World News: UN urges huge increase in green energy to avert climate disaster (13 April 2014)

UN urges huge increase in green energy to avert climate disaster

'Triple or quadruple renewables', say experts, as pressure grows for UK to deliver on eco priorities

The Conservatives have been planning to block further onshore windfarm construction. Photograph: Danny Lawson/Photograph: Danny Lawson/PA

David Cameron's commitment to the green agenda will come under the fiercest scrutiny yet this week when top climate-change experts will warn that only greater use of renewable energy – including windfarms – can prevent a global catastrophe.

A report by the world's leading authorities will expose a growing gulf between a Tory party intent on halting construction of more onshore windfarms and the world's leading scientists, who see them as one of the cheapest ways to provide energy while at the same time saving the environment.

Mitigation of Climate Change, by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a panel of 200 scientists, will make it clear that by far the most realistic option for the future is to triple or even quadruple the use of renewable power plants. Only through such decisive action will carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere be kept below the critical level of 480 parts per million (ppm), before the middle of the century. If levels go beyond this figure, the chances of curtailing global mayhem are poor, they will say.

The report – the third in a series by the IPCC designed to highlight the climate crisis now facing the planet – is intended as an urgent wake-up call to nations to commit around 1-2% of GDP in order to replace power plants that burn fossil fuels, the major cause of global warming, with renewable sources.

Photograph: Opinium

Its conclusions represent a huge challenge for Cameron and the Conservative party – which is now laying plans to block the construction of new onshore windfarms in Britain, the country's only realistic, reasonably priced renewable energy option other than solar power, which has limited potential in the UK.

Having promised to lead "the greenest government ever", Cameron now stands accused by the green lobby of watering down his commitments in response to the threat of Ukip, which campaigns heavily against windfarms.

The prime minister's green credentials have also been called into question by the appointment in 2012 of Owen Paterson, a climate-change sceptic, as environment secretary. Paterson said in September 2013: "People get very emotional about this subject and I think we should just accept that the climate has been changing for centuries."

An Opinium/Observer poll – which today puts Ukip on 18% support – also finds that just 15% of voters think Cameron has lived up to his promises on the environment, against 46% who think he has not. In addition, only 20% disagreed with the suggestion that the government was giving priority to short-term economic growth over the sustainable use of the environment.

Last week local government secretary Eric Pickles announced he had taken personal control over all future decisions about new onshorewindfarms, while Grant Shapps, the Conservative party chairman, said wind turbines were no longer "environmentally friendly". Shapps also suggested that the Tories would pledge to curb them in their 2015 election manifesto and instead approve only offshore windfarms.

However, the move would cripple the ability of the government to play a full part in curtailing carbon dioxide emissions, and experts warn it could lead to higher energy prices.

Onshore wind power costs around £90 per megawatt hour to generate, but for offshore windfarms this rises to £150. Other renewable energy sources are either of limited use in Britain or are not yet fully developed, such as tidal power. Nuclear energy is one alternative, but is controversial, and a major construction programme would take decades to approve and construct.

"Renewable energy is backed by the public; wind power has the support of two thirds (66%) of Britons and the CBI has called on action to tackle climate change," said Christian Aid's senior climate change advisor, Mohamed Adow. "The government should be doing all it can to put the UK at the forefront of this energy revolution not blowing hot and cold on the issue.

Joss Garman, Greenpeace's deputy political director, said: "These scientists have shown us that it's not too late and we can still avoid the worst impacts of climate change, but only if we get behind the clean energy solutions that can slash carbon pollution. Renewable energy technologies are already the least-cost option in a growing number of major markets, and they're getting cheaper all the time.Rather than turning back towards dirty fuels like coal and gas, now is the time for Ministers to double down on our transition towards a cleaner energy system. This report shows that the sooner we act, the cheaper it will be."

The new report has taken four years to compile. It is expected to say the UN target – to limit global warming to 2 degrees celsius (3.6 degrees fahrenheit) – is feasible only if surging carbon emissions are swiftly braked and then reversed.

The first report forecast that global temperatures would rise by 0.3-4.8C this century, on top of roughly 0.7C since the industrial revolution. Seas are forecast to rise by 26-82cm by 2100. The second report, which was issued last month, dwelt on the likely impacts and warned that the risk of conflict, hunger, floods and mass displacement increased with every minuscule rise in temperature.

The panel will issue a résumé of all three reports in Copenhagen in October, prior to the next major UN climate summit, which is scheduled to open in Paris in December 2015.

The last IPCC assessment report, published in 2007, formed the core of the international debate on climate at the UN's Copenhagen Summit in 2009. The event degenerated into a political brawl and climate negotiations have been stuttering ever since. Climate experts say this failure to act cannot be allowed to continue. UN members must agree to a climate pact that will come into force in 2020. Any later and the costs of mitigating climate change will soar exponentially because there will then be so much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

UK economist Sir Nicholas Stern said: "All political leaders should recognise that a powerful case has been presented for accelerating action against climate change by building cleaner and more efficient economies."Dr Stephan Singer, WWF director of global energy policy, added: "Renewable energy can no longer be considered a niche market. Renewables must – and should – eventually take the full share of the global energy market within the next few decades."

source from: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/apr/12/un-urges-increase-green-energy-avert-climate-disaster-uk

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World News: UN: greenhouse gas emissions nearly doubled in first decade of 21st century Leaked draft shows emissions grew nearly twice as fast from 2000-10 as in previous 30 years – despite economic slowdown (11 April 2014)

UN: greenhouse gas emissions nearly doubled in first decade of 21st century

Leaked draft shows emissions grew nearly twice as fast from 2000-10 as in previous 30 years – despite economic slowdown

Smoke rises from the chimneys of a power plant near Shanghai, China. Carbon emissions emissions grew 2.2% a year on average between 2000 and 2010. Photograph: Carlos Barria/Reuters

Greenhouse gas emissions grew nearly twice as fast over the past decade as in the previous 30 years, bringing the world closer to warming that will bring dramatic and dangerous changes to the climate, according to a leaked draft of a United Nations' report.

The report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said the growth rate in emissions over the from 2000-10 was higher than expected – even after taking into account the economic slowdown.

"Global GHG [greenhouse gas] emissions have risen more rapidly between 2000 and 2010," said the draft obtained by the Guardian. "Current GHG emissions trends are at the high end of projected levels for the last decade."

The draft went on to warn that delaying emissions cuts beyond 2030 would make it harder to avoid the severe consequences of climate change.

Leading scientists and government officials are in Berlin this week to approve the exact wording of the report before it is formally released on 13 July.

The IPCC report is the third part of a trilogy intended to serve as the definitive account of climate change.

The first report, released last September, found climate change was caused by human activity.

The second, released in Japan last month, warned climate change posed a grave threat to humanity, was already putting food security in jeopardy and could lead to wars and mass migration. It also set out the impacts global warming was having on wildlife.

This third part was supposed to be focused on solutions. Instead, the report made increasingly clear the large and growing gap in the scale of the threat and the readiness of those solutions.

The draft said emissions grew 2.2% a year on average between 2000 and 2010, compared to 1.3% a year over the entire period from 1970-2010. In 2010-11, global emissions from the burning of fossil fuels grew 3%, the draft went on.

The rapid growth in emissions has defied efforts by governments to deal with climate change, and even though the historic recession saw some slowdown it was eventually reduced to a blip in the continuous upward path.

"The global economic crisis 2007-08 has temporarily reduced emissions but not changed the trend," the draft said.

The culprit for the upward line on the graph was coal, the draft said. The decade saw a big jump in the number of new coal-burning power plants that came online.

Coal plants are the most polluting of all power stations, and there are more than 1,000 new plants under construction worldwide.

Most of those are earmarked for China and India – although the report pointed out that many of those power plants are supplying factories making goods whose ultimate destination is America or Europe.

Other developing countries have also stepped up their use of coal. Germany, Britain and France have also been burning coal, because of low worldwide prices.

But their consumption pales beside China, which on its own accounts for about 15% of total global emissions from coal. The expansion of coal-fired power plants – China gets two-thirds of its electricity from coal – have polluted the air and the water.

A recent World Bank study estimated 750,000 people died in China every year as a result of air pollution, in large part because of the burning of coal.

source from: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/apr/11/un-greenhouse-gas-emissions-doubled-decade-ipcc-report

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World News: BBC, 'Signature' achievement on forests at UN climate talks (22 Nov 2013)

'Signature' achievement on forests at UN climate talks

Countries with forests will have to provide information on safeguards for local communities

Nations meeting in Warsaw at UN talks have agreed a significant step forward towards curbing emissions from deforestation.

A package of measures has been agreed here that will give "results-based" payments to developing nations that cut carbon by leaving trees standing.

One observer told the BBC that this was the "signature achievement" of these talks.

Deforestation accounts for about 20% of global emissions of carbon dioxide.

Earlier this week the UK, US, Norway and Germany agreed a $280m package of finance that will be managed by the World Bank's BioCarbon fund to promote more sustainable use of land.

Now negotiators have agreed a package of decisions that will reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation plus pro-forest acitivities (known as Redd+).

The conference agreed a "results based" payments system that means that countries with forests will have to provide information on safeguards for local communities or biodiversity before they can receive any money.

'Thrilling' outcome

The delegates agreed to finalise the technical requirements and establish a process to allocate money.

According to Paul Bledsoe, an energy research fellow at the German Marshall Fund, who is attending the talks, it is a significant step.

"The ministers have been working for almost 10 years to finalise the rules which will allow donors to invest in forest management practices in the developing world and get a way to verify the emissions reductions," he said.

"I think this agreement allowing for investments in forests in developing countries is probably the signature achievement of these talks."

This view was echoed by Pipa Elias from the Union of Concerned Scientists.

With the technical and financing decisions signed and sealed at today's plenary, the Redd+ house is built, though there will be a bit more work in terms of furnishing it.

"The biggest issue is that developed countries still need to ante up the $20-$35bn a year necessary for a global Redd+ programme. But, in the meantime, developing countries can get started now. We couldn't be more thrilled with this outcome," she said.

source from:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25060843

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World News: UN climate talks reach deal on cutting greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation (22 Nov 2013)

UN climate talks reach deal on cutting greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation

WARSAW, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- Governments at the UN Climate Change Conference in Warsaw on Friday agreed a set of decisions on ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and the degradation of forests.

The agreement on the so-called REDD+ initiative is backed by pledges of 280 million dollars in financing from the U.S., Norway and Britain, according to a statement released by the Conference.

"I am proud of this concrete accomplishment. We are all aware of the central role that forests play as carbon sinks, climate stabilizers and biodiversity havens," President of the conference Marcin Korolec said.

Korolec hailed the deal as "a significant contribution to forest preservation and sustainable use which will benefit the people who live in and around them and humanity and the planet as a whole."

The decisions adopted provide guidance for ensuring environmental integrity and pave the way towards the full implementation of REDD+ activities on the ground, said the statement.

The package also provides a foundation for transparency and integrity of REDD+ action, clarifies ways to finance relevant activities and how to improve coordination of support, it added.

The agreement was announced as the two-week climate talks, which aimed to prepare for a global climate pact due to be agreed in 2015, are entering the final hours.

source from:http://english.cntv.cn/20131123/100942.shtml

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World News: UN Officials Recognize Cities' Role in Addressing Climate Change (21 Nov 2013)

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UN Officials Recognize Cities’ Role in Addressing Climate Change

21 November 2013: The Warsaw Climate Change Conference celebrated 'Cities Day of the High Level Segment,' in recognition of the role of cities in combatting climate change. Cities Day encompassed a number of events, including a Conference of the Parties (COP) Presidency ‘Cities and Subnational Dialogue.'

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon described cities as “the proving ground for our efforts to combat climate change, build resilience and achieve faster, more equitable development progress” in his remarks at the COP Presidency event. He said the complexity of cities makes “it difficult to channel urban issues into the climate discussion in a coherent way” and called for cooperation, innovation and scaling up to deliver a global transformation that results in “thriving economies, a healthier planet, sustainable cities and a life of dignity for all.”

UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) Deputy Executive Director, Aisa Kirabo Kacyira, said local authorities are ready to act on climate change, but need strong frameworks within which to work and budgets to achieve their goals. She called for "establishing mechanisms to give qualified local authorities more direct access to international sources of climate finance." Rachel Kyte, World Bank, recommended supporting sub-national leaders to address climate change through basic regulations, finance and national frameworks.

Speakers also discussed recognition of sub-national and local issues within the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP) text. Christiana Figueres, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Executive Secretary, recognized delegates' disappointment with the most recent version of the ADP text, which reduced emphasis on subnational actors. David Cadmen, President, ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI), urged the Polish presidency to reintroduce text to raise the profile of local and sub-national climate actors and actions.

Additional events included: an ICLEI event, 'Local Government Climate Roadmap 2013-2013: Raising the Global Level of Ambition Through Local Climate Action;' 'Momentum for Change Urban Poor Pillar Lighthouse Activities,' which highlighted activities that address climate change and improve livelihoods and living conditions in urban areas of developing countries; and a UN-HABITAT event showcasing 'UN Agencies supporting climate smart cities.'

read more: http://climate-l.iisd.org/news/un-officials-recognize-cities-role-in-addressing-climate-change/224243/

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UN food agency: 'One third of food wasted, costs world economy $750 bn' (11 Sep 2013)

'One third of food wasted, costs world economy $750 bn'

Last Updated: Wednesday, September 11, 2013, 19:56



Rome: One third of the food produced worldwide is wasted, costing the global economy around USD 750 billion a year, a new report by the UN food agency said on Wednesday.

The Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said some 1.3 billion tonnes of food are wasted every year, with the Asia region including China seen as the worst culprit.

The food agency's director general, Jose Graziano da Silva, told a press conference that in total, "one third of the food produced today is lost or wasted... Equivalent to the Gross Domestic Production (GDP) of Switzerland."

Achim Steiner, head of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), described it as "a staggering phenomenon."

"This is a big wake up call. We may not even have captured many of the more indirect impacts of food waste... and the costs which will be borne by our children and grandchildren," he told the joint press-conference.

"It will take less than 37 years to add another two billion people to the global population. How on earth will we feed ourselves in the future?" he asked.

Steiner said that eliminating food wastage had "enormous potential" to reduce hunger and called on citizens to take individual action to tackle the issue.

"Each one of us has a role to play. Starting with the ridiculous phenomenon in wealthy countries of not buying crooked vegetables anymore," he said, adding that over-zealous observation of sell-by dates was also leading to huge quantities of food being thrown away.

High-income countries waste during the food consumption phase, while developing countries are losing food during production, the FAO said.

The report fingered Asia in particular, saying that over 100 kilos (221 pounds) in vegetables per capita are wasted every year on average in "Industrialised Asia", a region including China, Japan and South Korea.

It estimated that the region also wastes 80 kilos of cereals, mainly rice per person, warning that rice cultivation was also high-intensity in carbon and had emerged as "a significant environmental hotspot".

Wastage of vegetables in Asia occurred "during agricultural production, post-harvest handling and storage, and consumption phases," the FAO said.

Other key areas identified in the report in terms of waste and environmental impact were the meat industry in North America and Latin America, as well as fruit wastage in Asia, Europe and Latin America.

Produced but uneaten food occupies 30 percent of the world's farmland, the report said.

"Food wastage reduction would not only avoid pressure on scarce natural resources but also decrease the need to raise food production" to meet the demands of a fast-growing world population, it said. 

AFP

Source: 
http://zeenews.india.com/business/news/companies/one-third-of-food-wasted-costs-world-economy-750-bn_83766.html

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Publications: The Millennium Development Goals Report 2013 by UN (1 Jul 2013)

The Millennium Development Goals Report 2013

01 July 2013

Summary

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have been the most successful global anti-poverty push in history, the report says. Significant and substantial progress has been made in meeting many of the targets—including halving the number of people living in extreme poverty and the proportion of people without sustainable access to improved sources of drinking water. Remarkable gains have been made in the fight against malaria and tuberculosis. There have been visible improvements in all health areas as well as primary education.

This year’s report looks at the areas where action is needed most: hunger, maternal health, sanitation and environmental protection, for example. This report also shows that the achievement of the MDGs has been uneven among and within countries.

"In more than a decade of experience in working towards the MDGs, we have learned that focused global development efforts can make a difference," UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says in the report. Through accelerated action, the world can achieve the MDGs and generate momentum for an ambitious and inspiring post-2015 development framework."

Higlights

• The proportion of people living in extreme poverty has been halved at the global level
• Over 2 billion people gained access to improved sources of drinking water
• Remarkable gains have been made in the fight against malaria and tuberculosis
• The hunger target is within reach
• Environmental sustainability is under severe threat
• Most maternal deaths are preventable, and progress in this area is falling short
• Access to antiretroviral therapy and knowledge about HIV prevention must expand
• Too many children are still denied primary education
• There is less aid money overall, with the poorest countries most adversely affected

Download this Report

• The Millenium Development Goals Report 2013English

For more information: http://www.undp.org.ph/?link=k_hub_products&page=0

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