Make no doubt about it. No way a week's work wraps on Fridays at the Bonn Climate Talks.
In The Campaigner’s perspective: The Daily Tck, XXL Weekend Special, GCCA Communications Director Christian Teriete provides a succinct overview of week one accomplishments; calls for more access for civic participation in closed door meetings; and hints at a youth action next week -- a "mini-1.5˚C-campaign for the second week of this session that will see daily actions calling for greater levels of ambition in the face of a rapid increase in global emissions...."
Working the weekend at the UNFCCC…. Despite a beautiful day outside, Anna Collins reports live from the Conference where numerous official meetings are underway. She is following the sessions online when a Chair opens his group to the public. It's an event which, ironically, specifically focuses on civil society participation ...
With many of the sessions now going on behind closed doors here, at the minute as civil society participants we are not having an easy time even finding out what’s going on, never mind having our voices heard in this process. Today the Chair of one of the groups opened up his session to allow civil society in, he even arranged for it to be in one of the big rooms so as many people as wanted could attend.
Mind, since the session was about civil society participation it would have been kind of off not to.
But anyway it wasn’t a given, so it was important that we turned up and took part. He even told us to come forward from our usual seats at the back of the room and fill up any empty seats at the front (where the countries usually sit).
No agriculture, No deal!"
Meanwhile, Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) reported in yesterday on a highly significant meeting Actions needed to halt deforestation and promote climate-smart agriculture: Theme 3: Pro-poor Climate Change Mitigation
Their report "Unless we address agriculture, REDD will not be successful!" evaluates the need to integrate agriculture into climate change policy, re-examines the connections between agriculture and deforestation and discusses how successful mitigation and food security outcomes can be achieved through the integration of Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) and agriculture.
The panel included Lini Wollenberg of the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS); Peter Holgrem, Director, Environment, Climate Change and Bioenergy Division Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Joachim von Braun director of the Center for Development Research(ZEF), University of Bonn; Frances Seymour, Director General of the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR); and George Wamukoya from the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA.
Some snippets:
Wollenberg: “unless we address agriculture, REDD will not be successful." Cited a recent report that found insufficient incorporation of agricultural causes of deforestation in planning for REDD. Key factors linking REDD and agriculture were identified as linking mitigation and adaptation policies, boosting the efficiency and productivity of agricultural systems, and strengthening local knowledge of demand-side and market pressures as well as tenure and land access rights.
Holmgren: "Want to deal with deforestation?” It's the agriculture, s**!” Maintained that agriculture, climate and development policies must deal with multiple objectives: to increase productivity, resilience and reduce emissions and said current climate change financing constitutes little more than a fraction today's investments in agriculture, let alone addressing a shift to "climate-smart agriculture."
von Braun: "Agriculture is not the enemy of REDD. "Unproductive agriculture is. Show us good project to learn from!" The growing emphasis on food security has not done enough to connect the role climate change plays in long-term planning to address hunger and deforestation. Cmpetition for biomass makes REDD difficult to implement, but "climate-smart agriculture" will assist in lowering crop costs and increasing productivity.
Seymour: Debunked notions that a) there is “a zero-sum tradeoff between protecting forests and enhancing food security” and b) that intensification of agriculture is enough to reduce deforestation.
Wamukoya: REDD+ cannot succeed without the advancement of agriculture and discussed a re-evaluation of its role as outlined in the Bali Action Plan
Read the entire report, which includes slideshows of the presentations. Also CGIAR's report on The impacts of climate change on key crops: spotlight on ongoing research and the new Meridian report Addressing Agriculture in Climate Change Negotiations.
MSM Coverage of Bonn Talks
AP: Poor countries say rich evade new climate pledges
AMSTERDAM – Developing countries said Friday that rich nations are refusing to negotiate an extension of their commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, charging that they sought to "maintain their privileges and levels of consumption" at the expense of the poor.
Xinhua:Climate change to reduce water availability, FAO warns
Climate change will make water less available to produce food crops in years to come, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in a report issued Thursday.
River runoff and aquifer recharges will decrease in the Mediterranean, the Americas, Australia and southern Africa, it said.
AFP: Say goodbye to cool summers: climate study
PARIS (AFP) – By 2050, the coolest summers in the tropics and parts of the northern hemisphere will still be hotter than the most scorching summers since the mid-20th century if global warming continues apace, according to a new study.
Tropical regions in Africa, Asia and South America could see "the permanent emergence of unprecedented summer heat" even within the next decades, said the study, to be published later this month in the journal Climatic Change Letters.
Endnotes. Actions. Related Information.
Report Finds World Bank’s Energy Lending Fails to Target the Poorest Research by Oil Change International, ActionAid International and Vasudha Foundation in India details that over the last two years, only 9 percent of the world's poorest have been targeted for energy lending programs.
“Poor people are the ones suffering from pollution, climate change, and negative health impacts from fossil fuels. The best approach, and the fairest, is to focus on clean, off-grid energy solutions for the poor that not only provide them energy, but decrease the harmful impacts of our addiction to fossil fuels,” said Ilana Solomon, Senior Policy Analyst with ActionAid.
(snip)
“If the World Bank is serious about fighting poverty and achieving the Millennium Development Goals, it needs to prove it by shifting lending to benefit people without access to energy and to clean energy options that will not increase the impact of global warming on the world’s most vulnerable populations. The World Bank’s current energy portfolio leaves much to be desired for the world’s poorest and for protecting the planet,” said Elizabeth Bast of Oil Change International, one of the report’s authors.
RIO+20 Actions: Doing what you can...
The Road to Rio
Make your voice heard at the upcoming historical Rio+20 Earth Summit. Give us your idea on the one thing governments should do, in order to make the development of our world more sustainable.
GET INVOLVED IN THE EARTH SUMMIT
In the build up to Rio+20, Stakeholder Forum will engage representatives from Major Groups in the preparatory process. From taking part in workshops or meetings, to participating in discussions online, opportunities for engagement will be updated and announced on this website.
Rio+20 is on its way! Push Europe -- (in search of a green economy)
One of the key issues within sustainable development is a move to a greener economy. Here at Push Europe we believe that greater investment in a low-carbon economy along with tougher emissions targets will not only help reduce the catastrophic problem of climate change, but will also strengthen our economy leading to an estimated 6 million jobs.
PUT SOLAR ON THE WHITE HOUSE
350 campaign needs your signature: Last October, after a campaign led by 350.org, the Obama Administration committed to installing a new set of solar panels on the White House roof by the end of Spring 2011. June 21st is the first day of summer and we want to remind the administration that we expect them to meet their own deadline.
Educate Yourself
Become involved in the UNFCCC talks. Follow their progress. Define your position. Recognize that an informed and involved citizenry is mandatory for these talks to succeed.
• Watch the UNFCCC webcasts
• Download Daily CAN ECO newsletters
• Follow daily reports from Adopt a Negotiator
• Bookmark the UNFCCC calendar
• Familiarize yourself with some of the official UNFCCC negotiating lingo (or the more user-friendly Jargon Buster)
• Read CANs expectations for Durban
Read previous coverage of the Bonn Talks along with other articles on Climate Change @ Beyond Kyoto.
Sat Jun 11, 2011 at 6:11 AM PT: Earth Negotiations Bulletin report on highlights of Day 5 of talks http://adoptanegotiator.org/...
Sat Jun 11, 2011 at 6:12 AM PT: CANs June 11 ECO out http://adoptanegotiator.org/...