UN News 4/23
UN HONOURS SEVEN LEADERS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
New York, Apr 22 2008 4:00PM
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) today acknowledged seven luminaries in the fight against global warming as this year’s Champions of the Earth.
The recipients of the award, which is in its fourth year, include Prince Albert II of Monaco and Balgis Osman-Elasha, a Sudanese climate researcher who has effectively piloted climate-proofing strategies in some of the most affected areas in the world.
“Our winners for 2008 light an alternative path for humanity by taking responsibility, demonstrating leadership and realizing change across a wide range of sustainability issues,” including improved management of resources from waste and water,
UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said at the awards gala in Singapore.
Each awardee is “living proof that the greening of the global economy is underway and that a transition to a more resource efficient society not only makes environmental sense, but social and economic sense, too,” he added.
Six of the winners represent each of the world’s geographical regions: former United States Senator Timothy E. Wirth; Atiq Rahman, the Executive Director of the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies; Liz Thompson, the former Energy and Environment Minister of Barbados; and Abdul-Qader Ba-Jammal, the Secretary-General of the Yemen People’s General Congress.
This year’s UNEP Special Prize was bestowed upon Prime Minister Helen Clark of New Zealand, which has blazed the trail towards climate neutrality and hopes to meet the goal of 90 per cent renewable energy by 2025.
She said that her vision is to “sustain the biodiversity, the cultural diversity and environmental integrity that we have had in our world and which is very, very much under threat.”
The Champions of the Earth award was established in 2004 by UNEP to reward individuals for their contributions – globally and regionally – to bolstering the protection and management of the Earth’s environment and resources. Recipients are selected by a senior UNEP panel with input from the agency’s regional offices.
Past winners include former Iranian Vice President Massoudeh Ebtekar; Mikhail Gorbachev of Russia; Prince Hassan Bin Talal of Jordan; Jacques Rogge of the International Olympic Committee; and former United States Vice President Al Gore.
http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=531&ArticleID=5773&l=en
ASIA-PACIFIC COUNTRIES CONVENE AT UN FORUM TO SHARE CLIMATE CHANGE SOLUTIONS
New York, Apr 23 2008 11:00AM
Participants from countries in the Asia-Pacific region will have an opportunity to share good practices on ways to cut greenhouse gases while reducing poverty at a http://www.unescap.org/unis/press/2008/apr/g22.asp meeting convened today in Bangkok by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).
The gathering, organized in cooperation with the Japanese Ministry of the Environment and the Japanese Overseas Environmental Cooperation Centre, will also launch an Asia-Pacific Gateway for Climate Change and Development.
The web-based platform provides a forum to exchange experiences and information on “co-benefits” activities, and measures to adapt to climate change.
One example of a co-benefits project from the region is the use of landfill gas, by which the greenhouse gasses created by decaying trash is burned to generate electricity. As a result, the effect of these gasses on the climate is reduced – creating a source of energy for development while mitigating climate change.
Other ‘win-win’ projects can be found in the Philippines, where enhanced public transportation services are reducing both commute times and carbon emissions, and in Malaysia, which has introduced innovative strategies for waste management which lower emissions and reduce the build up of waste at the same time.
Participants at the meeting, which was opened by the Deputy Executive Secretary of ESCAP, Shigeru Mochida, and Japan’s Vice-Minister for Global Environmental Affairs, Toshiro Kojima, also explored ways of helping developing countries to make adaptations to climate change part of their development efforts.
TEN NEW PARTICIPANTS SIGN ON TO UN SCHEME TO SLASH EMISSIONS
New York, Apr 23 2008 1:00PM
A Latin American beauty corporation, a boutique French advertising agency and a United Kingdom think tank are among ten new participants which have signed on to a United Nations Internet-based scheme in a bid to hasten climate neutrality.
The Climate Neutral Network http://www.climateneutral.unep.org/cnn_frontpage.aspx?m=49, launched in February and set up by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) in cooperation with the UN Environment Management Group, is an online forum to tackle the challenge of rising greenhouse gases.
The project assists entities aiming to slash their greenhouse gas emissions by making the strategies of pioneer organizations’ public as way to inspire those trying to reach their climate-friendly goals and by offering a forum for like-minded groups to network and shared best practices on the issue. It also aims to bring developed and developing country participants together to promote development.
“A small but growing band of countries, cities and corporations are making the clear and explicit statement that aspiring to low, even zero, emission economies is not some unobtainable pipe-dream but a path to profitability, stability and sanity in an increasingly unstable world,” UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=531&ArticleID=5776&l=en said today in Singapore at a two-day summit organized by his agency and the UN Global Compact.
He said that CN Net will spur the transition to a low-carbon world and alter the way business is conducted.
“The existing and new participants are leading by example and proving the art of the possible and a determination to be part of a global climate solution,” Mr. Steiner observed.
The new members of CN Net are:
New York, Apr 22 2008 4:00PM
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) today acknowledged seven luminaries in the fight against global warming as this year’s Champions of the Earth.
The recipients of the award, which is in its fourth year, include Prince Albert II of Monaco and Balgis Osman-Elasha, a Sudanese climate researcher who has effectively piloted climate-proofing strategies in some of the most affected areas in the world.
“Our winners for 2008 light an alternative path for humanity by taking responsibility, demonstrating leadership and realizing change across a wide range of sustainability issues,” including improved management of resources from waste and water,
UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said at the awards gala in Singapore.
Each awardee is “living proof that the greening of the global economy is underway and that a transition to a more resource efficient society not only makes environmental sense, but social and economic sense, too,” he added.
Six of the winners represent each of the world’s geographical regions: former United States Senator Timothy E. Wirth; Atiq Rahman, the Executive Director of the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies; Liz Thompson, the former Energy and Environment Minister of Barbados; and Abdul-Qader Ba-Jammal, the Secretary-General of the Yemen People’s General Congress.
This year’s UNEP Special Prize was bestowed upon Prime Minister Helen Clark of New Zealand, which has blazed the trail towards climate neutrality and hopes to meet the goal of 90 per cent renewable energy by 2025.
She said that her vision is to “sustain the biodiversity, the cultural diversity and environmental integrity that we have had in our world and which is very, very much under threat.”
The Champions of the Earth award was established in 2004 by UNEP to reward individuals for their contributions – globally and regionally – to bolstering the protection and management of the Earth’s environment and resources. Recipients are selected by a senior UNEP panel with input from the agency’s regional offices.
Past winners include former Iranian Vice President Massoudeh Ebtekar; Mikhail Gorbachev of Russia; Prince Hassan Bin Talal of Jordan; Jacques Rogge of the International Olympic Committee; and former United States Vice President Al Gore.
http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=531&ArticleID=5773&l=en
ASIA-PACIFIC COUNTRIES CONVENE AT UN FORUM TO SHARE CLIMATE CHANGE SOLUTIONS
New York, Apr 23 2008 11:00AM
Participants from countries in the Asia-Pacific region will have an opportunity to share good practices on ways to cut greenhouse gases while reducing poverty at a http://www.unescap.org/unis/press/2008/apr/g22.asp meeting convened today in Bangkok by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).
The gathering, organized in cooperation with the Japanese Ministry of the Environment and the Japanese Overseas Environmental Cooperation Centre, will also launch an Asia-Pacific Gateway for Climate Change and Development.
The web-based platform provides a forum to exchange experiences and information on “co-benefits” activities, and measures to adapt to climate change.
One example of a co-benefits project from the region is the use of landfill gas, by which the greenhouse gasses created by decaying trash is burned to generate electricity. As a result, the effect of these gasses on the climate is reduced – creating a source of energy for development while mitigating climate change.
Other ‘win-win’ projects can be found in the Philippines, where enhanced public transportation services are reducing both commute times and carbon emissions, and in Malaysia, which has introduced innovative strategies for waste management which lower emissions and reduce the build up of waste at the same time.
Participants at the meeting, which was opened by the Deputy Executive Secretary of ESCAP, Shigeru Mochida, and Japan’s Vice-Minister for Global Environmental Affairs, Toshiro Kojima, also explored ways of helping developing countries to make adaptations to climate change part of their development efforts.
TEN NEW PARTICIPANTS SIGN ON TO UN SCHEME TO SLASH EMISSIONS
New York, Apr 23 2008 1:00PM
A Latin American beauty corporation, a boutique French advertising agency and a United Kingdom think tank are among ten new participants which have signed on to a United Nations Internet-based scheme in a bid to hasten climate neutrality.
The Climate Neutral Network http://www.climateneutral.unep.org/cnn_frontpage.aspx?m=49, launched in February and set up by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) in cooperation with the UN Environment Management Group, is an online forum to tackle the challenge of rising greenhouse gases.
The project assists entities aiming to slash their greenhouse gas emissions by making the strategies of pioneer organizations’ public as way to inspire those trying to reach their climate-friendly goals and by offering a forum for like-minded groups to network and shared best practices on the issue. It also aims to bring developed and developing country participants together to promote development.
“A small but growing band of countries, cities and corporations are making the clear and explicit statement that aspiring to low, even zero, emission economies is not some unobtainable pipe-dream but a path to profitability, stability and sanity in an increasingly unstable world,” UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=531&ArticleID=5776&l=en said today in Singapore at a two-day summit organized by his agency and the UN Global Compact.
He said that CN Net will spur the transition to a low-carbon world and alter the way business is conducted.
“The existing and new participants are leading by example and proving the art of the possible and a determination to be part of a global climate solution,” Mr. Steiner observed.
The new members of CN Net are:
- Belcorp, a Peruvian beauty corporation; Inoxia, a French advertising agency;
- BlindSpot, a UK research centre focusing on sustainable development; Incentive Sol, a Brazilian online carbon-trading venture;
- Sempre Avanti Consulting, a New Zealand-based carbon-neutral consultancy;
- Carbon Clear, a UK organization helping businesses and individuals reduce their carbon footprint;
- Wright Communications, New Zealand’s only public relations firm specializing in corporate responsibility and sustainability communications;
- Planète Urgence, a French non-governmental organization (NGO); and
- The Regional Ozone Network in Europe and Central Asia (ECA), created in 2003 to assist one dozen countries in the area phase out ozone-depleting substances;
- UNEP.
Labels: Climate Change, United Nations
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10:17 PM
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