This event discussed the urgency of defining a new and fair global climate fund at COP16 that will help developing countries adapt to climate changing.

Alex Morales, Bloomberg, summarized the status of climate financing in the Copenhagen Accord and the commitment by developed countries to contribute to the Green Climate Fund under the Accord.

Florina Lopez, Panama, said adaptation in Panama needs the support of government through human resources and funding.

Tim Gore, Oxfam International, presented a civil society statement, signed by more than 200 NGOs, calling for a fair global climate fund at COP16. He urged Ministers arriving in Cancún to allocate 50% of a new climate fund to adaptation. He said a new fund should, among other things, be more accessible and that “women should be at the heart of it.”

Alcinda Abreu, Mozambique, lamented that although women in Mozambique are economically active and are involved in the agricultural sector, they “are given no economic value.” She said a new funding mechanism should consider the gender division of labor of women, men, girls and boys.

Judith McGregor, UK, outlined three key elements in the UK’s climate change ambition: seeking a formal connection to UNFCCC that ensures a new fund can follow COP guidance while functioning independently; pushing for a strong balanced board with equal representations of contributors and recipients; and simplified procedures for climate finance based on “country owned” plans.

Evans Njewa, Malawi, said Least Developed Countries (LDCs) are proposing that a new climate fund come under the authority of COP. He said a standing committee should be established to govern this fund.

Cate Owren, Womens Environment and Development Organization (WEDO), said gender issues are inextricable from climate financing, stressing that funding must be balanced in gender representation. A discussion ensued.

This event discussed the role of multilateral development banks (MDBs) in climate finance. Alexandre Rosa, IDB, said MDBs use a broad range of instruments to fund climate activities, highlighting that they can catalyze investment from the private sector and provide technical advice and capacity support.

Josúe Tanaka, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, stressed the importance of integrating climate aspects into development strategies at the country-level, and partnerships in scaling-up climate finance. He said climate change is no longer a “special activity,” but is integrated into MDB activities. He highlighted his Bank’s wide range of climate finance instruments, including: sovereign and non-sovereign loans; development policy loans; equity investments in private companies; and guarantee and insurance products.

Robert Dobias, Asian Development Bank (ADB), noted the ADB’s 2010 strategic priorities paper. He highlighted the strategy paper’s five priorities: expanding clean energy; encouraging sustainable transport and development; managing land use for sequestration; promoting climate resilient development; and strengthening policies.

Mafalda Duarte, African Development Bank, discussed key lessons learned on climate finance. On mitigation finance, she said leveling the playing field is important through, for example, reducing fossil fuel subsidies. On scaling-up climate finance in Africa, she stressed that the use of grant-based resources to cover the added costs of development are crucial.

Matthias Züllner, European Investment Bank (EIB), stressed that climate change is mainstreamed into the EIB’s work, highlighting that 10% of the EIB’s activities address climate change. Züllner stressed the importance of private sector investment in developing country mitigation.

J. Warren Evans, World Bank, discussed changes since the Clean Energy Investment Framework was developed. He highlighted dramatic changes in climate awareness and demand among clients, and in how the MDBs work together. He stressed the need for more innovative finance in the future and for MDBs to work more closely with the UN and bilateral institutions.

A discussion ensued.

This event discussed health in the context of climate change. Maria Neira, WHO, discussed the status of health in the UNFCCC process. She said: the health sector is included in 95% of all NAPAs; 73% of NAPAs contain “health interventions”; yet only 23% of their “health interventions” are considered “adequate.” She called for enhanced efforts at the national level and said the WHO will continue working to give the health sector a presence at the UNFCCC, calling its inclusion a “common sense approach.”

On hunger, Sheila Sisulu, WFP, said the most food insecure live in areas that are already hit by climate change disasters, with the number of people at risk for hunger expected to increase by 25% by 2050. She said adaptation must ensure food availability as well as good nutrition.

Javier Hernández Valencia, OHCHR, discussed a human rights based approach to climate change. He recalled the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural rights that recognizes the human right to the “highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.”

Carola Borja, Ecuador, described national climate plans targeting water and food security and the use of a community-level, participatory approach to landscape management.

Aida Libombo, Mozambique, discussed the impacts of climate change on the health sector, classifying diarrhea, cholera and malaria as water-related issues, and the loss of food stocks as a nutritional issue. She also underscored the increased pressure on public health services.

Cristina Tirado, UN Standing Committee on Nutrition, said climate change exacerbates nutrition-related deaths, with a 20% increase in child under-nutrition expected by 2050. She proposed mainstreaming nutrition security into the AWG-LCA.
Peter Poschen, ILO, recommended: mainstreaming labor policies into the climate change agenda; developing social insurance schemes; and supporting livelihood diversification. A discussion ensued.

This event discussed the Global Energy Assessment (GEA) and interlinkages between energy, land use and climate change. Luis Gomez-Echeverri, IIASA, moderated the event. Kandeh Yumkella, UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), emphasized the projected high level of demographic pressure and energy demand and discussed the interlinkages between water, energy, and food needs. He underlined that new technologies and integrative public policy are necessary to make “transformational changes.”

Nebojsa Nakicenovic, IIASA, said transformational change requires a “big revolution” in thinking. He said the GEA uses energy and land use as an entry point for looking at co-benefits. He called for doubling current energy investments explaining that the co-benefits include: avoided subsidies; avoided costs of pollutions control; health benefits; and avoided climate impacts. He announced that the full GEA will be launched at the May 2011 Vienna Energy Conference.

Thomas Johansson, IIASA, described the challenges to transformative change as: the growing population's demand for energy; access to modern forms of energy; energy affordability; secure supplies; health and environmental challenges; and climate mitigation. Michael Obersteiner, IIASA, presented on bio-energy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) and negative emission technologies.
He said synergistic planning of BECCS, REDD+, and food security can be achieved with an integrated land-use approach.

Ogunlade Davidson, Sierra Leone, emphasized a multidisciplinary and integrative approach to a “new energy agenda.” He explained that national approaches to climate change and sustainability can be improved by focusing on land use policy as a whole rather than targeting deforestation, and by integrating energy and agricultural planning. He emphasized that: universal energy access can be achieved in an integrative way; there are “clever” ways of reducing carbon and generating capital; and policy-cycles should be better used in decision-making.

Participants discussed various issues related to the GEA, including how it considers biodiversity issues and the relationship between bioenergy development and food security.