From Observing to Predicting our Climate:  The World Climate Conference-3 in 2009.

IPCC originated from the first World Climate Conference; the third Conference in 2009 will be another milestone

GENEVA, 31 August 2008 (WMO) – On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Secretary-General Michel Jarraud pledged the continued support of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services of its 188 Members, which have been the principal providers of the scientific and technical information underpinning IPCC assessments. 

Today WMO doubles efforts to provide better climate prediction for societal benefits. 

The World Climate Conference-3 in 2009 devoted to climate predictions will help decision-makers to build on progress made by the science. 

***

Mr Jarraud recalled that the IPCC, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007, originated from the First World Climate Conference organized by WMO in 1979 in the light of climate findings. “While it is widely recognized today that human activities are modifying climate at an increasingly alarming rate, such was not the case in 1976 when WMO issued the first authoritative statement on the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the potential impacts on the Earth’s climate”, Mr Jarraud recalled. Very intensive scientific work followed that led to the co-establishment in 1988 of the IPCC by WMO and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).  The WMO Secretary-General underlined the need for the “increasing involvement of scientists from both developed and developing countries in all domains where the best expertise will be required to meet the challenges of global climate change”.

The IPCC First Assessment Report was released in 1990, providing guidance for the Second World Climate Conference, which was held in the same year and gave a boost to the negotiations that resulted in the adoption of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and in the establishment in 1992 of the Global Climate Observing System to facilitate the availability of systematic observations needed for authoritative climate change studies.

Today, after years of raising the attention of the global community to changes in the climate, the WMO is now focused on providing better information and tools to adapt to these expected changes. To set the stage for a new era in forecasting, WMO is organizing with partners the World Climate Conference-3 (WCC-3), which will be held in Geneva, from 31 August to 4 September 2009. The Conference will bring together providers and users of climate predictions in order to enhance climate resilient decision-making. The WMO Secretary-General is “confident that it will be as successful as the two previous conferences”.

The key IPCC 4AR messages have served as the basis for international mobilization that culminated in December 2007 at the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali. Mr Jarraud pledged WMO’s continued support and expertise for ongoing efforts to achieve appropriate agreements extending beyond the Kyoto protocol and to define the relevant long-term strategies.

Other speakers at the IPCC 20th anniversary ceremony in Geneva included:

Mr Moritz Leuenberger, Federal Councilor and Former President of the Swiss Confederation,

Mr Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations,

Mr Laurent Moutinot, President of the State Council of the Republic and Canton of Geneva,

Dr Rajendra Pachauri, Chairman of the IPCC,

Mr Achim Steiner, Executive Director of UNEP,

and Mr Roberto Acosta, representing the UNFCCC Executive Secretary.

WMO (the World Meteorological Organization) is the United Nations’ authoritative voice on weather, climate and water.

For more information please contact:

Ms Carine Richard-Van Maele, Chief, Communications and Public Affairs, Tel.: +41 (0)22 730 83 14/15; Email:  cpa at wmo.int; or Ms Gaëlle Sévenier, Press Officer, Tel. +41 (0) 22 730 8417. Email:  gsevenier at wmo.int

Web site: http://www.wmo.int

Friday, Aug. 15, 2008

Ways of beating malaria without using DDT.

By Cesar Chelala, A Health Consultant in the US, for The Japan Times on line, New York, August 15, 2008.

Malaria continues to be endemic in the developing world, causing more than 1 million deaths every year, mostly among children living in Sub-Saharan countries.

The good news is that the results of a new project carried out in Mexico and Central America show that the fight against malaria does not have to depend on using DDT. In Mexico and the Central American countries, it is estimated that around 108.7 million people live in areas that are environmentally favorable to transmission of malaria, with 35 percent at high risk of contracting the disease.

The need to continue to rely on DDT to effectively combat malaria has been the subject of a long running discussion. Although DDT spraying has long been successfully used in controlling the mosquito population and the spread of malaria, it easily enters the food chain and persists for many years in the environment. The result is often serious harm to wildlife. In addition, the mosquito population under attack can become resistant to DDT, making necessary the search for alternatives.

Since 2004, a project funded by the U.N. Environmental Program and the Global Environmental Facility has been carried out with the technical support of the Pan American Health Organization in Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Panama. It was developed on strategies outlined in the “Roll Back Malaria” approach championed by the World Health Organization.

This project was initially implemented in Mexico and subsequently adopted to local areas in the Central American countries. Critical to its success has been the use of public health measures aimed at controlling mosquito breeding and standing sites, rapid diagnosis and treatment of those affected with malaria and active community participation.

Public health measures against malaria had already shown their effectiveness in Central America. During the construction of the Panama Canal, which had been abandoned by the French in 1889 due to financial scandals and the high number of worker deaths from malaria and yellow fever, thousands of lives were saved thanks to public health measures implemented by Dr. William C. Gorgas of the U.S. Army Medical Corps.

Similar public health measures have been applied in the Mexico/Central America project, including participatory community treatment of larval breeding sites, improvements in housing conditions, periodical clearing of vegetation around houses, and elimination of stagnant water near houses. These actions are complemented by a wide array of educational interventions aimed at information about malaria transmission, and rapid diagnosis and prompt treatment of those affected in the community.

Early detection and treatment is crucial for eliminating the parasite carriers. A key aspect has been the collaboration of voluntary community health workers who are taught to make an early diagnosis in situ and to administer complete courses of treatment not only to those affected but to patients’ immediate contacts.

The project was carried out in “demonstration areas” selected for their high levels of malaria transmission. In those areas, the number of malaria cases fell 63 percent from 2004 to 2007. In several demonstration areas I visited in Honduras and Mexico as a consultant for the Pan American Health Organization, malaria had practically been eliminated. Plans are under way to expand the project to other regions where malaria remains a serious threat.

One of the advantages of avoiding DDT (and its toxic effects) is the enormous savings realized from discontinuing its routine use. These savings can now be put to good use against other diseases.

Although DDT can still be used in some countries or regions with extremely high levels of malaria infection, the fact that an effective campaign against malaria can be waged without it, and at much lower cost, raises hopes that this approach can be used as time goes on by a wide range of developing countries in the Americas, Africa and Asia.

IARU Universities [International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU)]:

The University of Copenhagen is organising the scientific congress, March 10-12, 2009, in cooperation with the partners in the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU):

Australian National University
ETH Zurich
National University of Singapore
Peking University
University of California, Berkeley
University of Cambridge
University of Copenhagen
University of Oxford
University of Tokyo
Yale University

Congress Purpose:

The Danish Government as host of the UN Conference on Climate Change (COP15) to be held in Copenhagen at the end of 2009 supports this Congress organised by IARU as part of the run-up to the COP 15. The purpose of the congress is to try and capture some of the enormous research energy currently being devoted to the elucidation, mitigation and adaptation to climate change.

Thus, the focus of the congress is on providing a picture of the “big issues” that the scientific community feels it is necessary that policy makers are aware of in order to make enlightened decisions with respect to the balancing of adaptation and mitigation in the societal response to climate change.

All findings will be compiled in a book on climate change, and an executive summary with the main findings from the congress will, after agreement with the Danish Government, which is hosting the UN Conference on Climate Change (COP15) be handed over to policy makers at the COP15 in Copenhagen at the end of 2009.

Sign up for news. updates, etc. - see:

 http://climatecongress.ku.dk/?gclid=COar…

From:  sniffenj at un.org
Subject: NEWS RELEASE: Biofuels soon to be measured by international standards.
Date: August 13, 2008

forwarding of News Release from: Charlotte Opal
Tel: + 41 21 693 5351
 charlotte.opal at epfl.ch

Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels - An initiative of the EPFL Energy Center.

Ensuring that biofuels deliver on their promise of sustainability - Biofuels soon to be measured by international standards.

300 experts and representatives of the public and private sector have come
together in the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels, housed at the EPFL
Energy Center, to develop global norms for the economic, social, and
environmental impacts of biofuels.

LAUSANNE, 13 August 2008 – Are biofuels a panacea or a threat to climate,
food and energy security? While the answer is indeed “it depends”, pundits
so far have not agreed on global criteria to evaluate the positive or
negative impacts of a certain crop, produced in a certain area, processed
in a certain way into a biofuel to be used in a certain place.

However, such diverse constituencies as businesses, academics and
environmentalists seem closer to a previously unlikely agreement about the
economic, social, and environmental sustainability of biofuels. A critical
step was announced today, when the Steering Board of the Roundtable on
Sustainable Biofuels (RSB), an international initiative hosted by the
Energy Centre at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne
(EPFL), endorsed the first draft of a global sustainability standard for
biofuels.

The standard is intended to be used by investors, governments,
corporations, and civil society groups to assess the sustainability of
different biofuels. “With all of the mixed messages we hear about biofuels,
there is a clear need for a standard that can differentiate the good from
the bad,” said Claude Martin, chair of the Roundtable and former
Director-General of WWF International. “For an issue of such seminal
importance, it was necessary to bring many different stakeholder groups
together to agree on how to define and measure sustainable biofuels. The
publication of the first draft standard today represents an important
consensus for how we can judge the development of this industry”.

The draft criteria of the Roundtable for Sustainable Biofuels, developed
through a multi-stakeholder process, are based on a comprehensive “land to
tank” analysis, covering the whole chain of biofuels’ production. ‘Version
Zero’ of the standard will now undergo six months of global stakeholder
consultation for incorporation into what will become Version One to be
released in April, 2009. In person feedback sessions on Version Zero are
being planned in East Asia, Europe, Mozambique, Mali, and throughout the
Americas. “Any interested stakeholder is welcome to attend these meetings
or give feedback online,” explained Charlotte Opal, Head of the RSB
Secretariat. “Our hope is that by February 2009, all interested
stakeholders will have had their chance to influence the criteria”.

Over 300 experts from corporations, civil society groups, academic
institutions and government agencies from nearly 40 countries helped draft
Version Zero of the standard, through
teleconferences, an innovative Wiki format  www.bioenergywiki.net), and
in-person meetings in Switzerland, Brazil, China, India and South Africa.
The standard addresses the major issues of concern regarding biofuels’
production, including their potential contribution to climate change
mitigation and rural development; the protection of land and labor rights;
and their impacts on biodiversity, soil pollution, water availability and
food security. Version Zero can be accessed here:
 http://cgse.epfl.ch/page70341.html
.
The Energy Centre at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne,
EPFL (one of the two federal institutes of technology in Switzerland)
houses the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels.

Steering Board members include, among others, individuals from BP, Bunge,
EPFL, the National Wildlife Federation, the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP), Petrobras, Shell, Swiss and Dutch federal agencies, TERI-
India, Toyota, UNICA (the Brazilian sugar producers’ union), the World
Economic Forum (WEF), and the World Wild Fund for Nature (WWF)

—————————–

The following members of the Roundtable’s Steering Board can be contacted
for interviews:

Barbara Bramble, National Wildlife Federation, USA +1 202 797 6601
Jean-Philippe Denruyter, WWF International, +1 202 822 3459
Lukas Gutzwiller, Swiss Federal Office of Energy, +41 31 322 56 79
Stephan Herbst, Toyota Motor Europe, +32 2 745 2720 (August 13th and 14th
only)
Marcos Jank or Geraldine Kutas, UNICA – Brazilian Sugar Producers’ Union,
care of Rose Racorti, +55 11 3093-4949,
Jürgen Maier, German NGO Forum, +49 (30) 6781 775 88 or +49 171 383 6135,
Martina Otto, United Nations Environment Programme, +33 (1) 44 37 46 91
Hans-Björn Püttgen, Director, EPFL Energy Center, +41 21 693 2473
Roberto Smeraldi, Amigos da Terra – Amazônia Brasileira, +55 (11) 3887-9369
(August 13th and 14th only)

For more information, please call Charlotte Opal, +41 21 693 5351, or
e-mail her at  charlotte.opal at epfl.ch. The Roundtable’s website is
 http://EnergyCenter.epfl.ch/Biofuels.

***********************************
Jim Sniffen
Information Officer
UN Environment Programme
New York
tel: +1-212-963-8094/8210
 info at nyo.unep.org
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YOUNG PEOPLE SHOULD HAVE ACTIVE ROLE IN COMBATING CLIMATE CHANGE – BAN.

This Says the Official UN Press Release.

Young people, who are adept at spreading new habits and technologies, are well placed to contribute to the fight against climate change, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said as he marked International Youth Day.

“They are adaptable and can quickly make low-carbon lifestyles and career choices a part of their daily lives. Youth should therefore be given a chance to take an active part in the decision-making of local, national and global levels. And they can actively support initiatives that will lead to the passage of far-reaching legislation,” Mr. Ban stressed in his message for the Day, which is observed annually on 12 August.

The Secretary-General warned that, left unaddressed, climate change could unravel the progress made toward the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a set of anti-poverty targets that world leaders have committed to meet by 2015.

“Unless we make radical changes in the way we live, by the time the youth of 2008 reach my age, the world may well have become a rather inhospitable place,” he said.

Mr. Ban added that young people will bear the consequences of climate change “thanks to the unfortunate legacy of their elders.”

“In many developing countries, in particular, youth – especially girls and young women – are often responsible for farming, finding water and collecting fuel wood. These tasks will be rendered more difficult – and will take even more time away from education or productive activities – as climate change affects the availability of water, agricultural productivity and the survival of ecosystems,” he said.

———-

In a related development, 50 people, including school and college students, were invited to the headquarters of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal (OHCHR-Nepal) in Kathmandu as part of International Youth Day. The visitors were given a tour of the office and put questions to OHCHR-Nepal’s representative and deputy representative.

Bottled Water: The Height of Stupidity -  says Diane Francis of Huffington Post, August 6, 2008.

Next, Attorneys General everywhere should require recycling of all plastic bottles and containers by requiring deposits to be paid to encourage returns, as is the case with aluminum cans. Not only do society and the environment pay an unfair price for this consumer hoax, but consumers are being hoodwinked. They are paying from 300 to 3,000 times more than the cost of tap water without any benefit.

An estimate by a University of Toronto geology professor Andrew Miall, who took a picture of a grocery store skid of bottled water and calculated the extent of the ripoff, found the stack of bottles:

Contains 24,192 bottles, each containing 500 ml of water, a total of 12,096 liters of water, in 314.5 kg of plastic.

 Purchase price of the $4.99 per 24-bottle pack is $0.42 per liter for a total retail value of $5,029.92
To purchase the same volume of water in bulk through Toronto’s domestic water supply would cost $16.93
The scam

Dasani in Britain was caught doing this. There are not regulations or proper labeling requirements governing bottled water as there is involving tap water. Some water may be contaminated.

Bottles of water are not fluoridated which has been created tooth decay problems among youngsters and adults who avoid tap water.

There are indications that the plastic may contain harmful carcinogens.

Bottles of water are mini gas guzzlers

One expert estimated that the amount of petroleum — used to make the bottles, transport, refrigerate, collect and bury them — would fill one-third of each bottle.

These plastic bottles are creating landfill problems worldwide, and are washing up on beautiful beaches around the planet.

What’s wrong with using filters, if people are concerned about local water supplies, and refillable bottles?
Another stupidity: A real estate developer explained the idiocy of ordering bottled water in restaurants. He said bylaws require special water filtration systems be installed so that their “tap water” is safer than any.

Of course, there’s always those who want fancy sparkling or soda water, but that’s another issue.

About the only justification for bottled water is in developing countries where water supplies are decidedly unsafe or untrustworthy.

From: Lynette Thorstensen
<thorstensen@wbcsd.org>

Adapting to Climate Change - Impacts for Business.

————————————————-
- Read the press release online: http://www.wbcsd.org/Plugins/DocSearch/d…
- Download the issue brief (PDF 628 kb): http://www.wbcsd.org/includes/getTarget….
————————————————–

Geneva, 5 August 2008 - Changes in the Earth’s climate system are already creating issues for how business operates. While the magnitude and frequency of climate impacts is uncertain, the consequences of some climate change impacts are now unavoidable.

These include, water scarcity, disruption of international markets, increased frequency of extreme weather events, and potential mass migration of people. According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), adapting to climate change will require the right measures to reduce the negative impacts of climate change (or exploit the positive ones) by making the appropriate adjustments and changes.

The WBCSD’s new publication  presents an overview of climate adaptation issues from a business perspective. The report examines the potential impacts of climate changes on business, risks and opportunities, the business case for adaptation planning, and highlights areas in which business could have a role in promoting adaption, both at community and global levels.

Key highlights:

- Coordination of mitigation and adaptation policies is necessary and will lead to global benefits.
- Climate change impacts will create business risks and opportunities within a company’s operations and supply chains, a company’s local community, and in the global consumer market in both developed and developing countries.
- The risks to consumer markets are greatest in developing countries because they lack sufficient adaptive capacity to climate change impacts.
- Key drivers of adaptation planning include: competitive advantage, cost savings, liability management, investor pressure, regulation and community resilience.

“The WBCSD is committed to helping business find solutions to the challenges of energy and climate change,” says Björn Stigson, President, WBCSD. “Adaptation measures are intrinsically linked to challenges of sustainable development, and business is part of the sustainable development solution.”

Contact
Lynette Thorstensen
WBCSD Communications Director
E-mail:  thorstensen at wbcsd.org
Tel.: +41 22 839 3141

Download
- Adaptation: An Issue Brief for Business ( 628 kb): http://www.wbcsd.org/includes/getTarget….

———-

About the WBCSD
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development  http://www.wbcsd.org) is a unique, CEO-led, global association of some 200 companies dealing exclusively with business and sustainable development. The Council provides a platform for companies to explore sustainable development, share knowledge, experiences and best practices, and to advocate business positions on these issues in a variety of forums, working with governments and non-governmental and intergovernmental organizations.

Israeli startup turns Asia’s three-wheelers green.
By Sharon Kanon - http://www.israel21c.org/bin/en.jsp?enDi…;
July 29, 2008

A snazzy green Yamaha RS100T motorcycle with a sidecar will be the greenest taxi in the Philippines in the near future. The vehicle will be fitted with three compact cylinders of natural gas, using technology developed by Israeli-American company, Energtek.

Energtek’s recent announcement of the first successful conversion of a three-wheeled vehicle to natural gas for commercial purposes created a buzz in motorcycle media, green publications and blogs worldwide.

“Natural Gas is the most practical motor fuel alternative to gasoline,” Lev Zaidenberg, Energtek’s CEO, tells ISRAEL21c. “Extraordinary quantities exist. And, it is cheaper and cleaner than gasoline.”

With oil prices skyrocketing, and increased concern about pollution, Energtek’s proprietary ANG technology is a breakthrough for countries where two and three-wheeled vehicles predominate. During the past year, Energtek has successfully entered three Asian markets - the Philippines, India, and Indonesia.

There are about 300 million two and three wheeled vehicles on the road worldwide - some 25 percent of the world’s automotive market; and nearly 85 percent of them are in Asia.       

Small 2-stroke engines which get a quick surge of power because combustion is completed in only two stokes of the piston, rather than four as in a car, are popular.

* * *

Ban on polluting vehicles

“Energtek’s technology provides a solution for two million tricycle drivers to continue to operate their vehicles, preventing them from suffering a significant loss of livelihood…” says Ariel P. Lim, the Philippine President’s Special Advisor for Public Transport Affairs.

Last Wednesday, Energtek signed an agreement with the Philippine National Oil Company to convert half a million three-wheeled vehicles to natural gas within three to four years.

Energtek will buy the gas from stranded wells in the province of Isabela, and use its technology in a multi-phase conversion project, dubbed “the world’s first commercial ANG project.” It hopes to convert 50,000 tricycles within 18 months. This initiative is expected to generated revenues of $20 million in vehicles equipment sales and $40 million in annual gas sales.

***

Inventive contributions:

“Our R&D division (Angstore) spent more than six years on research and development,” says Zaidenberg, a maverick entrepreneur who also founded Mutek, as well as Angstore, and has received awards for his inventive contributions to the Israel Air Force and the Israel Computer Society.

“Natural Gas is abundant but often ’stranded,’ not easily accessible,” explains Zaidenberg. “Our innovative technology is not dependent on pipelines. Unlike oil, natural gas does not have to be refined.

The plan in the Philippines pilot project is to compress the Natural Gas on the stranded gas site into small cylinders that will then be shipped to distribution outlets throughout the country.

The Joint Venture with DML PTE will commercialize Energtek’s technology in Singapore, and Malaysia as well as Indonesia. Revenues are expected to surpass $100 million.

***

Asked about Energtek’s next marketing target, Zaidenberg says: “Our next move will probably be to the US and South America. We are looking for countries that are oil importers, and have natural gas. Look, the price of gasoline is over $4.00 a gallon. The big gap is in our favor.”

“We have the right technology at the right time,” adds Zaidenberg. “Just think a short time ago we were just five guys with technology, no business. Now we have a business that is worldwide. Even Iran, the third largest oil producer is converting to gas.”