Search our archived site
We updated our website in 2021 to better share our reports from events covered since 1992. It also includes full coverage – including photography and highlights of proceedings – from more recent events.
While we manually migrate some elements, you can still find them on our archived site using a Google custom search.
Search the site
All results
Showing 9631 - 9640 of 9694 results
Summary report 23–27 February 2009
1st Meeting of the Friends of the Co-Chairs on Liability and Redress under the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety
Highlights and images for 29 September 2017
1st Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury (COP1)
On Friday morning, the Minamata COP1 High-Level Segment convened to hear reports from the eight Ministerial roundtables held on Thursday, and for country statements. In a keynote address, M. Sanjayan, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Conservation International (CI), emphasized that the trajectory set today will change the world in ten years, lauding the entry into force of the Minamata Convention. During the session, the UK announced a US$150,000 contribution to the specific international programme (SIP), with Norway announcing a US$200,000 contribution. Several countries outlined national-level efforts to address challenges posed by and associated with mercury use and pollution.
In closing the High-Level Segment, Marc Chardonnens, COP1 President and Vice-Minister for Environment, Switzerland, emphasized that mercury management should be integrated into public health and local-level pollution strategies and control measures.
The Committee of the Whole (COW) convened in the afternoon to hear a progress report from the contact group on Programme of Work and budget, and to address other outstanding issues. Chair Fernando Lugris, Uruguay, suspended the COW briefly in the late afternoon to allow for consultations among countries on a draft proposal on the way forward regarding secretariat arrangements, submitted by Costa Rica, Ecuador, Ghana, Japan, Jordan, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Zambia, Chile and Colombia. Based on the understanding that the secretariat would be based in Geneva in the interim period before COP2, the contact group on Programme of Work and budget convened in the late afternoon and into the evening.
Returning to discuss the secretariat arrangements in the COW, delegates were unable to agree on amendments to the earlier proposal suggested by the US, with a small group being tasked with working on compromise text based on the original text. Reconvening the COW, delegates approved the draft decision and agreed to, inter alia, request the UN Environment Executive Director to perform the functions initially through a secretariat of the Minamata Convention located in Geneva. They then approved the draft decision on the implementation and compliance committee. Chair Lugris then suspended the COW.
* 8:51pm - COP1 closing plenary opens, adopts 10 decisions, and suspends at 9:05pm to await further decisions from the COW.
* 11:08pm - Plenary reconvenes to adopt the decision on the Secretariat. Plenary suspends again at 11:11pm.
* 1:35am - COW reconvenes to discuss and approve the Programme of Work and budget, a draft decision containing brackets, the financial rules and regional centers. COW closes at 1:44am
* 1:58am - COP1 plenary reconvenes, adopts Programme of Work and budget, financial rules containing bracketed text, and financial rules. Discussions on MoU with the GEF ongoing. COP1 President Chardonnens suspends plenary at 2:49am.
* 3:08am - COP1 plenary reconvenes and is closed at 3:15am.
IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, provided daily web coverage and daily reports for COP1. The summary and analysis is now available in HTML and PDF.
Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth
For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page.
High-Level Segment
Delegates gather in plenary for the high-level segment
Marc Chardonnens, Director, Federal Office for the Environment, Switzerland
Jacob Duer, Principal Coordinator, Interim Secretariat of the Minamata Convention
M. Sanjayan, Chief Executive Officer, Conservation International
Haddijatou Jallow, Executive Chair-Person, Environment Protection, Sierra Leone
Anne Désirée Ouloto, Minister of Urban Safety and Sanitation, Côte d'Ivoire
Fleming Sengebau, Minister for Natural Resources, Environment and Tourism, Palau
Jassim Abdulaziz Al-falahy, Vice Minister, Ministry of Environment, Iraq
Thérèse Coffey, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment, UK
Ghulam Mohd Malikyar, Deputy Director-General, National Environmental Protection Agency, Afghanistan
Elsa Patricia Galarza Contreras, Minister of the Environment, Peru
Karolina Skog, Minister for the Environment, Sweden
Kimmo Tiilikainen, Minister of Agriculture and the Environment, Finland
Martha Garcíarivas Palmeros, Vice-Minister, Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources, Mexico
Surasak Karnjanarat, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Thailand
Mary Goretti Kitutu Kimono, Minister of the National Environment Management Authority, Uganda
Masaharu Nakagawa, Minister of Environment, Japan
Yaseen Khayyat, Minister of Environment, Jordan
Karmenu Vella, EU Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries
Afternoon Session - Final Committee of the Whole (COW)
View of the dais during the final COW
Fernando Lugris, Uruguay, COW Chair
María del Mar Solano Trejos, Costa Rica
Reginald Hernaus, the Netherlands, Co-Chair of Programme of Work and Budget Contact Group
Sam Adu-Kumi, Ghana
Mohammed Khashashneh, Jordan
Walter Schuldt Espinel, Ecuador
Franz Perrez, Switzerland
Hiroyuki Nishiura, Japan
Anne Daniel, Canada
Sezaneh Seymour, US
Delegates huddle in the final hours of negotiation
Representatives of the World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry, and the Latin American, Asian and African Centers for Environmental Health present Fernando Lugris, Uruguay, COW Chair, with a "Public Official of the Year 2017" award to honour his leadership in the creation of the Minamata Convention on Mercury
Closing Plenary
View of the dais during the closing plenary
Karel Blaha, Czech Republic
Marc Chardonnens, Director, Federal Office for the Environment, Switzerland, and COP1 President
Sverre Thomas Jahre, Norway
Svetlan Bolocan, Moldova
Nassereddin Heidari, Iran
Members of the Secretariat discuss
Delegates from Brazil ask for the floor
Chizuru Aoki, Global Environment Facility (GEF)
Humphrey Mwale, Zambia
Around the Venue
Contact Group on Programme of Work and Budget
Delegates consult informally before the start of plenary
Franz Perrez, Switzerland, and Yingxian Xia, China
Aïta Sarr Seck, Senegal
Delegates from Cameroon
Delegates from Swaziland
Delegates from Venezuela
Delegates between sessions
Delegates from the US
Jacob Duer, Principal Coordinator, Interim Secretariat of the Minamata Convention, speaks with Heidar Ali Balouji, Iran
Delegates refer to the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) website to keep track of negotiations
The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) team covering the negotiations: Nancy Williams, US; Jen Allan, Canada; Tallash Kantai, Kenya; Yixian Sun, China/Switzerland; Jonelle Jones, Trinidad and Tobago, and Kiara Worth, South Africa
Highlights and images for 8 December 2018
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Pavilion Events at COP 24
L-R: Hamoud Al-Otaibi, Saudi Arabia; John Licht, Vanuatu Ambassador to the European Union (EU) and Belgium; and Adel Al-Ghamdi, Saudi Aramco
Posted by IISD Reporting Services on Monday, 10 December 2018
IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB+ meeting coverage, is providing coverage of selected GCC Pavilion events at the Katowice Climate Change Conference - December 2018, including written, digital and video coverage.The following event was covered by IISD Reporting Services on Saturday, 8 December 2018:
Energy Efficiency Applications within the Gulf Region
Photos by IISD/ENB | Natalia Mroz / Diego Noguera
For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page
Energy Efficiency Applications within the Gulf Region
Presented by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
L-R: Moderator Adel Al-Ghamdi and Saleh Al-Qahtani, Saudi Aramco; Henk Hendrix, SABIC; Raed Al-Shneiber, Saudi Energy Efficiency Center (SEEC); and Bader Alnajjar, Kuwait Oil Tanker Company (KOTC)
This event centered on how to fast-track effective policy implementation in national priority areas, including leveraging energy efficiency and resource management to facilitate economic reform and diversification, and promote sustainable development.
Moderator Adel Al-Ghamdi, Saudi Aramco, said the session would focus on lessons and practices with respect to energy applications to mitigate climate change in the Gulf region.
Saleh Al-Qahtani, Saudi Aramco, outlined his company’s progression in energy efficiency since the development of the Energy Conservation Policy and the Energy Management Program in 2000. He explained the four Program pillars: policy and regulation; monitoring and targeting; engineering solutions; and knowledge awareness, reporting that Saudi Aramco has achieved 75% of its energy efficiency objectives to date. Al-Qahtani shared the Lead-By-Example (LBE) initiative geared towards promoting energy efficiency at the national level by targeting a 35% reduction in energy consumption in buildings, transportation, and communities by 2020. He reported that the LBE initiative has been implemented through, among others, transformation to LED lights; more efficient water heaters; conversion of vehicles from V8 to more fuel-efficient V6 engines; and the installation of smart meters. He reported that total annual savings from this initiative is equivalent to one million barrels of oil equivalent, which translates to 350 thousands metric tons of CO2 emissions to be mitigated.
Henk Hendrix, SABIC, reported that his institution’s energy and resource efficiency efforts target continuous improvement under the SABIC Energy Management Program. He cited the Site Energy Optimizer tool to simulate, monitor, and optimize the overall site energy performance, and as a tool to enable continuous improvement from different engineering processes at SABIC. The SABIC Certified Energy Expert Training, he said, is also key in developing expertise and transforming culture related to energy use and efficiency. He reported that, to date, 84 graduates have received training through four cycles of the course, highlighting the hands-on approach achieved through case study projects to apply the principles from the training. Hendrix also drew attention to the SABIC renewable strategy aimed at finding ways to implement renewables in order to decrease reliance on fossil fuel energy.
Raed Al-Shneiber, SEEC, presented on the Saudi Energy Efficiency Program, which aims at improving energy efficiency in industry, building, and transportation sectors, noting that these three sectors represent collaboratively around 90% of the domestic energy consumption. He highlighted the Program’s major efforts, including:
the development of an energy efficiency framework for industrial plants, emphasized on the program’s efforts in providing the necessary enablers for industrial sector such as providing soft loans for energy efficiency projects through the Saudi Industrial Development Fund for energy efficiency-related projects in industry sector;
the development of 24 energy efficiency standards and regulations in buildings, such as on insulation and air conditioning (AC) energy efficiency, which have resulted in a 57% increase from 2012 to 2018 in Energy Efficiency Rating requirements for split AC; and
the introduction of the Saudi Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standard and fuel economy label for light vehicles, which has led to significant improvements in the new fleet’s fuel economy.
He then stressed that the Program’s efforts and achievements play a role in contributing to Saudi Arabia’s economic diversification.
Bader Alnajjar, KOTC, spoke about the KOTC’s efforts to address the environmental challenges facing shipping, saying that regulations in the shipping industry are “always one step behind” adequate environmental protection. He pointed to the 870 million tonnes of CO2 emissions by the international shipping industry, which transports 80% of world trade. He noted that the KOTC is fully compliant with the International Convention on the Prevention of Pollution from Ships that controls CO2 emissions in the sea, and has implemented additional efforts by investing in: regulating the speed of ships; testing innovative ship designs, such as introducing rudders and propellers within silicon coating; using energy saving devices, such as pre-swirl stators and ducts, on existing vessels; and controlling volatile organic compounds. Alnajjar concluded by highlighting KOTC’s continued efforts to contribute to limiting global warming to 1.5°C, calling for enhanced regional cooperation in the shipping industry by GCC countries.
Discussions focused on the technological and economic feasibility of switching to energy efficient technologies. Panelists noted the difficulty of shifting to LNG in the shipping industry due to the lack of appropriate facilities in ports. They noted that LNG markets are currently weak and huge investments would be required to make the shift. Participants also urged that recent successes be consolidated, particularly on energy efficiency.
Saleh Al-Qahtani, Saudi Aramco
Moderator Adel Al-Ghamdi, Saudi Aramco
Henk Hendrix, SABIC
Bader Alnajjar, KOTC
Raed Al-Shneiber, SEEC
A slide from Raed Al-Shneiber’s presentation
Naasir AlHarbi, Saudi Arabia
Hanadi Awadalla Abdelrasoul Awadalla, Sudan
A participant takes a photo of the panel
Dhari AlGharaballi, Kuwait
Rana Al-Ghamdi and Nejoud Almatrodi, Saudi Aramco
Kimo Goree, Director, IISD Reporting Services, and Abdullah Khalid Tawlah, Saudi Arabia
L-R: Alicja Nikodem and Agnieszka Pietras, Poland, and Marloes Smittenaar, Saudi Aramco
CONTACT
Nejoud Almatrodi | media@ksa-climate.com
MORE INFORMATION
https://ksa-climate.com/
Highlights and images for 8 December 2018
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Pavilion Events at COP 24
Highlights for Saturday, 8 December 2018
L-R: Hamoud Al-Otaibi, Saudi Arabia; John Licht, Vanuatu Ambassador to the European Union (EU) and Belgium; and Adel Al-Ghamdi, Saudi Aramco
IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB+ meeting coverage, is providing coverage of selected GCC Pavilion events at the Katowice Climate Change Conference - December 2018, including written, digital and video coverage.The following event was covered by IISD Reporting Services on Saturday, 8 December 2018:
Energy Efficiency Applications within the Gulf Region
Photos by IISD/ENB | Natalia Mroz / Diego Noguera
For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page
Energy Efficiency Applications within the Gulf Region
Presented by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
L-R: Moderator Adel Al-Ghamdi and Saleh Al-Qahtani, Saudi Aramco; Henk Hendrix, Saudi Arabian Basic Industries Corporation SABIC); Raed Al-Shneiber, Saudi Energy Efficiency Center (SEEC); and Bader Alnajjar, Kuwait Oil Tanker Company (KOTC)
This event centered on how to fast-track effective policy implementation in national priority areas, including leveraging energy efficiency and resource management to facilitate economic reform and diversification, and promote sustainable development.
Moderator Adel Al-Ghamdi, Saudi Aramco, said the session would focus on lessons and practices with respect to energy applications to mitigate climate change in the Gulf region.
Saleh Al-Qahtani, Saudi Aramco, outlined his company’s progression in energy efficiency since the development of the Energy Conservation Policy and the Energy Management Program in 2000. He explained the Program's four pillars: policy and regulation; monitoring and targeting; engineering solutions; and knowledge awareness. He reporting that Saudi Aramco has achieved 75% of its energy efficiency objectives to date. Al-Qahtani shared the Lead by Example (LBE) initiative geared towards promoting energy efficiency at the national level by targeting a 35% reduction in energy consumption in buildings, transportation and communities by 2020. He reported that the LBE initiative has been implemented through, among others: transformation to LED lights; more efficient water heaters; conversion of vehicles from V8 to more fuel-efficient V6 engines; and the installation of smart meters. He reported that total savings from this initiative amount to over one million barrels of oil equivalent, which translates into 500 million kWh of electrical power, enough to power 5,000 average Saudi homes for one year.
Henk Hendrix, SABIC, reported that his institution’s energy and resource efficiency efforts target continuous improvement under the SABIC Energy Management Program. He cited the Site Energy Optimizer tool to simulate, monitor and optimize the overall site energy performance, and to enable continuous improvement from different engineering processes at SABIC. The SABIC Certified Energy Expert Training, he said, is also key in developing expertise and transforming culture related to energy use and efficiency. He reported that, to date, 84 graduates have received training through four cycles of the course, highlighting the hands-on approach achieved through case study projects to apply the principles from the training. Hendrix also drew attention to the SABIC renewable strategy aimed at finding ways to implement renewables to decrease reliance on fossil fuel energy.
Raed Al-Shneiber, SEEC, presented on the Saudi Energy Efficiency Program, which aims to improve energy efficiency in the industrial, building and transportation sectors, noting that these three sectors represent, together, around 90% of the domestic energy consumption. He highlighted the Program’s major efforts, including:
the development of an energy efficiency framework for industrial plants, providing the necessary enablers for the industrial sector such as providing soft loans for energy efficiency projects through the Saudi Industrial Development Fund for energy efficiency-related projects in the industrial sector;
the development of 24 energy efficiency standards and regulations in buildings, such as on insulation and air conditioning (AC) energy efficiency, which have resulted in a 57% increase from 2012 to 2018 in energy efficiency rating requirements for split AC; and
the introduction of the Saudi Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standard and fuel economy label for light vehicles, which has led to significant improvements in the new fleet’s fuel economy.
He then stressed that the Program’s efforts and achievements play a role in contributing to Saudi Arabia’s economic diversification.
Bader Alnajjar, KOTC, spoke about the KOTC’s efforts to address the environmental challenges facing shipping, saying that regulations in the shipping industry are “always one step behind” adequate environmental protection. He pointed to the 870 million tonnes of CO2 emissions by the international shipping industry, which transports 80% of world trade. He noted that the KOTC is fully compliant with the International Convention on the Prevention of Pollution from Ships that controls CO2 emissions in the sea, and has implemented additional actions by investing in: regulating the speed of ships; testing innovative ship designs, such as introducing rudders and propellers with silicon coating; using energy saving devices, such as pre-swirl stators and ducts, on existing vessels; and controlling volatile organic compounds. Alnajjar concluded by highlighting KOTC’s continued efforts to contribute to limiting global warming to 1.5°C, calling for enhanced regional cooperation in the shipping industry by GCC countries.
Discussions focused on the technological and economic feasibility of switching to energy efficient technologies. Panelists noted the difficulty of shifting to liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the shipping industry due to the lack of appropriate facilities in ports. They noted that LNG markets are currently weak and huge investments would be required to make the shift. Participants also urged consolidating recent successes, particularly on energy efficiency.
Saleh Al-Qahtani, Saudi Aramco
Moderator Adel Al-Ghamdi, Saudi Aramco
Henk Hendrix, SABIC
Bader Alnajjar, KOTC
Raed Al-Shneiber, SEEC
A slide from Raed Al-Shneiber’s presentation
Nasser Al-Harbi, Saudi Arabia
Hanadi Awadalla Abdelrasoul Awadalla, Sudan
A participant takes a photo of the panel
Dhari Al-Gharaballi, Kuwait
Rana Al-Ghamdi and Nejoud Almatrodi, Saudi Aramco
Kimo Goree, Director, IISD Reporting Services, and Abdullah Khalid Tawlah, Saudi Arabia
L-R: Alicja Nikodem and Agnieszka Pietras, Poland, and Marloes Smittenaar, Saudi Aramco
CONTACT
Nejoud Almatrodi | media@ksa-climate.com
MORE INFORMATION
https://ksa-climate.com/