The newest edition of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) flagship publication, the UNESCO Courier, focuses on climate change.
Discussing the need to protect against the damaging effects of climate change, Michel Jarraud, Secretary General of the World Meterological Organization (WMO), emphasized the importance of “African National Meteorological and Hydrological Services … as actors of development… particularly with regard to evaluating and monitoring the environment, preparing for natural hazards, and… climate change.”
Speaking at the Conference of the African Ministers of Trade and Finance in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, held from 1-3 April 2008, he noted African countries' particular susceptibility to extreme weather events and encouraged investment in observational networks to facilitate early warnings of natural disasters and climate predictions.
2 April 2008: Many speakers addressed links between climate change and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) during the UN General Assembly's two-day thematic debate entitled “Recognizing the achievements, addressing the challenges and getting back on track to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.” In her opening remarks to the 1-2 April 2008 thematic debate, Asha-Rose Migiro, UN Deputy Secretary-General, highlighted many speakers' concern that climate change could thwart achievement of the MDGs.
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Vice-President Kanayo Nwanze told participants at the first annual meeting of the African Union/United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Conference of Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, in Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia, that “A concerted, coordinated and collective effort is the most effective way to tackle the triple scourge of poverty, climate change and high food prices and to guarantee a sustainable future for women, marginalized groups and smallholder farmers in Africa.”
The UN International Telecommunication Union (ITU) will be organizing an International Symposia on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and Climate Change, to take place in Kyoto, Japan, from 15-16 April, and in London, UK, from 17-18 June.
Before his speech to the European Parliament on climate change and global security, Rajendra Pachauri, Chair of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), said during an interview that, the many looming security threats related to climate change include conflicts over water and changes in agricultural demands as weather changes and extreme events force mass movements of people.
International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Nobuo Tanaka and Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Secretary General Abdalla Salem El-Badri met in Paris, France, to, in the words of El-Badri, “share ideas and discuss various aspects of the energy scene with the IEA.
The UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) announced that World Tourism Day 2008 will focus on Tourism's response to the challenges of climate change. It will be a yearlong campaign that will focus on increasing awareness of the Davos Declaration Process and encouraging its implementation by all stakeholders at a global level.
The World Council of Churches says it has reached an agreement with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon for the two international organizations to work more closely on several global issues, particularly climate change.
Emissions trading in the US was the focus of the Carbon Forum America conference and trade show that convened in San Francisco from 26-27 February 2008. The event, which drew 1400 participants and 80 exhibitors, involved conference sessions and side events on such issues as innovation in a global market, renewable energy, low carbon generation technology, carbon capture and sequestration, the agriculture and forestry sectors, legal and accounting issues, and voluntary carbon markets.
| Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) |
|
| Conference Reporting Services (CRS) |
