UN ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR AFRICA HOSTS CLIMATE CHANGE MEETING

Experts, government ministers and senior United Nations officials will focus on combating climate change in Africa, including measures for adaptation and mitigation and financial resources and investment, at a forum due to take place tomorrow in Addis Ababa.

Around 100 experts and stakeholders from both Africa and member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) are expected to gather in the Ethiopian capital for the special session of the Africa Partnership Forum.

The UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), which is hosting the special session, says it is aimed at building a broad coalition around Africa's concerns and expectations, in the run-up to the Copenhagen meeting of the parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in December, where negotiations are set to conclude on a new agreement for curbing greenhouse gas emissions.

The special session will be chaired by the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Meles Zenawi. Environment ministers from Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Uganda, Burkina Faso, Rwanda, Cameroon, Sudan, Kenya, Mozambique and Algeria are expected to attend.
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TIME RIPE TO TAP INTO WORLD’S ECOSYSTEMS TO TACKLE CLIMATE CHANGE – UN

Efforts to fight climate change can receive a boost from stepped-up investment in restoring and maintaining the world's multi-trillion dollar ecosystems, ranging from forests to wetlands to river basins, according to a study backed by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Rising levels of greenhouse gases are putting Earth's biological diversity under threat, and natural systems are one of the biggest untapped resources in combating climate change, the paper found.

"It is clearly emerging that investments in the planet's ecosystem infrastructure can deliver the twin 'green' economy gains of curbing and cutting emissions while assisting vulnerable communities to adapt," UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said at the report's launch today in Berlin, Germany.

Governments, he said, are mulling multi-billion dollar investments in carbon capture and storage at power stations.

"Perhaps it is time to subject this to a full cost benefit analysis to see whether the technological option matches nature's ability to capture and store carbon – a natural system that has been perfected over millions of years and with the multiple additional benefits for water supplies up to reversing the rate of biodiversity loss," Mr. Steiner added.

The study, which updates an earlier report, is part of the Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) project, which was launched by Germany and the European Commission.

It stresses that funding for forests is a top priority for governments attending December's climate change conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, where negotiations are set to conclude on a new agreement on curbing greenhouse gas emissions.

Some five gigatons of worldwide carbon dioxide emissions, representing 15 per cent of the global total, are being absorbed by forests every year, making them the "mitigation engine" of the natural world, the report noted.

Therefore, it said, investing in ecosystem-based measures could both fight global warming and poverty.
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BAN GETS FIRST-HAND VIEW OF CLIMATE CHANGE’S EFFECTS IN ARCTIC RIM

Walking the Arctic ice rim today, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon got a first-hand view of the impact of climate change, with less than 100 days remaining before the start of the United Nations conference where nations are set to reach a new agreement on curbing greenhouse gas emissions.

Having departed the Norwegian capital, Oslo, yesterday, Mr. Ban made his way to the Svalbard archipelago, where today he visited research stations and met with scientists, who updated him on the latest science regarding ice-melting.

"I will try to deliver a clear strong message from my visit to the North Pole," he told reporters yesterday, underscoring that only 15 days of negotiations remain before the start of December's climate change conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, where countries are expected to wrap up negotiations on a new pact to go into effect when the Kyoto Protocol's first commitment period ends in 2012.

"Now is the time for decision-making," the Secretary-General stressed. "We must seal a deal in Copenhagen for a global, equitable and comprehensive deal for the future of humanity and the future of Planet Earth."
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YOUNG PEOPLE GATHER TO DEMAND ACTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE – UN

The largest ever youth gathering on climate change has kicked off today in the Republic of Korea (ROK) to demand that nations 'seal the deal' on a new pact to slash greenhouse gas emissions at a United Nations conference this December in Denmark.

More than 800 young people from over 100 countries have gathered in the city of Daejeon for a week-long meeting to stake their claim on a low-carbon, resource-efficient and environmentally-sustainable future.

Nations are expected to wrap up negotiations in the Danish capital, Copenhagen, in just over 100 days on a treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol, whose first commitment period ends in 2012.

Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), characterized the week-long Tunza International Children and Youth Conference under way in Daejeon as "a gathering of the generation that will inherit the outcome of the decisions taken in December and beyond."

The world's three billion children and young people, he said, will see the Himalayan glaciers either persist or melt, sea levels stabilize or rise, and the Amazon either endure or dry out in their lifetimes.

A global town hall meeting using state-of-the-art technology will allow hundreds of other youth to link to the Daejeon meeting to agree on a message to send to world leaders, while a social networking platform for youth on climate change will also be launched.

Participants at the conference were selected from thousands of applicants based on their outstanding 'green' achievements in their respective countries, illustrating strides made by the next generation to address the serious threat of global warming.

The projects included a drive to distribute hundreds of low-energy light bulbs in Nepal, a carpooling scheme in Samoa, a recycling drive in Sierra Leone and efforts to clean up rivers in Russia.

The latest round of negotiations towards a pact in Copenhagen wrapped up last Friday, with only "limited progress" having been made, according to a senior United Nations official.

With only two more conferences, totaling 15 days, scheduled before the December meeting, "negotiations will need to considerably pick up speed for the world to achieve a successful result at Copenhagen," said Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Some strides were made regarding the negotiating text at the week-long meeting in Bonn, Germany, with countries also discussing how to translate mid-term reduction pledges (for the year 2020) by wealthier nations into legally-binding targets as part of the deal to be clinched in Copenhagen.
"Industrialized countries need to show a greater level of ambition in agreeing to meaningful mid-term emission reduction targets," Mr. de Boer said. "The present level of ambition can be raised domestically and by making use of international cooperation."
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BONN CLIMATE MEETING: MISSED OPPORTUNITY, ALL EYES ON UNGA, G20 and Bangkok

Bonn, Germany –Delegates in Bonn missed an opportunity to speed up progress of climate negotiations ahead of a series of high-level political meetings next month, WWF said.

Negotiators who gathered in Germany for another round of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) talks concluding today made some steps forward, but they didn’t reach the speed needed to achieve a strong climate agreement in Copenhagen at the end of this year.

A key stumbling block was still the level and the source of financial support for poor countries. The growing number of countries supporting the idea of Copenhagen delivering a legally binding outcome was a positive sign.

The attention now shifts to September when a series of crucial political meetings takes place: the United Nations General Assembly, the Major Economies Forum, and the G20, all dealing with climate change.

“We would have liked the Parties of the UNFCCC to use the opportunity and take initiative. But delegates spent too much time arguing over procedures and technicalities. This is not the way overcome mistrust between rich and poor nations,” said Kim Carstensen, the head of WWF Global Climate Initiative.

“Delegates are kept back by political gridlock. The political leaders must now unblock the process.”

The recent commitments during the G8 and MEF meetings on 2°C were reflected in the climate talks in Bonn, but they were not enough to set the negotiations on a pathway to success. ”
“If the meetings of the General Assembly, the Major Economies Forum and the G20 in September are successful in building the political momentum needed, the UN negotiations can progress much faster at the next meeting in October in Bangkok.”

WWF would like the G20 meeting in late September to make a commitment to 3-4 viable means of mobilizing resources at the scale of $160 billion per year, in order to set the stage for success in Copenhagen.

“Without commitments on funding, it is impossible to design a solid climate agreement. It is like asking a manager to run a company without telling him what his budget is.”

LATEST ROUND OF UN CLIMATE CHANGE TALKS KICK OFF

With 118 days left until the start of the United Nations climate change conference in Copenhagen, where nations are aiming to conclude a new pact to curb greenhouse gas emissions, the latest round of talks has started today in Bonn, Germany.

During the five-day gathering – the third of six meetings ahead of the event in the Danish capital in December – some 2,000 participants are expected to make further progress on the negotiating text.

"We are at an exciting point in the negotiations which can lead us to the turning point in the fight against climate change in Copenhagen," said Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

That body, with 192 Parties, is the parent treaty of the Kyoto Protocol, whose first commitment period for reducing gas emissions ends in 2012.

In the run-up to the Copenhagen meeting, two more rounds of meetings will be held in Bangkok, Thailand, in October and Barcelona, Spain, in November.

In September, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will host the largest ever gathering of leaders on the issue of climate change at UN Headquarters in New York.

More than 100 heads of State and government are expected to attend the meeting, which seeks to build moment ahead of the Copenhagen talks.

"Two years ago, only a few leaders could speak to these issues," Mr. Ban, who will visit the Arctic ice brim to raise awareness of global warming, told reporters last month. "Today, leaders are walking the road to Copenhagen together. But, we have less than five months to seal a deal."
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UN SOUNDS ALARM ON THREAT TO PACIFIC NATIONS’ SECURITY POSED BY CLIMATE CHANGE

With rising sea levels threatening to inundate Pacific Island nations, United Nations officials have issued a call for urgent action to be taken to ensure that human security and development gains are not reversed.

"We recognize climate change to be a critical development challenge with enormous implications for the entire range of development concerns: poverty, livelihoods, food security, conflict and social cohesion, to name a few," Ajay Chhibber, Director of the Asia and the Pacific Regional Bureau of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), said at the two-day 40th Pacific Leaders Forum in Cairns, Australia, which ends today.

Mr. Chhibber also warned that during the current financial turmoil, global warming could potentially reverse "hard-won development gains in the region, which could compromise our collective ability to achieve the Millennium Development Goals [that seek to slash poverty, hunger and a host of other social ills by 2015] and plans for a prosperous, peaceful and secure region."

The Pacific region is one of the most disaster-prone areas in the world, with natural hazards likely to worsen as the planet's temperature rises.

Some villagers in Kiribati have already been forced from their homes by rising sea levels, but officials have cautioned that relocation could spark conflict due to traditional land rights.

It is clear that climate change "adds to the scale and complexity of human movement and displacement in the region," said Richard Towle, the Regional Representative for Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

"We need to act now if we are to find solutions for people whose homes, lands and livelihoods are, as we speak, being destroyed by rising sea levels and violent fluctuations in weather patterns in the region," he added.

In a bid to quell potential climate change-driven conflicts before they erupt, UNDP is helping to set up a new programme in the Pacific region in partnership with other organizations in the area.

The "Interface between Climate Change, Disasters and Potential for Conflict in the Pacific" initiative seeks to boost national and regional groups' ability to prevent and manage violent conflicts triggered by global warming.

"Climate change is increasing the severity and frequency of disasters, which are causing displacement, livelihood insecurity and increasing instability," according to Jean-Luc Stalon, senior regional advisor on Crisis Prevention and Recovery at UNDP's Pacific Centre in Suva, Fiji.

"We need to focus on integrating climate change risks into conflict prevention efforts – before it is too late and too costly," he warned.

In his message to the Forum, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced yesterday that the UN is establishing a new system to mitigate the impact of the global economic crisis on poorer countries, such as those in the Pacific region that are already being hobbled by climate change.

"The full repercussions (of the economic crisis) have yet to be felt, but already we know we must do our utmost to prevent the unfavourable economic climate from undermining our efforts to fight climate change and achieve the Millennium Development Goals," Mr. Ban said.

"For the Pacific, the downturn is likely to hit hard, limiting resources for development, leading to job losses and a decline in exports, and creating a risk of instability," he added in the message, delivered by Supachai Panitchpakdi, Secretary-General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

The new Global Impact and Vulnerability Alert System will allow the world body "to better track the impact of the crisis – and thereby better respond."

Noting that climate change is at the top of the Forum's agenda, the Secretary-General called on participants to enhance efforts to 'seal the deal' at the international meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December which will strive to reach a new pact on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

"Toward that end, I urge you to attend the climate summit that I will be convening next month in New York, and use that gathering to create the political momentum we need for an agreement," he said.
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NEW UN SCHEME TO HELP POOR COUNTRIES WEATHER ECONOMIC CRISIS, CLIMATE CHANGE

The United Nations is setting up a new system to mitigate the impact of the global economic crisis on poorer countries, such as those in the Pacific region that are already being hobbled by climate change, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today.

"The full repercussions (of the economic crisis) have yet to be felt, but already we know we must do our utmost to prevent the unfavourable economic climate from undermining our efforts to fight climate change and achieve the Millennium Development Goals [that seek to slash poverty, hunger and a host of other social ills by 2015]," Mr. Ban said in a message read out to the 40th Pacific Leaders Forum in Cairns, Australia.

"For the Pacific, the downturn is likely to hit hard, limiting resources for development, leading to job losses and a decline in exports, and creating a risk of instability," he added in the message, delivered by Supachai Panitchpakdi, Secretary-General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

"As part of the UN system's wide-ranging response to the crisis, we are establishing a Global Impact and Vulnerability Alert System to better track the impact of the crisis – and thereby better respond."

Noting that climate change is at the top of the Forum's agenda, Mr. Ban called on participants to show "dynamic engagement" in sealing a deal at the international meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December which will strive to reach a far-reaching new pact on global warming 'greenhouse gas' emissions.

"Toward that end, I urge you to attend the climate summit that I will be convening next month in New York, and use that gathering to create the political momentum we need for an agreement," he said.

He pledged full cooperation with the region, including through the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme, to address the negative consequences of climate change that are already being experienced, from extreme weather to environmental degradation. "Mitigation and adaptation must both be our urgent priorities," he declared.

Low-lying island States are already concerned about a potential rise in ocean levels while other nations in the region have suffered from torrential rain storms and flooding, as happened in Fiji at the beginning of 2009.
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BAN URGES COUNTRIES TO ‘SEAL THE DEAL’ ON NEW CLIMATE CHANGE PACT

The September summit on climate change in New York will be the largest ever gathering of leaders on the issue, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today as he urged United Nations Member States to "seal the deal" on a new global pact for reducing greenhouse gas emissions before the end of the year.

Speaking to journalists at his monthly press conference at UN Headquarters in New York, Mr. Ban said more than 100 heads of State and government are expected to attend the September summit, which is being held to build momentum ahead of December's international climate change talks in Copenhagen, Denmark.

"Two years ago, only a few leaders could speak to these issues," he said. "Today, leaders are walking the road to Copenhagen together. But, we have less than five months to seal a deal."
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CHALLENGES REMAIN IN RUN-UP TO COPENHAGEN CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE – UN OFFICIAL

With only 144 days left until the start of the United Nations climate change conference in Copenhagen, greater efforts are needed to ensure that countries "seal the deal" on a new pact to slash greenhouse gas emissions, an official with the world body said today.

Countries attending the meeting of the Major Economies Forum (MEF) on 9 July made some headway on climate change, "but also highlighted areas where we have a lot to do before we reach agreement in Copenhagen," Janos Pasztor, Director of the Secretary-General's Climate Support Team, told reporters in New York.

Leaders of over one dozen developed nations attending the MEF meeting in L'Aquila, Italy, said they recognize that the global average temperature should not increase more than 2 degrees centigrade, which is "a critically important goal" which these nations had never endorsed explicitly before, he said.

They also agreed to set up a global partnership to spur the use of low-carbon technologies and to double public sector investment into research of these new technologies by 2015.

Further, the leaders said that financial resources for both mitigation and adaptation must be scaled up dramatically, and although the stopped short of specifying amounts, they did agree to consider a 'green' fund, Mr. Pasztor noted.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned that the cuts in greenhouse gas emissions proposed by the Group of Eight (G8) leaders, "while welcome, are not sufficient."

Underscoring that "the time for delays and half-measures is over," Mr. Ban stressed that "the personal leadership of every head of State or government is needed to seize this moment to protect people and the planet from one of the most serious challenges ever to confront humanity."

Heads of G8 countries agreed in L'Aquila to a long-term goal of reducing emissions by 2050, but Mr. Ban said that this target was not credible without "ambitious mid-term targets, and baselines.

"In order to achieve such a global goal, developed countries must lead by example in making firm commitments to reduce their emissions by 2020 on the order of the 25 to 40 per cent below 1990 levels that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) tells us is required. It is disappointing to note that thus far, the mid-term emissions targets announced by developed countries in the MEF are not in this range."

To support countries in their bid to conclude a successor pact in December to the Kyoto Protocol, whose first commitment period ends in 2012, Mr. Ban is convening a high-level summit – expected to be the largest climate change gathering this year – in New York on 22 September.

It is hoped that this summit can foster trust among world leaders, Mr. Pasztor said today, adding that "we will not be able to address climate change without that trust."
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DESERTIFICATION POSES SECURITY RISKS, BAN WARNS ON WORLD DAY

With 200 million people projected to become environmentally-induced migrants by 2050, land degradation threatens national and regional stability, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today, marking the World Day to Combat Desertification.

One-third of the Earth's surface is affected by desertification, endangering the livelihoods and development of up to 1 billion people, Mr. Ban said in a message to commemorate the Day, which has been observed since 1995.

"Faced with long periods of drought, famine and deepening poverty, many have only one option: flight from the land," he said, noting that there are already 24 million peopled forced by land degradation to leave their homes and that one-third of the world's cropland has been abandoned in the past four decades.

Climate change is one force behind desertification, but the Secretary-General stressed that "we must reconsider our agricultural practices and how we manage our water resources," with agriculture and livestock raising accounting for 70 per cent of fresh water use and up to 80 per cent of deforestation.

Increased demand for crops for both animal feed and biofuels will also strain scarce water resources without sustainable management, he pointed out.

Today's message also emphasized the unsustainable nature of current global consumption and production patterns, which could lead to further global food crises, similar to last year's, as well as continued desertification, land degradation and drought.

"As usual, the poor will be the first victims and the last to recover," Mr. Ban said.

He exhorted world leaders to "seal [the] deal" on an ambitious new climate change pact – to replace the Kyoto Protocol – in Copenhagen, Denmark, this December.

"A comprehensive and equitable agreement to slow down global warming must also help developing countries to adapt to the impacts that are already under way," the Secretary-General said. "In particular, it must provide adequate and predictable financing to support improved land management, more efficient water use and sustainable agriculture."

A United Nations Environment Programme scheme to stem desertification in Africa has made strides, with extinct grass species being re-introduced, deploying rainwater harvesting, rotation grazing and other strategies.

The Desert Margins Programme has demonstrated success in pilot projects in nine African nations, including Senegal, where the Sahel Apple, a nutritious fruit with a high-market value which also restores degraded lands, was introduced by the scheme.

"Land degradation and desertification [are] not inevitable and the multiple inspiring solutions from the Deserts Margin Programme underscore this" said UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner. "It is time to scale-up and to replicate these kinds of actions in order to climate-proof vulnerable communities while boosting livelihoods, biodiversity and water supplies en route to achieving the UN's poverty-related Millennium Development Goals [MDGs]."
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Opinion: Three In One Solution

In an opinion piece published in the Times of India, World Bank Independent Evaluation Group Director General Vinod Thomas and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Vice-Chair Mohan Munasinghe write: "The economic crisis has quickly relegated global warming and global poverty once reliable headline generators down the list of priorities. But it is a mistake to think that governments should triage, that is, deal with poverty and the environment only after they have put the financial crisis behind us....We actually face a threefold global crisis: the economic downturn, rise in poverty and climate change. We cannot escape one without addressing the others....

But remarkably, the current crisis offers some unique opportunities that can be seized....First, this is the time for nations to reverse policies that sacrifice the climate in the name of immediate growth.... Second, this is the chance for countries to invest a sizable share of the stimulus packages in energy efficiency.... Third, this is the moment to make deals leading to a surge in financing for development and its effective use....

Policies aimed at immediate growth at the expense of social safety nets or greener investments will be suicidal. Economic, social and environmental dimensions of the recovery are no longer distinct goals with phased solutions. They are part of the same package of needed actions." [Times of India (6/8)/Factiva]

‘SMART SOLUTIONS’ NEEDED FOR CLIMATE AND ECONOMIC CHALLENGES – SECRETARY-GENERAL

'SMART SOLUTIONS' NEEDED FOR CLIMATE AND ECONOMIC CHALLENGES – SECRETARY-GENERAL
New York, Jun 5 2009 6:00PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called for multilateralism and "smart solutions" to confront economic and climate challenges that could result in insecurity and upheaval.

With the world in the midst of the worst economic crisis in the history of the United Nations, Mr. Ban said in a <"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=3901">message to the annual conference of the UN Association of the United Kingdom (UNA-UK) in Edinburgh that "growing poverty is fuelling increased insecurity. Changes in our planet's climate likewise threaten global upheaval."

A "new multilateralism that not only brings together all partners, but also takes account of the connections between the various challenges" is essential, he stressed.

"We need to forge smart solutions, such as ushering in a new green economy that can generate jobs while simultaneously addressing global warming, hunger and the energy crisis."

He also thanked the group for its climate conferences in the United Kingdom, which, he aid helped build momentum for the UN climate summit in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December, where nations are expected to conclude negotiations on an ambitious greenhouse gas emission reduction pact to succeed the Kyoto Protocol.
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UN Chief Urges Action On Growing Climate Change Risk.

"UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for decisive action to reduce the growing impact of climate change as he launched on Sunday [in Bahrain] a global assessment of ways to minimize the risks from natural disasters.... 'As a result of global climate change, weather-related hazards are on the rise and we must act decisively,' Ban said, urging governments to do more to reduce the risks, which affects most the poor...." [Agence France Presse (5/17)/Factiva]

The NYT adds that "...smaller or poorer countries can be devastated by disasters that are relatively inconsequential in places shielded by size or wealth, said [the Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction].... The UN report... offers hints of progress. While the economic cost from disasters has risen, the cost as percentage of the global economy has been flat. The mortality rate has been declining in many areas. But in hot spots combining dense populations with the risk of earthquakes, floods and other hazards, the potential for catastrophic impact is growing...." [The New York Times (5/17)/Factiva]

Gulf Daily News writes that "...last year alone, 236,000 people lost their lives in over 300 disasters, Ban said..... Asia was hit especially hard. Nine of the top 10 countries with the highest number of disaster-related deaths were in Asia.... For example: 75 percent of those who die from floods live in just three countries - Bangladesh, China and India, cited Ban...." [Gulf Daily News (Bahrain, 5/18)/Factiva]

TOP UN OFFICIALS EXHORT COUNTRIES TO TAKE ACTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE

TOP UN OFFICIALS EXHORT COUNTRIES TO TAKE ACTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE
New York, May 14 2009 7:00PM
Warning that the clock is ticking towards a major United Nations conference in Copenhagen this December where nations are expected to reach agreement on a new greenhouse gas emissions pact, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the world body's top climate change official today urged the international community to pick up the pace of negotiations.

<"http://www.un.org/News/briefings/docs//2009/090514_Climate_Change.doc.htm">Addressing reporters in New York, Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (<"http://unfccc.int/2860.php">UNFCCC), noted that the Denmark gathering is only 200 days away.

He said he is encouraged by progress made in the past 100 days, including the "very clear commitment of the new United States administration to the issue of climate change, to re-engage in the international negotiations to come to an agreement in Copenhagen in December, but also to put an ambitious domestic policy package in place."

Further, Mr. de Boer said he is heartened to see that many countries – China and the Republic of Korea in particular – are seriously considering changing the direction of their economic growth as part of their recovery packages.

"Climate change as an issue has survived politically the financial crisis," he said.

Even if there is "strong commitment" to conclude negotiations in December, Mr. de Boer cautioned that the limited amount of time remaining could threaten the comprehensiveness of any agreement.

The international community is "on track" to clarifying four key issues, Mr. de Boer said. Firstly, developed countries must lay out how much they are willing to slash emissions by 2020, and secondly, major developing countries must in turn identify what actions they are willing to take to curb their own emissions.

Thirdly, the topic of financial support for adaptation and mitigation for poorer nations is crucial. "I do not believe that developing countries will be willing to address climate change in a much more vigorous way unless there is international support," he said. "They've made it clear that their overriding concern is economic growth and poverty eradication."

Lastly, he called for the establishment of an international governance structure to oversee a long-term climate change regime.

Speaking at the launch of a report by the Commission on Climate Change and Development, comprising 13 renowned individuals, Mr. Ban emphasized that "climate change is happening, now."

Stressing the necessity of leadership in reaching a deal in Copenhagen, he called attention to the need for adaptation for the world's poor to help them to deal with some of the worst consequences of global warming.
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BILLION TREE CAMPAIGN GROWS PAST 3 BILLION MARK, SAYS UN AGENCY

An effort to fight climate change through reforestation, seeded at the grassroots level, has now blossomed into a woodland of over 3 billion trees, with the confirmation that over 300 million were planted in Turkey in 2008, the United Nations announced today.

In response to its success, the Billion Tree Campaign, which is under the patronage of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Kenyan Green Belt Movement founder Professor Wangari Maathai and Prince Albert II of Monaco, has already set a new target of 7 billion trees to be planted by the UN Climate Change Conference to be held in December 2009.

The campaign was launched by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) in 2006 as a response not only to the threat of global warming but also to wide sustainability challenges from water supplies to biodiversity loss.

Tree planting remains one of the most cost-effective ways to address climate change, according to UNEP. Trees and forests play a vital role in regulating the climate since they absorb carbon dioxide. Deforestation, in turn, accounts for over 20 per cent of the carbon dioxide humans generate, rivalling the emissions from other sources.

Trees also play a crucial role in providing a range of products and services to rural and urban populations, including food, timber, fibre, medicines and energy as well as soil fertility, water and biodiversity conservation.

With slightly over 700 million trees planted to date, Turkey now attains second position in the list of top 10 countries in the Campaign's roll of honour. The leading country remains Ethiopia with 725 million trees planted, UNEP said.

Mexico, with 472,404,266 trees planted to date, Kenya with 139,893,668 and Cuba with 137,476,771 round out the top five in the sylvan effort.

Meanwhile, an organization in Romania known as the PRAIS Foundation, in partnership with the Romanian Government and other partners, has confirmed that it has planted over 11 million trees through the national tree-planting movement 'Millions of People, Millions of Trees.'

In total, 3,071,704,993 trees have been planted around the world. So far, another 1,578,796,459 trees have been pledged and have yet to be planted.

UNEP is now making an appeal to UN peacekeeping missions and the armed forces of the world to also join in the Campaign by planting trees in areas where they operate.

The agency is further inviting all individuals, communities, businesses, civil society organizations and Governments to join the global tree-planting initiative by registering tree-planting commitments on the campaign's website.
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MAJOR NEGOTIATIONS FOR NEW UN CLIMATE CHANGE PACT KICK OFF IN GERMANY

The first round of United Nations-backed negotiations designed to culminate in an ambitious new international climate change treaty in Copenhagen in December got underway today.

More than 2,000 delegates from government, business and industry, environmental organizations and research institutions, have gathered in Bonn, Germany, for the first of a series of three sessions aimed at producing a draft document to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, whose first commitment period to reducing greenhouse gas emissions ends in 2012.

"This first negotiating session this year is critical for moving the world closer to a political solution to climate change," said Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

"The clock is ticking down and countries still have much work to cover," stressed Mr. de Boer at the start of the nine-day meeting.

Discussions on
greenhouse gas emissions reductions to be achieved by industrialized countries after 2012 will centre on issues relating to the scale of the reductions, improvements to emissions trading and the Kyoto Protocol''s carbon offset mechanisms, as well as concerns relating to land-use change and forestry.

"Industrialized countries are committed to lead the way, and the world is looking to them to agree on ambitious targets, in line with what science is telling us, in Copenhagen in December," said Harald Dovland, who chairs the working group leading the negotiations.

"We must lay the groundwork for this in Bonn at this session by shifting gears and moving into serious, in-depth negotiations," he added.

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BAN CALLS ON WORLD’S CITIZENS TO JOIN UN IN SENDING A MESSAGE ON CLIMATE CHANGE

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged people everywhere to join the United Nations and millions of citizens around the world in sending a message to government leaders to protect the planet by switching off their lights for an hour tomorrow night.

The UN will flip off the light switch at 8:30pm at its landmark Headquarters in New York to observe "Earth Hour" on 28 March to raise awareness of climate change and mobilize nations to reach agreement on a for a new agreement later this year in Copenhagen on a successor pact to the Kyoto Protocol, whose first commitment period ends in 2012.

"It promises to be the largest demonstration of public concern about climate change ever attempted," Mr. Ban said in a message marking the event.

By marking Earth Hour, people will send a message to their representatives to "seal a deal in Copenhagen" and reach a deal that will protect people and the planet," he noted. "We need an ambitious agreement. An agreement that is fair and effective. An agreement based on sound science."

The symbolic gesture will be observed by more than 1,000 cities and close to an estimated one billion people, who will turn off their non-essential lights for one hour starting at 8:30pm local time on Saturday.

This year, Earth Hour, which was launched two years ago in Australia by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), falls the day before 2009's first round of UN negotiations on new climate change agreement in Bonn, Germany. The talks, which are slated to wrap up on 8 April, will be the first of three sessions leading up to the Copenhagen talks in December.

"Let us use this unique opportunity to protect people and the planet. The United Nations is committed to this vision, but we need your support," stressed Mr. Ban. "Together, we can make a difference."
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HEALTH SECTOR WILL BEAR BRUNT OF GLOBAL CRISES, SAYS TOP UN HEALTH OFFICIAL

Today's global crises, whether the economic downturn or climate change, are the result of bad policies and it is the health sector that will bear the brunt of their consequences, the top United Nations health official has warned.

"The world is in a mess, and much of this mess is of our own making," Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization said in an address on Wednesday to the 23rd Forum on Global Issues in Berlin, Germany.

"Events such as the financial crisis and climate change are not quirks of the marketplace, or quirks of nature. They are not inevitable events in the up-and-down cycle of human history.

"Instead, they are markers of massive failure in the international systems that govern the way nations and their populations interact. They are markers of failure at a time of unprecedented interdependence among societies, capital markets, economies, and trade.

"In short, they are the result of bad policies. We have made this mess, and mistakes today are highly contagious," she stated.

The WHO chief stressed that it is the health sector that will bear the heaviest burden of the global financial crisis, for example.

She cited great concern among countries that health may worsen as unemployment rises and spending on health drops. There is equal worry about mental illness and anxiety, as well as a possible jump in the use of tobacco, alcohol and other harmful substances.

Poor nutrition is another major concern. "When times are hard, processed foods, high in fats and sugar and low in essential nutrients, become the cheapest way to fill a hungry stomach. These foods contribute to obesity and to diet-related chronic diseases, and they starve young children of essential nutrients," she noted.

Ms. Chan argued that economic decisions within a country will not automatically protect the poor or guarantee universal access to basic health care.

"Globalization will not self-regulate in ways that favour fair distribution of benefits. Corporations will not automatically look after social concerns as well as profits. International trade agreements will not, by themselves, guarantee food security, or job security, or health security, or access to affordable medicines.

"All of these outcomes require deliberate policy decisions," she stressed.

In addition, she pointed out that climate change impacts some of the most fundamental determinants of health, such as air, food and water, and will most likely result in increased malnutrition and disease, among other things.

And while climate change is, by its nature, a global phenomenon, its consequences will not be evenly distributed, she said, noting that scientists agree that developing countries will be the first and hardest hit.

"Anything we can do now to reduce existing burdens of disease will increase national and international capacity to cope with the new stresses that come with climate change," said Ms. Chan.

She also noted that up to now, the polar bear has been the poster child for climate change. "We need to use every politically correct and scientifically sound trick in the book to convince the world that humanity really is the most important species endangered by climate change."
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LEADERS OF UN, US DECLARE 2009 THE YEAR OF CLIMATE CHANGE

LEADERS OF UN, US DECLARE 2009 THE YEAR OF CLIMATE CHANGE
New York, Mar 12 2009 6:00PM

With nations set to conclude negotiations on an ambitious new greenhouse gas emissions agreement this December, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and United States President Barack Obama have stressed the need for 2009 to be the year of climate change.

Mr. Ban, who met with the "visionary" American leader earlier this week at the White House in Washington, told journalists in his monthly press conference at UN Headquarters today that they both agree that climate change poses an "existential threat."

The two men share a commitment that "2009 must be the year of climate change," he said, stressing the importance a comprehensive successor pact to the Kyoto Protocol – the legally binding emissions reduction regime whose first commitment period ends in 2012 – at December's UN climate change conference in Copenhagen, Denmark.

"With US leadership, in partnership of the United Nations, we can and will reach a climate change deal that all nations can embrace," the Secretary-General noted.

Reports of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) – the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize co-laureate – have shown unequivocally that the world is warming, almost certainly due to human activity, with potentially disastrous effects including worsening drought in some regions and heavier rainfall in others.

Mr. Ban said today that he and Mr. Obama were of the same opinion that 'green' investments are an essential part of any stimulus package targeting the current global economic turmoil.

"If we are going to spend such tremendous sums of money, let us be smart about it," he said.

He said that during his two-day visit to Washington, climate change also dominated his discussions with key American officials, including Senator John Kerry, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Congressman Howard Berman, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Last week, the top UN climate change official said that he sees "enthusiasm" in the current US Government to pass laws to reduce gas emissions and a willingness to work towards a new global climate change pact.

Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), said he was "very much encouraged" following his recent meetings with officials in Mr. Obama's administration and members of Congress.

"There is, I believe, a huge enthusiasm and energy in both the House and the Senate to put cap and trade climate change legislation in place in this country," he added.

Mr. de Boer also underscored the willingness in the current US administration "to work towards an agreement in Copenhagen, to come with an ambitious domestic policy [and] to engage with international partners" to come to an accord.
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