Climate Conversations - Small island states need action on climate loss and damage

International climate change negotiations have long been focused on mitigation and adaptation - that is, on reducing the greenhouse gas emissions responsible for the growing climate crisis and helping vulnerable communities adapt to its impacts.

But with no end to emissions in sight, and only scant progress made towards building resilience, negotiators have been forced to confront a troubling new reality: what happens when mitigation and adaption efforts fall short?

Not only does the most recent global onslaught of droughts, floods and famines offer a glimpse of what the future may hold; it underscores that climate change is especially devastating for countries that lack the resources needed to prepare and respond to environmental disasters.

EA submission by the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) from the earliest days of the talks anticipated this dilemma, and sought to address it by creating a system that would help poor and vulnerable countries manage climate-related impacts.

Our proposal is referenced in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and draws on numerous principles of international law, including the responsibility of a state, polluter pays, common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, intergenerational equity, trans-boundary harm and others.

At the 17th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC last year in Durban, negotiators were able to reach consensus on key elements of a work programme that called for the implementation of approaches to “address loss and damage associated with climate change impacts in developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change and to make recommendations on loss and damage to the Conference of the Parties for its consideration at its 18th session”.

Discussions continue at the expert level, most recently prior to the start of the latest round of climate talks in Bangkok this week. The final meeting, which will focus on small-island developing states, will take place in Barbados in October.

The proposal has received support from the Least Developed Country and Africa groupings as well as a growing number of developed country partners. While loss and damage is not on the agenda for the additional negotiating session here, it will undoubtedly come up as parties prepare for a broader conversation at COP 18 in Doha at the end of the year. More

 

Sea Level Rise Threatens Countries, Regions And Cities Around The World

With sea levels expected to rise by as much as three feet by the year 2100, in large part due to climate change, low-lying countries and coastal cities face an unprecedented challenge this century. Recent research indicated that in the next several centuries, average global sea levels could rise somewhere between 18 and 29 feet, explains Climate Central, a nonprofit climate news and research organization.

Much of this potential sea level rise may be spurred by glacial melting in the world's polar regions. James Hansen, a professor at Columbia University and head of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, has said that the global goal to limit atmospheric warming to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius) "is actually a prescription for long-term disaster." Hansen fears, LiveScience reported, that with warming of two degrees, we could see an ice-free Arctic and a notable rise in sea-levels by tens of meters.

An increasing number of studies are making the connections between human activities, climate change and a rise in extreme weather events. Hansen recently wrotein The Washington Post, "our analysis shows that, for the extreme hot weather of the recent past, there is virtually no explanation other than climate change." Referring to extreme weather events in the past decade in North America and Europe, he wrote, "The odds that natural variability created these extremes are minuscule, vanishingly small. To count on those odds would be like quitting your job and playing the lottery every morning to pay the bills."

Although many of the locations on the list below of low-lying areas are outside of North America, the U.S. is not immune from sea level rise. A recent report from the U.S. Geological Survey found that there is a "hotspot" along the U.S. East Coast, where rates of sea level rise are increasing about three to four times more than the global average and could "increase the vulnerability of coastal cities to flooding, and beaches and wetlands to deterioration."

On the West Coast, most of the California coast will see a six inch sea level rise by 2030 and an average rise of 3 feet by 2100, according to a study by the National Research Council. More

 

New UN climate fund must work for the poor - NGOs

LONDON (AlertNet) – As the board of a new U.N. climate fund for developing countries meets for the first time, civil society groups are pushing for it to be managed in a way that is transparent and accountable to poor communities likely to be hit hardest by climate change.

Nouakchott, Mauritania

Anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International (TI) urged the Green Climate Fund’s board to give citizens a much bigger voice at its meetings, as it begins to work out how to administer up to $100 billion a year to help developing nations adapt to a warmer world and curb their greenhouse gas emissions.

“We need a balance between the urgency to achieve results and the due diligence required to protect climate money and ensure its effectiveness,” said Lisa Ann Elges, head of TI’s climate governance integrity programme.

The proposed arrangements allow just two civil society observers to participate actively in board meetings, one each from the developed and developing worlds - the same level of representation allotted for the private sector. Guidelines say an active observer may speak but not vote.

Researchers and climate activists are concerned that the private sector may be given too large a role in running projects financed by the fund, and it will be difficult to track what businesses are doing.

But access to the fund's resources for companies and private financial institutions is regarded by some debt-laden wealthy governments as a carrot to raise additional money from private sources - without which they are reluctant to loosen their own purse strings.

"There is an understanding that the more the Green Climate Fund is private investor-friendly, the more likely it is that developed countries will put money in," said Janet Redman of the Washington-based Institute for Policy Studies.

RIGHT TO OBJECT

She and other experts want rules to ensure that private-sector activities financed by the fund will not undermine the development of poorer nations and vulnerable people who rarely get a say in such decisions.

"The private sector has its motives, but these have to line up with the interests and priorities of developing-country governments and what the people who are going to be most impacted by climate change want and need," Redman told AlertNet. More

 

UNEP TNA Releases Guidebook on International Funding for Climate Change Mitigation

August 2012: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Technology Needs Assessment (TNA) Project has released a guidebook, titled “Accessing International Financing for Climate Change Mitigation.” The guidebook aims to assist developing countries in speeding up the transfer, deployment and diffusion of mitigation technologies, thereby enabling countries to contribute to climate change mitigation and reduce climate change impacts while pursuing national development goals.

The 142-page guidebook analyzes over 100 public and private funding sources, and presents their main features, application requirements and procedures. The guidebook also includes a general guidance section on the preparation of high quality project and programme proposals.

The TNA Project is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and implemented by UNEP’s Division of Technology, Industry and Economics (DTIE) and the UNEP Risoe Centre on Energy, Climate and Sustainable Development. The TNA aims to assist countries in determining their technology priorities regarding mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and adaptation to climate change. [Publication: Accessing International Financing for Climate Change Mitigation]

 

Energy Security: Navy Demonstration of Alternative Fuels

For years, the U.S. Navy has been studying alternatives to the increasingly expensive fossil fuels that power its ships, boats and planes and last month (July) the service got to test its research and theories on a grand scale.

The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68), heading a strike force of four other ships as well as a jet fighter wing, helicopters and other aircraft, demonstrated the viability of alternative fuels in the waters off Hawaii during Rim of the Pacific 2012 (RIMPAC), the world’s largest annual international maritime exercise.

Click here to view the complete article at the IDGA website.

 

US criticised on 2C climate 'flexibility' call

The EU and small island states have criticised the US for saying the target of keeping global warming below 2C should be removed from climate talks.

Todd Stern Special Envoy for Climate Change

At the 2010 UN climate convention meeting, governments agreed to take “urgent action” to meet the target.

But last week the chief US climate negotiator Todd Stern said insisting on the target would lead to “deadlock”.

Spokesmen for the EU and the Alliance of Small Island States (Aosis) said the US should stick to promises made.

“Suddenly abandoning our agreement to keep global warming below 2C is to give up the fight against climate change before it even begins,” said Tony de Brum, Minister in Assistance for the Marshall Islands.

“‘Flexibility’ on our 2C limit would set the world on a path to irreversible, runaway climate change.

“For many low-lying island states, including my own, that is not a solution - it is a death sentence,” he told BBC News.

Isaac Valero-Ladron, the EU’s climate spokesman, said governments including the US had to live up to prior promises.

“Also, consolidated science continues to remind us of the dire consequences of going beyond such a temperature increase,” he said.

The core objective of the UN climate convention (UNFCCC), agreed in 1992, is to prevent “dangerous” climate change.

Scores of governments believe that 2C is a realistic indication of where “dangerous” climate change begins, although a greater number - principally those highly vulnerable to impacts such as sea level rise - say even 2C is too high. More

 

Reducing Dependence on Fossil Fuels Essential for Sustainable Progress in Small Island Developing States, Says UN Secretary-General

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) need to free themselves from dependence on fossil fuel imports and transform their energy sectors to encompass modern, efficient, clean and renewable sources of energy, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a message to an audience of prime ministers, ministers, international experts, civil society leaders and business executives at the Barbados Conference today.

Sustainable development is not possible without sustainable energy, the Secretary-General continued in his message to the conference Achieving Sustainable Energy for All in Small Island Developing States, convened by the Government of Barbados and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The worlds appetite for energy continues to grow, and the global thermostat continues to rise. My vision is a world with universal energy access; a doubling of the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency; and a doubling of renewable energy in our mix of fuel sources by 2030.

Small island developing states are highly dependent on imported oil and other fossil fuels for transport and electricity generation, which is a major source of economic volatility.

We know that although many Small Island Developing States are energy deficient in conventional energy, limitless potential for renewable energy and energy efficiency resides in our countries. The fundamental issue thus is how do we, as small island developing states with inherent structural problems and limited resources, convert this renewable energy potential into a tangible product that is accessible, affordable and adaptable, proclaimed Prime Minister, The Honourable Freundel Stuart in addressing delegates at the opening ceremony this morning.

In some small island states, switching to hydro, solar, geothermal or other renewable energy sources can free up to 30 percent of gross domestic product which is otherwise expended on imports of oil and refined petroleum products. The savings can be then invested into jobs in sectors such as clean energy, improved health care and education, stronger safety nets for people whose livelihoods will be affected by the phase out of fossil fuels, adaptation to climate change, and other programmes. More

 

SIS Officials Discuss Climate Change and the Pacific Plan

Senior officials from the Smaller Island States (SIS) within the Pacific Islands Forum will discuss a regional technical support mechanism for SIS to access and manage the expected increased flows of climate change resources.

This is one of the issues being discussed at the one-day 2012 SIS Officials Meeting held at the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Suva, Fiji today. The meeting is one of a series of Forum officials meetings which will be held at the Secretariat this week in preparation for the 43rd Pacific Islands Forum Leaders' meeting which will be held in the Cook Islands 27 - 31 August. SIS countries include the Cook Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Federated States of Micronesia and Tuvalu.

In his opening remarks at the meeting, Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Tuiloma Neroni Slade said: "Climate change remains the single greatest threat to the livelihoods, security and well-being of SIS."

"SIS Leaders emphasised the need to address the significance of current impacts of climate change on the SIS as urgent, requiring immediate resourcing and support. As you know, CROP agencies are developing a regional technical support mechanism for SIS to effectively access and manage the expected increased flows of climate change resources," said Mr Slade

The ongoing work on climate change finance (CCF) is being undertaken in line with the Forum Compact, as part of a region-wide effort to strengthen coordination and better use of development resources.

Forum Secretary General Mr Slade also reaffirmed the Pacific Plan as the master strategy for strengthening regional cooperation and integration for the region including the special needs of the SIS.

Mr Slade said: "The affirmation of sustainable development at the Rio +20 conference reinforces our Leaders' Vision in the Pacific Plan. Of particular importance to this meeting is the recognition of the 'special case' of Small Island Developing States which echoes our Leaders own due recognition of the special place of SIS as the most vulnerable amongst out Pacific community."

He told delegates at the meeting that as an integral part of the Pacific Plan process, the review of the Pacific Plan will be conducted in 2013. More

 

IPCC Scholarship Program 2012

IPCC Scholarship Program is to build capacity in the understanding and management of climate change in developing countries through providing opportunities for young scientists from developing countries to undertake studies that would not be possible without the intervention of the Fund.

Applications from students from Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) researching topics with the fields of study chosen for the call for applications are given priority.

Scholarship Details: A scholarship award will be for a maximum amount of USD 20,000 per year.

Eligibility Criteria: The Call for Applications is open to candidates fulfilling the following requirements:

* Post-Graduate students at PhD level, accepted at a recognized educational institution to start studies in 2013, or currently enrolled on continuing PhD courses

* Applicants must be younger than 30 years of age at the time of application

* Applicants must be nationals of developing countries

How to Apply: Register to upload your completed application and requested supporting documents via the following link: https://www.ipcc.ch/apps/scholarship/applicant/

Deadline: 30 September 2012

Click here for more details and information: http://www.ipcc.ch/ipcc-scholarship-programme/ipcc_scholarshipprogramme.shtml#.UBIRDdmN6Sq

 

UN rights expert urges international community to not turn its back on Tuvalu

19 July 2012 – A United Nations independent expert today called on the international community to not turn its back on the small island State of Tuvalu, where communities are being seriously affected by climate change.

“Climate change is an everyday reality for people in Tuvalu, and is slowly but steadily impacting their human rights to water and sanitation,” warned the Special Rapporteur on the right to safe drinking water, Catarina de Albuquerque, at the end of her first mission to the country. “Climate change will exacerbate water scarcity, saltwater intrusions, sea level rise and frequency of extreme weather events.”

As of 2010, 98 per cent of the population in Tuvalu had access to an improved source of water and 85 per cent had access to improved sanitation facilities, according to a joint report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

However, Ms. de Albuquerque noted, “these figures do not portray an accurate picture of the country’s situation and mask severe challenges currently faced by its population.” She noted that people cannot actually drink directly from the water storage tanks and have to boil it, despite previous efforts to improve the situation.

“People are still suffering from a lack of water in sufficient quantities on a continuous basis. Several people told me that they have no confidence in the sustainability of the water supply,” she said.

The Special Rapporteur called on authorities to ensure that the country’s water harvesting system is used to its maximum potential in old and new buildings, and urged the Government to immediately adopt and implement a national water strategy and plan of action covering the entire population.

“Access to water and sanitation must be affordable to all, in particular to those who have a lower income. The price paid for water, sanitation and hygiene must not compromise access to other human rights such as food, housing or education,” Ms. de Albuquerque said. “I call on the Government to bear this in mind when discussing and adopting new water tariffs or when advancing the use of composting toilets.” More

 

 

Satellites See Unprecedented Greenland Ice Sheet Surface Melt

July 24, 2012: For several days this month, Greenland's surface ice cover melted over a larger area than at any time in more than 30 years of satellite observations. Nearly the entire ice cover of Greenland, from its thin, low-lying coastal edges to its two-mile-thick center, experienced some degree of melting at its surface, according to measurements from three independent satellites analyzed by NASA and university scientists.

On average in the summer, about half of the surface of Greenland's ice sheet naturally melts. At high elevations, most of that melt water quickly refreezes in place. Near the coast, some of the melt water is retained by the ice sheet and the rest is lost to the ocean. But this year the extent of ice melting at or near the surface jumped dramatically. According to satellite data, an estimated 97 percent of the ice sheet surface thawed at some point in mid-July.

Researchers have not yet determined whether this extensive melt event will affect the overall volume of ice loss this summer and contribute to sea level rise.

"The Greenland ice sheet is a vast area with a varied history of change. This event, combined with other natural but uncommon phenomena, such as the large calving event last week on Petermann Glacier, are part of a complex story," said Tom Wagner, NASA's cryosphere program manager in Washington. "Satellite observations are helping us understand how events like these may relate to one another as well as to the broader climate system." More

 

Marshall Islands Joins Fiji, Tuvalu in Regional Climate Talks

Marshall Islands President Christopher J. Loeak was the keynote speaker at the three – day conference on Local Governments for Climate Change held in Fiji this week. The Conference, sponsored by the University of the South Pacific and hosted by President of the Republic of Fiji, H.E. Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, drew Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) leaders, scholars, and university students in a follow-up to the Rio+20 meeting last month in Brazil.

MARSHALL ISLANDS: In his statement, President Loeak expressed concerns on the slow pace of climate actions and direction of global directions on sustainable development. In reiterating prior calls for urgent actions on climate change at the conference this morning and at other conferences, most recently at the RIO+20 in Brazil, President Loeak said that the Marshall Islands cannot afford to wait for others to act.Being one of only 4 low-lying atoll nations in the world, the Marshall Islands has already undertaken adaptation work on the ground to address the impact of climate change and has partnered with neighboring countries in Micronesia under the Micronesia Challenge to conserve 30% of its coastal resources and 20% of its forests.

FIJI: On the last day of his three-day visit, HE Loeak told the Fijian head of government that the Marshall Islands “will continue to rely on Fiji’s leadership regionally on many important issues such as climate change”. “We are also throwing in our support for the bid by Fiji to host the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) meeting here in Fiji,” he said. HE Loeak made these remarks as he handed over a cheque of USD $5000 to Prime Minister Bainimarama for the Prime Minister’s Flood Relief Fund that will go towards assisting those who were affected during the two periods of flooding in the Western division earlier this year. HE Loeak, while extending his appreciation to the Prime Minister for the reception his delegation received since his arrival on Sunday, said the people of Marshall Islands valued the diplomatic ties with Fiji. “As part of the framework that was signed last year between Fiji and the Marshall Islands we have recently recruited teachers and will look at recruiting more professionals from Fiji to work in the Marshalls,” he said. More




 

The mystery of the sinking islands South Pacific Islands

Climate change or tectonic shifts

The island rises out of the ocean like a crenellated fortress. The trees on its slopes stand so close, their crowns so impenetrable, that the island appears to be wrapped in a blanket of green velvet.

Below, palm trees line the beach and the shapes of huts, some emitting smoke, stand out against the blinding light of the rising sun.

A team of French researchers steer their motorboat carefully through the reef toward Vanikoro, this fleck of earth that's part of the Solomon Islands, in the South Pacific. They've come here to uncover the island's secrets. "It feels is if we were on an expedition 250 years ago," says Valérie Ballu, 44, a geodesist from Paris. Geodesy is the science of measuring the Earth.

Ballu jumps into the shallow water of a sandbank, then pushes the boat ahead of her. The village on the shore is now showing signs of life. Women in brightly colored skirts appear at the entrances to their huts, babies in their arms. Naked, curious children with frizzy blonde hair run down to the edge of the beach, while men in dugout canoes paddle out to meet their foreign guests.

In less than a stone's throw, two cultures will meet, two different ways of living and thinking. Friendly laughter makes for a good start in easing this initial encounter.

"Momombo wako!" calls Alexandre François, 40, the French group's linguist. He has already lived on the island and studied its languages. The men from Vanikoro recognize him. They call him "the white man from the big island."

These foreign visitors are here because Vanikoro is slowly sinking into the ocean -- or at least that's what they believe. From their boat, the team begins unloading a number of heavy instruments with which they plan to measure the island.

Vanikoro has an area of less than 200 square kilometers (77 square miles), which makes it a bit smaller than Martha's Vineyard. Its 900 residents live without electricity, telephones or regular ferry service. The horizon gives off the impression of standing at the end of the world, and the only way to get away from this place is with a long pirogue, a dugout canoe outfitted with a sail.

The island's inhabitants divide Vanikoro roughly into three tribal areas, and they speak four different languages. Vanikoro lies more than 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) northeast of Australia and, like many of Oceania's islands, was created by volcanic activity, its destiny determined by the rubbing and colliding of continental plates. The researchers from France's National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) plan to spend two days investigating this geological spectacle. More

 

Fully funded fellowship opportunity - United Nations-Nippon Fellowship call for applications

United Nations - Nippon Fellowship Programme

The United Nations - Nippon Fellowship Programme is now accepting applications. Successful applicants will benefit from a 9-month fully funded research fellowship which includes a 3-month placement at the United Nations in NY. Please disseminate widely to government and non-government individuals from developing states working in any ocean-related discipline. Information and application files can be found on the fellowship website: www.un.org/depts/los/nippon and the alumni website is here: www.unfalumni.org Application deadline is 15 September 2012.

 

Rise in sea level can't be stopped: scientists

Rising sea levels cannot be stopped over the next several hundred years, even if deep emissions cuts lower global average temperatures, but they can be slowed down, climate scientists said in a study on Sunday.

A lot of climate research shows that rising greenhouse gas emissions are responsible for increasing global average surface temperatures by about 0.17 degrees Celsius a decade from 1980-2010 and for a sea level rise of about 2.3mm a year from 2005-2010 as ice caps and glaciers melt.

Rising sea levels threaten about a tenth of the world's population who live in low-lying areas and islands which are at risk of flooding, including the Caribbean, Maldives and Asia-Pacific island groups.

More than 180 countries are negotiating a new global climate pact which will come into force by 2020 and force all nations to cut emissions to limit warming to below 2 degrees Celsius this century - a level scientists say is the minimum required to avert catastrophic effects.

But even if the most ambitious emissions cuts are made, it might not be enough to stop sea levels rising due to the thermal expansion of sea water, said scientists at the United States' National Centre for Atmospheric Research, U.S. research organization Climate Central and Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research in Melbourne.

"Even with aggressive mitigation measures that limit global warming to less than 2 degrees above pre-industrial values by 2100, and with decreases of global temperature in the 22nd and 23rd centuries ... sea level continues to rise after 2100," they said in the journal Nature Climate Change.

This is because as warmer temperatures penetrate deep into the sea, the water warms and expands as the heat mixes through different ocean regions.

Even if global average temperatures fall and the surface layer of the sea cools, heat would still be mixed down into the deeper layers of the ocean, causing continued rises in sea levels. More

 

Greenland Ice Sheet Melt Nearing Critical ‘Tipping Point’

The Greenland ice sheet is poised for another record melt this year, and is approaching a "tipping point" into a new and more dangerous melt regime in which the summer melt area covers the entire land mass, according to new findings from polar researchers.

The ice sheet is the focus of scientific research because its fate has huge implications for global sea levels, which are already rising as ice sheets melt and the ocean warms, exposing coastal locations to greater damage from storm surge-related flooding.

Greenland's ice has been melting faster than many scientists expected just a decade ago, spurred by warming sea and land temperatures, changing weather patterns, and other factors. Until now, though, most of the focus has been on ice sheet dynamics — how quickly Greenland's glaciers are flowing into the sea. But the new research raises a different basis for concern.

The new findings show that the reflectivity of the Greenland ice sheet, particularly the high-elevation areas where snow typically accumulates year-round, have reached a record low since records began in 2000. This indicates that the ice sheet is absorbing more energy than normal, potentially leading to another record melt year — just two years after the 2010 record melt season. More

 

Exceptional Rise in Ancient Sea Levels Revealed

ScienceDaily (June 5, 2012) — Since the end of the last ice age 21,000 years ago, our planet has seen ocean levels rise by 120 meters to reach their current levels. This increase has not been constant, rather punctuated by rapid accelerations, linked to massive outburst floods from the ice caps. The largest increase, known by paleoclimatologists as 'Melt-Water Pulse 1A', proved to be enigmatic in many respects. A study recently published inNature by a team from the CEREGE laboratory in collaboration with the universities of Tokyo and Oxford has revealed the mysteries of this event, without doubt one of the most important in the last deglaciation.

A spectacular rise

The research has primarily confirmed the existence of this exceptional event, which had been controversial in some regards. Its chronology, amplitude and duration have now been defined. It began precisely 14,650 years ago and coincides with the start of the warm period known as the 'Bølling oscillation', which marked the end of the ice age. The rise in sea levels at that time was an average of 14m worldwide, over less than 350 years. This corresponds to a rate of 40mm per year -- compared to the 3mm per year we are currently experiencing.

Coral: a climate archive

To describe this remarkable event, researchers analysed cores taken from the coral reef surrounding Tahiti, Polynesia, during the international IODP 310 'Tahiti Sea Level'(4) expedition. The corals that built these reefs and atolls are excellent indicators of sea level variation* and also provide a virtual archive of previous climates(5).

Using reconstructions of sea levels from the fossilised corals as well as geophysical simulations, scientists have been able to identify the source of this accelerated rise in sea levels. They have demonstrated that the Antarctic ice cap was responsible for up to 50% of these increases. Experts had previously believed that only melting ice from the Northern hemisphere had contributed to Melt-Water Pulse 1A, particularly the Laurentide ice cap that covered a large part of North America. More

 

Climate talks stall with nations 'wasting time'

The latest round of UN climate talks has made little progress, observers say.

The meeting in Bonn, Germany saw angry exchanges between rich nations, fast-industrialising ones and those prone to climate impacts.

Campaigners spoke of a “coalition of the unwilling” including the US, China, India and several Gulf states.

Developing countries are also concerned about the lack of firm pledges on finance beyond the end of this year.

This was the first negotiating meeting since last December’s ministerial summit in Durban, South Africa.

The key outcome there was an agreement to begin talks leading to a new global deal involving all nations.

The “Durban Platform”, as it is known, will see the agreement tied up by 2015 and coming into force by 2020.

Opening the Bonn session, UN climate convention (UNFCCC) executive secretary Christiana Figueres told negotiators that progress depended on ambition - “ambition to support developing countries, ambition to mobilise finance and… ambition to decisively and tangibly reduce emissions according to what science demands”.

By the end, several observers including Tove Maria Ryding of Greenpeace International concluded that ambition had been largely absent.

“It’s absurd to watch governments sit and point fingers and fight like little kids while the scientists explain about the terrifying impacts of climate change,” she said. More

 

Mangroves Lead Battle Against Rising Seas

LAE, Papua New Guinea, May 22, 2012 (IPS) - Sea level rise near Papua New Guinea, a Small Island Developing State (SIDS) in the southwest Pacific, is estimated at seven millimetres per year, double the global annual average of 2.8-3.6 mm.

In a bottom-up approach to fighting climate change, the indigenous use of mangroves is now leading local and national plans to stem the destruction of land and communities by coastal flooding and erosion.

As global warming melts ice and glaciers, small island states are the first to be threatened by thermal expansion of the world’s oceans. The Pacific Climate Change Science Programme predicts that, under a high emissions scenario, Papua New Guinea could experience a sea level rise of 4-15 cm by 2030.

The government has identified coastal flooding and malaria as the two climate change hazards expected to cause the greatest damage to land, people and infrastructure. Coastal flooding has affected 8,000 people annually over the past 15 years, and could impact 65,000 people within the next 18 years. Experts say the cost of damage from coastal flooding could increase from 20 million dollars per year to 90-100 million dollars annually by 2030, but implementation of adaptation measures may reduce losses by 65-85 percent.

Climate adaptation is not a new concept to those who have lived along the nation’s coastlines for generations. In Milne Bay and Oro Provinces on the east coast, the Maisin, Are, Doga and Dima people of Collingwood Bay have long possessed knowledge of the importance of mangrove forests to conserve coastal ecosystems.

The waterlogged trunks and roots of mangrove trees, which grow in saltwater inter-tidal areas along rivers and between land and ocean in tropical regions, consolidate sediment, thereby strengthening coastlines and protecting against flooding and erosion.

According to Mama Graun, a local conservation trust fund, 30 of the 42 mangrove species found in Papua New Guinea grow along 159.8 kilometres of Collingwood Bay’s coastline. The tropical tree system is central to the sustainable life of villages. It provides timber for building dwellings, firewood for cooking and traditional medicinal remedies, while mangrove swamps harbour marine foods, such as fish, oysters and crabs. More

 

Africa: UN Climate Talks Need Fresh Ambition On Emissions

A week into the U.N. climate negotiations in Bonn - my first as the lead negotiator for the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) - it has become abundantly clear to me that, at these talks, the devil is in the details.

This is particularly true when it comes to accounting for the reductions countries have pledged to make to the greenhouse gas emissions responsible for global warming.

According to a recent United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report, total global emissions approached the equivalent of 48 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide emissions (GtC02e) in 2010 and are on track to hit 56 GtC02e in 2020.

It also found that annual emissions must be reduced to below 44 GtC02e in 2020, and continue declining steeply thereafter to avoid warming of more than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels - to say nothing of the more cautious temperature goal of "well-below 1.5 degrees Celsius" that is supported by over 100 vulnerable countries.

However, even if countries achieve the more ambitious end of their pledges, we would fall short of the scientifically determined mitigation requirement by 6 to 8 GtC02e in 2020, as was noted in the climate agreement reached in Durban last year.

Already, life-altering changes have been observed across our membership as a result of an average global temperature increase of less than 1 degree Celsius, including the loss of islands in parts of Kiribati and the Maldives, as well as more frequent and intense storms, heat waves, droughts and other climate impacts.

In other words, unless the emissions gap is closed in the near-term, the opportunity to avoid further - potentially catastrophic - damage may irrevocably be lost.

In Bonn, AOSIS presented our proposal to close the gap: what we're calling our "Workplan For Survival." More

 

Small Island States must collaborate on Climate Change Issues - Pickersgill

Minister of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change, Hon. Robert Pickersgill looks on as Resident Representative, UNDP, Dr. Arun Kashyap (left), greets Senior Fellow, Sir Arthur Lewis Institute, University of the West Indies, Mona, Dr. Michael Witter, during the National Consultations on the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), held at the Wyndham Kingston.

Minister of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change, Hon. Robert Pickersgill, says there is need for a strong regional mechanism geared towards facilitating co-operation and collaboration among Small Island Developing States (SIDS), especially on issues surrounding climate change.

Addressing the National Consultations on the United Nations (UN) Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) at the Wyndham Hotel in Kingston on May 15, Minister Pickersgill said climate change is of particular concern to SIDS because of their vulnerability to its effects.

He stated the issue should remain on the agenda for the Rio+20 conference in June. “We need to ensure that this is reflected in the Rio + 20 outcome,” he stated.

According to Minister Pickersgill, climate change is considered to be the most pervasive and truly global of all issues affecting humanity and poses a serious threat to the environment as well as to economies and societies.

The phenomenon, he said, is a threat to sustainable development in CARICOM states, even though the contribution of the region to global greenhouse gas emission is negligible.

While pointing to the need for a mechanism at the national level to address sustainable development, he said the issue is addressed in Vision 2030 Jamaica: The National Development Plan, “and I will be in discussion with my colleagues responsible for economic and social matters as well as the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), to see how we can put in place institutional arrangements to facilitate coordination and implementation of the plan." More

 

Peabody Coal buys coal from U.S. taxpayers for cheap, sells it abroad for huge profit

Yesterday, I wrote about the issue of public land in the Powder River Basin being leased to coal companies for cheap, so they can strip-mine it and sell the coal abroad at an enormous profit.

Also yesterday, the feds held a “competitive lease sale” for the South Porcupine Tract, which contains almost 402 million tons of mineable coal.

Guess how many companies bid in this “competitive auction”? One: Peabody Coal, the company that filed the original application [PDF] for the lease.

This was actually the second auction for the tract. The first ended with no sale because BLM rejected Peabody’s lowball offer of $0.90 a ton. The winning price in Thursday’s sale? $1.11 per ton.

Again: $1.11 per ton.

The price of a ton of Powder River Basin coal on U.S. spot markets?$9.15 per ton, as of May 11.

The price of a ton of coal exported to China? It averaged $97.28 per ton [PDF] in 2011. It’s now up to $123 per ton.

And exports are only likely to go up:

So, to summarize: You, the U.S. taxpayer, just leased another huge chunk of your land to Peabody Coal at $1.11 per ton of coal. Peabody will strip-mine that land and take the coal to China, where it will sell it for over $100 per ton. Peabody pockets enormous profits*, the U.S. taxpayer gets devastated land, and China accelerates global warming. More


And for the rest of the world, specially the Small Island Developing States and coastal cities, sea level rise, flooding and eventual evacuation. Will you give us a passport President Barak Hussain Obama? Editor.

SIDS Ministers Discuss Position for Rio+20

 

11 May 2012: An informal ministerial meeting took place to address small island developing States’ (SIDS) position for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20), on 9 May 2012, in Bridgetown, Barbados. Representatives of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) stressed a focus on “the day after Rio." Other delegates addressed issues relating to utilization of ocean resources; gender aspects of resource access; principles of rotation between Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean, and South China Sea (AIMS), Pacific and Caribbean; and strengthening of governance structures.

Heads of government and ministers from 29 states participated in the proceedings, which were hosted by the Government of Barbados and the UN Development Programme (UNDP). The meeting immediately followed the High-Level Conference of SIDS, "Achieving Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL)."

The meeting was chaired by Denis Lowe, Minister of Environment and Drainage, Barbados. It included: an update on progress in negotiations from UNCSD Executive Coordinator Elizabeth Thompson, who also identified elements for a successful transition to a global green economy; a presentation by Appio Claudio Acquarone, Ambassador of Brazil to Barbados, on Brazil’s views on the Rio outcome, noting it should incorporate, inter alia: poverty eradication and a clear framework for multilateral institutions on sustainable development; closed, high-level meetings to address SIDS' priorities for Rio+20 and level of ambition for the proposed Third Global Conference on Sustainable Development of SIDS in 2014; and a plenary discussion on expectations for Rio+20.

Statements were made by: Aloysius Amwano, Special Envoy of the President of Nauru and Chair of AOSIS; Peter Thomson, Permanent Representative of Fiji to the UN, regarding the “blue economy”; Ronald Jumeau, Permanent Representative of the Seychelles to the UN, speaking on behalf of AIMS; and Garfield Barnwell, Caribbean Community (CARICOM), speaking on behalf of the Caribbean region. [IISD RS Meeting Coverage]

related categories:africa | gender | green economy | human rights & indigenous people |information exchange | institutional framework for sd | intergovernmental organization | international negotiations | islands | latin america & the caribbean | meeting | national sd strategies | oceans & coasts | poverty eradication | south west pacific | un programme, agency or fund | undp

Small Island States In Clean Energy Race

They seldom meet on the cricket or football fields, but the world's small island developing states are informally competing with each other to be the first to ditch fossil fuels and embrace clean energy.

A new United Nations analysis of the most recent energy plans of 52 low lying poor countries - traditionally heavily dependent on imports of petrol and oil - shows the Caribbean island of Dominica leading the world with plans to become carbon "negative" by 2020. The Maldives is not far behind, hoping to be carbon neutral by 2020. Tuvalu and the Cook islands intend to generate all their electricity from renewables by 2020 and Timor-Leste, the poorest country in Asia, expects to provide solar electricity to all its 100,000 families by 2030.



With Tonga, Samoa, Nauru, Mauritius and many other countries also volunteering to switch to solar, geothermal and wind energy, the collective target of the group of 52 small island developing states is a 45 percent cut in emissions in the next 18 years - considerably more than the world's rich countries who between them have pledged 12-18 percent cuts by 2020.

"We are showing the world leadership," said Dominican ambassador to the UN, Vince Henderson, at a UN development program meeting ahead of next week's reconvened climate talks in Bonn, Germany.

"This is about survival as well as economics. We are spending $220 million a year importing fuel so it is in our interests. It is vested interests by the oil, coal and fossil fuel industries that is preventing rich countries meeting their obligations. We are demanding that all countries take their responsibilities."

"Small island developing states can leap toward the goal of a poverty-free and prosperous future by changing their energy sectors," said Barbados Prime Minister, Freundel Stuart. "We can rally the international community with a unified voice, sharing our aspiration to become fully sustainable." More