1 August 2008: The United Nations plans to decrease its
carbon footprint for the month of August by increasing the temperature in its
New York Headquarters and eliminating air conditioning on the weekends. The
initiative will result in an emissions decrease of the equivalent of 300 pounds
of carbon dioxide and, if the trial period is successful and the initiative is
extended, could save the UN roughly US$1 million annually.
31 July 2008: On his three-country tour of Latin America,
Srgjan Kerim, President of the UN General Assembly, has discussed climate
change with Michelle Bachelet, President of Chile, and addressed its importance
at a conference on the role of the UN in a globalized world.
30 July 2008: The Global Standards Organization (GSC) has
called on its members to share their views and experiences with groups addressing
information and communications technologies (ICTs) and climate change, highlighting
the International Telecommunication Union's (ITU) Focus Group on ICTs and
Climate Change.
29 July 2008: In a message to the Ministerial Meeting of the Non-Aligned
Movement in Tehran, Iran, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged a successful
conclusion to climate talks in Copenhagen in 2009, noting that progress towards
the Millennium Development Goals and ensuring food security have been severely
undermined by the climate crisis.
30 July 2008: The President of the UN General Assembly issued a draft outcome
document for the Monterrey Consensus Review Conference where countries would
recognize that responses to the climate change problem have “major development
implications” and “commit to respond to the additional financial requirements
that meet these new challenges with appropriate, concrete international
cooperation measures and policies.” The Review Conference, to be held in Doha,
Qatar, from November 29 to 2 December 2008, would also highlight that efforts
to address climate change should “promote increased trade in environmental
goods and not result in environmentally-based trade distortions.”
July 2008: The International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
has released the outcome documents from its second symposium on Information and
Communication Technologies (ICTs) and Climate Change, held in London, UK, from 17-18 June 2008.
24 July 2008: The Draft Declaration of Commitment for the Fifth Summit of the Americas was presented during a meeting of National Coordinators of the Summit Implementation Review Group held at the headquarters of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington DC, US.
July
2008: The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and IUCN
have published a report entitled “Agricultural Ecosystems, Facts and Trends.”
The Report presents facts and figures on trends in agricultural production and
consumption to help governments, farmers, consumers and industry better
understand the challenges facing the sustainable management of agricultural
ecosystems, such as meeting demands from a fast-growing world population,
adapting to climate change impacts, and managing the natural resources of an
increasingly depleted planet.
24 July 2008: PostEurop, a
Restricted Union representing 48 European public postal operators, has agreed
to form a joint technical committee with the Universal Postal Union's (UPU)
Sustainable Development Project Group, which will establish measures to reduce the
sector's carbon dioxide emissions.
24 July 2008: The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) concluded the
work of its general segment, adopting 15 resolutions and 8 decisions, including
on strengthening the coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance.
| Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) |
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| Conference Reporting Services (CRS) |
