Underscoring the importance of environmental protection and management in the work of peacekeeping missions, the United Nations Department of Field Support (DFS) has launched a new strategy to maximise its peace operations’ efficiency in the use of natural resources, and to minimise their risk to people, societies and ecosystems.
A Solar Energy System at the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Photo credit: UNIFIL
“Environmental performance is crucial to ensure that we do no harm to the people we are mandated to protect,” said UN Under-Secretary-General and the head of DFS, Atul Khare, in New York at the launch of the strategy at Columbia University.
“We need to change our systems and we need to change our mind set,” he added.
DFS is the key service provider to international peacekeeping operations, supporting both UN and non-UN peace missions, with nearly 168,000 authorised personnel, in over 30 countries.
The six-year strategy, which is in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), identifies challenges and objectives based on five pillars: energy; water and wastewater; solid waste; wider impact; and environmental management systems. It also includes key performance indicators for these areas.
In its first phase – through July 2020 – the strategy will focus on improving environmental analytics to effectively monitor progress. The five pillars will then be reviewed and specific targets set for the second phase of strategy implementation to conclude in June 2023.
On one of the areas covered – energy – an indispensable aspect for a mission but one that also has an environmental impact, Mr. Khare said the strategy’s objective is to reduce overall demand through increased efficiency, increase the proportion of energy from renewable sources such as solar arrays and reduce the level of pollution.
In another area – water – he highlighted the objective is to conserve water and reduce the level of risk to personnel, local communities and ecosystems from wastewater management practices.
He also emphasised the importance of proper treatment of wastewater, as well as of frequent monitoring of disposal practices.
Noting that the strategy is a “living document,” Mr. Khare said that it will continue to be refined and improved in light of new information and achievements.
In his presentation, he also discussed relevant initiatives already under way to decrease peace operations’ environmental impact.
The leaders of four major global cities say they will stop the use of all diesel-powered cars and trucks by the middle of the next decade.
Air pollution from diesel-powered cars
The mayors of Paris, Mexico City, Madrid and Athens say they are implementing the ban to improve air quality.
They say they will give incentives for alternative vehicle use and promote walking and cycling.
The commitments were made in Mexico at the biennial C40 meeting of urban leaders in Mexico.
The use of diesel in transport has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years, as concerns about its impact on air quality have grown. The World Health Organisation (WHO) says that around three million deaths every year are linked to exposure to outdoor air pollution.
Diesel engines contribute to the problem in two key ways – through the production of particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen oxides (NOx). Very fine soot PM can penetrate the lungs and can contribute to cardiovascular illness and death.
Nitrogen oxides can help form ground level ozone and this can exacerbate breathing difficulties, even for people without a history of respiratory problems.
As the evidence has mounted, environmental groups have used the courts to try and enforce clear air standards and regulations. In the UK, campaigners have recently had success in forcing the government to act more quickly.
Now, mayors from a number of major cities with well known air quality problems have decided to use their authority to clamp down on the use of diesel.
In the UK, campaigners are calling for London’s mayor to commit to phase out diesel vehicles from London by 2025.
Sadiq Khan has proposed an expansion to the planned Ultra-Low Emission Zone in central London.
ClientEarth lawyer Alan Andrews said: “In the UK, London’s mayor is considering bolder action than his predecessor, proposing an expansion to the planned Ultra-Low Emission Zone. This is welcome but we want him to go further and faster.
“And it’s not just London that has this problem; we need a national network of clean air zones so that the problem is not simply pushed elsewhere.”
Immediately prior to the UN Biodiversity Conference, and in parallel with the High-Level Segment, the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Government of Mexico are hosting the 2016 Business and Biodiversity Forum in Cancun, Mexico, from 2-3 December 2016.
Tatiana Ramos, Executive Director of Conservation International Mexico A.C. She says the business forum provides the opportunity to bring biodiversity as a subject into corporate sustainability agendas
Bringing together more than 250 experts from businesses, governments and NGOs, the focus of the 2016 Business and Biodiversity Forum is on the mainstreaming of biodiversity within four specific sectors: agriculture, forestry, fisheries and tourism. The topic is in line with the theme of the conference, to highlight the importance of biodiversity mainstreaming for the achievement of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, as well as the recently adopted 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals.
“The expectations for this year’s Business and Biodiversity Forum are high,” said Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, CBD Executive Secretary. “Achieving the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 is not possible without the active participation of the business community. We need to move from a scattered approach in engaging businesses to a truly inclusive one in order to achieve the broad mainstreaming of biodiversity within and across business sectors.”
Mainstreaming means the integration of the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in both cross-sectoral and sectoral plans such as sustainable development, poverty reduction, climate change adaptation/mitigation, as well as trade and international cooperation. Mainstreaming also applies to sector-specific plans such as agriculture, fisheries, forestry, mining, energy, tourism and transport, among others, and, in all cases, it implies changes in development models, strategies and paradigms. Mainstreaming biodiversity concerns into the way that productive sectors operate is essential for the long-term viability of businesses in such sectors.
The 2016 Business and Biodiversity Forum will focus on the concept of mainstreaming biodiversity from the business point of view, investment opportunities and legal frameworks that give more certainty to investments, as well as better decision-making which factors in the value of biodiversity and the services it provides to businesses. Other important issues relevant for businesses that will be addressed include natural capital accounting and financing, examining the links between climate change and biodiversity, and supply chain policies.
One of the outcomes of the 2016 event is a Business and Biodiversity Pledge. The pledge provides an opportunity for business leaders to acknowledge the importance of biodiversity and ecosystem services for businesses, and to state their commitment towards taking positive action on biodiversity.
“Conservation International supports the Business and Biodiversity Pledge because of its historic relevance, said Tatiana Ramos, Executive Director of Conservation International Mexico A.C. “It provides the opportunity to bring biodiversity as a subject into corporate sustainability agendas.”
To date, 103 businesses have pledged their support. These include large multinationals such as L’Oréal, Volkswagen and Nestlé.
A signing ceremony took place on Friday, 2 December 2016 for businesses participating in the Forum.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) together with the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources in El Salvador recently held a workshop to help stakeholders improve the understanding of the Paris Agreement and discuss how mitigation measures such as Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) and the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) can serve as vehicles for implementing El Salvador’s national climate plan or Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).
Lina Pohl, Minister of Environment and Natural Resources of El Salvador
The importance of linkages between climate actions and sustainable development priorities was emphasised in all discussions.
As one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change, El Salvador incorporated adaptation to climate change as a key priority in its NDC. The country faces severe floods, droughts and water scarcity, with the latter potentially necessitating the import of water in the near future. El Salvador’s energy mix may have to be diversified as well, as energy production from hydropower plants has been falling due to a decrease in precipitation. Combined, these factors have a negative impact on the economy, which has not grown since the civil war ended in the early 1980s.
Focus on a combined Mitigation and Adaptation approach
In light of these developments, El Salvador has decided to focus on greenhouse gas emission reductions which offer adaptation benefits as well, with the goal of enhancing the country’s resilience to climate change.
One such example is El Salvador’s effort to scale up an existing cook stove project into a NAMA. Working with UNDP with funding from the Government of Spain, El Salvador is currently exploring potential interventions, including sustainable consumption of firewood and sustainable forest management. In addition to mitigating climate change through carbon sequestration, improved management of forests could also offer important adaptation benefits, such as reduced risk for flooding and soil protection.
It is in this context that the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources is preparing a preliminary NDC Implementation Roadmap with the support from UNDP and the European Union. As part of the exercise, the following activities will be undertaken:
Identification of a list of climate actions which are aligned with national and sub-national development plans for each key sector
Establishment of sectoral emission reduction targets
Lina Pohl, Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, emphasised the need for a “permanent”, transformational change in each sector, so that project interventions become rooted and further diffuse after a NAMA project has been implemented. This will be much easier to achieve if environmental outcomes are linked with tangible sustainable development benefits for El Salvador’s population.
Over the next year, UNDP will assist the Government in establishing emission reduction plans which align with national development plans and advance NDC implementation readiness. This support will be provided through UNDP’s Low Emission Capacity Building Programme, with funding from the European Union the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) and the Australian Government.
As the world observes the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on Saturday, December 3 2016, WaterAid has reiterated the call for action from policymakers, local and national governments, and water and sanitation practitioners to ensure access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) for all, especially for marginalised and very vulnerable groups such as those living with disabilities.
The conventional toilet is unfriendly to persons living with disabilities
The international charity organisation disclosed in a statement on Friday, December 2 2016 that lack of access to WASH particularly affects disabled people living in poverty. It adds that inequalities are even starker when disability combines with another common cause of exclusion, such as gender, remoteness, ethnicity, chronic illness or ageing.
“If water, sanitation and hygiene services are not accessible in schools, hospitals, places of work and public places, people with physical impairments cannot fully benefit from them and discrimination against them means they are often unable to access these services. They may be stopped from using a tap because of social stigma and traditional beliefs that they are ‘dirty’, ‘cursed’ or verbally abused when attempting to use a public toilet,” WaterAid stressed, adding:
“The commitment to ensuring everyone has access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene by 2030 is critical not only for sustainable development but for ensuring we eliminate inequalities and leave no one behind. There can be no denying that access to inclusive water, sanitation and hygiene facilities and services improve health outcomes, impacts livelihoods, education and helps promote equity and inclusion.
“One billion people – 15 per cent of the world’s population – have some form of disability and the vast majority are living in the poorest communities in low- and middle-income countries, where poverty is both a cause and a consequence of disability. These images represent some of the progress we’ve been able to make in installing accessible facilities – including wheelchair-friendly toilets and ramps around water points – as well as in changing mind sets around disability in communities and in local governments.
“Across the six states where we currently work – from Jigawa to Benue, Plateau to Ekiti and Bauchi to Enugu – we are making progress ensuring more people with disability are living lives of dignity with inclusive water infrastructure, accessible toilets and improved hygiene services.”
The WaterAid Nigeria Head of Governance, Ms Tolani Busari, was quoted in the statement as saying:
“Too often, the reasons why it is hard to reach disabled people in poor communities are discussed and the lack of data, the lack of accessible infrastructure and the lack of fund are given as reasons to delay, postpone or even ignore what needs to be done. This is not an adequate response.
“The needs of people with disabilities are often neglected and absent from most policies and standards. Information is not accessible and so people remain unaware of their rights, good practices, and the options available to them. They are not involved in decision-making, which can lead to inappropriate design of services thereby denying them access. Imagine what it’s like not to be able to get into a toilet or reach a water point; see your way around accessing a WASH facility or to be overlooked because you cannot hear or see messages about good hygiene. Even worse, imagine the difficulty women and girls with disability go through especially when pregnant or menstruating.
“There is a need to do more to tackle inequalities and break the barriers and stigma around persons with disabilities. WaterAid has put equity and inclusion at the heart of its work and we have encouraged others to do likewise. There is more and more evidence of the progress that can be made when all people involved in delivering water and sanitation facilities start taking real, practical steps towards inclusive taps and toilets for all.
“We are calling for those people involved in delivering services to make them accessible for all, to end discrimination so people with disabilities can claim their rights to water and sanitation. This means promoting the rights to water and sanitation and how people can claim those rights. It is time to get real and get practical now.”
Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has declared that Benue, being an agricultural state, is particularly interested in the Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP) assisted by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Federal Government.
VCDP provided rice threshing machine being put to use at Sumaka Farm Site, Ukpiam, Guma LGA, Benue State
According to the governor, who made the disclosure on Thursday, November 1, 2016 in his office in Makurdi while playing host to the IFAD/FGN Supervision Mission Team to Benue who came calling, Benue has comparative advantage in the programme.
The governor, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Benson Abounu, stated that the ultimate aim of the programme, which is in empowering Benue rice and cassava farmers with better seeds, farm inputs and better yields to promote bumper harvest for processing, is commendable.
He noted that the government would continue to key into the programme and ensure that Benue will eventually produce three crops being rice, cassava and soya beans for the entire nation.
Earlier, the Mission Leader, IFAD/FGN 4th supervision mission to Benue-VCDP, Dr Samuel Eremie, had appealed to the Benue State Government to offset the N166 million outstanding counterpart fund from the state to the IFAD/FGN Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP) in the state.
Dr. Eremie, who made the call, said they want to draw the governor’s attention to the none payment of the N166 million to the VCDP as earlier committed to by government during their last courtesy visit on him.
“We feel encouraged by this support but we want to see it translate into action as we need this counterpart funding support by the turn of the season for dry season farming,” he said.
In his address when the team earlier paid a courtesy visit on him in his office, the Benue State Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resource, James Anbua, maintained that they were anxious with high hopes and expectations that IFAD/FGN visit will portend much good for the state.
“You have given our farmers great inputs and seedlings which has increased our rice farmers yields so with more aid, they will produce more,” he said.
He added that this year’s harvest is bound to be a bumper one with the intervention of IFAD/FGN and the produce from the state will help in jacking up the hitherto low produce of rice in the country which encourages importation of rice.
Also speaking, the IFAD/FGN Country Programme Officer Nigeria, Dr Ben Odoemena, commended the Benue State Government for the support given them in the flagship of the programme.
He outlined that the programme is a business and private sector-driven one and appreciated the state government’s support so far and having invested in the state’s farmers for the past nine months, they were on a mission to see if the farmers were doing well now that they have started harvesting and living up to the agreement they had with VCDP.
National Programme Officer VCDP, Dr Onoja Ameh, in his speech at Daudu advised farmers to be sincere to the agreement reached for the programme, adding that, with sincerity, the purpose of the programme will succeed as they will desist from side selling but sell to the official off-taker, OLAM.
According to him, farmers should not hesitate to make the best out of the VCDP programme in order to benefit more with sustainability even after the programme wraps up.
OLAM representative, Sam Jay, while speaking, stated that the company has the capacity to conveniently carry out its off-taker job and buy off rice from supported rice farmers.
To that end, he encouraged the farmers to key into the agreement reached in harvesting their produce and selling same to OLAM.
Also, the State Programme Officer, VCDP Benue State, Emmanuel Igbaukum, while addressing the team in Ukpiam, noted that when the VCDP programme took off in Guma, the area had been ravaged by attacks from suspected Fulani herdsmen. But now, it has given the people succour, hope and a new lease of life and livelihood.
He added that the visit has created a forum between the farmers and the IFAD/FGN team to bring to the fore, achievements, constraints and prospects of the project in the state.
The supervision visit which split into two groups, covered Guma Local Government Area and Gwer-East Local Government Area with a visit to OLAM Redemption Centre at Daudu, Sumaka FO, Ukpiam, Dooshima Hemba Farm Site, Mbaukaan Rice/Cassava Farms and Ashina Women CS Cassava Farm at Aliade, Kaa-Tema-Mem Agric CS Rice Farm, Onmbadaa VCDP Rice Production CS, Taraku respectively with an interaction between the farmers and IFAD/FGN team.
At a critical meeting opening on Friday, December 2 2016, the United Nations will call on decision makers from more than 190 countries to step up efforts to halt the loss of biodiversity and protect the ecosystems that support food and water security and health for billions of people.
The 13th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP13) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) holds in Cancun, Mexico, from 2 – 17 December, 2016. Participants will aim to curb the global biodiversity decline
At the UN Biodiversity Conference in Cancún, Mexico, parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) begin two weeks of discussions in the shadow of data and reports showing that around two-thirds of the global Aichi Biodiversity Targets are currently not on track to be met by the 2020 deadline, with serious consequences for human well-being, unless enhanced efforts are made in the last four years of the decade.
The Aichi Targets specify actions to protect and sustainably use the entire variety of life on our planet. The targets address issues ranging from the loss of natural habitats, sustainable agriculture and declining fish stocks, to access and sharing of the benefits from the use of genetic resources, indigenous knowledge and awareness of the values of biodiversity.
Achievement of the Aichi Targets will be critical for achieving the three other historic global agendas agreed last year, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
Ahead of the 13th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP13) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), more than 120 ministers of environment, agriculture, forestry, fisheries and tourism will discuss the mainstreaming of biodiversity into their activities by ensuring the alignment of wider government policies, programmes and plans consistent with the need to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity.
“If we are going to save biodiversity, we need to work with these sectors that depend on biodiversity and whose activities have a considerable impact on the variety of life on our planet,” Dr. Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, CBD Executive Secretary, said. “Agriculture, forestry, fisheries and tourism are important sectors whose activities need to take biodiversity conservation and sustainable use into account in a coherent manner.”
“Governments have made ambitious commitments to achievement of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, but these declarations need to be matched with actions at the national level.” Erik Solheim, Chief of UN Environment Programme (UNEP), said. “If countries do not ensure that national targets are set and achieved, their ambition will only remain on paper.”
Sir Robert Watson, Chair of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, said, “The Aichi Targets must be achieved, because biodiversity and ecosystems services are central to human well-being. The continued loss of biodiversity and degradation of ecosystem services will undermine our ability to achieve many of the SDGs, in particular those on poverty alleviation, human health, as well as food and water security.”
The meeting will review the progress that has been made towards the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, the achievement of the Aichi Targets, as well as related means of implementation. It will also identify actions needed to meet the Targets at the national level.
One of the major challenges countries still face is aligning national plans with the generally more ambitious global targets. For example, progress is being made towards achieving Aichi Target 11 with protected areas increasingly being designated. However, only half of the countries have set national targets that are at least as ambitious as the Aichi Targets.
Rafael Pacchiano Alamán, Minister of Environment and Natural Resources of Mexico, said, “Mexico is firmly committed to achieving Aichi Target 11, which we expect to meet in advance, as we are making every effort to ensure that by 2018, 17% of land areas and 10% of Mexico’s maritime and coastal areas are under protection.
“The government of President Enrique Peña Nieto welcomes the representatives of all the countries participating in The UN Biodiversity Conference and wishes that these two weeks of work to be fruitful for the future of humanity.”
Mainstreaming Biodiversity
The CBD calls on countries to integrate conservation and the sustainable use of biodiversity into relevant sectoral or cross-sectoral plans, programmes and policies – a process often referred to as biodiversity mainstreaming.
As proposed by Mexico, as host to the 13th meeting of the Conference of the Parties, agriculture, forestry, fisheries and tourism, will be discussed at the conference. All heavily depend on biodiversity and healthy ecosystems, and at the same time often have a severely negative impact on them. Mainstreaming biodiversity within these sectors is essential to ensure their continued economic viability and to stem the loss of biodiversity.
The meetings of the Convention and its Protocols will decide on some of the most pressing issues for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, including:
Marine Life
Governments will address the marine agenda, with discussions about new reports on the impact of marine
debris and underwater noise on biodiversity. Additional research on Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas (EBASs) on the high seas will also be presented.
Ecosystem Restoration
Discussions will also take place on adoption of an action plan and the mobilization of resources for ecosystem restoration towards achieving Aichi Targets 5, 12, 14 and 15; Targets 4 and 8 of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation, as well as other internationally-agreed goals and targets, such as the land degradation neutrality goal under the UN Convention to Combat Desertification.
Bio-synthetics
The emerging field of synthetic biology, in the context of the three objectives of the CBD, will also be
addressed at the meeting. There are several applications where components, organisms and products of
synthetic biology such as bioenergy, agriculture, pharmaceuticals and chemical production may interact
with biodiversity with both positive and negative impacts at different levels, including genetic, species and
ecosystems.
Pollinators
The ‘Thematic Assessment of Pollinators, Pollination and Food Production’ by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) will also be discussed. The two-year study, the first ever assessment issued by IPBES, found that as much as $577 billion in annual global crop production is directly attributable to animal pollination, with three-quarters of the world’s food crops relying, at least in part, on pollinating insects and other animals, many of which are now facing population decline and extinction.
The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-Sharing Governments will look at the steps for further implementation of these protocols to the Convention, with a focus on ways to promote capacity-building and enhance national implementation. Progress towards achievement of Aichi Target 16, which deals with the Nagoya Protocol, will be a particular focus.
The UN Biodiversity Conference takes place at the Moon Palace Resort in Cancun, Mexico, from 2 to 17 December with its High Level Segment taking place from 2 – 3 December 2016.
Call it the opening shot in a brewing war over scientific integrity in the future Trump administration.
More than 2,300 scientists, including 22 Nobel Prize winners, have issued an open letter to President-elect Donald Trump and the 115th Congress, urging them to “adhere to high standards of scientific integrity and independence in responding to current and emerging public health and environmental health threats.”
Donald Trump, U.S. president-elect
The letter underscores the extent to which many scientists, who have worked with the Obama administration to address climate change, pandemics and other major policy issues, are worried about whether Trump and his deputies will slash science funding and overhaul the way several federal agencies operate. While it does not directly refer to President George W. Bush’s eight years in office, many of the signatories spent years fighting the curbs imposed on federal scientists during that time.
Andrew Rosenberg, who directs the Union of Concerned Scientists’ Centre for Science and Democracy and whose group organised the letter, said he and other scientists have become concerned both by comments Trump made over the course of the campaign and some of the people who have been advising him on energy, the environment and public health.
“We need to make sure there’s not political manipulation of the science,” Rosenberg said, adding that part of the challenge he and others face is there is not an obvious point person on the transition team who is communicating with outside constituency groups. “It’s hard to figure out even who to have a conversation with. There doesn’t seem to be much of an opening.”
The list of distinguished signatories, who hail from all 50 states, includes medical scientists, physicists and many climate researchers. The Nobel laureates include Harold Varmus, who headed the National Cancre Institute under President Obama; David Baltimore, the former president of Caltech; and Mario Molina, who helped discover the role of chlorofluorocarbons in depleting the ozone layer. James Hansen, the longtime NASA researcher who had previously denounced George W. Bush’s administration for interfering with his ability to communicate publicly the science of climate change, also signed the letter.
The scientists represent a broad range of disciplines: At least 440 in biology, 350 in ecology, 180 in environmental science, 171 in earth science, 108 in chemistry and 40 in agriculture signed the letter.
In the past, Trump has questioned the connection between human activity and climate change, suggesting that he would seek to withdraw from the accord forged last year in Paris that aims to cut the world’s carbon output over the next decade. In a New York Times interview this month, however, the president-elect said, “I have an open mind to it” and said protecting air quality and “crystal clear” water was crucial.
Several of the men and women who are either advising Trump or are being considered for administration posts have questioned the current trajectory of federal scientific research. In an interview last week with the Guardian, former congressman Robert Walker (R-Pa.) said NASA’s Earth Science division should be defunded because it engages in “politically correct environmental monitoring” and the agency should focus on space instead.
“We see NASA in an exploration role, in deep space research,” Walker said. “Earth-centric science is better placed at other agencies where it is their prime mission.”
Kathleen Hartnett-White, who used to chair the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and met this week with Trump at his transition headquarters in New York City, said in an interview with The Washington Post in October that she did not consider carbon dioxide a pollutant under the Clean Air Act because it does not pose a threat to public health.
“Carbon dioxide has none of the characteristics of a pollutant that could harm human health,” she said, adding at another point that when it comes to scientific predictions that the world could be on the brink of disastrous climate change, “We’re not standing on a cliff from which we are about to fall off.”
“I think all scientists are extremely concerned about what Trump might do to our scientific infrastructure,” said climate scientist Ken Caldeira, a researcher at the Carnegie Institution for Science who signed the letter. “It takes decades to build up leadership in a scientific area, because you have to train people for many years. It would be very easy in just a couple of years to destroy what has taken many decades to build up.”
Obama – who has repeatedly emphasised the need to adhere to fact-based decision making in recent months, often as he was campaigning against Trump during the election – made a point of highlighting that idea during an Oval Office meeting Wednesday with the American winners of this year’s Nobel Prizes.
Sitting with four of this year’s laureates – two in physics, one in economics and one in chemistry, the president said, “We are incredibly proud of them.”
“And I think it’s just a reminder that one of the things that makes America unique is our ability to attract talent from all around the world, to study at some of our greatest universities, and for us to have very practical, reasoned, fact-based empirical ways to figure out how we can make the world a slightly better place,” Obama added.
The letter released Wednesday echoes a previous one released by the Union of Concerned Scientists that was directed at Bush in 2004. The only difference is that at that time, the Bush administration had governed for some four years and had come under fire for multiple science-related scandals. Here, by contrast, scientists are seeking to prevent them by articulating the principle that government researchers should be able to follow the evidence where it leads, and should be free to communicate their results to the public.
“Twelve years ago, the Republican president was . . . very crude in the way they dealt with science,” said Lewis Branscomb, a physicist at the University of California at San Diego and another of the statement signatories. “They very often had political people in the government rewriting reports that scientists in the government had written. That sort of thing happened.”
“And now we’re looking at the kinds of people that Trump is appointing, and we have no good reason to be optimistic about what they’re going to do,” Branscomb said. “We don’t know of course, and we’re not saying they’re going to do anything wrong. We’re simply telling them what we think is going to be important, and hope that they pay attention when they select the senior people in the various agencies that are dealing in science.”
If not, the science community will be watching, the letter cautions.
“We will continue to champion efforts that strengthen the role of science in policymaking and stand ready to hold accountable any who might seek to undermine it,” it concludes.
Germany in Berlin on Thursday December 1 2016 took over the presidency of the G20 leading economies, a platform Chancellor Angela Merkel wants to use to safeguard multilateral cooperation under threat following Donald Trump’s U.S. election victory.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a G20 meeting in Hangzhou, China, in 2016. Photo credit: REUTERS/Nicolas Asfonri/Pool
The nation outlined its mission for 2017 under the overarching motto of “Shaping an Interconnected World”. Environmentalists have however urged a Germany-led G20 to mobilise action on climate change for a stronger and safer world.
In a swift reaction to the development, Climate Action Network (CAN), a global network of over 1,200 non-governmental organisations (NGOs), called on the German Presidency to use the G20 platform to mobilise international cooperation and action on climate change.
“Decisive action on climate change is vital to strengthening global stability, and for sustainable development, two pillars of the 2017 G20 agenda. The G20 countries account for approximately 80 percent of global emissions. They have a responsibility to lead on several actions to ensure that climate change does not further endanger global stability,” the CAN submitted in a statement issued on Thursday.
It adds that, by making climate-risk disclosure mandatory, the G20 can ensure that new investment in infrastructure is climate-resilient and low carbon. This, it notes, is vital to avoid the serious risk of stranded assets that threaten financial stability and economic growth.
CAN went further: “Inefficient fossil fuel subsidies skew markets in favour of energy sources that are not environmentally sustainable and which fail to deliver long-term energy security.
G20 governments must unlock the potential of renewable energy sources that are now cost-competitive in many parts of the world. They must further commit to halt fossil-fuel based development and infrastructure investments. Green finance will be an essential enabling element in the necessary global energy transition to 100% renewable energy.
“Mitigating and adapting to climate change will be key to global security, as the scale and frequency of extreme weather events threaten vulnerable communities and exacerbate the scarcity of natural resources.
“In 2015, all G20 governments adopted the Paris Agreement and the Agenda 2030 – the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). During COP 22 in Marrakech last month, 48 of the most vulnerable countries committed to transitioning to 100% renewable energy by 2050.
Now the world’s largest economies must ensure that their economic decisions are compatible with the commitments they made in Paris, and in line with the direction in which the global economy is moving.
“Developing mid-century strategies for sustainable development and decarbonisation is a key step in ensuring stable and resilient national economies. Such long-term planning will send clear signals to the private sector, and help build a framework for investments in line with development goals and those of the Paris Agreement.
“Germany, at the helm of the G20 must reaffirm commitments to avoid irreversible climate change. It must, through its G20 leadership, work to ensure a progressive outcome on global climate action.”
Members of CAN also individually reacted to the start of the German G20 Presidency.
Alex Doukas, Senior Campaigner, Oil Change International, said: “Climate science tells us that the responsible thing to do is to stop building new fossil fuel infrastructure now. Germany should push the G20 in this direction, and at the very least, should advance the 2009 G20 promise to end fossil fuel subsidies. We can’t afford to build new fossil fuel infrastructure, and we certainly can’t afford to waste even one more cent of public money on it.”
Wendel Trio, Director, Climate Action Network Europe: “As the G20 Presidency enters Europe for the next 12 months, Germany and the whole European Union should get behind an ambitious work plan that moves the world’s largest economies further away from fossil fuels and closer towards being fully renewables based and energy efficient. Germany together with the rest of the EU now have the opportunity to solidify their alleged climate leadership. This includes phasing out fossil fuel subsidies, increasing near-term climate action and getting down to business with the EU’s long-term decarbonisation strategy.”
Christoph Bals, Policy Director, Germanwatch: “As the world’s largest emitters and strongest economies, the G20 have a responsibility to act on climate change. The Paris Agreement has set a globally agreed framework for responding to the climate crisis, but we can only achieve the Paris objectives if the G20 now acts decisively on implementation. We welcome the emphasis the German presidency has announced to put on this issue. We expect chancellor Merkel to make it very clear that climate change has to be a priority, also vis-a-vis the incoming U.S. administration. All G20 countries need to agree to develop their mid-century decarbonisation plans by 2018.”
Andrae Rupprechter of Austria (left) and Ham Lini of Vanatu at the signing ceremony
The Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action (NAMA) on “Rural Electrification in Vanuatu” aims to boost sustainable income generation through access to clean energy for both men and women in Vanuatu’ rural areas in the aftermath of Cyclone Pam. The interventions thereby strive for a careful balance between stimulating local, inclusive economic growth while helping to rebuild the human, natural, physical, financial, and social assets of the affected population.
Through the support of the Austrian government, first investments will focus on extending access to clean energy through micro-grids and grid extensions in rural areas. The agreement will also fund capacity building for Vanuatu’s institutions to establish an adequate framework for the implementation of the NAMA. In particular, the Austrian-funded project elements will include the following three components:
Investment into 1-2 grid extensions for two islands
Investment into 1 micro-grid in one community
Capacity building to provide the framework for NAMA implementation
The importance of clean energy access for Vanuatu’s recovery and sustainable development
Rural electrification is a key priority for the Republic of Vanuatu. Only one third of Vanuatu’s households have access to electricity, most of which are connected to the government regulated grid in the two main urban areas, Port Vila and Luganville. In rural areas, however, where 75% of Vanuatu’s households are located, energy poverty is even more pronounced: there, only one sixth of the households and less than half of the schools have access to electricity. With an overall electrification rate of just 17% in rural areas, Vanuatu has therefore about the same level of rural electrification as the most underdeveloped countries of sub-Saharan Africa.
Access to energy, which is a critical condition for economic growth, has become even more pressing as Vanuatu is still suffering from the devastating effects of Cyclone Pam in 2015, which led to a staggering drop of 50% in its GDP. Vanuatu’s community infrastructure was extensively damaged or destroyed, disrupting the daily life of people and requiring extra expenditures to repair or replace, precisely at a time when incomes have been lost. This destruction of livelihoods and local economies by Cyclone Pam has severely compromised the sustainable development benefits Vanuatu had previously achieved.
In pursuit of increasing access to clean energy, the Government of Vanuatu has already developed a number of government policies and national action plans, including the Government’s Priority and Action Agenda (PAA) 2006-2015, the National Energy Road Map (NERM), and the Scaling-up Renewable Energy in Low Income Countries Programme (SREP).
Project implementation
The project will be implemented by the Ministry of Climate Change (MCC) of the Government of Vanuatu, which will act as the NAMA Coordinating Authority. In that role, the MCC will supervise the preparation and implementation of the investment activities, supervise the disbursement of funds and carry out capacity building activities for setting up the NAMA framework.
The role of the NAMA Implementing Entity (NIE) will be taken over by the Department of Energy (DoE). As such, the DoE will develop the technical standards for equipment/installations used under the NAMA, and manage the preparation and implementation of investment activities and disbursement of funds from the Austrian Government and Kommunalkredit to the recipients. Further, it will also coordinate the promotion and awareness-raising campaigns and manage the monitoring activities and reports for the investments implemented under this project.
The NAMA was developed by the Government of Vanuatu and supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 2014 and 2015, thanks to the support of the Government of Australia. The specific costs for the grid extensions and mini-grids will be investigated in a feasibility study expected to be carried out in Q1/2017 and supported by UNDP, but which are expected to not exceed the overall budget of $1 million.
