well yielding 8 MW.
8 December 2008: On 2 December 2008, the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) promulgated its first 2008-2009 Climate Neutral Policy and Strategy, which was formulated in response to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's call and the 2008 decision of the UN Chief Executives Board to move the UN System towards climate neutral operations over the coming years.
5 December 2008: The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) has opened a funding window for civil-society and non-governmental organizations involved in projects for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD). The call is issued under UN-REDD, a collaborative initiative between the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the UN Development Programme and the UN Environment Programme. Support will be granted for two categories of projects: analysis, strategy and policy development for REDD; and demonstration projects on the ground that contribute to REDD in developing countries.
7 December 2008: On the sidelines of the 14th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC, taking place in Poznan, Poland, the UN Environment Programme's (UNEP) Climate Neutral Network (CN Net), a coalition of public, private and governmental entities, has gained new participants.
4 December 2008: At a side event to the 14th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC, taking place in Poznan, Poland, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Risø Centre on Energy, Climate and Sustainable Development (URC) held a side event on “Perspectives on Future Directions and Capacity Development Needs.” The event was the occasion for the launch of a URC publication, “A Reformed CDM –including new Mechanisms for Sustainable Development,” which explores how to reform the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) in a post-2012 climate regime.
2 December 2008: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addressed a meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative that convened in Hong Kong, China, from 2-3 December 2008, in a video message. He underlined the interrelations between the financial turmoil, accelerating climate change, persistent poverty and hunger, and called on the Asia-Pacific region to play a “leading role” in averting a “human catastrophe.”
1 December 2008: The UNFCCC Secretariat has announced the winners of the “changing lives” photo contest, which was launched on 17 October to raise awareness of the clean development mechanism (CDM).
28 November 2008: The UN Development Programme (UNDP), with financial support from the UN Foundation and the Governments of Norway, Finland and Switzerland, is providing assistance to 20 developing countries to strengthen national capacity to address climate change policy options under the UNFCCC, including investment assessment and financial flows for key sectors. As a major output of this initiative, UNDP has released Bali Action Plan Briefing documents, which are designed to provide policy makers with background information on the four Bali Action Plan building blocks – mitigation, adaptation, technology, and finance – and land use, land-use change and forestry.
27 November 2008: A new survey, in line with an earlier poll of youth carried out by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) as a part of UNite to Combat Climate Change campaign, suggests that the environment remains a concern despite the financial downturn.
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