.Page 50·THISDAY,Vol.16, No, 5_841
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Thursday, April 21, 2011
development
Climate Change: Parties to UN Convention Want New Fund
P
arties to the United Nations (UN) climate change convention have announced the selection of a 4O-member committee tasked with designing an international fund . The fund is to manage resources mobilised to enable developing countries to address the effects of climate change, according to a UN release. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) said the transitional committee will prepare operational specifications for the Green Climate Fund in time for approval by the next UN Climate Conference in Durban, South Africa in December. "'The high level of interest among governments in contributing to the design process is a demonstration of ille great interest annong parties in the Green Climate Fund;' said Christiana Figueres,the UNFCCC Executive Secretary. "Parties have put forward experienced and respected individuals from the fields of finance and climate change;' she said. "The transparent, predictable and adequate provision of finance in the long term is essential to ensure that the poor and vulnerable can build themselves a sustainable future in the face of climate change;' she . added. The transitional committee will hav~ its first meeting in Mexico City on 28 April. The Green Fund is being launched in the broad context oflongterm financial support agreed last year at the UN climate change conference in Canclin, Mexico, under which industrialised countries committed to a goal of jointly mobilising $100 billion per year by 2020. The funds would be raised from both public and private sources and directly linked to meaningful climate change mitigation actions and transparency on implementation. The Canctin Agreements are a set of decisions by
Stories by Abimbola Akosile the international cornmunity to address the long-term challenge of climate cbange collectively and comprehensively over time and to take concrete action to speed up global response. The Green Climate Fund was only one of several new institutions agreed at Cancun. The others are a technology mechanism to get clean technologies to the right places and an adaptation framework to boost international cooperation to help developing countries protect themselves from the impacts of climate change. UN Environment Meanwhile, . the Programme (UNEP) reported that nearly 200 participants of a green economy symposium met recently in South Africa with the 30 global winners of the SEED Awards to look at ways to accelerate the transition to a green economy . in developing countries. The SEED Awards, part of an initiative hosted by UNEP, recognise inspiring social and environmental entrepreneurs, whose businesses can help meet sustainable development challenges, boost local economies and alleviate poveity. The symposium focused on policies needed to accelerate the transition to a green economy and on the environmental and social contribution of community-level entrepreneurs in developing countries. The latest SEED Award winners largely come from Africa, placing particular emphasis on initiatives from Burkina Faso, Ghana, Ke!'ya, Rwanda , Senegal and South Africa.
Together with Egypt, these are pilot countries in a joint project between the SEED Initiative and UNEP's Green Economy Initiative. which is funded largely by the Europqm Union. The winners include ii bannboo bicycle project in Ghana that makes use of the country's vast
Business Leaders Debate Green Economy in Paris
S
ome 200 -representatives from business and industry, governments and civil society gathered in Paris last week for global talks on the transition to a gree . n economy. Organised by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in collaboration with . the InC ternational dChthambFer 0hf e renc ommerce ar postal service Le Groupe La Poste, which hosted the event at its Paris headquarters, the two-day Business and Industry Global Dialogue aimed to define the private sector's role in moving towards a low carhon,
resource-efficient green econ-
omy. The event began with open-
ing addresses from UNEP Executive Direc tor Achim
eQUrtrue character is that person we becorilewheI1p.o dn~iS watching. . . . . . :::. . '. Jealousy is the best compliment you cail receive[ ~' . • Don't take what people say about you; take What yous'ay about yourself. . _ .. • Friends are like a box of chocolates; you keep the g~ and_l;hrow the rest away. . . . . . :' ;. : • Don't blend in..... Stand out! <.:
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• Source: www.coolnsmort.com
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b~boo ~~~pplies; a Ugandan enterprise manufacturing stationery from agricultural waste; a Chinese project producing a novel solar device that turns waste heat into electricity; and a South African female-run business making a handheld laundry device that saves water and cuts
Steiner, the Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Jean-Guy Carrier and the Chief Executive Officer of Le Groupe La Poste Jean-Paul Bailly, according to a UNEP release. Director of UNEP's Parisbased Division ofTecbnology, Industry and Economics, Sylvie Lemmet, delivered a keynote presentation on UNEP's Green Economy Report and stressed how engagement from the private sector is crucial for the scaling-up of a green economy on the road to 'Rio +20' - next year's United Nations Conference on Sustainable
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Development. A high-level panel followed with representatives from the UN Global Compact, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Hungary's Deputy State Secretary for Green Economy and Climate Change. . Later, membeIll 0 f the pn-
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outlined in the report with a panel including the ICC Task Force on Green Economy and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. The second day offered participants a chance to envision and map out their contributions to the Rio+20 conference. During the dialogue, Katrina Desbie Cochran, Director of CSR Initiatives at telecommunications company AlcatelL ucent, expressed the importance of measuring the environmental and economic effects of
'b~: ~~~~al~~~~~~~IS from business leaders to encourage greater investment in sustainable practices. Patrick Widloecher from La Poste, a h · I company t at IS current y investing in electric vehicles, affirmed that a green economy needs to be recognised as a strategic investment for business, rather than a cOst. UNEP's Green Economy Report, released in February, challenges the myth that investing in the environment comes at the expense of economic growth . The report shows how redireeting 2 per cent of global Gross Domestic Product into ten key sectOIll - from forests d t fi h ' d an energy 0 ~es an transpon - can t green growth and create more Jobs th 'b· a i' an a USlOess as usu model, while using the planet's . tain bl resources 10 a more sus a e way.
Be Humble Always, Nigerians Urged By Oluwafunke Lasisi
H
ead of Department (HOD) Mass Communication at the Covenant University, Ottah, Ogun State, Prof. Idowu Sobowale, has wged politicians , youths and the citizens of Nigeria to be humble in their careers, as a way to promote overall growth . ''Being humble in one's career would allow one to overcome challenges in all ways easily without being biased and lay a good legacy for the coming generation", he said . He stated this at his 70th birthday ceremony, hosted at the Chapel of Christ in Ikeja, Lagos, where the theme was 'Giace through and througn' as part of activities marking the awards bestowed on him. Prof. Sobow<tle, who has put in effort in laying a good foundation of his career and being described· as a humble man from childhood by his family, relations and friends among others , witnessed the ceremony and had convinced many organisations in winning their awards as compensation for his well-doing in the society. He began his career in Journalism as a trainee reporter with the Daily Times in 1965 and has to his credit more articles in reputed academic journals and books , which had placed a h igh contribution to the understanding of Journalism and Mass Communication, which had been acknowledged worldwide. He had worked with many prominent media houses and Universities in Lagos . He bad also been appointed as a Special Adviser on education under the administration of ·Alhaji Lateef Jakande, when he was a governor and the former governor Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and later promoted as the Hon Commissioner for education. "He takes teaching as a calling, not just to impact knowl edge but to build morally sound professionals". He said that the Covenant UniveIllity and Chapel Baptist Church where he worship, had a classic ceremony for him on his birthday before he decided to had his own celebration last weekend. The awards he had won in the past years include; Best Diploma student of University of Lagos and Chancellor's prize for the Best Student of Mass Communication in (197111973) by Daily Times, National Award for best student (1972), letter of commendation Award from chairman of the Daily Times,lateAJhaji BabatundeJose, for excellent performance as the editor of the evening Time in 1975. There was also prize for best chapter president of the Nigerian Students Union (Syracuse·Chapter) 1978, National Honour of the officer of the order of the Niger (DON) for his contribution on his profession .