22 May 2013: The World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) has released a policy brief on challenges and opportunities for mitigation and adaptation to climate change for smallholder farmers.
13 May 2013: The Climate Investment Funds (CIF) provided financial support to Nepal, one of the pilot countries of the Program for Scaling Up Renewable Energy in Low Income Countries (SREP), to sponsor the first Waste to Energy (W2E) Bazaar, which took place on 26 April 2013, in Kathmandu.
17 May 2013: Participants at the annual World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum agreed on outcome documents that highlight discussions on, inter alia: smart climate change monitoring; women's empowerment; information and communication technologies (ICTs) innovations and standards; and cyberspace security. Participants also considered ICTs and post-2015 goals, reviewed the Implementation of the WSIS Outcomes and produced a Statement on the WSIS+10 Visioning.
15 May 2013: The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) has released the third edition of the UN Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). This edition is subtitled “From Shared Risk to Shared Value: The Business Case for DRR,” and seeks to provide a resource for understanding and analyzing current and future global disaster risk.
15 May 2013: The Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA) report, released at the Arctic Council Ministerial, emphasizes that climate change is the most significant driver in overall Arctic biodiversity change, and that it exacerbates other threats to Arctic biodiversity. Released by the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF), the biodiversity working group of the Arctic Council, the report also calls for an ecosystem-based approach to management, and recommends integrating biodiversity into other policy fields.
14 May 2013: According to a series of studies that the European Environment Agency (EEA) undertook on the potential for fiscal reform in Spain, Italy, Ireland and Portugal - EU countries affected by the current economic crisis - environmental taxes can achieve environmental objectives while raising revenues and they have a "less negative effect on GDP compared to other types of taxes, such as direct taxes."
16 May 2013: The Adaptation Fund is calling for public comments on concepts and proposals from seven countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia. The project concepts and proposals will be considered at the 21st meeting of the Adaptation Fund Board (AFB) to be held in Bonn, Germany, from 1-4 July 2013.
15 May 2013: The UNFCCC Secretariat has released a report that synthesizes the views presented by parties and organizations on experiences with the application of the guidelines for the national adaptation plan (NAP) process in the Least Developed Country (LDCs) parties (FCCC/SBI/2013/9).
15 May 2013: The UNFCCC Secretariat has released a report submitted by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) (FCCC/CP/2013/INF.8) containing information on the resource status approved for non-Annex I Parties to prepare biennial update reports (BUR).
15 May 2013: The UNFCCC Secretariat has released an information document on financial support provided by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) for the preparation of national communications by non-Annex I Parties (FCCC/SBI/2013/INF.7).
14 May 2013: The EU has reported that it has surpassed its fast start finance pledge to developing countries by providing over €7.3 billion (approximately US$9.5 billion) of climate finance.
14 May 2013: The Global Gender and Climate Alliance (GGCA) hosted Christiana Figueres, UNFCCC Executive Secretary, in a Twitter Chat to discuss the decision adopted at the 18th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 18) to the UNFCCC on gender. The chat revolved around the following questions: “Why is a gender-sensitive approach part of the climate solution?” and “What are the opportunities to contribute?”
10 May 2013: The UNFCCC Secretariat has published a report on the technical workshop on ecosystem-based approaches for adaptation to climate change (FCC/SBSTA/2013/2), which was held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, from 21-23 March 2013. The workshop sought to enhance parties' and expert organizations' understanding of ecosystem-based approaches for adaptation, share best practices and lessons learned, and identify areas for further work.
9 May 2013: The UNFCCC Secretariat has released a report that provides an overview of progress made under the Nairobi work programme on impacts, vulnerability and adaptation to climate change (NWP) since the 37th session of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA 37).
9 May 2013: Observed concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have reached the 400 parts per million (ppm) threshold at several stations of the World Meteorological Organization's (WMO) Global Atmosphere Watch network.
8 May 2013: The SEED Initiative has launched its 2013 SEED Awards, calling for entries from start-up entrepreneurs that aim to generate environmental, social and economic benefits at the local level, including climate change mitigation and adaptation, in developing countries, least developed countries (LDCs), or emerging economies.
7 May 2013: Participants at the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Biofuels Conference have assessed the Biofuels Screening Toolkit, which was developed to help ensure the sustainability of biofuels production, in recognition of the potential negative effects of biofuels production on the environment and on food security.
6 May 2013: The European Commission adopted a green infrastructure strategy designed to: promote green infrastructure in the main policy areas; improve research and data, strengthen the knowledge base and promote innovative technologies; improve access to finance for green infrastructure projects; and support EU-level green infrastructure projects.
9 May 2013: Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are critical in creating smart sustainable cities and addressing climate change, according to participants at the Eighth International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Symposium on ICTs, the Environment and Climate Change. Participants adopted a 'Turin Roadmap' that calls on ITU to promote smart technologies in cities and develop key performance indicators to assess ICTs impacts in cities and countries around the world.
9 May 2013: The South African Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA), with support from GIZ and the International Partnership on Mitigation and Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV), organized a regional workshop on tracking mitigation actions in Africa. The event aimed to encourage the sharing of actions that individual African countries are taking and encouraging more countries to take early actions on climate change.
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