DECEMBER 2009

UNDP, IEA AND WHO REPORT UNDERLINES NEED FOR CLIMATE CHANGE AGREEMENT TO ADDRESS ENERGY POVERTY
On 23 November 2009, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Health Organization (WHO), with the support of the International Energy Agency (IEA), released a new report titled "The Energy Access Situation in Developing Countries: A Review Focusing on the Least Developed Countries and Sub-Saharan Africa." The report indicates that over 1.5 billion people currently lack access to electricity. 

At the launch of the publication at UN Headquarters in New York, US, Olav Kjorven, Assistant Administrator and Director of Development Policy at UNDP, highlighted the need to ensure that any new climate agreement adequately addresses energy poverty. Noting that over three billion people rely on highly polluting solid fuels for cooking, he stated that "For a climate deal to work, it also has to be a development deal." IEA Chief Economist Fatih Birol added that improving energy access for the disenfranchised would not have a significant impact on the environment, citing a recent study that found that if everyone in the world got access to electricity, carbon dioxide emissions would rise by only 0.9%.

Links to further information
UN News Centre, 23 November 2009
UNDP press release, 23 November 2009
UN press conference transcript

NOVEMBER 2009

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing a total of EUR 134 million in four operations that will contribute to the abatement of 830 thousand tons of CO2 emissions per year in China. The projects include, inter alia, the construction and operation of a sodium carbonate and ammonium chloride co-product plant, using the CO2 currently vented from the existing fertilizer complex. All projects will seek CDM registration for carbon credit generation.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved US$3.47 million in grants to help the 14 Pacific developing countries build up their capacity to respond to challenges posed by climate change. Projects will support the mainstreaming of climate change risk management into each country's development strategies and programs.

In related news, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) signed a cooperation agreement to share their expertise in support of sustainable development, including on the economics of climate change. The two institutions have agreed to cooperate by sharing knowledge in several areas including sustainable urban development, environmental sustainability and the economics of climate change.

EIB press release, 30 November 2009

ADB press release, 24 November 2009

OECD press release, 27 November 2009

IISD AND OECD ANNOUNCE NEW SET OF PRINCIPLES FOR MEASURING SUSTAINABILITY

The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have announced the development of BellagioSTAMP, a new set of guiding principles to measure and assess progress towards sustainability. The principles respond to calls for greater harmony with the natural environment and for measures to secure the well-being of current and future generations. A set of Bellagio Principles for assessing progress toward sustainability was first published in 1996, but new assessment methods and sustainability challenges overtook the original principles. As a result, BellagioSTAMP has been established by a group of international experts meeting in Bellagio, Italy, organized by IISD and the OECD's Measuring the Progress of Societies initiative. The two organizations presented the tool at a global forum on measuring the progress of societies in Busan.

Link to further information
IISD press release

OCTOBER 2009

FAO BEGINS CONSULTATIONS ON INTERNATIONAL GUIDELINES ON LAND TENURE
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has begun organizing consultations over voluntary international guidelines on governance of tenure to land and other natural resources such as water supplies, fisheries and forests. The consultations and negotiations are expected to take more than one year to complete, and will involve governments, the private sector, farmers, indigenous groups, local authorities, academia and experts led by a secretariat based at FAO headquarters. The guidelines are intended to provide practical guidance to states, civil society and the private sector on responsible governance of tenure.

Link to further information
FAO press release, 27 October 2009

UNIDO LAUNCHES INITIATIVES IN SOUTH AFRICA AND TUNISIA
The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), with funding from the Government of Switzerland, has launched activities to boost energy efficiency in South African industry and promote environmentally-friendly production in Tunisia, as part of UNIDO's Green Industry Initiative. The Initiative aims to create national capacities in cleaner production, strengthen dialogue between industry and governments, and promote investments for development and transfer of cleaner technology. The project in Tunisia is aligned with a new programme that UNIDO is carrying out in cooperation with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), and will contribute to UNIDO's Green Industry initiative.

UN CHIEF HIGHLIGHTS CONTRIBUTIONS OF RURAL WOMEN TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
On the occasion of International Day of Rural Women, celebrated on 15 October, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon highlighted the contributions of rural women, including indigenous women, to sustainable development and the sound management of natural resources. Reminding the world of the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), he noted that rural women are amongst the most vulnerable and deprived of their basic human rights. He indicated that rural women have inadequate access to maternal health care, social security programmes, education, credit and loans, and infrastructure, including clean water, sanitation, transportation and paved roads. He called on all UN member States to ensure that women's voices are included in decision-making processes and that they fully participate in rural development initiatives.

Links to further information
UN News Centre, 15 October 2009
UN Secretary-General's statement, 15 October 2009

WATER THINK TANK INITIATIVE AGREEMENT SIGNED
On 10 October 2009, a Partnership Agreement regarding the Water Think Tank Initiative was signed by the four founding members in Monaco: Foundation Prince Albert II of Monaco, United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), Veolia Environnement and Plan Bleu. The initiative is an outcome of the Zaragoza conference, which took place during the Water Expo in 2008, and was initiated and announced by Prince Albert II of Monaco and the other partners during the 5th World Water Forum, which convened in Istanbul, Turkey, in March 2009. The initiative will seek to promote integrated and sustainable water resource management in the Mediterranean region, focusing on designing tools and methodologies that take into consideration the needs of Local Authorities in the region.

Link to further information
UNITAR press release, 10 October 2009

UN-HABITAT ANNOUNCES AWARDS FROM "OPPORTUNITIES FUND FOR URBAN YOUTH-LED DEVELOPMENT"
UN-HABITAT member States passed a resolution (GC21/6) during the 21st session of the Governing Council that requested Executive Director Anna Tibaijuka to set up a special fund to support youth-led urban development initiatives. The resulting Opportunities Fund for Urban Youth-Led Development, established with support from the Government of Norway, provides up to US$1 million per year to support youth-led initiatives worldwide and engages the partnership and leadership of young men and women in working towards sustainable urbanization. On World Habitat Day, celebrated on 5 October, the first recipients were announced. From 1,116 applications, 38 recipients were selected from African and Arab States, 21 from Asian States, and 8 from Latin America and the Caribbean States. The next call for proposals will be in February 2010.

Link to further information
UN-HABITAT Opportunities Fund webpage

UNDP's HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT EXAMINES MIGRATION
On 5 October 2009, at a ceremony in Bangkok, Thailand, UN Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark launched the Human Development Report (HDR) 2009 on "Overcoming barriers: Human mobility and development." The 2009 issue of this annual report focuses on migration within and beyond borders, trends in growth and inequality, and short term and seasonal migration. UNDP Administrator Clark stressed that the report challenges many of the stereotypes surrounding the debate on migration. The report indicates that about 1 billion people are migrants, with the majority – 740 million – moving internally within their own countries. The report also indicates that less than three out of ten transnational migrants move from a developing country to a developed one.

The report notes that although demographic trends will continue to play a significant role in shaping pressures for migration movements, climate change phenomena will also come into play. It estimates that about 200 million to 1 billion people will be forced to migrate as a result of climate change. Nevertheless, the report cautions that this figure does not take into account the effect of adaptation measures that individuals, communities and countries may put into place. The report emphasizes that the effect of environmental factors on migration patterns are directly related to livelihood opportunities and public policy responses combined.

The 2009 HDR also calculates the human development index, which combines measures of life expectancy, literacy, school enrollment rates and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, for 182 countries and territories. Norway, Australia and Iceland are top ranked this year, with Niger, Afghanistan and Sierra Leone at the bottom of the ranking.

Links to further information
UN News Centre, 5 October 2009
UN News Centre, 5 October 2009
UNDP Human Development report 2009

WORLD HABITAT DAY FOCUSES ON "PLANNING OUR URBAN FUTURE"
On the occasion of World Habitat Day, celebrated on 5 October 2009, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon highlighted that the theme for this year, "Planning our Urban Future," reflects the urgency of major urban challenges caused by rapid urbanization, including expansion of the informal sector and the role of cities in causing or mitigating climate change. He said that governments at all levels are failing to address these challenges and called for better and equitable urban planning that can rely on good urban governance and the involvement of the urban poor on decisions that affect their lives. He stressed the need to mobilize financing for urban development and to secure safer and more environmentally friendly public transport options, housing security, public services.

In her message on World Habitat Day, UN Human Settlements Programme (UNHABITAT) Executive Director Anna Tibaijuka stressed that urbanization and climate change are inseparable, noting that urban planning offers the best solution to reduce emissions through economies of scale and large-scale urban initiatives. Tibaijuka noted that there is a need to integrate the brown agenda, focused on the built environment, and the green agenda, focused on the natural environment. She noted also that climate change mitigation can be accomplished through the selection and improvement of building materials, development of distributive power and water systems, sustainable transport, reducing slums and striving for carbon-neutral cities. As part of the celebration of World Habitat Day, UNHABITAT released the Global Report on Human Settlements 2009, which focuses on the new role for urban planning for the future of sustainable cities.

Links to further information
UN News Centre, 5 October 2009
UNHABITAT World Habitat Day 2009

SEPTEMBER 2009

On the margins of the third World Climate Conference, the CBD Secretariat signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), aiming to raise public awareness of the inter-relationship between biodiversity and tourism. Both parties will work towards maximizing tourism's positive contribution to conserving biodiversity and enhancing the quality of life of local people.

JULY 2009

FAO COUNCIL AGREES TO HOLD THIRD WORLD FOOD SUMMIT IN NOVEMBER
The Council of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) agreed at its 15-19 June 2009 meeting in Rome, Italy, to hold the third World Food Summit in November 2009. The Summit will seek to strengthen commitment from world leaders to eradicate hunger by 2025 and to address the root causes of the present situation through the full implementation of the Human Right to Food.

Links to further information
FAO 136th Council meeting documents
UN Non-Governmental Liaison Service news story, 23 June 2009

JUNE 2009

UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON THE RIGHT TO FOOD PROPOSES MEASURES TO REGULATE LAND GRABBING
On 11 June 2009, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier De Schutter, proposed measures to regulate large-scale international land purchases and leases in developing countries, which are often referred to as "land grabbing." It is hoped that these measures can inform the negotiations by the Group of Eight (G8) industrialized nations on agriculture investments. The guidelines are aimed to assist investors and host governments in the negotiation of large-scale land acquisitions, emphasizing transparency and full participation of local communities whose access to land and productive resources may be affected.

Link to further information
UN News Centre, 11 June 2009

APRIL 2009

MARCH 2009

The European Commission (EC) has released a report that underlines the role that soils can play in mitigating climate change. The report "Review of existing information on the interrelations between soil and climate change," is a synthesis of the best available information on the links between soil and climate change, and highlights that soils contain around twice the amount of carbon in the atmosphere and three times the amount to be found in vegetation. The authors underline the need to sequester carbon in soils, adding that the technique is cost competitive and immediately available, requires no new or unproven technologies, and has a mitigation potential comparable to that of any other sector of the economy.

At the Geneva Motor Show, which convened in Geneva, Switzerland, from 5-15 March 2009, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the International Energy Agency, the International Transport Forum and the FIA Foundation presented their "50 by 50 Global Fuel Economy Initiative (GFEI)," which will seek to halve car emissions by 2050. In 2009, the GFEI intends to undertake regional assessments, programme launches, four national pilot projects and a fuel economy information sharing campaign.