December 2008: The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), a center of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), published a discussion paper entitled “Anatomy of a Crisis: The Causes and Consequences of Surging Food Prices,” which provides a comprehensive review of causes and consequences of recent increases in international food prices.
15 January 2009: Three projects aimed at countering the gorilla's slide towards extinction were spotlighted as the international Year of the Gorilla (YoG) 2009 got underway with a “Gorillas on Thin Ice” event. The projects, which were drawn up by the UN Environment Programme Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (UNEP/CMS), seek to boost the prospects for the Cross River Gorilla, which is Africa's rarest ape.
15 January 2009: In a speech delivered at the Ministerial Conference on Global Environment and Energy in Transport, which took place in Tokyo, Japan, from 14-16 January 2009, Yvo de Boer, UNFCCC Executive Secretary, stressed that a global deal on transport and climate change should be an integral part of the UNFCCC process.
14 January 2009: Bert Hofman, Country Director, World Bank Philippine Country Office, has signed the Emission Reductions Purchase Agreement (ERPA) for the Roxol Ethanol Plant Wastewater Treatment and Methane Gas Recovery Project under the World Bank-managed Community Development Carbon Fund Facility.
13 January 2009: The International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), a research center of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), will produce a detailed digital soil map of 42 sub-Saharan countries. The project, named the African Soil Information Service (AfSIS), will provide information necessary to overcome soil depletion and improve crop production through better soil management.
6 January: The first Meeting of the Commission of Experts of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) President on Reforms of the International Monetary and Financial System took place at UN Headquarters in New York, US, from 4-6 January 2009. The recommendations adopted at the end of the meeting include the need for reforms to establish regulations that enable simultaneously pursuing long term objectives, such as sustainable and equitable growth, responsible use of natural resources and reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and more immediate concerns, including addressing the challenges posed by the food and financial crises.
6 January 2009: The Czech Republic, as is customary for the presiding country of the EU, has introduced the priorities and work programme for its six month Presidency, which will take place from January-June 2009.
January 2009: A new paper, authored by Manmohan Parkash and published by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), entitled “Climate Change and Transport: Promoting Environmentally Sustainable Transport in the People's Republic of China,” evaluates the state of China's transport sector in light of volatile fuel prices and increasing greenhouse emissions.
January 2009: Ivan Hascic and Nick Johnstone (Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) Environment Directorate) and Antoine Dechezleprêtre, Matthieu Glachant and Yann Ménière, CERNA, Mines ParisTech, have co-authored a new study entitled “Invention and Transfer of Climate Change Mitigation Technologies on a Global Scale: A Study Drawing on Patent Data.”
January 2009: The C40 Large Cities Climate Leadership Group, which previously met in London in 2005 and in New York in 2007, has announced that it will meet in Seoul from 18-21 May 2009, for its third Summit.
| Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) |
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| Conference Reporting Services (CRS) |
