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.”

‘LIMITED PROGRESS’ MADE AT LATEST ROUND CLIMATE TALKS, SAYS TOP UN OFFICIAL

Only "limited progress" has been made at the most recent United Nations climate change talks – which are expected to culminate later this year in Copenhagen with a new pact on slashing greenhouse gas emissions – a senior United Nations official said today.

With only two more conferences, totalling 15 days, scheduled before the start of the critical event in the Danish capital, "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).

The new treaty set to be agreed on in Denmark in December will replace the Kyoto Protocol, whose first commitment period ends in 2012.

Some strides were made regarding the negotiating text at the week-long meeting in Bonn, Germany, that wrapped up today, 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."

He also called for a "clear indication" from these nations on the levels of financing and technology they will provide to help their developing counterparts 'green' their growth and adapt to the impacts of global warming.

The next session of negotiations will start in Bangkok, Thailand, on 28 September, followed by another round in Barcelona, Spain, in November.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who has long made climate change a top priority, will convene what is expected to be the largest-ever gathering of heads of State and government on climate change in New York on 22 September. That gathering seeks to build momentum ahead of the Copenhagen talks.
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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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NEW GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS PACT SHOULD CONSIDER HUMANITARIAN SUFFERING – UN

NEW GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS PACT SHOULD CONSIDER HUMANITARIAN SUFFERING – UN
New York, Jun 8 2009 6:01PM
A group of 18 of key United Nations and partner aid agencies attending climate change talks in Bonn today called for the humanitarian impacts of global warming to be addressed in a new greenhouse gas emissions agreement to be negotiated later this year.

The Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) said that the successor pact to the Kyoto Protocol, with nations expected to wrap up negotiations in Copenhagen, Denmark, this December, must take a practical approach to help alleviate the suffering of vulnerable populations caused by extreme weather and environmental degradation.

"The scale of the potential humanitarian challenge presented by climate change in the future is huge," said John Holmes, the head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), one of the UN bodies involved in the IASC.

"This is a defining moment to ensure that the challenge is not insurmountable and human suffering is minimised," added Mr. Holmes, who is also the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator.

More than 20 million people have been displaced by climate-related sudden-onset natural disasters in 2008 alone, according to a new study by OCHA and the Norwegian Refugee Council's (NRC) Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre.

The total number of people affected by natural disasters has risen sharply over the past 10 years, with an average of 211 million people directly affected each year, nearly five times the number impacted by conflict in the same period.

Extreme and slow-onset climate events – such as floods, storms, droughts, rising sea levels and desertification – are impacting more and more people each year, with the most vulnerable including women and children, those already struggling with poverty, insecurity, hunger, poor health and environmental decline.

Climate change is also expected to dramatically affect patterns of migration and population movement, with many millions to be displaced by prolonged droughts, repeated floods or storms, according to an IASC news release.

The Committee noted that the Copenhagen agreement has potential to avert or reduce many of the humanitarian consequences of climate change over the next decade, but adapting to these climatic shocks will mean focusing on prevention and preparation by strengthening national and local r

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esources to cope with future disasters.

The UN talks under way in Bonn entered their second week today, with countries set to start making more detailed proposals on an initial round of comments on a proposed draft for the climate change deal.

"We are getting down to the nitty gritty of the negotiations," said Yvo de Boer, the Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
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DISCUSSIONS ON NEGOTIATING TEXTS ON PACT TO COMBAT GLOBAL WARMING KICK OFF – UN

DISCUSSIONS ON NEGOTIATING TEXTS ON PACT TO COMBAT GLOBAL WARMING KICK OFF – UN
New York, Jun 1 2009 11:00AM
Delegates from 182 nations are gathering in Bonn, Germany, today to initiate discussions on negotiating texts which could form the basis of an ambitious United Nations-backed climate change deal, to slash greenhouse gas emissions, expected to be clinched in December.

The two-week Bonn talks, the second round of UN climate change talks this year, are expected to draw over 4,000 participants, including representatives from Governments, the private sector, environmental organizations and research institutions.

The new pact, to be concluded in Copenhagen, Denmark, is intended to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, whose first commitment period ends in 2012.

"The political moment is right to reach an agreement," <"http://unfccc.int/files/press/news_room/press_releases_and_advisories/application/pdf/20090106_opening_pr_sbs_2009.pdf">said Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (<"http://unfccc.int/2860.php">UNFCCC). "There is no doubt in my mind that the Copenhagen climate conference in December is going to lead to a result."

The current financial crisis has reinforced the need for a global response to global issues, he added.

The negotiating texts serve as a "starting point" for talks among nations, according to Michael Zammit Cutajar, who chairs the working group for long-term cooperation under the UNFCCC.

Also expected to be discussed in Bonn are how to improve emissions trading and coverage of emissions credits, among other topics.

In recent weeks, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has been exhorting nations to "seal the deal" on a new climate change pact, warning that cost of inaction will be far greater than the cost of taking decisive action now.

"We live in an interconnected world," he <"http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocus/sgspeeches/statments_full.asp?statID=500">told business leaders last month. "An effective agreement in Copenhagen would be a powerful vote of confidence in multilateralism. By the same token, failure would be bad news for everyone."
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TOP OFFICIALS CREDIT UN FOR BOLSTERED SECURITY IN TIMOR-LESTE

The leaders of Timor-Leste thanked the United Nations for its support in restoring security, but cautioned that the situation in the small nation remains fragile since it was rocked by violent clashes three years ago.

In April 2006, fighting – attributed to differences between eastern and western regions – erupted in the capital, Dili, when 600 striking soldiers, or one-third of the armed forces, were fired. The ensuing violence claimed 40 lives and drove more than 100,000 people, at least 10 per cent of the total population, from their homes.

"It's easy to forget how far we have come in a short time," President José Ramos-Horta said in the capital, Dili, at an event at the headquarters of the UN Integrated Mission (UNMIT) marking the three-year anniversary of an enhanced UN presence in the country.

"For that we must give significant credit to the United Nations Police working together with their PNTL [Timor-Leste National Police] colleagues," he added.

Regarding those who are still living in makeshift shelters three years after the riots, Mr. Ramos-Horta said he aims to "resolve all outstanding issues of those remaining the in last camps in the coming months."

The political, humanitarian and security breakdown in the wake of the 2006 unrest led the UN Security Council to establish a peacekeeping presence, whose mandate was recently renewed to focus on the four critical areas of security sector reform, strengthening of rule of law, justice and human rights, democratic governance and social and economic development.

"In only three years since the crisis, people have regained trust and confidence in each other and in State institutions, consolidated peace and stability through national dialogue and reconciliation initiatives," stressed Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão.

Calling for the continued support of the UN, the Prime Minister underscored the need "to work harder to bring economic development to consolidate stability, to create jobs and to improve the lives of the Timorese people."

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Special Representative to Timor-Leste, Atul Khare, highlighted the need to recognize "the progress made by the people of Timor-Leste in overcoming the dark days of 2006."

The third anniversary of the crisis can be an occasion for optimism, he added, noting that "it becomes a statement about the strong partnership and unique relationship between Timor-Leste and the United Nations."

In a related development, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) has launched a campaign working closely with a mix of Government agencies, civil society groups and academia to create public awareness of the adverse effects of climate change in Timor-Leste.

The centerpiece of the initiative is the National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA), a $200,000 two-year project funded by the Global Environment Facility with additional contribution of $ 20,000 from the Government.

As the issue of climate change gains prominence in the country, NAPA will advance understanding on how changes in temperature, rainfall and extreme events are affecting people's lives, and what can be done to help.

UNDP Country Director Akbar Usmani applauded the Government for taking the lead in dealing with the issue of climate change in the country in a "rapid and efficient" way, fulfilling its responsibilities since acceding to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2007.

"UNDP recognizes the seriousness of global climate change and the threats that it poses to human development. We are calling for a new development paradigm – one which integrates climate change risks into development planning at all levels and, at the same time, helps countries to move towards less carbon intensive economies," he said.

Experts say that Timor-Leste is highly vulnerable to natural disasters and other weather anomalies associated with droughts. The country is also prone to floods, landslides and soil erosion resulting from the combination of heavy monsoon rain, steep topography and widespread deforestation.
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LATEST ROUND OF UN TALKS ON PACT TO COMBAT GLOBAL WARMING WRAPS UP IN BONN

The latest round of United Nations talks aimed at reaching an ambitious new treaty on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions wrapped up today in Bonn, Germany, having achieved what the world body's top climate change official called "important" progress.

"Countries have narrowed gaps in many practical areas, for example on how to strengthen action for adapting to the impacts of climate change," said Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

"This is important progress given the very limited time negotiators have to get to an agreed outcome in Copenhagen in December this year," Mr. de Boer added, referring to the climate change conference at which countries are expected to adopt an agreement to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, whose first commitment period for reducing greenhouse gas emissions ends in 2012.

More than 2,000 delegates from government, business and industry, environmental organizations and research institutions, participated in the Bonn meeting, which began on 29 March and is the first of three sessions planned ahead of the Copenhagen conference.

Negotiations on greenhouse gas emissions reductions to be achieved by industrialized countries after 2012 centred on issues related 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.

"There have been positive discussions on a range of issues, including on technology cooperation between industrialized and developing countries, as well as on the specificities of reducing emissions from deforestation in developing countries," noted Michael Zammit Cutajar, Chair of the Ad hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action under the Convention (AWG-LCA).

Mr. Cutajar added that countries have the opportunity to provide input to the draft for the negotiating text ahead of the next round of talks in June.

"I invite countries to forward their input to the climate change secretariat by 24 April 2009, so that their views on how to shape the text and what to include in the text can be incorporated," he said.

Some 192 States have signed on to the UNFCCC, the parent treaty of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which has 184 parties and legally binds 37 highly industrialized nations and countries transitioning to a market economy to limit and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

The objective of both treaties is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that will prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system.
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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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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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UN OFFICIAL ‘ENCOURAGED’ BY NEW US STANCE ON REACHING CLIMATE CHANGE PACT

UN OFFICIAL 'ENCOURAGED' BY NEW US STANCE ON REACHING CLIMATE CHANGE PACT
New York, Mar 6 2009 3:00PM

There is "enthusiasm" in the current United States Government to pass laws to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and a willingness to work towards a new global climate change pact, a top United Nations official said today.

Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), was speaking to journalists in New York after returning from his recent trip to Washington, D.C., where he met with leaders in US President Barack Obama's administration, as well as members of Congress.

"I must say I come back from those meetings very much encouraged," Mr. de Boer stated.

"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.

At the UN climate change conference slated for December in Copenhagen countries are expected to reach agreement on a successor pact to the Kyoto Protocol, the legally binding regime for reducing greenhouse gas emissions whose first commitment period ends in 2012.

Mr. de Boer noted that the US administration realised that financial support for developing countries to help them adapt to becoming more environmentally friendly and mitigate their carbon emissions is going to be an essential part of the Copenhagen "puzzle."

"The new administration with the full backing of the House and the Senate is working towards and ambitious agreement in Copenhagen," said Mr. de Boer.

The climate change official also found encouragement in the US economic stimulus package, saying that "What I believe President Obama is trying to do is use the recovery money to create the clean economy of tomorrow instead of trying to prop up the economy of yesterday."
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