Earth Conscious magazine

December 2011

ISSN 2070-4593

Germany’s contributions to tacking climate change issues globally and in the Caribbean

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December 2011 CONTENTS 2 From the Editor 3 SPECIAL ON DURBAN 18 Youth Forum on Climate Change

Editor: Linda Hutchinson-Jafar

24 Time to Act

Technical Editor: Faies Jafar

25 Development banks agree on new partneship for climate action in cities

Contributors: Bogusia Sipiora Carol James Stefan Schlüter

28 Expanding the circles of empathy 30 Global population surpasses 7 billion

Design and layout: Karibgraphics Ltd.

32 FAO: traditional crops key to facing climate change 36 ILO study: greener economies will require development of new green job skills

is published by: Caribbean PR Agency #268 Harold Fraser Circular, Valsayn, Trinidad and Tobago, W.I. T/F: (868) 645-0368 hutchlin@gmail.com www.earthconsciousmagazine.com  2011. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher.

40 Caribbean hotels to become more energy efficient 42 Caribbean updates 46 GLOBAL WATCH 52 Indian women share water knowledge with Kenyans 54 Earth Conscious Green Tips 56 Little Wonders and their Secrets

December 2011

ISSN 2070-4593

On our Cover

39 Devastation from floods 2011

Delegates at the First Youth Forum on Climate Change in Trinidad and Tobago which was hosted by Earth Conscious magazine.

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D

urban did it! It came 36 hours after the scheduled close of the UN Climate Change Conference but South Africa stood tall when its presidency pulled off a successful conclusion of the twoweek long talks.

I must confess to being among those who thought the talks would have ended in a stalemate given the lack of support by some countries on particular issues despite the long days, sleepless nights and the Indabas – Zulu word for meeting place – to hammer out differences and arrive at compromises.

At this point, I would again like to thank the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) for inviting me along with journalists from other developing countries worldwide to attend a training workshop and provide coverage of the conference in the African port city.

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This year, 2011 also saw our magazine taking a major step by hosting the first Youth Forum on Climate Change in Trinidad and Tobago. It was also the first of its kind to be held in the Englishspeaking Caribbean. My small, dedicated team: Kathryn, Garfield, Donna and Barbara did a fantastic job in helping to pull the conference together.

Special mention of the sponsors: Ministry of Housing and the Environment, Trinidad and Tobago, the British High Commission, the German Embassy, BPTT, Atlantic and the National Gas Company.

Special thanks to UNFCCC Executive Secretary, Ms. Christiana Figueres for delivering special video and print messages to the young people of Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean.

As we close off another year and move into 2012, Earth Conscious will continue to update our readers on climate change/ environment issues that not only relate to the Caribbean but the rest of the world.

Best wishes to you and your family from Earth Conscious.

Linda Hutchinson-Jafar

Editor

Special on Durban Durban did it!

It took 36 additional hours but in the end, Durban came out triumphant and it was able to secure some positive outcomes after two weeks of wrangling over key issues.

The United Nations Climate Change Conference involved a series of events, including the seventeenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 17) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the seventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 7).

Among the outcomes of the meetings were the establishment of a second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol, the operationalization of the Green Climate Fund, a decision on longterm cooperative action under the Convention and the launch of a new process towards an agreed outcome with legal force applicable to all parties to the Convention.

The conference drew some 12,480 participants, including over 5400 government officials, 5800 representatives of UN bodies and agencies, intergovernmental organizations and civil society organizations, and more than 1200 members of the media.

The sore issue at the conference was extending the Kyoto Protocol – which commits industrialised countries to limit carbon emissions – after the first period ends in 2012.

Add to the whole foray was Canada’s move to withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol and the European Union pushing their “roadmap” for a global deal on emissions cuts to be reached by 2015 and implemented by 2020.

COP President Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, the South African Foreign Minister called for a series of Indabas (Zulu word for meeting), in a spirit of Ubuntu (interdependence) hoping the parties sitting together in small groups would find wisdom “to solve common challenges for the larger community.”

Over the next few pages, we have reproduced snippets of responses to the outcome of the Durban discussions and also high-level statements from countries within the Caribbean Community.

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Closing Statement by COP17/CMP7 President Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, Foreign Minister, South Africa Distinguished Ministers and delegates, we are now at the conclusion of COP17/CMP7.

I want to utilize this opportunity to thank you all for your dedication, hard work and for the spirit of Ubuntu and compromise that prevailed during this Conference.

I applaud you for what you have been able to accomplish here in Durban. You were prepared to show the required political will to move this process forward. It is without any doubt in my mind that we have “worked together to save tomorrow, today!”

I believe the Indaba laid the foundation for this Conference. Indaba, as you will recall, is a word in isiZulu that refers to a gathering of people with the purpose to debate a matter of great importance to the community in an attempt to find a common mind or a common story that all participants can take with them.

Climate Change is our common problem which affects us all and the Durban Platform is the story we will take home with us.

Our intention with the Indaba was to restore trust in the multilateral system and to enshrined transparency and inclusivity within our Party driven process. The decisions that we have taken here are truly historical and include the following: i. ii. iii. iv.

The amendment of the Kyoto Protocol; Decisions of the LCA; The Green Climate Fund; The future of the Climate Change Regime.

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I would therefore like to congra tulate all the delegations for their leadership and rising to the occasion when it was most required. At the outset we urged you to show leadership in action and to think beyond your national positions. You have clearly demonstrated your commitment and willingness to achieve the broad and balanced result that we all can be proud of.

Once again I want to express our congratulations to Qatar as incoming COP18/CMP8 President for being prepared to host the next Conference. Here we cannot omit South Korea’s gracious gesture to compromise by offering to host the informal ministerial meetings in preparation for COP18/CMP8.

From my team and me, I would like to convey a special word of appreciation to the Executive Secretary, Ms. Christiana Figueres and the UNFCCC team for their professional and much appreciated support. We are looking forward to continue working together in the further discharge of our duties as COP17/CMP7 President.

Last but not least, thank you to the City of Durban, the ICC and all those hard working support staff who spent marathon hours to contribute to the success of this event.

I trust that your time in Durba n and in South Africa will remain a memorable one and that you will stay on for a while to relax and enjoy what the city and the country have to offer.

I wish you a safe journey back to your respective countries and I am looking forward to see you again next year when we start with our preparations for COP18/CMP8.

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Statement attributable to the Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General on the outcomes of the Durban Conference on Climate Change

The Secretary General welcomes the package of decisions known as the Durban Platform that was reached by the 195 parties to the Climate Change Convention in Durban that will guide global efforts to address significant and forward agreement that defines how the international community will address climate change in the coming years.

The Secretary-General believes the decision to launch a protocol or legal instrument applicable to all parties under the UNFCCC is essential for stimulating greater action and for raising the level of ambition and the mobilization of resources to respond to the challenges of climate change. He welcomes the agreement to establish a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol that will increase certainty for the carbon market and provides additional incentives for new investments in technology and the infrastructure necessary to fight climate change.

The Secretary-General is also gratified that countries have reached decisions that will operationalize the Cancun Sgreements, including a Technology Mechanism that will promote access by developing countries to clean, lowcarbon technologies and an Adaptation Committee that will coordinate adaptation activities on a global scale.

He also welcomes the launch of the Green Climate Fund, and is gratified that a number of countries have signaled their intent to contribute to the Fund.

Taken together, these agreements represent an important advance in our work on climate change.

The Secretary-General calls on the Parties to quickly implement these decisions and to continue working together in the constructive spirit evident in Durban.

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European Union The European Union welcomes the agreement reached at the UN climate conference in Durban as a historic breakthrough in the fight against climate change.

After two weeks of negotiations, the 195 Parties to the UN climate change convention agreed on a roadmap, proposed by the EU, for drawing up a legal framework by 2015 for climate action by all countries.

The Durban conference also agreed that there will be a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, made operational the new Green Climate Fund for developing countries and approved a series of measures which build on the progress made at last year’s Cancun conference.

“EU’s strategy worked. When many parties after Cancun said that Durban could only implement decisions taken in Copenhagen and Cancun, the EU wanted more ambition. And got more. We would not take a new Kyoto period unless we got in return a roadmap for the future where all countries must commit. Where the Kyoto divides the world into two categories, we will now get a system that reflects the reality of the today’s mutually interdependent world.

And as we are interdependent, what we promise to do must have the same legal weight. With the agreement on a roadmap towards a new legal framework by 2015 that will involve all countries in combating climate change, the EU has achieved its key goal for the Durban climate conference” Connie Hedegaard, European Commissioner for Climate Action Polish Environment Minister Marcin Korolec, whose country currently holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union, said: “ This is an moment comparable only to, if not surpassing, the success of COP1 from 1995, when the Berlin Mandate was established, which led to the creation and adoption of the only legally binding international agreement to combat climate change – the Kyoto Protocol. Today, we adopted a Durban Platform, which will lead us to a legally binding agreement being completed by the year 2015 to engage all parties. A lot of hard work has gone to achieve this. That is significant success of the Polish presidency of the EU Council together with European Commission, the European Union and the global community as a whole.’’

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Mexico statement The Minister of Environment and Natural Resources of Mexico (Semarnat), Juan Rafael Elvira Quesada, noted that the conclusions from the 17 Conference of the Parties (COP17) on Climate Change, in Durban, South Africa, are insufficient to safeguard the future of humanity but will allow progress in mitigating and adapting to this phenomenon.

Minister Elvira considered positive the introduction of a second period of the Kyoto Protocol by the end of this decade, which states that Annex I Parties must reduce at least 25 to 40 percent of their emissions below the 1990 base year, which will help maintain a commitment not to exceed two degrees global temperature.

He reiterated that Mexico will intensify efforts in 2012 to comply with voluntary goals in the fight against climate change and demonstrate the capacity and leadership of the country to take the seat of Green Climate Fund.

“Mexico meets experience, skills, interest and will, features that are reflected in the development of plans and programs to address climate impacts not only the government level but with the sum of all social sectors.”

Minister Elvira said it is imperative that all nations act with urgency, setting ambitious goals and raise their level of commitment to pursue them.

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Statement by the IPCC

Action must be taken swiftly to cut emissions to prevent a damaging rise in world temperatures, Climate Panel findings show.

The series of agreements reached on Sunday by nearly 200 countries in Durban lays a foundation for the global community to tackle climate change.

Governments meeting at the annual climate conference of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) decided to adopt a universal legal agreement on climate change as soon as possible, but not later than 2015, to be adopted and come into force from 2020.

At the same time they recognized the need to raise their collective level of ambition to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to keep the average global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has been asked what impact these agreements will have on global warming.

The IPCC, which provides policy-makers with the current state of climate science, including the impact of climate change and what can be done to tackle it, is due to publish the first part of its next assessment report, the fifth, in 2013.

But already in its fourth assessment report published in 2007, the IPCC showed that a temperature increase of 2 degrees Celsius could have a damaging effect on water supplies, biodiversity, food supplies, coastal flooding and storms and health.

The fourth assessment report shows that emissions of the greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming must fall by 2050 by 50-85% globally compared to the emissions of the year 2000, and that global emissions must peak well before the year 2020, with a substantial decline after that, in order to limit the growth in global average temperatures to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

In the near term, by 2020, emissions from industrialized countries (listed in Annex I of the Kyoto Protocol) need to be reduced by 2540% below 1990 levels, while substantial deviations from the current trend in developing countries and emerging economies will also be required.

This must be borne in mind in the package. The earlier action is taken, the cheaper and more effective it will be.

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The Climate Action Tracker: As the climate talks in Durban concluded with a groundbreaking establishment of the Durban Platform to negotiate a new global agreement by 2015, the world continues on a pathway of over 3°C warming with likely extremely severe impacts.

The agreement in Durban to establish a new body to negotiate a global agreement (Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action) by 2015 represents a major step forward. However, the agreement will not immediately affect the emissions outlook for 2020 and has postponed decisions on further emission reductions. Catching up on this postponed action will be increasingly costly.

The Climate Action Tracker estimates that global mean warming would reach about 3.5°C by 2100 with the current reduction proposals on the table. They are definitely insufficient to limit temperature increase to 2°C. A warming over 3°C could bring the world close to several potential global-scale tipping points, such as: • Possible dieback of the Amazon rainforest • Corals reefs being irreversibly replaced by algae and sea grass • Irreversible loss of the Greenland ice sheets of many centuries to thousands of years • Risk of release of methane hydrates in ocean floor sediments further adding to the warming • Permafrost thawing due to fast rising arctic temperatures

The costs for adaptation and the residual damages from climate change will increase rapidly with warming. Approximate estimates indicate that the most extreme costs will be felt in West Africa and South Asia, with residual damage of 3.5% of regional GDP for 2°C warming and 5-6% for 3°C warming. With a 2°C warming, adaptation costs would be half those associated with a 3°C temperature rise.

Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, Ms. Christiana Figueres (left) and COP 17 President Maite Nkoana-Mashabane

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IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature)

Governments at the UN climate talks in Durban agree on a package of measures to sustain current global efforts to reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions and to conclude a new agreement with legal force that would involve all countries in averting the threat of dangerous global climate change.

In addition, the agreement on a Green Climate Fund and initial financial pledges offer hope that sufficient finance will flow to deal with climate change impacts.

“We had anticipated that Durban would be where the developed world would raise the bar on their current ambitions and all countries would purposefully commit to the development of a credible roadmap for deep and wide ranging targets for the comprehensive reduction of greenhouse gas emissions,” says Stewart Maginnis, IUCN’s Director of Environment and Development. “This has been achieved, and steps have been laid out for a new agreement to be put in place by 2015. A new spirit of compromise spanning the developed and

developing countries is an encouraging step forward.”

This comes in the nick of time, as climate change is not going to wait for the negotiations on this new deal to be finalized. The impacts on ecosystems and peoples’ lives will continue to become more and more evident and resolving these will come at an ever increasing cost in years to come.

The Durban Package signals recognition that the world’s governments will purposely and comprehensively address the causes of climate change.

The final agreement that will involve all countries will have to ensure that climate change mitigation measures are sufficient to meet the goal of keeping global temperature rise below 2°C. The package also makes it clear that national governments will step up their own efforts both to reduce emissions and to adapt to climate change, and to apply “no regrets” solutions while the final architecture of the agreements are hammered out.

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STATEMENT BY UNFCCC CHIEF ON CANADA’S ANNOUNCEMENT TO WITHDRAW FROM KYOTO PROTOCOL The Durban agreement to a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol represents the continued leadership and commitment of developed countries to meet legally binding emission reduction commitments.

It also provides the essential foundation of confidence for the new push towards a universal, legal climate agreement in the near future.

I regret that Canada has announced it will withdraw and am surprised over its timing. Whether or not Canada is a Party to the Kyoto Protocol, it has a legal obligation under the Convention to reduce its emissions, and a moral obligation to itself and future generations to lead in the global effort. Industrialized countries, whose emissions have risen significantly since 1990, as is the case for Canada, remain in a weaker position to call on developing countries to limit their emissions.

I call on all developed countries to meet their responsibilities under the Climate Change Convention and its Kyoto Protocol, to raise their ambition to cut emissions and to provide the agreed adequate support to developing countries to build their own clean energy futures and adapt to climate change impacts they are already experiencing.

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A number of countries and one organisation in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) bloc delivered statements to the high-level session in the final week of the UN conference on climate change. These are snippets from their statements: Karl Hood, Grenada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and chair of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS). He delivered the statement on behalf of AOSIS. “We are participating in this process because we believe that this multilateral rules based system is critical to the survival of our countries.

It is my firm belief that this process can deliver the outcomes that will guarantee the survival of vulnerable countries like ourselves, once we can find the political will to do so.

Fellow ministers, I want to challenge you today to demonstrate to the world over the next few days that we have that political will.

We in AOSIS approach these negotiations concerned that our very survival is at stake and that time is running out to take action.

Our task has never been more urgent because what we are witnessing are emissions at their highest levels in history, with an accelerating rate of increase. I want us all to be clear on one thing – we in OASIS have not come here to negotiate ourselves out of existence – but this is what will happen if we give in to some of the proposals put forward in the last couple of days.”

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Mr. Gaspar Vega, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Belize “There is simply no alternative than to act now; we cannot afford to wait any longer because our people are already suffering from the adverse effects of climate change.

Waiting means that the international community will forgo its obligation to ensure that global warming remains below the critical threshold. Waiting will ensure that we will not have a second commitment period, rendering useless, years of accomplishments and progress.

The government and people of Belize cannot embrace or tolerate such a reality.”

Dr. Kenneth Darroux, Minister for Environment, Dominica “Climate change is real and gone are the days when climate change was thought to be a figment of the imagination of a few mad scientists and environmental extremists.”

Mr. Keith Porter, Principal Director, Forestry Development, Ministry of Housing and the Environment, Jamaica “With the threat of sea level rise, we risk losing some of our valued natural history, as the repositories for specimens of our flora and fauna and artefacts hundreds of years old are located near the coast.

The majority – 80 percent – of our small farmers depend on rain-fed agriculture and this means that they will have to adopt other methods of farming to adjust to the longer dry periods and shorter, more intense rainfall seasons.”

Mr. Ginmardo Kromosoeto, Minister of Environment, Suriname “As we all came here to discuss a global problem, we should not lose focus on the national actions needed to address the short term as well as long term adverse effects of climate change. In Cancun last year we reached agreements on the establishment of a technological mechanism, an adaptation framework and the green climate fund.

Let the decision to be taken at this 17th COP effectuate operationalisation of these establishments to ensure that developing countries can overcome their technological and capacity constraints for effective climate response.”

Ms. Joy Creese, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Housing and the Environment, Trinidad and Tobago “Indeed, the current imperative is absolutely clear. We have the incontrovertible responsibility as the guardians of this generation to ensure that we protect the future generations.

We must fully commit now and pledge to leave our precious planet in a better state than which we inherited. We must act now, as procrastination is the thief of time and we have so little time to act.

Urgency is therefore the key.”

Mr. Randolph Edmead, Director of Physical Planning and Environment, St Kitts “Our approach to the issue of Climate Change has always been one of survival, the survival of life as we know it. We urge all parties to recognise the gravity of the challenge we face and encourage them to exhaust all efforts on the technical and political levels, spanning regions, countries and organisations to secure a positive change in the way we approach this challenge.”

Dr. Kenrick Leslie, Executive Director, Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre “Despite the annual pilgrimage to farflung regions of the world and nearly two decades of negotiations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) ...the result remain grossly disappointing.

The present trajectory of increasing GHG emissions puts us on a path to irreversible damage to our biophysical and socio-economic environments and, as a result, to our sustainable development aspirations.”

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Low income households in South Africa are benefiting from a free solar water heating project being carried out by the Solar Academy of Sub Saharan Africa (SASSA).

The SASSA programme is also South Africa’s first Programme of Activities which was registered in April 2011 with the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). It’s also South Africa’s first-ever solar water heating specific programme in the CDM framework.

SASSA distributes the Tasol brand of 110 litre SWHs to households that are financially disadvantaged and affected by energy poverty.

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South Africa has high levels of solar radiation year round which makes the concept of solar heating an attractive option of the rapidly developing country, according to a SASSA brief.

By the end of September 2011, some 75,000 installations were carried out in low income households, free of charge.

With the 75,000 installations, the programme generates the expected annual average emission reductions of approximately 97,000t CO2 (using the South Africa grid factor of 0.95t/CO2 per MWh).

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Youth Forum on Climate Change 1st Trinidad and Tobago Youth Forum on Climate Change The first Youth Forum on Climate Change in Trinidad and Tobago was held on 5th November 2011 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Port of Spain. It was organised and hosted by Earth Conscious magazine, a digital and web-based publication produced by Caribbean PR Agency.

The forum was envisaged as a platform for Trinidadian and Tobagonian youth to lend their voices to the global call for urgent action to mitigate and adapt to Climate Change.

The forum was fully youth centred and driven to facilitate maximum youth participation and consensus on matters related to Climate Change in Trinidad and Tobago.

The forum’s primary objective was to promote a sense of responsibility and understanding about ‘Climate Change’ among young people.

The main goals of the Forum were: • To create awareness among students and youth on issues of Climate Change and Global Warming • To encourage environmental activities in communities • To bring together sponsors and youth organisations to make tangible interventions to develop and support actions and programmes • To build the next generation of leadership in sustainable development and climate change adaptation • To create a model that can be adopted by young people in the Caribbean • Declaration from Youth Forum on Climate Change of Trinidad and Tobago to the UN Conference on Climate Change in Durban, South Africa (Nov-Dec 2011).

The forum attracted 220 young delegates, ages 13-25, spread across different geographical locations throughout Trinidad and Tobago. Delegates comprised a mix of students from secondary schools and tertiary institutions.

For a vast majority of delegates, it was the first time they were participating in a forum on climate change.

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“The youth form the backbone of any society since they represent the future – they are the citizens of tomorrow. Empowering these young people with adequate knowledge of this global issue of climate change, is the first step to ensuring that climate change matters are positioned at the forefront of our economic development.

It will be through the actions of the youth both now and in the near future that they will endeavour to alter the climate change paradigm in our nation. It follows therefore, that we must identify and nurture the creative potential in every youth in the interest of the sustained progress and development of our nation.”

Dr. the Honourable Roodal Moonilal, Minister of Housing and the Environment, Trinidad and Tobago at the First Youth Forum on Climate Change

Minister Moonilal with one of the youth delegates

Change is required at all levels to adopt more efficient use of resources and support the development of environmentally sustainable practices. However, a major challenge facing Trinidad and Tobago and societies worldwide is promoting pro-environmental behaviour.

One of the ways to encourage societal change is through young people who have been exposed to an understanding of environmental knowledge and can contribute to and influence sustainable lifestyles around them.

Young people are critical stakeholders in determining the future of our country and are agents of change in the world. They have a significant role to play in the shift towards sustainable lifestyles. The positive environmental values and behaviour developed by young people today will be an important factor in the environmental future of Trinidad and Tobago.

This was the catalyst behind the organizer’s decision to host the Trinidad and Tobago Youth Forum on Climate Change – the first of its kind in the twin-island Republic and also in the Caribbean.

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Youth Forum on Climate Change “In Trinidad and Tobago, the climate change threat is literally on your beach. As young people on an island nation, you are extremely aware of the impacts of climate change. As young people who are members of a generation, climate change is the defining issue of your generation. You are Generation C., or Generation Climate. It is a tremendous responsibility.

But your generation also has a powerful tool than no other generation had before: thanks to the internet, to communications technology and to social media, you are the most interconnected generation that ever lived.

Use that knowledge, that voice, that power. You are more capable of getting your message heard and more capable of linking up with like-minded people than any generation before you.”

Ms. Christiana Figueres, the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in a video statement to the First Youth Forum on Climate Change

THE AGENDA The opening session was addressed by Editor, Earth Conscious magazine, Mrs. Linda Hutchinson-Jafar, Minister in the Ministry of Gender, Youth and Child Development, Ms. Ramona Ramdial and by Minister of Housing and the Environment, Dr. Roodal Moonilal who delivered the feature address. Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Ms. Christiana Figueres delivered special remarks via a taped video. Mr. Omar Mohammed, representing the Cropper Foundation delivered the Vote of Thanks.

The Forum was broken into two main areas: A plenary discussion and Break-out sessions themed ‘Green Expectations’ on Communities in Action; Creative Arts and Information and Communication Technology.

Setting the stage for the plenary discussion were two presentations: Mr. Dayne-Marc Chin Slick made a presentation on ‘Climate Change Initiatives by Global Youth’. Mr. Chin Slick is Co-Founder of the United Nations Youth Association of Trinidad and Tobago (UNYATT) and an executive member of the United Nations Association of Trinidad and Tobago (UNATT).

Mr. Garvin Bovell Perry was the presenter on the topic ‘Overview on Climate Change Initiatives by Youth in Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean’. Mr. Perry is the Regional Chairman of the Caribbean Youth Environment Network (CYEN) and Board member on Commonwealth Youth Climate Network.

The Plenary discussion moderated by Journalist Golda Lee focused on ‘How can young people in Trinidad and Tobago contribute to the awareness of climate change issues and what support structures are required for successful interventions?’

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Members of the Panel were all young people from secondary schools and tertiary institutions who were either active on the environmental front or had a keen interested in becoming active. They were Mr. Rondelle Keller, Ms. Sheneil Chootoo, Ms. Zainab Kamara, Mr. Ryan Cudjoe, Ms. Crystal Edwards, Ms. Ananya Annamunthodo and Mr. Irfaan Ali The plenary discussion tackled wideranging issues: • Who is responsible for the health of the environment?

• How concerned are young people about the environment/climate change?

• What is their current knowledge about these issues?

• What steps can they take to protect the environment?

• What steps are they currently taking?

• Are they encouraged to engage in pro-environmental actions?

• What support do they need?

• If they receive support, would they be encouraged to take proenvironmental actions?

The main thread that ran through the plenary with inputs from delegates in the audience is that young people want knowledge and they want to use the knowledge to bring change to their communities and schools.

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Youth Forum on Climate Change Breakout sessions under the theme “Green Expectations” were moderated by young people with expertise in the particular areas of discussion: • • •

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Creative Arts Community in Action Information Technology

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MINISTER’S CHALLENGE - CALL TO ACTION In response to a call from the Minister of Housing and the Environment, Dr. Roodal Moonilal to submit three projects out of the discussions for possible funding, the organisers of the Youth Forum on Climate Change delivered six project ideas to the government for selection of the final three for possible development and funding.

The project ideas are: • • • • •

A Nationwide Art Competition with the theme “Climate Change” A Climate Change/Green/Environment award in Cultural events National Programme prompting backyard farming or grow-box farming National Recycling and separation of waste by household Establishment of an analysis unit to acquire data on the changing national landscape • Project EduXchange (a web-based project for schools) Special thanks to the sponsors of the 1st Youth Forum on Climate Change, Trinidad and Tobago: Ministry of Housing and the Environment, British High Commission, Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, BPTT, Atlantic and the National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago.

Special mention of individuals and organisations who assisted: CANARI, Inkings, Karibgraphics Ltd., Guardian Holdings Limited, Trinidad Guardian, Turtle Village Trust, UNESCO, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Virtually Yours T&T Limited.

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Time to Act

By Stefan SchlĂźter Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Trinidad and Tobago Climate change is the definitive challenge of the 21st century. Changes in the climate destroy the basis on which human life subsists; drought, for instance, leads to shortages in food and water.

Rising sea levels are already threatening the territories of small island states and vast stretches of coastland.

However, the international community has to admit that it has not, as things stand, stepped up to the challenge posed by climate change.

Global CO2 emissions went up again in 2010, global temperatures are already 0.8°C higher than before industrialization, and sea levels rose twice as fast between 1993 and 2003 as they did in the preceding decade; icebergs and glaciers are melting at record speeds.

We all need the climate change negotiations underway in Durban to come up with tangible results.

Germany is aware of how pressing this problem is. We are therefore doing what we can to mitigate it effectively. Thanks to our national reduction measures, we are within the targets which the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recommends for industrialized countries: we intend to reduce our emissions by 40% by 2020 and by 80 95% by 2050. We are also doing our bit to push for ambitious reduction targets within the EU. At the highest level internationally, too, we want to create awareness that we have to act now to tackle climate change. It was

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under Germany’s presidency that the United Nations Security Council, on 20 July, unanimously acknowledged for the first time ever that climate change poses a threat to international security.

Germany is working both globally and domestically to combat climate change because we take the problem seriously and are aware of our responsibility. At the same time, in depth analysis shows that the structural transformation we have set in motion is one which will in future also serve us well economically. By switching to a low-carbon economy, we want to prove that tackling climate change is compatible with economic development. We want to support others as they pursue this path to success; going green can be an opportunity for everyone!

Nonetheless, even if these efforts bear fruit and the global economy starts producing significantly lower quantities of greenhouse gas, we know that many countries are already suffering the consequences of climate change. That is why the German Government has been assisting countries particularly affected by climate change for years. Our partners in developing countries and emerging economies receive support for projects to mitigate and adapt to climate change through German development cooperation under the auspices of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development as well as through the International Climate

Climate Change Outreach at Grant Memorial Primary School

Climate Change Outreach at San Fernando Central Government

Initiative being run by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. Between 2010 and 2012, our Government is providing these countries with a total of 1.26 billion euro in additional funds for mitigation and adaptation, within the scope of the industrialized countries’ fast start finance initiative agreed in Copenhagen in 2009. Germany stands ready to play its part in financing such measures in developing countries in the long term as well.

Parallel to these specific measures, we also need to reach a comprehensive agreement in the international climate change negotiations which encompasses all the big emitters – including those which

were classed as developing countries for the 1992 Framework Convention but have since become major economies. Only when we finally stop pointing the finger, and create the legal certainty that no country will be at a disadvantage or be able to opt out, can we combat climate change effectively.

This is an extremely ambitious enterprise, which requires us to take concrete steps urgently and to demonstrate stamina.

Copenhagen saw the failure of the first attempt to establish such a comprehensive agreement and simultaneously resolve the details of everything from funding to legal status to rules for including forests in calculations. That is why we are playing it safe this time by addressing the various issues step by step. The countries have been negotiating the details since Cancún – where they made great progress – and will embed them in the necessary new framework once it is established.

We know that time is short; all the decisions reached need to take effect quickly, so that we don’t lose any more time.

We are holding this stance in Durban too.

As part of the EU, and shoulder to shoulder with many developing countries, small island states and LDCs, we are working for a robust, legally binding climate change agreement.

That is the only way for us to achieve our common goal of capping global warming at 2ºC and so fulfil our obligation to future generations. I am convinced that we cannot afford, economically or otherwise, to hold off on combating climate change until its effects become even more drastic.

In the Caribbean, Germany has been a strong partner for many years in climate protection. Germany supports institutional structures for the promotion of renewable energy and energy efficiency within the Caribbean Community with 4.5 million euros and the management of coastal marine areas in the CARICOM Member States with 5 million euros. The Caribbean Renewable Energy Development Programme (CREDP) is December 2011

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a joint project of CARICOM and the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development. CREDP seeks to remove barriers for the use of Renewable Energy and application of Energy Efficiency measures in the Caribbean Region.

Additional projects on promoting climate-friendly economies and fostering measures to adapt to the effects of climate change in the region are under consideration.

Since 2008, the International Climate Initiative (ICI) of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) seeks to increase the adaptive capacity of countries and regions that are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. In this context, a 5 million euro pilot programme to develop and implement integrated adaptation strategies in Grenada is currently being negotiated. The Caribbean remains a focus of German efforts in this domain.

Climate Change Outreach at St. Peter’s Private School

Climate Change Outreach at TML Primary School

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Development Banks Agree on New Partnership for Climate Action in Cities Five Multilateral Development Banks, who are lending some US$8.4 billion annually for climate action in cities have agreed on a new partnership to combat global warming.

With the overall aim to better coordinate and deepen support to cities in adapting to and mitigating climate change, the African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Inter-American Development Bank, and the World Bank have agreed to work more closely to develop common tools and metrics for cities.

The five MDBs said they would develop a common approach for cities to assess climate risk, standardize greenhouse gas emissions inventories, and encourage a consistent suite of climate finance options.

Hela Cheikhrouhou, Director of the African Development Bank’s Energy, Environment & Climate Change Department said, “Considering that the rates of urbanization in Africa are the highest in the world, this is a timely initiative and is aligned with the Bank Group’s recently approved Urban Development Strategy.”

Woochong Um, Deputy Director General, Regional and Sustainable Development Department at ADB said, “ADB is working with multilateral development banks through the Climate Investment Funds and other avenues to mobilize the public and private sector financing needed by developing Asia and the Pacific to support climate change.”

Jean-Patrick Marquet, Director of Municipal and Environmental Infrastructure at EBRD, outlined that “The sustainability and climate change challenges for cities can be managed with a multi-faceted approach involving active stakeholders’ participation

in pursuit of both environmental benefits and transition objectives”.

“This is an effort to disseminate best practices on an issue of global importance and where south-south cooperation aided by multilateral banks can really make a difference,” said Walter Vergara, Sustainable Energy and Climate Change Chief of the IDB. “While cities account for over twothirds of global energy consumption and an estimated 80 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, they are also crucibles of innovation. Cities are critical in the fight to tackle climate change,” said Rachel Kyte, World Bank Vice President for Sustainable Development. “With this new partnership, the development banks will be able to better leverage city-level leadership on climate change mitigation and adaptation across the world.”

Many cities around the world are already responding to the challenges of climate change. Increasingly, they are acting in concert and learning from one another, regionally, and through national and international networks such as the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability, United Cities and Local Governments, the EU’s Covenant of Mayors, and the World Mayors Council on Climate Change.

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GHL Advertorial EXPANDING THE CIRCLES OF EMPATHY Since its inception more than 160 years ago, Guardian has remained dedicated to these core values and beliefs: the protection and security of Life. While the original intention of this belief continues to thrive in its first rate servicing of clients’ needs, always ensuring empathy and understanding, the Group has expanded its own umbrella of protection to other, greater aspects of life.

Peter Singer, famous modern philosopher, argues that humanity’s only hope for a sustainable future is in the expansion of its circles of empathy. We all begin with the concerns of the individual, he argues, and over time include all blood ties, the family. As our empathy swells, concerns for the community at large, then later, that of the whole species begin to press on us, until finally, our concerns and our worries encompass the love and protection of the planet as a whole. This is the impetus of the modern environmental movement. In the last few years, Guardian has demonstrated its membership in this enlightened global consciousness through its major internal environmental programme, Project Green.

Begun out of the growing worldwide concern of ecological degradation, and the urge to protect our regional natural resources, Guardian adopted the idea “Think Globally, Act Locally” as a way out of the inertia that oppresses so many of us when thinking of “being green”. The people of Guardian are few in the scheme of things, but through small, targeted projects, they have made a huge difference.

In 2006 Guardian partnered with The Heroes Foundation for the annual International Coastal Cleanup. By 2008, the number of employee volunteers skyrocketed to 180, and by 2009 Guardian was so inspired by its employees’ enthusiasm that it ‘adopted’ a site of its own, Chagville beach and upped its contribution by joining the National Planning Committee.

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An eco-newsletter began to be circulated to further inform and engage employees.

GreeNews, sent as an e-newsletter to further reduce Guardian’s carbon footprint, encourages discussion and input from its readership on tips and suggestions to create and further refine an environmentally– friendly workplace. Project Green had taken root.

One of the biggest improvements to the Guardian offices is the three-year old ‘Powering Down’ project. Using low-power, 24-hour digital timers to turn off lights and a/c units at pre-set times, the building recorded 40% savings on electricity bills in 6 months. Thrilled with the environmental and cost-saving results, Guardian extended the project throughout its offices.

So far the greatest application of Project Green has been Guardian’s recycling movement. All forms of recycling are championed, from the provision of glass, plastic, newspaper and magazine recycling bins to shredders so that waste paper is not discarded but instead sent to be recycled.

The buck doesn’t stop with direct corporate recycling - the greening of the workplace has spread like a bush-fire (excuse the antithetical metaphor) and employees jumped at the opportunity to do their part.

Some 450 AA batteries have been recycled as part of a battery recycling initiative in collaboration with Servus. Even Guardian’s dragon boat team Oarstruck got bitten by the green bug and participated in a ‘Directory Recycling Campaign’ campaign.

The local telephone company promised to pay one dollar to any non-governmental organization that catered to youth development, for every used book received.

Geared up, Oarstruck handed over more than 600 books and the money collected was donated to Credo Foundation for Justice, which whom they have a relationship. Like the hidden financial savings that came out of the Powering Down project, the charitable social work Oarstruck managed to

accomplish was icing to its environmentally conscious cake.

Guardian companies outside of the home country are also on board. In Jamaica, employees are encouraged to reuse and recycle the in-house paper while creative ideas inspire a consciousness change. For example, during Christmas, decorating challenges are issued to staff: who can best ‘deck their halls’ entirely out of recycled materials. In the Dutch Caribbean, Fatum has partnered with the “Korsou Limpi Bunita” movement (Curacao Clean and Beautiful) in adopting a city plaza to maintain the vegetation for a cleaner and greener lifestyle.

Project Green has grown organically in its four years and continues to drive home the message of personal and corporate responsibility to use resources in a sustainable way, preserving them for future generations.

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As Global Population Surpasses 7 Billion, Two Clear Strategies for a Sustainable Future Greater reproductive choice and measures to reduce resource consumption and waste are critical to reducing humanity’s environmental impact.

As the global population surpasses 7 billion people sometime around the end of October, addressing the challenges associated with a still-growing world population will require a two-pronged response, according to experts with the Worldwatch Institute.

The combined measures of empowering women to make their own decisions about childbearing and significantly reducing global consumption of energy and natural resources would move humanity toward rather than further away from environmentally sustainable societies that meet human needs.

Roughly 4.5 billion people have been added to the world population in just the last 60 years, according to United Nations estimates, putting increased strain on the world’s ecosystems and resources.

Because humans interact with their surroundings far more intensely than any other species and use vast amounts of carbon, nitrogen, water, and other resources, we are on track not only

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to change the global climate and deplete essential energy and other natural resources, but to wipe out thousands of plant and animal species in the coming decades. To some extent, these outcomes are now unavoidable; we’ll have to adapt to them. But in order to improve the likelihood they will not be catastrophic, we need to simultaneously work to influence the future path of population and to address the environmental and social impacts that continued population growth will have.

“It is precisely because the human population is so large and is growing so fast that we must care how much we as individuals----and nations----are increasingly out of sync with environmental sustainability,” said Worldwatch President Robert Engelman, an expert on global population.

“The challenge becomes even more with each generation.

Fortunately there are ways to practically and humanely both slow population growth and reduce the impacts associated with the growth that occurs.”

Earlier this year, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) launched 7 Billion Actions, a campaign to highlight positive actions by individuals and organizations addressing global development challenges. By sharing these innovations in an open forum, the campaign aims to foster communication and collaboration as the planet becomes more populated and increasingly interdependent.

“Addressing global population growth is not the same thing as ‘controlling population’,” Engelman said. “The most direct and immediate way to lower birth rates is to make sure that as high a proportion as possible of pregnancies are intended, by assuring that women can make their own choices about whether and when to bear a child. Simultaneously, we need to rapidly transform our energy, water, and materials consumption through greater use of conservation, efficiency, and green technologies. We shouldn’t think of these as sequential efforts - dealing with consumption first, then waiting for population dynamics to turn around - but rather as simultaneous tasks on multiple fronts.”

Worldwatch recommends two main approaches to mitigate the impacts of a soaring global population: Empower women to make their own decisions about childbearing More than two in five pregnancies worldwide are unintended by the women who experience them, and half or more of these pregnancies result in births that spur continued population growth. Engelman has calculated that if all women had the capacity to decide for themselves when to become pregnant, average global childbearing would immediately fall below the “replacement

fertility” value of slightly more than two children per woman. Population would then move onto a path leading to a peak followed by a gradual decline, possibly well before 2050. Women must be able to make their own decisions about childbearing free from fear of coercion or pressure from partners, family, and society. And they must have easy access to a range of safe, effective, and affordable contraceptive methods and the information and counseling needed to use them.

Consume fewer resources and waste less food Humans anywhere from 24 percent to nearly 40 percent of the photosynthetic output of the planet for food and other purposes, and more than half of the planet’s accessible renewable freshwater runoff. In addition to overuse of finite resources, humans waste large quantities of food every year. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, industrialized countries waste 222 million tons of food annually. If fewer resources and less food were wasted, the world would be able to feed more people and use fewer resources. With nearly 1 billon hungry people worldwide, wasting less food would also mean utilizing existing resources - not new ones - to feed them.

According to UN estimates the world’s 7 billionth person would be born on October 31, 2011.

One of these was baby Danica Mae Camacho, born in Manila, The Phillipines

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FAO says traditional crops key to facing climate change On 10th anniversary, international plant genetics treaty funds new projects

Peruvian farmers harvesting native potatoes. Photo: Milagros Salazar

Traditional food crops and other plant varieties worldwide are in urgent need of protection from climate change and other environmental stresses, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said today, as it observed the tenth anniversary of the international treaty to protect and share plant genetic resources.

FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf called on countries to develop specific policies to conserve and make wider use of plant varieties for generations to come.

He lauded the injection of $6 million made available through the treaty to help farmers of traditional crops adapt to climate change.

“The conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture are key to ensuring that the world will produce enough food to feed its growing population in the future,” Diouf said.

Diouf pointed out that the global gene pool of more than 1.5 million samples of plant genetic material governed collectively and multilaterally by signature countries

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under the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture “constitutes the basis for more than 80 percent of the world’s food derived from plants and it is possibly our most important tool for adapting agriculture to climate change in the years to come.”

The Treaty’s ‘Benefit-sharing Fund’ is being used to support farmers and breeders in 21 developing countries to adapt key crops to the new conditions brought on by climate change, floods, droughts, plant pests, plant diseases and other factors.

“The effects of climate change on agriculture do not respect national borders, they cover entire agro-ecological zones,” said Shakeel Bhatti, Secretary of the International Treaty. “For this reason, this portfolio of projects is taking a pioneering approach in generating a global knowledge base. Some of these projects will help us to establish clear priorities and action plans across borders for future actions.”

Peru’s Potato Park One such project is based in a potato sanctuary in Peru, where community members combine traditional knowledge with efforts to conserve native varieties, improve agricultural production and ensure food security.

“When I was a little girl, native potatoes were cultivated in the lower lands. Today, lower zones are much hotter than before and it is not possible to cultivate potatoes anymore. As a result, we need to cultivate them much higher in the mountain,” said Francisca Pacco, Potato Park Guardian.

During a recent knowledge-exchange session with visitors from Ethiopia, Pacco and other Potato Park residents showed how they used local knowledge of wind patterns, native plants and other factors to change the locations and timing for local potato cultivation. With support from the Benefit-sharing Fund, Potato Park residents are also increasing incomegenerating activities.

Different potato varieties in the Potato Park, Cusco, Peru. Photo: International Institute for Environment and Development

Recognition of farmers’ work “Farmers are the key actors in the conservation and sustainable use of food crops and they struggle with all the changes that are happening. If we work hard with a solid scientific basis and the integration of farmers, we will see results in two years when these projects will be over,” said Zoila Fundora, a Cuba-based expert from the panel that evaluated the new projects approved.

“The fund helps farmers, in a very practical way, to adapt to climate change and contributes to food security by recognizing that one part of the solution is in the huge diversity of crops”, said David Cunningham, a panel expert from Australia.

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UNEP Billion Tree Campaign reaches

12 Billion Milestone

Schoolchildren taking part in a Billion Tree Campaign activity in Oman.

Photo: UNEP

Under the Billion Tree Campaign, individuals and organisations, including youth groups, schools, businesses or national governments, can pledge to plant trees on the campaign website: www.unep.org/ billiontreecampaign Pledges range from a single tree to several million trees.

More than 12 billion trees have now been planted in 193 countries under the Billion Tree Campaign, organised by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

The 12 billion landmark was reached earlier this month following a tree planting campaign carried out in Kenya by the Green Africa Foundation.

One of thousands of individuals and organisations to have participated in the Billion Tree Campaign since its inception in 2007, the Green Africa Foundation plants trees in villages and schools in Eastern Kenya. To date, the foundation has planted over 24 million trees.

Inspired by the work of the late Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Wangari Maathai, the Billion Tree Campaign aims to improve the quality of life in communities across the world through the multiple benefits provided by trees. These include tackling climate change through the sequestration of carbon, contributing to local economies through products such as timber and providing valuable ecosystem services such as soil regulation, erosion control and cultural values.

Today, over 1 billion people depend on forests for their livelihoods. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the forest industry contributes around US$468 billion to global GDP. The Billion Tree Campaign is active in all United Nations member states, including the most recent addition to the UN family, South Sudan, which joined the initiative in September 2011.

China is the leading participating country, having planted a total of 2.8 billion trees under the campaign. India is currently in second place with 2.1 billion trees, followed by Ethiopia, Mexico and Turkey.

Recent contributions to the campaign include a million trees planted by the Organization for Forests in Flanders, Belgium. Last month, the organisation dedicated the millionth tree planted under the initiative to the memory of Wangari Maathai, co-patron of the Billion Tree Campaign, who died in September 2011.

In the United States, the Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative and its partners have registered 10.9 million trees planted during 2011.

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New ILO study says greener economies will require development of new green job skills The employment potential of the transition to greener economies cannot be realized without the development of a wide range of relevant new skills for green jobs, according to a new global study by the ILO of 21 countries representing some 60 per cent of the world population. “Skills for Green Jobs: A Global View” is the most comprehensive report to date, outlining the needs and challenges of developing new skills that will be critical to sustaining the growth of green economies.

The employment potential of the transition to greener economies cannot be realized without the development of a wide range of relevant new skills for green jobs, according to a new global study by the International Labour Organization (ILO) of 21 countries, representing some 60 per cent of the world population.

Skills for Green Jobs: A Global View is the most comprehensive look to date at the needs and challenges of developing new skills that will be critical to sustaining the growth of green economies. The study was produced by the ILO Skills and Employability Department (EMP/SKILLS), in cooperation with the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop).

The study notes that while greening economies offer considerable potential for job creation, the development of new skills will be very much country specific, largely determined by environmental challenges, national policy and politics and the regulatory framework. However, international policy and legislation are playing a greater role and are driving further change at the national policy level.

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“Environmental and climate change policies bring enormous employment opportunities but also the risks associated with structural changes”, says Olga StrietskaIlina, Coordinator of the study. “The report shows that economies moving towards greener production can seize the potential for job creation if they deal with the coming structural change and transformation of existing jobs.”

The report reveals that skill shortages already pose a major barrier in the transition to greener economies stemming from a number of factors such as underestimated growth of certain green sectors, for example in energy efficiency in buildings; a general shortage of scientists and engineers; the low reputation and attractiveness of some sectors, such as waste management; and the general structure of the national skill base.

The transformation wrought by greening economies affects skill needs in three ways.

The first is ‘green restructuring’, which implies shifting activities at the industry level from carbon intensive to greener production. The second is the emergence of new occupations with the introduction of new regulations

and the development of new technologies.

Third is changing skills profiles in existing occupations as the result of greening production processes and workplaces. This source of change in skill requirements is the most widespread. It also calls for major efforts to revise existing curricula, qualification standards and training programmes at all levels of education and training.

Although new job opportunities arising from greener production are expected to offset job losses, workers who get ‘green’ jobs may not necessarily be those who lost their jobs in so-called ‘brown’ industries. The study says retraining workers and upgrading skills remain matters of urgency in facilitating a smooth and just transition to a lowcarbon and green economy.

The conclusion from the country comparison is that sustained inclusion of skills development in strategies to speed the greening of national economies remains limited to isolated initiatives.

In addition to this specific problem of lack of policy coordination, many of the case studies also revealed a lack of enforcement of

environmental regulations already adopted.

This diminishes the incentive to invest in new skills, which, in turn, detracts from compliance capabilities and, in a downward spiral, further exacerbates the difficulty of implementing regulations.

“Every job can potentially become greener.

The integration of sustainable development and environmental awareness into education and training at all levels – starting from early childhood education, is an important task. It will contribute to changing consumer behaviour and triggering market forces to push the greening agenda ahead”, Ms Strietska-Ilina says.

In 2008, the ILO, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) jointly launched the Green Jobs Initiative to help governments and social partners turn this potential for decent work into reality by aligning environment and employment objectives and policies.

The promotion of green jobs is central to this transition. For the ILO, the notion of green jobs summarizes the transformation of economies, enterprises, workplaces and labour markets into a sustainable, lowcarbon economy providing decent work. But much needed innovative strategies to promote green jobs can only succeed with the full involvement and participation of workers and enterprises. The ILO Green Jobs Agenda supports a socially fair transition for enterprises, workers and communities, where the impact of changes in labour markets, including vulnerabilities and inequalities and new business models are addressed through social dialogue. Jobs are green when they help reduce negative environmental impact and ultimately lead to environmentally, economically and socially sustainable enterprises and economies. More precisely, green jobs are decent jobs that: • Reduce consumption of energy and raw materials • Limit greenhouse gas emissions • Minimize waste and pollution • Protect and restore ecosystems Green jobs can be created in all sectors and types of enterprises, in urban and rural settings, and in countries at all levels of economic development.

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Renewable Energies Reach Record Generating 65% of Electricity in Central America

The total electricity production in the subregion in 2010 grew thanks to investments in new power stations.

According to a recent study released by ECLAC Subregional Headquarters in Mexico, sixty-five per cent of electricity produced in six countries in Central America in 2010 came from renewable energies (water power, geothermal, sugar cane and wind), which is a record for the subregion.

The report Central America: Electricity Statistics, 2010 states that last year, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama produced a total of 40,668.2 gWh, while the total electricity sales in these countries (which includes regulated and free markets) rose to 34,579.6 gWh, 3.8% greater than the level recorded in 2009.

The increase in the use of renewable energy sources is primarily due to the rise in hydropower production, which in 2010 was greater than the threshold of 20 Terawatt hours (20,974 gWh) for the first time.

Over the past year in the region, investments in new power stations have ended which amounted to around US$1.1 billion and represented a rise of around 500 MW in the generating capacity.

According to the report, in terms of stakeholders in the electricity sector in Central America, the most important was the revenue of the Colombian company Empresas Públicas de Medellín which acquired important electricity distribution companies in three countries: Del Sur in El Salvador, ENSA in Panama and EEGSA in Guatemala, activities worth more than US$800 million.

Likewise, it states that five business groups were responsible for 87% of the regional electricity market demand. They

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provide services to 93% of Central American users (almost 31 million people).

These companies are: the Spanish group Gas Natural (formerly Unión Fenosa), with a 22% share; EPM (21%); ICE-CNFL of Costa Rica (19%); ENEE of Honduras (15%), and the United States of America group AES (10%).

The remaining 13% corresponds to large users (industry and services) and around 20 small distributing companies.

The report states that international electricity trade continues to be low, although it recovered thanks to exports from Mexico to Guatemala. The backbone of the Central American Electrical Interconnection System for Central America (SIEPAC) shows a high level of progress. Five of the six links between countries have been opened, as have two of the five national sections. The works should be finished in 2012.

The world is locking itself into an unsustainable energy future which would have far-reaching consequences, IEA warns in its latest World Energy Outlook

Without a bold change of policy direction, the world will lock itself into an insecure, inefficient and high-carbon energy system, the International Energy Agency warned as it launched the 2011 edition of the World Energy Outlook (WEO). The agency’s flagship publication, released today in London, said there is still time to act, but the window of opportunity is closing.

“Growth, prosperity and rising population will inevitably push up energy needs over the coming decades. But we cannot continue to rely on insecure and environmentally unsustainable uses of energy,” said IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven. “Governments need to introduce stronger measures to drive investment in efficient and lowcarbon technologies. The Fukushima nuclear accident, the turmoil in parts of the Middle East and North Africa and a sharp rebound in energy demand in 2010 which pushed CO2 emissions to a record high, highlight the urgency and the scale of the challenge.”

In the WEO’s central New Policies Scenario, which assumes that recent government commitments are implemented in a cautious manner, primary energy demand increases by onethird between 2010 and 2035, with 90% of the growth in non-OECD economies. China

consolidates its position as the world’s largest energy consumer: it consumes nearly 70% more energy than the United States by 2035, even though, by then, per capita demand in China is still less than half the level in the United States.

The share of fossil fuels in global primary energy consumption falls from around 81% today to 75% in 2035. Renewables increase from 13% of the mix today to 18% in 2035; the growth in renewables is underpinned by subsidies that rise from $64 billion in 2010 to $250 billion in 2035, support that in some cases cannot be taken for granted in this age of fiscal austerity. By contrast, subsidies for fossil fuels amounted to $409 billion in 2010.

Short-term pressures on oil markets are easing with the economic slowdown and the expected return of Libyan supply. But the average oil price remains high, approaching $120/barrel (in year2010 dollars) in 2035. Reliance grows on a small number of producers: the increase in output from Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is over 90% of the required growth in world oil output to 2035. If, between 2011 and 2015, investment in the MENA region runs onethird lower than the $100 billion per year required, consumers could face a nearterm rise in the oil price to $150/barrel.

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Caribbean hotels to become more energy efficient with IDB grant US$2 million will also facilitate sale of carbon credits by hotels that invest in efficient equipment The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) approved the Caribbean Hotel Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Action – Advanced Program (CHENACT-AP), a US$2 million grant to help the tourism sector in Barbados, Jamaica, The Bahamas, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, Haiti, Dominican Republic and Guyana to become more energy efficient.

The four-year project will finance energy audits for hotels in participating countries that want to cut their operational costs through greater energy efficiency. Efficiency measures in areas such as lighting, water use and air conditioning provide great opportunities for savings, particularly for small and medium-sized hotels. IDB studies have estimated that many of these hotels have the potential to reduce water consumption by 50 percent and overall energy consumption by 30 percent to 50 percent, when implementing an integral set of efficiency measures and microgeneration with renewable energies.

But in order to make sound choices regarding efficiency improvements or obtain credit for such investments from donors or banks, hotels need to obtain detailed audits of their energy use. By providing grants for such audits, the IDB program intends to jump-start efficiency investments in the hotel sector.

The program will also finance an innovative scheme to enable individual hotels to generate revenue from the sale of carbon credits in the international carbon market. Christiaan Gischler, project team leader at the IDB, explained that the transaction costs involved in selling carbon credits can make it prohibitive for an individual hotel or company to participate in the carbon markets.

To overcome that barrier, the IDB will work with participating countries to bundle carbon emission reductions generated from energy efficiency or renewable energy application in the Caribbean hotel sector as a consequence of the CHENACT-AP. It will help them to certify those emission using United Nations carbon finance instruments. “In this way, multiple hotels will be able to access carbon markets at once, reducing the transaction costs of this

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process,” said Gischler. “This will make it easier for participating hotels to sell carbon credits to offset the costs of their efficiency investments, while promoting green tourism and helping to market the Caribbean as one of the main ‘low carbon tourism’ destinations.”

Furthermore, the project will help hotels access existing funds and identify opportunities for new financial schemes to strengthen local governments and promote energy efficiency on a regional level.

Counterpart funds provided by the governments of Barbados, Jamaica and The Bahamas as well as a number of regional and international organizations will bring the project grant up to a total of US$5,145,000 million. The grant will be paid out over a period of four years.

CHENACT-AP was launched on Thursday, October 13th at the 2011 Caribbean Renewable Energy Forum (CREF), the biggest and most influential gathering of renewable energy stakeholders in the Caribbean. Representatives of the Governments of Barbados, Jamaica and the Bahamas will be present during the signature of the agreement between IDB and the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), executing agency of the Program with operational support from the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA) and the Caribbean Alliance for Sustainable Tourism (CAST).

TRINIDAD, IDB SIGN US$130 MILLION LOAN The Trinidad and Tobago government and the Inter-American Development Bank have signed loan agreements for a total of US$130 million which includes US$80 million in support of climate change policy, legislative and institutional reform.

Acting Minister of Finance, Mr. Vasant Bharath (right) and the Inter-American Development Bank Representative Mr. Iwan Sewberath Misser

Climate change

Specifically, this loan will facilitate the incorporation of the impact of climate change considerations into national policies and institutions and promote carbon markets and policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The strengthening and modernization of the regulatory, institutional and policy framework would encourage the development and promotion of instruments to assess and reduce vulnerability and risks associated with climate change.

These reforms are also critically important because mitigation and adaptation measures are central for small island states like Trinidad and Tobago that are highly vulnerable to the impact of global climate change.

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CDB APPROVES CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION PROJECT GRANT

The Board of Directors of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has approved a grant equivalent to USD470,250 to the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre to enable the Centre to establish a Project Development Unit.

This unit will assist the Centre in building its capacity to coordinate the effective implementation of the climate change strategy and the associated implementation plan of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), as well as to provide technical support to the CARICOM member states to support the implementation of appropriate climate change responses.

The CDB project will focus on providing the services of a consultant to manage the Project Development Unit, preparation of a pipeline of priority climate change adaptation investment projects for member states, and the development of tools and guidance resources.

CDB support to the Centre is part of a wider programme of assistance to the Centre by the development community.

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Latin American and Caribbean Women Publish Rio+20 Statement Latin American and Caribbean Women, part of the Women Major Group, published a statement on the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20) expressing concern with the concept of “green economy,� and underlining that its use could result in economic actors dominating and determining sustainable development policies.

According to the statement, the economic element of sustainable development should relate to embracing the elements and values that underpin the recognition of the rights of Mother Earth and good living. It emphasizes that sustainable development cannot focus solely on an economic agenda, but must include social, cultural, and environmental dimensions, and result in the elimination of gender discrimination.

In the statement, the group proposes: evaluating the implementation of the Rio Principles, using clear indicators showing evidence of gender differentiation and fairness in general; ensuring access to land, sea and control over natural resources, education, information on and access to environmental justice principles, social security, reproductive health care and food sovereignty for women; and commit to recognize, respect and value the knowledge of women, especially the traditional knowledge of indigenous women.

OECS Forum Explores Eastern Caribbean Green Growth Potential, Agrees Next Steps The Green Growth Investment Forum, organized by the Mission of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) in Brussels, Belgium, from 6-7 October 2011, resulted in agreement on further steps to promote green investment in the Eastern Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS). The Forum was organized by the OECS and the European Union (EU)/ACP (African, Caribbean, Pacific) Centre for the Development of Enterprise (CDE) to bring together entrepreneurs, experts, policy makers and investors around the theme of green technologies for economic growth, adapted to the context of SIDS. Its aim was to create awareness among potential investors and policy makers in Europe of the specific development realities and challenges facing the small islands of the OECS, as well as the opportunities for targeted and adapted investments in the area of innovation and clean technologies among the nine OECS member States.

The Forum discussed, inter alia: renewable energy options such as geothermal, biofuels and biogas; energy efficiency; eco-innovation in wastewater management; sustainable transport prospects for Caribbean SIDS; eco-architecture; environmentally-friendly tourism; sustainable agriculture; green investment opportunities in information and communications technology (ICT) in the Eastern Caribbean; the promotion of eco-manufacturing; promoting green trade; developing centers of excellence in sustainable development research; carbon footprinting; and promoting legal frameworks for green investment and environmental management.

Government representatives participating in the Forum agreed that the OECS nations should follow up by building legal frameworks in the OECS region to facilitate joint energy policies. Also agreed for follow-up was an idea proposed by the Saint Lucia Manufacturers Association to have the OECS, working with the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the CDE, to develop a “Green Award” for Caribbean enterprises.

If the world temperature rises by more that 1.5 degree Celsius the Caribbean’s low-lying counties and small island states will be at serious risk of economic hardship, poor health, and environmental degradation from rising sea levels, severe weather, coastal erosion and coral and sea life deterioration.

Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre

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MIF partners with Nordic Development Fund to finance a pioneer green microfinance initiative Program to boost access to clean energy, energy efficiency technology and adaptation products to micro, small and medium-sized companies in Latin America and the Caribbean The Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), a member of the IDB Group, is partnering with the Nordic Development Fund (NDF) to launch a pioneering $7 million program to pilot green microfinance products for both mitigation and adaptation to climate change in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The four-year project, known as the “Ecomicro Program,” is the first to pilot microfinance products related to climate change products and businesses in the region and it will be implemented regionwide. The program will provide training to microfinance institutions to develop sustainable green finance instruments; adjust their risk management models to include climate change risk; and incorporate climate impact into their internal policies and operations.

By providing the tools and know-how to these institutions, the program seeks to increase access to clean energy, energy efficiency technology and adaptation products to micro, small and medium-sized companies.

“The program is designed to address a dearth of climate change mitigation and adaptation finance directly targeted at smaller private sector actors.” said Gregory Watson, MIF’s project team leader. “Microfinance institutions are extremely well-positioned to leverage their networks, clients and reputation to provide financing for clean technologies.

They have proven to be successful at adopting new financial products that were initially perceived as complex and unprofitable.”

The program comes as many Latin American and Caribbean countries are establishing favorable policies toward clean energy installations and CO2 emission reductions and demand for such technologies has began to trickle down to small firms.

The MIF’s long track record in conducting innovative pilot projects with microfinance institutions in the region as well as its ability to disseminate lessons learned and replicate successful experiences has made it one of the most important institutions to foster the development of clean technology markets and adaptation finance tools for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in the region.

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Latin American Experts Discuss Adaptation and Development in Mountain Regions Experts from Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico and Peru recently convened to explore how best to address evidence of climate change impacts on mountain regions in international discussions.

The meeting on “Climate Change: Impacts, Adaptation and Development in Mountain Regions,” which took place from 26-28 October 2011, in Santiago, Chile, was organized by the Chilean Government, the Regional Office for Latin America and Caribbean of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Mountain Partnership Secretariat, with the support of the World Bank Development Grant Facility.

Meeting participants recommended, inter alia: enhancing exchanges on technical and policy matters related to mountain ecosystems; including mountain ecosystems in national documents submitted in international forums; promoting research on aspects associated with mountains, such as studies of ecosystem services or baseline assessments, and sharing the outputs and lessons learned with a view to providing inputs to decision making; and building national institutions concerned with mountain issues.

Greening Tobago: How & Why? On 10th November, the British High Commission supported “Greening Tobago – How and Why?” - a joint project of the German Embassy and the British High Commission in Port of Spain. Dr Owen Day, of Caribsave, and Dr Rosemarie Thomas, of the Travel Foundation, co-ordinated the one day forum for ideas to create a “roadmap to carbon neutrality” for the island.

Tobago has areas of inspiring natural beauty, possessing colourful reefs, turquoise seas, idyllic beaches, crashing waterfalls and lush, dense rainforest. It is the adventurers dream with hiking, diving & sailing all possible in one day. It is also a bird-watching paradise, having more recorded species of bird per km2 than anywhere else on the planet. This needs to be celebrated, as well as preserved.

This innovative workshop brought together representatives from Ministries of Energy and Energy Affairs; Housing and the Environment; and Tourism; the Tobago House of Assembly; different NGO’s working in the field of sustainable tourism, Hotel owners and utilities. Experts presented on varied topics, such as Carbon Neutrality, the Green Economy and Renewable Energies in Tobago. It also connected several projects working towards similar goals to encourage a strong common strategy.

After a morning of presentations, participants enjoyed a film about current efforts to introduce solar power to residents in Tobago before breaking into groups which brainstormed ideas on the roadmap to carbon neutrality, marketing strategy for a Green Tobago and steps to sustainable tourism.

This event will kick off more joint activities of the German Embassy and the British High Commission on climate change in Tobago. The workshop, funded by the German Embassy, is the first phase in a wider project to bring concepts of sustainability and show feasible ways to make Tobago a carbon neutral destination.

Chief Secretary Orville London was briefed ahead of the event.

He stated that the success of such projects would prove to be a “game changer” for the Tobago tourist industry.

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2011 Human Development Report Focuses on Sustainability and Equity The 2011 Human Development Report, titled “Sustainability and Equity: A Better Future for All,� highlights that equity and sustainability are inextricably linked. It notes that, if bold actions are not taken, environmental damage, including climate change effects, can slow or reverse development progress made in recent years.

The report was launched by Helen Clark, UN Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator, with Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt on 2 November 2011, in Denmark, Copenhagen.

The report emphasizes the positive synergies between greater equity and sustainability.

It indicates that investments in access to renewable energy, clean water and improved sanitation can advance equity, sustainability and human development. It argues that, in order to achieve environmental sustainability in a fair and effective manner, there is a need to address health issues, education, income and gender disparities along with global action on clean energy production and ecosystem protection.

The report underlines that the most vulnerable suffer a double burden caused by environmental degradation and are less resilient to threats such as unclean water, indoor air pollution from unhealthy cooking and poor sanitation. It notes that patterns of inequity and unsustainability are shaped by disparities in power at the global and national levels.

For instance, even though small island developing States (SIDS) are the most threatened by climate change, they have little influence in the global climate negotiations. The report further emphasizes that financing for environmental and social protection needs to increase as a way to build resilience. It indicates that new public financing mechanisms should be explored such as a currency transaction tax.

The report forecasts that inaction to curb environmental degradation could impact food prices and reverse development efforts. It notes that half of all malnutrition in the word is due to environmental factors, such as water pollution.

The report indicates that carbon-fuel development growth does not increase measures of human development, including life expectancy and education. The human development index (HDI) provides a ranking of countries based on a composite index of income, life expectancy and education levels. This year, Norway, Australia and the Netherlands lead the HDI ranking, while the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Niger and Burundi are ranked at the bottom.

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Central Asian Experts Identify Challenges to Adaptation in Mountain Regions

Experts from Azerbaijan, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Mongolia and Tajikistan recently convened to explore how best to address evidence of climate change impacts on mountain regions in international discussions. Delegates noted the importance of Tajikistan as a source of water for Central Asia, China and the Russian Republic, with 8,000 glaciers and extensive high altitude lakes.

The meeting on “Climate Change: Impacts, Adaptation and Development in Mountain Regions,� took place from 9-11 November 2011, in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, and was organized by the Mountain Partnership Secretariat, the University of Central Asia, and the Government of Tajikistan, with support of the World Bank Development Grant Facility. Delegates highlighted impacts on agriculture, stressing that the climate change negotiations do not adequately consider mountain ecosystems and populations.

Meeting participants identified priority challenges related to: branding and better communicating the global importance of Central Asian mountains; advocating for mountain countries to act as one; consideration of a variety of renewable energy sources including the advantages and disadvantages of hydropower; sustainable use and management of water resources; collection of monitoring data and strengthening networks; efforts to combat forest degradation; identifying appropriate financial mechanisms for climate adaptation; improvement of grazing areas; and risk prevention of natural disasters. Participants outlined strategic actions to address each of these challenges.

Delegates visited local climate adaptation sites, particularly related to small-scale renewable energy activities. They also visited sites where fruit trees are being used to stabilize mountain slopes that are prone to mudslides. The Mountain Partnership Secretariat is housed at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO).

The meeting is part of a series of three regional meetings on adaptation and development in mountain regions hosted by the Mountain Partnership Secretariat. The meeting for the Latin American region was held in Chile in October 2011, and the meeting for the African region will be held in Mbale, Uganda, from 16-18 November 2011.

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World Bank Supports Morocco’s Bold Solar Power Plans

The World Bank today approved $297 million in loans to Morocco to help finance the Ouarzazate Concentrated Solar Power Plant Project, taking a historic step toward realizing one of the first large-scale plants of this kind in North Africa to exploit the region’s vast solar energy resources.

With this approval from the Bank’s Board of Executive Directors, Morocco takes the lead with the first project in the low-carbon development plan under the ambitious Middle East and North Africa Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) Scale-up Program. A $200 million loan will be provided by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the part of the Bank that lends to developing country governments, and another $97 million loan will come from the Clean Technology Fund.

“The World Bank is proud to provide the financing needed to make this large-scale renewable energy investment possible,” said World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick.

“Ouarzazate demonstrates Morocco’s commitment to low-carbon growth and could demonstrate the enormous potential of solar power in the Middle East and North Africa. During a time of transformation in North Africa, this solar project could advance the potential of the technology, create many new jobs across the region, assist the European Union to meet its low-carbon energy targets, and deepen economic and energy integration in the Mediterranean. That’s a multiple winner.”

The 500 megawatt (MW) Ouarzazate solar complex, as the first power site, will be among the largest CSP plants in the world and is an important step in Morocco’s national plan to deploy 2000 MW of solar power generation capacity by 2020.

The World Bank has supported Morocco’s national Solar Power Plan since it was launched in 2009 and is now making this significant

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loan to co-finance the development and construction of the Ouarzazate Project Phase 1 parabolic trough plant through a Public Private Partnership between the Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (MASEN) and a private partner.

Ouarzazate Phase 1 will involve the first 160 MW and will help Morocco avoid 240,000 tons of CO2 equivalent a year.

The Ouarzazate project will also contribute to Morocco’s objectives of energy security, job creation, and energy exports. As a regional frontrunner in clean energy, Morocco is rising to the challenge of its international commitments made in the last two United Nations’ climate summits and under the “Union for the Mediterranean.”

The Ouarzazate loan is in line with the World Bank’s commitment to scaling up funding that helps developing countries cope with climate change and embark on a lowemission development path. The World Bank Group’s renewable energy portfolio increased from a total of $3.1 billion between fiscal years 2008-09 to $4.9 billion in 2010-11. Given the simultaneous expansion of the overall energy portfolio during the same period, the renewable energy proportion rose from 20 percent to 23 percent.

UNGA Second Committee Highlights Challenges of Climate Change and Desertification, Looks Ahead to Rio+20

The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) concluded its general discussion on sustainable development, with a number of speakers referring to the challenges of drought, desertification, climate change and land degradation. Delegates also looked ahead to the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20), expressing support and some reservations about the “green economy.”

Senegal, associating himself with the Group of 77 and the Group of Least Developed Countries (LDCs), underscored that growing environmental threats were affecting the most vulnerable populations and called for the full implementation of the Cancun agreements.

The Democratic Republic of Congo outlined challenges faced by his country, including deforestation, the extinction of species, miningrelated pollution, drought, water scarcity and climate change.

Burkina Faso expressed satisfaction with the High-level Meeting on Desertification, Drought and Degradation and encouraged the strengthening of synergies between the three Rio Conventions to enhance approaches linking climate change, desertification and sustainable development. He supported the drafting and adoption of a legal instrument to complete the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), devoted to sustainable land management and controlling soil degradation in all countries.

On the concept of a green economy and Rio+20, Senegal stressed the importance of greening the global economy, adding that the Rio+20 Conference provided an opportunity to reach a global agreement on climate change and to establish a new form of international governance that was ready to tackle

environmental issues, including drought and agriculture.

Burkina Faso expressed concern about the discussions on the “green economy,” calling for reassurances that the green economy would contain poverty eradication elements. Senegal emphasized that a green economy would not be possible without concrete changes to the current economy, stressing the significance of an international focus on sustainable agriculture and food security.

On the climate negotiations, the Holy See underlined that climate change represents a serious threat to sustainable development.

He said it was distressing that, despite over a decade of negotiations, no binding multilateral agreement on joint action had been reached to reduce carbon dioxide levels.

On climate and disasters, the World Food Programme (WFP) stressed the exacerbating impact of climate change, explaining that hazards would occur more frequently and that the balance of fragile ecosystems would be reduced, acting as a stress multiplier. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) underscored the need for international aid to build capacities in urban centers to deal with population growth and the effects of climate change.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) called for scaling up efforts and providing practical support for DRR, including financing mechanisms for pooling and guaranteeing long-term DRR and climate change adaptation strategies. The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said a holistic approach was essential to climate change, especially with the increased frequency of disasters.

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IFAD, WFP Issue Weather Index-based Insurance Guide The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP) have released a guide titled “Weather Index-based Insurance in Agricultural Development: A Technical Guide for Practitioners to Help Mange Weather Risks.”

The guide has emerged from the Weather Risk Management Facility (WRMF), a joint programme between IFAD and WFP, sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The technical guide is intended as a practical reference tool to guide IFAD, WFP and other donors’ country programme management staff through the steps of implementing a Weather Index-based Insurance programme. It is based on the recognition that weather index-based insurance represents an increasingly viable approach to help smallholder farmers prepare for climatic events. This type of insurance is based on an objective parameter, like rainfall or temperature, over an agreed period of time, and aims to reflect damages suffered by farmers. All farmers opting into the system receive payouts based on these measures, eliminating the need for loss assessments in the field.

The guide translates the WRMF into practical decision-making steps for donors and practitioners, covering phases of project design and management processes. It also highlights the need to use weather index-based insurance within an integrated approach that also considers constraints such as lack of access to finance, improved seed, inputs and markets.

The guide includes background information, explanations and resource recommendations to help inform decision making.

Climate Research Conference Considers Human Impacts The World Climate Research Programme’s (WCRP) Open Science Conference brought together over 1900 scientists from 86 countries to share research on the impacts of rising temperatures on polar regions, glaciers, ice caps and the oceans.

The meeting took place from 24-28 October 2011, in Denver, Colorado, US, bringing together physical, social and information scientists. The meeting aimed to increase understanding of the role of human-influenced climate change on natural climate variability, with a focus on the prediction of weather, as well as the challenges facing surface and space observation platforms.

Parallel sessions addressed challenges related to: prediction at various scales; the detection and prediction of extreme events; the

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understanding of ocean and sea level dynamics; regional climate predictions; analysis of climate data records; the understanding of the impacts of clouds, aerosols and dynamics; replicability of climate models; radiative forcing; land cover impacts; the cryosphere; and feedback loops.

The outcomes of the meeting will be published and will inform forthcoming assessments on freshwater, ecosystems, biodiversity and ozone, as well as the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The meeting engaged large numbers of early-career scientists with the aim of providing opportunities for this next generation of scientists. WCRP is co-sponsored by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

ADB $100 Million Loan Aids Low Carbon Growth, Climate Resilience in Indonesia The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is supporting Indonesia’s drive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and strengthen its resilience against climate change with a loan of $100 million.

“This funding will help government efforts to move the economy onto a low carbon growth path and to make climate change adaptation measures an integral part of its national development strategy,” said Jon Lindborg, ADB Country Director in Indonesia.

Indonesia has been carrying out many reforms to reduce emissions, to develop renewable energy resources, and to incorporate climate proofing measures into its development work. It has pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 26% over business as usual by 2020, and will aim to increase that to over 40% with international assistance.

Achieving the 26% reduction will require an investment of billions of dollars between now and 2020.

An ADB study shows that under a ‘business as usual’ scenario, climate change could cost Indonesia between 0.7% and 2.5% of its gross domestic product by the end of this century. The study also notes that Indonesia has been producing more than half of all Southeast Asia’s total greenhouse gases as it clears forests and converts peat lands for agricultural use. Indonesia’s growing need for electricity is also increasing greenhouse gas emissions. Energy could be the largest source of such emissions by 2030.

ADB’s loan for the Low Carbon and Resilient Development Program follows a series of policy measures taken by the Government of Indonesia over the past year and a half. These include a national action plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the establishment of forest management units, and a legal timber verification system. A further measure is the improvement of the enabling environment to develop geothermal energy, and ADB is playing a key role in this area.

Indonesia has also moved to improve its climate change forecasting methodology to develop more effective adaptation measures, and it has approved eight strategic plans for river basins to help them manage their precious resources more effectively. ADB will continue to support and engage with the government to advance its important climate change agenda.

Along with ADB, the Government of Japan is providing $200 million and the Government of France $100 million to support the government efforts, for a total assistance program of $400 million. A Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction technical assistance grant of $700,000, administered by ADB, will complement the program and develop the capacity of national and local government agencies working on climate change adaptation policies.

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Indian Women Share Water Knowledge with Kenyans

In a village in Maharashtra, India, visitors from Kenya marveled at how people’s lives changed so quickly.

Just three years ago, women here walked long distances to find water. They spent hours each day carrying it over difficult terrain. Now, water flows directly to village households – and women manage the service, starting and stopping water pumps with their mobile phones.

Freed from time-consuming water collection, women have joined local organizations and started side businesses, producing products such as pasta and sanitary napkins.

“They showed us their projects, and expressed to us their joy and satisfaction that the water was now close to their homes,” says Dr. Leunita Sumba, principal water research officer for the Kenya Water Institute.

Sumba and 17 other representatives from Kenya water sector institutions saw first- hand in May how women’s self-help groups have helped transform access to water and sanitation in Indian communities — from rural villages to informal settlements in urban areas.

At home, most of the visiting Kenyans are responsible for promoting gender policies

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and awareness in their organizations. The trip to India, funded by the World Bank Institute’s South-South Knowledge Exchange, took place as policy-makers pondered how to fulfill the goals of Kenya’s new Constitution, such as access to enough safe water and sanitation for all, and improving women’s representation in decision-making.

The trip gave the Kenyans an opportunity to compare their own water and sanitation challenges with India’s, and assess whether India’s solutions could work in Kenya, says World Bank Senior Gender Specialist AsaTorkelsson, based in Nairobi.

‘Advanced’ Approach Empowerment

to

Women’s

Several members of the Kenyan delegation say they were impressed

by Indian policies to empower women politically and economically, and that Kenya could benefit from similar efforts.

“When it comes to women’s empowerment, they are very advanced,” says Phanuel Matseshe, quality assurance manager for the Water Services Trust Fund in Kenya. “We [Kenya] need to upscale women’s empowerment.”

Affirmative action programs in Maharashtra and Kerala states dramatically increased women’s representation in local assemblies and water and sanitation committees. Local governments seeking motivated service providers formed and trained women’s self-help groups to deliver water and sanitation services – making them, in effect, community-based contractors.

The decision has proved wise – women’s groups have strong economic and personal incentives to provide well-run services, says Ramachandran R. Mohan.

The women’s groups have also formed a federation and invested profits in infrastructure and things women care about, such as health and education, he says.

The World Bank senior social development specialist accompanied the Kenyan delegation to rural Maharashtra, where a World Bank project supported construction of local water infrastructure. Today, women monitor water and collect fees in many rural communities that, through the project, have piped-in water supply connecting 100% of households. The government is pleased with the model and is considering it for all the villages in the state, adds Mohan.

construction management of communal toilets and baths resulted in better built and maintained facilities, says Jonnalagadda Murty, a World Bank water institutions development specialist in Delhi. Among the innovations that have emerged – toilets for children, with shorter doors so parents can keep watch.

In Kenya, a deliberate effort by the government to increase women’s representation to 50% in community based organizations that operate water kiosks would create awareness that women are equal participants in the community, says Rose Nyaga, chief manager of finance for the Athi Water Services Board. Kenya’s new constitution (adopted August 2010) requires at least onethird women participation in all public offices and entities, including parliament, judiciary, and water management boards.

And water service delivery in Kenya’s informal settlements would improve if women were more involved in it, she says. The female service providers of India, she says, “aren’t necessarily [better] educated, it’s just that they’re empowered.”

Serving Informal Settlements In Kerala, where 10% of the local governments’ budget is dedicated to genderrelated activities, hundreds of women’s groups provide such services as collecting household waste, maintaining 24-hour community toilets and baths in informal settlements, and collecting fees for their use as well as for household water connections — now recently even in slums where residents lack property rights.

Local governments discovered that involving women’s groups in the design and December 2011

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Adds Haji Massa, quality assurance officer for the Coast Water Board in Kenya: “Most of the community projects we have within our area are led by men, but we want women to take more of a leadership role. We believe mismanagement is minimized when they take an active role.”

“The India experience was very useful,” he adds. “It was very encouraging how active the women are, and how they are changing the lifestyle by taking up these roles.”

E at

locally or home-grown fresh fruits and

A void products that are excessively wrapped in

The Kenyans say they were impressed by much of what they saw, and add that several practices could potentially be adopted or scaled up in Kenya, including: • Use of mobile phones to control water services contracting community groups – such as women’s self-help groups – to provide basic services • Empowering women in local government and committees • Leasing land for community toilets in informal settlements • Involving women at the early stages of projects and encouraging them to take leadership roles • Training workers and promoting ownership from the outset of a project • Making an effort to empower women economically Besides such practical tips, the Kenyans say visiting India opened their eyes to the similarities between the two countries. By the end of the visit, a “bond” formed as Indians shared their knowledge, and Kenyans their impressions of the innovations they learned about, says Mohan.

“This was a good experience, and inspiring also for the hosting group,” says Suseel Samuel, a World Bank water and sanitation specialist in New Delhi. “It is good also for them to know what is happening here.”

Earth Conscious

These environmentally-friendly, green tips have been carefully put together for you by Earth Conscious. If you follow these tips, you will contribute in your own small way to greening the environment, as well as contribute to your own personal green-being. “It’s not easy being green” - but it certainly is VERY EASY to try! vegetables every day;

A ‘Bond’Forms

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plastic;

R ecycle and reuse envelopes; T ake a day off in the middle of the week to stay home, catch your breath and relax;

H ost a green event and share information and tips in an enjoyable way.

C lean your home with vinegar or baking soda in water (instead of chemical based cleaners);

O rganize a neighbourhood walkabout or outdoor exercise session;

N ever keep the lights on your computer monitor and DVD players when you switch off;

S witch

from disposable to reusable products

(e.g. containers, shopping bags);

C arpool, carpool, carpool; I nitiate a Green Day at your

workplace. Be

creative and spread the good habits;

O pen

windows for natural air, cutting down on

AC use;

U se more energy saving light bulbs; S team rather than boil vegetables to save water and retain as much of the value of the veggies as possible.

IMPSA gets IDB loan to finance Latin America wind energy investment plan Proceeds to help finance construction of wind farms in Brazil’s northeast and Uruguay IMPSA, one of the world’s leading renewable energy companies, will get a $150 million loan from the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB) to help finance its plans to expand wind energy generation in Latin America.

The IDB loan will be to IMPSA’s Brazilian subsidiary Wind Power Energía S.A. to support the construction of an estimated four wind farms, three in Brazil and one in Uruguay, which will add 546 megawatts of wind energy capacity in the region by 2014. The estimated $1.4 billion investment program is expected to reduce carbon emissions by approximately 595,000 to 680,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year once the projects are fully operational.

“The long-term financing provided by the IDB will allow IMPSA to advance on its plans to build a long-term renewable energy market in Latin America and bypass the current turbulence in credit markets, which could make project financing more challenging in the coming months,’’ said John Graham, project team leader at the IDB’s Structured and

Corporate Finance Department. “The IDB maintains ambitious targets for expanding its renewable energy portfolio across the region, and operations such as the IMPSA financing are meant to have a catalytic impact on this rapidly expanding sector.”

The three new Brazilian wind power plants will add an additional 481 megawatts of installed capacity in Brazil while the plant in Uruguay, known as El Libertador, will contribute with at least 13 percent of the country’s strategic goal of reaching 500 megawatts of installed wind capacity over the next five years.

The IDB will also provide IMPSA with technical assistance to conduct an energy efficiency audit in its primary hydro and wind turbine manufacturing plant. The study will help identify options for reducing the energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions at the plant, solutions that can be also implemented in other IMPSA’s plants.

IMPSA has installed hydro and wind power generation equipment across more than 110 projects in 30 countries with a cumulative capacity of approximately 23,600 megawatts. IMPSA ranks as the largest Latin American wind equipment manufacturer and direct investor in wind farms as well as the second largest manufacturer of hydro equipment in the region.

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By Bogusia Sipiora

There is a column in one of the magazines I read called “I left my heart in/at....”. Celebrities are asked to finish this line according to their feelings and reasons. If I was asked this question, I would say “...at the little wonders in Poland.” These are magical places for me as I left there not only my heart, but also important and unforgettable memories.

In a tiny village Moszna in the south of Poland, some wealthy German family built a castle with 365 rooms (as many as there are days in a year) and 99 towers indicating the numbers of estates of the owners. For some it is kitsch, while others admire the craftsmanship of the building as well as the adjoining park. This castle looks like the one from Disney’s fairy tales. It looks gorgeous in June as if being dressed in festive costume made of blossoming azaleas.

The castle was built sometime in XIX century. One day Duke Winckler, the owner, invited the erstwhile emperor Wilhelm II to Moszna who was taken aback by the beauty and the unique building surrounded by breathtaking view of trees and gardens. Legend had it that the emperor asked the duke how he managed to built this pearl in such a short

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time. His answer was: “My Lord, I used demon’s help”. Brrr! After this conversation the duke arranged for a devil’s figure and put it in front of the nearby chapel. Since then, the history of the castle in Moszna has been associated with blood –curling stories. No one really knows how much truth lies behind these legends. However, they add to the magical atmosphere which surrounds the castle.

Nowadays, people come to Moszna also because of the large park nesting old trees, lovely avenues, canals which used to carry small boats criss-crossed by charming bridges. I can’t imagine a more romantic place for those in seventh heaven and those who simply enjoy the bonhomie of nature.

One can get lost in intoxicating fragrance of blossoming azaleas and mysterious stories of old castle.

There are those cobblestone streets, panoramic views of the countryside and the ruins of a medieval castle that make me feel soft about a little town called

Kazimierz Dolny. The atmosphere in the so called art center in Poland brings people and let them get lost: in memories, thoughts, inspirations and dreams. There are galleries in almost every street and folk art is for sale at unbeatable prices.

Atmosphere of romance from poetry book is also present the air of Lancut castle and the stylish park around. This was the Blue Marchioness who designed the interiors of the castle, set against the French garden with romantic summerhouse as well as orangery and park with lovely fountains and sculptures. There are beautiful magnolias and old linden trees that make one feel as if having a walk hundreds years ago with Ladies from the époque.

There is something mysterious and magnetic in these places and their stories.

There must be thousands of castles like this all around the world and legends. But not at all of them are places where the heart can be left.

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The Nourishing the Planet www.NourishingThePlanet.org team traveled to 25 countries across sub-Saharan Africa, and will be traveling to Latin America, shining a spotlight on communities that serve as models for a more sustainable future. The project is unearthing innovations in agriculture that can help alleviate hunger and poverty while also protecting the environment. These innovations are elaborated in Worldwatch’s annual flagship report, State of the World 2011: Innovations that Nourish the Planet.

As we prepare for the Christmas holiday, here are 10 tips to help reduce the amount of food we waste: Before the meal: Plan your menu and exactly how much food you’ll need.

1. Be realistic: The fear of not providing enough to eat often causes hosts to cook too much. Instead, plan out how much food you and your guests will realistically need, and stock up accordingly. The Love Food Hate Waste organization, which focuses on sharing convenient tips for reducing food waste, provides a handy “Perfect portions” planner to calculate meal sizes for parties as well as everyday meals.

2. Plan ahead: Create a shopping list before heading to the farmers’ market or grocery store. Sticking to this list will reduce the risk of impulse buys or buying unnecessary quantities, particularly since stores typically use holiday sales to entice buyers into spending more.

During the meal: Control the amount on your plate to reduce the amount in the garbage.

3. Go small: The season of indulgence often promotes plates piled high with more food than can be eaten. Simple tricks of using smaller serving utensils or plates can encourage smaller portions, reducing the amount left on plates. Guests can always take second (or third!) servings if still hungry, and it is much easier (and hygienic) to use leftovers from serving platters for future meals.

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4. Encourage self-serve: Allow guests to serve themselves, choosing what, and how much, they would like to eat. This helps to make meals feel more familiar and also reduces the amount of unwanted food left on guests’ plates.

After the meal: Make the most out of leftovers.

5. Store leftovers safely: Properly storing our leftovers will preserve them safely for future meals. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends that hot foods be left out for no more than two hours.

Store leftovers in smaller, individually sized containers, making them more convenient to grab for a quick meal rather than being passed over and eventually wasted.

6. Compost food scraps: Instead of throwing out the vegetable peels, eggshells, and other food scraps from making your meal, consider composting them. Individual composting systems can be relatively easy and inexpensive, and provide quality inputs for garden soils. In 2010, San Francisco became the first U.S. city to pass legislation encouraging city-wide composting, and similar broader-scale food composting approaches have been spreading since.

7. Create new meals: If composting is not an option for you, check out Love Food Hate Waste’s creative recipes to see if your food scraps can be used for new meals. Vegetable scraps and turkey carcasses can be easily boiled down for stock and soups, and bread crusts and ends can be used to make tasty homemade croutons.

8. Donate excess: Food banks and shelters gladly welcome donations of canned and dried foods, especially during the holiday season and colder months. The charity group Feeding America partners with over 200 local food banks across the United States, supplying food to more than 37 million people each year. To find a food bank near you, visit the organization’s Food Bank Locator.

9. Support food-recovery programs: In some cases, food-recovery systems will come to you to collect your excess. In New York City, City Harvest, the world’s first foodrescue organization, collects approximately 28 million pounds of food each year that would otherwise go to waste, providing groceries and meals for over 300,000 people.

Throughout the holiday season: Consider what you’re giving.

10. Give gifts with thought: When giving food as a gift, avoid highly perishable items and make an effort to select foods that you know the recipient will enjoy rather than waste.

The Rainforest Alliance, an international nonprofit, works with farmers and producers in tropical areas to ensure they are practicing environmentally sustainable and socially just methods. The group’s certified chocolates, coffee, and teas are great gifts that have with long shelf-lives, and buying them helps support businesses and individuals across the world.

As we sit down to give thanks for the people and things around us, we must also recognize those who may not be so fortunate.

“The food wasted in the United States each year is enough to satisfy the hunger of the approximately 1 billion malnourished people worldwide,” according to Tristram Stuart, a food waste expert and contributing author to State of the World 2011. As we prepare for upcoming holiday celebrations, the simple changes we make, such as using food responsibly and donating excess to the hungry, can help make the holiday season more plentiful and hunger-free for all.

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Dr. Carol James writes about recent flood incidents in Trinidad

DEVASTATION FROM FLOODS 2011 – THE AFTERMATH Planning??? Does our nation understand the meaning of this word? Tiny Island, 1.3+ million people, private, commercial, agricultural, industrial and ECOLOGICAL needs to be met!!

Competing uses for generations in this country (particularly in Trinidad) evolved with a virtual ‘free for all’ attitude during the last few decades, towards meeting human needs and desires with comparatively little attention devoted to ECOLOGY. Each sector does whatever it takes to meet private, personal, corporate or governmental sectorspecific objectives.

What mechanisms are in place to harmonize this sectoral objectives-based approach to development?

Or, where mechanisms actually exist, is there a clear buy-in as to why these tools are necessary or need to be adhered to by all sectors and stakeholders?

One significant question might be, are enforcers of such mechanisms enabled to operate without interference?

Are they provided with tools of operation (manpower, budgets, enforceable legislation – the latter which will engender respect from various publics and their willingness to abide by decisions)?

These questions come to mind once again, as, what are now predictable annual responses to the recent ‘floods of Maraval, Debe, Cocorite’ (areas change monthly and annually depending upon prevailing winds and weather conditions), emanate from all sectors of society.

Thankfully, ‘God’ has not been blamed as emphatically and predictably this year as in previous years but He/She did get a blast or two in sound-bites heard. Also, gratefully for the first time as long as I could remember,

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a few references to man-induced causes of the problem liberally sprinkled reportage and analysis of the widespread devastation and human suffering caused by these floods.

But what solutions are sustainable??

The Town and Country Planning Division is being tapped up left, right and centre. But, as public servants, they are hardly in any position to respond publicly. They are not able to highlight political interference for decades, reversal of decisions made, area plans ignored, including their widely consulted hillside development policy that remains in bottom drawers (no pun intended), their lack of tools (previously described), their unused skills and expertise, in effect, their degraded relevance as planning professionals.

What will the plaster be for this national sore of flooding; new laws, new plans, new personnel? But the laws for the most part already exist. A little tweaking here and there through regulations is enough to tackle the problem NOW of ‘vy ke vy’ physical development throughout this country. Will this key government department (whatever it is morphed into) ever be allowed to function in real terms?

The well respected Cropper Foundation’s recommendations on the Northern Range laid and adopted in Parliament as the Annual EMA Report on the Environment a few years ago remain in the aforementioned bottom drawers of our governance system. But, if we are talking ‘planning’ we must not get sidetracked only with the Northern Range, as important as this invaluable mountain range is to the nation’s ecology and to the emotional psyche of our citizens.

The annual floods and equal devastation in areas throughout the country at flatter elevations, along river banks, in flood plains of rivers, in wetlands and along coastal areas, are no less immune from the ‘do what ah want’ attitude to development that has plagued our country for decades.

Human actions are among the root causes here too. Unplanned development is not only confined to communities throughout the Northern Range.

It is a national problem. Devastation to agricultural crops and livestock husbanded on the banks of rivers and streams, many of which are either diverted or dammed for irrigation during the dry season, is dutifully rewarded annually with generous state compensation packages.

Similar financial and other annual material offerings to dwellers of homesteads constructed on the banks of watercourses, within rice-lands and natural lagoons have become almost ritualistic.

Dispensers of mattresses and basic food supplies must rub their hands gleefully in anticipation when huge dark and ominous clouds deposit their burdens for periods longer that an hour in some areas (not unusual, normal rainfall patterns from way back when). Literary hyperbole is merely adopted here to illustrate graphically the unsustainability of responses to disaster resulting annually from poor planning.

ECOLOGY has been written deliberately in uppercase letters in this article to emphasize the one segment of national life that has been continuously devalued. However, it is the key area of planning, especially within a

tiny landmass such as ours, that underpins all other aspects of national development, and it is overlooked. There are cogent examples around the globe of failed societies that have obliterated the life-sustaining natural support systems that forests and other attributes of nature afford society. In our region, Haiti, which shares a common border with the Dominican Republic, barely resembles its neighbor ecologically.

There is a corollary that natural disasters have been harsh and unkind to Haiti as a result of significant deforestation and other ecological abuse. This is not intended to diminish the very real external political, economic and military pressures that have been exerted on Haiti throughout its history, but the ecological devastation is a major result, whatever the cause. The Haitinization of the Northern Range has been a fear of those who understand the linkages between ecology and quality of life.

The late Prof. JS Kenny’s powerful lamentations must be revisited.

The November 2011 devastation in the western peninsular of the Northern Range must be seen as a ‘wake up call’ not just for this area, but for planning in this country to be holistic and integrated; synergistic physical, financial, economic, social and environmental planning must become the new rubric of governance in our nation.

Dr. Carol James is a retired UN Environmental Policy Expert, Chair of the Guardian Life Wildlife Trust and chair of the Sustainable Development and Outreach Committee of the Asa Wright Nature Centre, Trinidad.

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