http://ipsterraviva.net/UN/currentNew.as…

South-South Cooperation Key to MDGs
IPS Correspondents

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 7 (IPS) – Member states meeting here Thursday called for the immediate implementation of development commitments made during the Nairobi high-level U.N. conference on cooperation between developing countries.

UNDP Administrator Helen Clark highlighted the importance of the Nairobi meeting on South-South cooperation in sharing information, technologies, and experiences across the South. The Nairobi outcome document calls for concrete measures to mainstream support for South-South and triangular cooperation in the U.N.’s work.

“I can assure you that we in UNDP have received that loud and clear message,” Clark said. “We have long proudly hosted the Special Unit for South-South Cooperation and fully supported its work.” On the heels of Thursday’s General Assembly High-level Committee on South-South Cooperation (HLC) meeting, focal points of South-South cooperation at 29 U.N. agencies met Friday at headquarters to discuss follow-up to the Nairobi conference.

“South-South cooperation is an expression of solidarity that has proven its relevance by a rapid growth,” said Ambassador Abdullah M. Alsaidi of Yemen, the chair of the Group of 77 developing countries.

“Cooperation across the South has been transformed by the growth of the emerging economies,” Clark explained.

The share of global GDP generated by low and middle income countries has grown from 15 percent to 25 percent over the last 50 years according to UNDP estimates, and analysts predict that emerging markets will outperform developed markets over the course of the next decade.

“Strengthening of regional integration and improved networking among members of regional blocs and organisations has a multiplier effect to South-South cooperation,” said Ambassador Zachary Muburi-Muita of Kenya, who was elected president of the HLC meeting here.

“The emerging economies in the South are attracting international attention and will increasingly acquire the muscle to influence the course of economic growth and development,” said Ambassador Gyan Chandra Acharya of Nepal, stressing that the recent successes of the developing world are in danger of being reversed and are not being felt equally across countries or regions.

Despite the gains achieved through trade and finance, delegations noted the deepening economic asymmetries among developing countries, particularly in regard to the least developed countries (LDCs) and landlocked developing countries.

The HLC stressed that the current financial, food and energy crises have exacerbated the vulnerabilities of developing countries that lack the capacity to withstand shocks.

There is an “implementation gap” that has been looming over the recommendations of the major U.N. conferences in the economic and social areas, delegates agreed.

It is only with “political will towards fulfilling the commitments that parties have undertaken in Nairobi that we can make real progress,” an Egyptian delegate stressed.

“South-South cooperation is immensely important at this time for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and other internationally agreed goals, and for tackling climate change,” said Clark.

Clark urged delegations to take a particularly close look at the gender aspects of achieving the MDGs.

“Progress is lagging behind particularly on MDG5 on maternal health; on MDG3 on empowering women; and on MDG2 with respect to gender parity in access to education,” Clark said, “To achieve the MDGs and indeed other internationally agreed development goals, women have to be an equal part of the equation.”

In order to effectively implement the Nairobi outcome with demonstrable results, stakeholders need to identify “quick wins” whose implementation should be devoid of unnecessary red tape and bureaucracy, said Muburi-Muita.

The government of Brazil and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) have signed agreements on South-South cooperation to prevent and combat child labour and to promote good practices and lessons learned in Latin America and Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa and Asia.

“This is an excellent example of how member states are able to engage entities of the U.N. system through a South-South and triangular partnership in support of their national development strategies,” according to the ILO delegation.

The HLC stressed local ownership of solutions as a key component of South-South cooperation.

“Now, as UNDP positions itself to be of the greatest possible relevance and support to developing countries in the 21st century, we see facilitating South-South exchanges of experience and knowledge as absolutely central to what we do,” Clark explained.

A growing priority of the U.N. will be to share experience on climate change adaptation and mitigation. This could include sharing knowledge on growing drought-tolerant crops, on reforestation, or on providing low-cost access to clean energy and transport technology.

Clark emphasised that a very wide range of developing countries make contributions to South-South cooperation. In the recent weeks “we have seen least developed and low-income countries, along with middle-income and net-contributing countries, digging deep into their pockets for Haiti,” she said.

ON THIS DAY – On Dec. 21, 1988, a terrorist bomb exploded aboard a Pan Am Boeing 747 over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 people; now, 21 years later, remembering what addiction to oil can do to us, the New York Times starts to discern a path to a better future for the planet.

NEW YORK TIMES EDITORIAL OF December 21, 2009
Copenhagen, and Beyond.

The global climate negotiations in Copenhagen produced neither a grand success nor the complete meltdown that seemed almost certain as late as Friday afternoon. Despite two years of advance work, the meeting failed to convert a rare gathering of world leaders into an ambitious, legally binding action plan for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It produced instead a softer interim accord that, at least in principle, would curb greenhouses gases, provide ways to verify countries’ emissions, save rain forests, shield vulnerable nations from the impacts of climate change, and share the costs.

The hard work has only begun, in Washington and elsewhere. But Copenhagen’s achievements are not trivial, given the complexity of the issue and the differences among rich and poor countries. President Obama deserves much of the credit. He arrived as the talks were collapsing, spent 13 hours in nonstop negotiations and played hardball with the Chinese. With time running out — and with the help of China, India, Brazil and South Africa — he forged an agreement that all but a handful of the 193 nations on hand accepted.

Mr. Obama aside, there were two keys to the deal. One was a dramatic offer of $100 billion in aid from the industrialized nations to poorer countries to help them move to less-polluting sources of energy and to deal with drought and other consequences of warming. The offer had an instant soothing effect on many poorer nations that had been threatening to walk out all week.

The other was China’s willingness to submit to a verification system under which all countries would agree to report on their actions and — assuming details could be worked out — open their books to inspection. Transparency is a huge issue in Congress, and Mr. Obama made clear in his opening remarks on Friday that he would not agree to a deal unless China gave ground.

An enormous amount of work lies ahead, both for the president and for the other signatories to what is now being called the Copenhagen Accord. In order to deliver on his promises to reduce America’s greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent by 2020 and provide a chunk of that $100 billion in aid, Mr. Obama must persuade the Senate to approve a cap-and-trade bill — a huge task.

Meanwhile, there can be no letup by the rest of the world’s negotiators, no matter how tired and beat up they may be. These talks have been so chaotic and contentious that some people believe the United Nations machinery has outlived its usefulness, and real progress will henceforth be made in smaller gatherings of the big players.

There may be some truth to this, but at the moment it is hard to see how many of the arrangements agreed to in principle at Copenhagen — the verification system, for instance — can be made to work without detailed agreements. There must also be some mechanism that holds all countries responsible for doing everything they can to tackle climate change. As it is, the pledges now on the table, from both rich and poor countries, are nowhere near enough to keep atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide from rising above dangerous levels.

But for the moment it is worth savoring the steps forward. China is now a player in the effort to combat climate change in a way it has never been, putting measurable emissions reductions targets on the table and accepting verification. And the United States is very much back in the game too. After eight years of playing the spoiler, it is now a leader with a president who seems to embrace the role.

NEW YORK TIMES RECENT FURTHER ARTICLES ABOUT THE UN FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE

Mixed Bag for Obama on Climate Change Deal Amid the Recession

By JOHN HARWOOD

A victory for President Obama in Copenhagen will not necessarily help his popularity at home.

December 21, 2009

MORE ON THE UNFCCC AND: FOREIGN AID, GLOBAL WARMING, UNITED STATES ECONOMY, GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS, PELOSI, NANCY, OBAMA, BARACK, KERRY, JOHN

An Air of Frustration for Europe at Climate Talks

By JAMES KANTER

Caught off guard by the Copenhagen accord, European leaders felt pressure to back it even though they thought it did not go far enough and had a process in which they had little influence.

December 21, 2009

MORE ON THE UNFCCC AND: GLOBAL WARMING, COPENHAGEN (DENMARK),EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Copenhagen’s One Real Accomplishment: Getting Some Money Flowing

By JAMES KANTER

The accord in Copenhagen was “a big step forward” after previous talks offered no financial support mechanisms, Ban Ki-moon, the U.N. secretary general, said.

December 21, 2009

MORE ON THE UNFCCC AND: GLOBAL WARMING, ENERGY AND POWER,COPENHAGEN (DENMARK)

Compromising on 2 Issues, Obama Gets Partial Wins

By PETER BAKER

From Copenhagen to Capitol Hill, the president determined the outer limits of what he could accomplish on climate change and health care and decided that was enough, for now.

December 20, 2009

MORE ON THE UNFCCC AND: GLOBAL WARMING, HEALTH INSURANCE AND MANAGED CARE, REFORM AND REORGANIZATION, OBAMA, BARACK

A Grudging Accord in Climate Talks

By ANDREW C. REVKIN and JOHN M. BRODER

After delays, theatrics and deal-making, climate talks ended with an agreement to “take note” of a pact shaped by five nations.

December 20, 2009

MORE ON THE UNFCCC AND: GLOBAL WARMING, TREATIES

• Science and Politics of Climate Change
• Who’s at the Climate Talks, and What Do They Seek?
• Climate Change Conversations

U.N. Climate Talks ‘Take Note’ of Accord Backed by U.S.

By ANDREW C. REVKIN and JOHN M. BRODER

The agreement left open the question of whether the accord would gain the full support of the countries involved in the talks on limiting the risks of climate change.

December 20, 2009

MORE ON THE UNFCCC AND: COPENHAGEN (DENMARK)

• Science and Politics of Climate Change
• Who’s at the Climate Talks, and What Do They Seek?
• Climate Change Conversations

———————————————————————————————————-

Off to the Races

By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

A competitive Earth Race led by America can be a more self-sustaining way to reduce carbon emissions than a festival of nonbinding commitments at a U.N. conference.

December 20, 2009

MORE ON THE UNFCCC AND: GLOBAL WARMING, GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS, UNITED STATES, UNITED NATIONS

———————————————————————————————————

Updated Dec. 18, 2009

Representatives of 192 nations gathered in Copenhagen to seek a consensus on an international strategy for fighting global warming, in a series of meetings between Dec. 7 and Dec. 18, 2009.

Leaders concluded a climate change deal the Obama administration called “meaningful” but which fell short of even the modest expectations for the summit. The maneuvering that characterized the final week of the talks was a sign of their seriousness; never before have global leaders come so close to a significant agreement to reduce the greenhouse gases linked to warming the planet.

President Obama injected himself into a multilayered negotiation that was far more chaotic and contentious than anticipated – frozen by longstanding divisions between rich and poor nations and a legacy of mistrust of the United States, which has long refused to accept any binding limits on its greenhouse gas emissions.

The accord drops what had been the expected goal of concluding a binding international treaty by the end of 2010, which leaves the implementation of its provisions uncertain. It is likely to undergo many months, perhaps years, of additional negotiation before it emerges in any internationally enforceable form.

Read More…

Finally a second shoe comes of at the UN Department of Public Information that services the Ban Ki-moon UN Administration. After the replacement of the officer in charge of Media Accreditation, now also a new Spokesperson.

November 30, 2009 UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is getting a new Spokesperson – a real professional – Martin Nesirky – that will hail from Vienna where he was not just spokesman for over three years at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) but was also Head of Press and Public Information.

Nesirky will replace Michele Montas of Haiti who served since the beginning of the term of Mr. Ban Ki-moon, January 1, 2007, till now, November 30, 2009, thus leaving one month ahead of the end of a three years contract. Ms. Montas is retiring from the UN.

Mr. Nesirky came to OSCE from Reuters where he served over two decades as an international correspondent and editor. He covered issues the like of  the fall of the  Berlin Wall, events in the Balkans, and nuclear non-proliferation issues. Further, he had a stint as the Moscow Bureau Chief of Reuters with responsibility for coverage of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and as senior editor in London handling political stories, including the Middle East and Africa. He has been posted in Berlin, The Hague, and Seoul, though it is not known if he also speaks Korean, the language of the current UN Secretary- General – the subject of a question from one of the correspondents that remained unanswered.

More recently Mr. Nesirky in his Spokesman capacity at OSCE was instrumental in navigating the Russia backed OSCE Chairmanship for Kazakhstan for 2010. At the UN he may find his personal talents helpful in creating a new persona for the UN Secretary-General whose popularity with parts of the UN have hit a low, at a time that his reelection for a second term will be put on the table.

Ms. Montas whom he replaces had none of such credentials. Prior to her appointment, Montas headed the French unit of UN Radio. From 2003 to 2004, she served as the Spokesperson for UN General Assembly President Julian Robert Hunte, of Saint Lucia, soon after she fled to New York from Haiti. In Haiti, she and her husband were also radio journalists and activists. Her husband was killed in Haiti, and she escaped to New York. We can vouch that in her first several months in the job Mr. Ban Ki-moon set her up, she had no understanding or patience for subjects of climate change – not even when the subject was raised in connection to killings going on in Africa, or the dangers to Small Island Member States of the UN. Not even in matters of the Middle East – she seemed as a fish out of water and effectively harming  positions that the SG might have been more forthcoming. In press conferences of the SG she allowed only questions that she thought he would be interested in while guarding him from such questions as climate change.

The real question is now if Mr. Martin Nesirky will find it acceptable to fit in her shoes and submit to further layers of UN functionaries in a UN Department of Public Information where the Director of News and Media Division is Mr. Ahmad Fawzi who acts as a factotum on Press Accreditation and also whenever there is the need to talk to the press upon fighting in the Middle East. We feel that Mr. Nesirky may be inclined to become his own man in those areas while serving the needs of the Secretary-General.

The announcement about the new Spokesperson was made by Mr. Farhan Haq, of Pakistan, an Associated Spokesperson, third in the ranking below Mr. Nesirky (The second ranking Spokesperson is the Deputy Spokesperson Marie Okabe of Japan). Farhan started the announcement by saying: “And finally, a message that you’ve been waiting for some time. The Secretary-General today has named Martin Nesirky of the United Kingdom as the new Spokesperson for the Secretary-General,” but when asked by a correspondent if there will be in parallel an appointment for a position called Strategic Communications, he also gave no answer and showed impatience by mentioning that “our guests are here.”

Another correspondent asked nevertheless about the Small Pacific Developing Island States that called upon the Security Council to take up the issue of climate change “as a matter of security, because they say that their islands, their countries, could potentially disappear together for the first time in history, and they’re looking for the Council to develop enforceable emission targets. What does the SG think of this call to the SC to take up the Climate Change issue?”

The anemic answer was: “As you know, the SG has been encouraging all of the relevant bodies to deal with climate change and its effects across a variety of fields.At this stage, however, what the SG is concerned with is making sure that Member states and leaders at the highest level will come to Copenhagen to deal precisely with all of the challenges of climate change and seal a deal that can help resolve all the various problems that member States face.” That was quite a lame answer from the source of “Hopenhagen” and a clear show why finally the UN deserves a professional Spokesperson it was denied during the first three years of the Ban Ki-moon Administration of the UN.

The Correspondent continued with his insistence for an answer:
“There is nothing about the council taking up this matter?”

Final answer from the Associate Spokesperson: “It’s always up to the Security Council which matters it chooses to take up under rubric of peace and security issues.”

From our point of view, will Mr. Martin Nersirky accompany Mr. Ban Ki-moon to Copenhagen, or will it be Marie Okabe?

———————————–

N.B. - to be fair to Michele Montas -
Montas was one of the producers of Jonathan Demme’s documentary, The Agronomist, which depicted the life and death of her husband Jean Dominique and his career at Radio Haiti-Inter, the radio station that he founded. She was also involved with MINUTASH – the UN mission to Haiti. Montas worked  as a journalist at that Radio-station and has been  a human rights activist in Haiti and later a consistent international lecturer on Haiti – but the subject matter of the UN extends beyond Haiti and the Aristide government interests. We do not imply that Montas was a negative person as such, only that she was not the right person for her job which allowed Mr. Ahmad Fawzi of Egypt to take over some of the responsibilitires that were hers, and the Under Secretary-General for the UN DPI, Mr. Kyotaka Akasaka, another strange appointment in the Ban Ki-moon cabinet, could really not care less.

———————————-

P.S. – On November 23, 2009 Martin Nesirky met the media correspondents to the UN and said:

A couple of things I just wanted to mention.  First of all, I’m really looking forward to working with all of you; getting to know you.  This is a huge challenge, of course, and I’m very keen to try to get to know you so I can help you the best that I can.  That’s the first thing.

The second thing is that, needless to say, I do read what’s being written.  And I think there are a couple of things I’d like to make absolutely clear and very straight at the beginning.  My language skills: I speak German, I speak Russian, I speak English after a fashion, I speak a little bit of Korean and an even smaller amount of French.  I realize that it’s very, very important to be able to speak French. I’m going to be doing as the Secretary-General has done, which is to take extra French classes to improve on that. And that’s really all I wanted to say on that matter.

The other is that I really believe that coming from outside the UN has advantages and disadvantages.  You will have to bear with me as I get to know the system that you, many of you, know far better than I probably will ever do.  But I am very keen to work with you so that you can help me to help you to have the stories that you need to write.

Also, it seems that the UN expects Mr. Nesirky to start his work at the UN on only December 7th, which is coincidentally the day the Copenhagen Conference opens officially, does it mean that he will be there, or it means that Marie Okabe will be there and he will be in New York? We shall see!

Climate Change Adaptation: It’s about Water! 
— Global Water Partnership’s contribution to the climate change dialogue

Water is central to the world’s development challenges. Whether it is food security, poverty reduction, economic growth, human health—water is the nexus. Climate change is the spoiler. No matter how successful mitigation efforts might be, people will experience the impacts of climate change through water.

The Global Water Partnership is participating in ‘Water Day’ at the climate change negotiations in Barcelona. GWP Executive Secretary Dr Ania Grobicki will be the lead speaker on water and transboundary issues on Tuesday, November 3. The venue is the Fira Congress Hotel, opposite the conference centre. The opening session starts at 9 am and lunch will be provided.

Recently, the GWP’s Technical Committee released its 14th Background Paper: “Water Management, Water Security and Climate Change Adaptation.” It argues that investments in water are investments in adaptation. The paper can be downloaded on www.gwpforum.org or ordered free at gwp@gwpforum.org.

Climate Change: How can we Adapt? – a one-pager about GWP’s key messages on this subject – is available here: http://www.gwpforum.org/gwp/library/GWP_Briefingnote_climatechange.pdf.

GWP has been accepted as an Inter-Governmental Organisation with Observer Status at  COP 15 in Copenhagen in December and has submitted an article to the delegate publication. But more information on that will follow later. 

More resources about climate change and water and more information on GWP’s involvement in the global dialogue on climate change is available on this page: http://www.gwpforum.org/servlet/PSP?iNodeID=205&itemId=442.

——————————————————–Steven DowneyHead of CommunicationsGlobal Water Partnership (GWP)Drottninggatan 33SE-111 51 Stockholm, SWEDENPhone:   +46 8 522 126 52Fax:      + 46 8 522 126 31E-mail: steven.downey@gwpforum.orgWebsite: www.gwpforum.org
A water secure world – the mission of the Global Water Partnership is to support the sustainable development and management of water resources at all levels.

      From:          sam_milton at harvard.edu
      Subject:       Fellowship announcement: Energy Technology Innovation Policy at Harvard University
Date:                     November 20, 2008

Dear Colleagues,

The Energy Technology Innovation Policy (ETIP) research group in the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School is soliciting applications for post-doctoral fellowships in the following areas:

1)             Carbon capture & storage technology and policy;
2)             Energy technology and policy in India;
3)             Energy technology and policy in China;
4)             U.S. transportation policy;
5)             Climate policy, and
6)             Energy-technology innovation policy

ETIP strives to determine and then seek to promote adoption of effective policies for accelerating the development and deployment of cleaner and more efficient energy technologies, primarily in China, India, and the United States.

Fellowship 1: Carbon Capture & Storage Technology and Policy

ETIP is seeking to fill a Research Fellowship or Visiting Scholarship with a focus on carbon capture and storage (CCS).   The Research Fellow or Visiting Scholar for CCS will contribute to ETIP’s efforts to identify and to promote policies that will enhance carbon capture and storage activities mainly in the United States.   The Fellow will report directly to ETIP’s Director and may lead research efforts in one or more of the following subject areas: geological mapping for carbon storage areas, regulation and legislation affecting CCS, legal liability and insurance issues, international cooperation, and opportunities and challenges for CCS in China and/or India.   The Research Fellow or Visiting Scholar will be expected to produce at least one publishable article, present her findings before internal and external audiences, and play a substantive role in the dissemination process of any findings.

Required Education, Experience and Skills

Applications for the Research Fellow for CCS are welcome from recent recipients of the Ph.D. or equivalent degree.   University faculty members, and employees of government, military, international, humanitarian, and private research institutions may be considered for visiting scholarships. The ideal candidate will have academic and/or professional experience examining issues related to carbon capture and storage technologies, and what policies might be designed to incentivize their development.   Candidates will also have excellent skills in presenting complex material to a wide range of audiences. Candidates who have focused on other aspects of energy policy in their doctoral work, or who hold a Master’s degree and have extensive experience, will be considered.

Fellowship 2: Energy Technology and Policy in India

ETIP is seeking to fill a Research Fellowship with a focus on energy technology and policy in India.   The Research Fellow will contribute to ETIP’s efforts to identify and to promote policies that will enhance India’s adoption of cleaner and less carbon-intensive energy technologies.   The Fellow will report directly to ETIP’s Director and may lead research efforts in one or more of the following subject areas: identifying opportunities for enhanced efficiencies in Indian thermal power plants, better understanding of available energy resources, institutional development in the Indian energy sector, opportunities for carbon capture and storage in the Indian context, cleaner transportation, or climate policy.   The Research Fellow will be expected to produce at least one publishable article, present her findings before internal and external audiences, and play a substantive role in the dissemination process of any findings, which could include interactions with policymakers in both the United States and India.

Required Education, Experience and Skills

Applications for the Research Fellowship for Energy Technology and Policy in India are welcome from recent recipients of the Ph.D. or equivalent. He/she will have excellent skills in presenting complex material to a wide range of audiences and will be able to take initiative in interacting with other researchers and policymakers. Candidates who have focused on other aspects of energy policy in their doctoral work, or who hold a Master’s degree and have extensive experience, will be considered.

Fellowship 3: Energy Technology and Policy in China

ETIP is seeking to fill a Research Fellowship with a focus on energy technology and policy in China.   The Research Fellow will contribute to ETIP’s efforts to identify and to promote policies that will enhance China’s adoption of cleaner and less carbon-intensive energy technologies, especially cleaner coal or cleaner vehicle technologies.   The Fellow will report directly to ETIP’s Director and may lead research efforts in one or more of the following subject areas: analyzing barriers to development or deployment of cleaner energy technologies, assessing costs of cleaner energy technologies in the Chinese context, identifying RD&D strategies for cleaner energy technologies in China, including for CCS, or other energy or climate policy topics.   The Research Fellow will be expected to produce at least one publishable article, present her findings before internal and external audiences, and play a substantive role in the dissemination process of any findings, including interacting with policymakers or other people of influence in the United States and China.

Required Education, Experience and Skills

Applications for the Research Fellowship for Energy Technology and Policy in China are welcome from recent recipients of the Ph.D. or equivalent.   The ideal candidate will have academic and/or professional experience of 3-5 years minimum.   Candidates will have excellent skills in presenting complex material to a wide range of audiences and will be able to take initiative in interacting with other researchers and policymakers. Candidates who have focused on other aspects of energy policy in their doctoral work, or who hold a Master’s degree and have extensive experience, will be considered.

Fellowship 4:   U.S. Transportation Policy

ETIP is seeking a Research Fellow to contribute to work related to assessing and promoting policy options for reducing oil consumption and greenhouse gas emissions associated with the U.S. transportation sector.   The Fellow will report directly to ETIP’s Director and may lead research efforts in one or more of the following subject areas: modeling economic, environmental and other impacts of policy options, examining regulatory scenarios related to various policy options, exploring the role of consumers in reducing the impact of transportation sector, and examining the role of biofuels.   The Research Fellow will be expected to produce at least one publishable article, present his findings before internal and external audiences, and play a substantive role in the dissemination process of any findings.

Required Education, Experience and Skills

Applications for the Research Fellowship on U.S. Transportation Policy are welcome from recent recipients of the Ph.D. or equivalent. The ideal candidate will have academic and/or professional experience analyzing policy for the U.S. transportation sector; investigating specific transportation-related challenges, and/or developing strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector. Candidates will also have excellent skills in presenting complex material to a wide range of audiences. Candidates will ideally hold a Ph.D. in public policy, economics, political science, or a related field. A clear focus on transportation will be a plus. Candidates who have focused on other aspects of energy policy in their doctoral work, or who hold a Master’s degree and have extensive experience, will be considered.

Fellowship 5: Climate Policy

ETIP is seeking pre-and post-doctoral research fellows to work on domestic or international climate policy. The Fellow will report directly to ETIP’s Director. Candidates interested in working on climate policy in China, India, or the United States are particularly encouraged to apply, as well as candidates with a special focus on the intersection between climate policy and energy technology development and deployment.   Technology transfer/cooperation for low-carbon technologies is of special interest. The Research Fellow will be expected to produce at least one publishable article, present his findings before internal and external audiences, and play a substantive role in the dissemination process of any findings. The Research Fellow will be expected to produce at least one publishable article, present his findings before internal and external audiences, and play a substantive role in the dissemination process of any findings.

Required Education, Experience and Skills

Applications for the Research Fellowship on Climate Policy are welcome from recent recipients of the Ph.D. or equivalent degree. The ideal candidate will have academic and/or professional experience analyzing climate.   Candidates will also have excellent skills in presenting complex material to a wide range of audiences. Candidates will ideally hold a Ph.D. in public policy, economics, political science, or a related field. A clear focus on transportation will be a plus. Candidates who have focused on other aspects of energy policy in their doctoral work, or who hold a Master’s degree and have extensive experience, will be considered.

Fellowship 6: Energy Technology Innovation Policy

ETIP is seeking fellows to work on energy technology innovation (ETI) policy. The ETI fellows will be committed mainly to a three-year project with three related but distinct goals: 1) producing a comprehensive set of recommendations for the next U.S. administration for a greatly expanded federal energy innovation budget; 2) preparing annual budget commentaries and recommendations to policy makers on current ERD&D spending priorities ; 3) producing a report comparing energy-technology innovation activities in the public and private sectors in the United States and internationally. Fellows will work toward one or several of the above goals.

ETI fellows participate in Congressional briefings, meetings with relevant stakeholders in business, industry, academia, and elsewhere, and interviews with the media.

Required Education, Experience and Skills

Applications for ETI fellowships are welcome from recent recipients of the Ph.D. or equivalent degree. The ideal candidate will have professional experience analyzing policy for publicly-funded ERD&D; developing and analyzing federal budgets for ERD&D; or strategic planning for ETI. Candidates will also have excellent skills in presenting complex material to a wide range of audiences. Candidates will ideally hold a Ph.D. in public policy, economics, political science, or a related field. A clear focus on ETI will be a plus. Candidates who have focused on other aspects of energy policy in their doctoral work, or who hold a Master’s degree and have extensive experience, will be considered.

Application procedures

Applications are due January 15, 2009. ETIP fellowships are for a one-year period, though they may be renewed.

Please visit http://belfercenter.org/fellowships/ for complete application information.

For more information about the Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group, please visit www.energytechnologypolicy.org.

We encourage applications from women, minorities, and citizens of all countries.   Although we are mainly interested in the above topics and regions, other applications will be considered.

_______________________________________________

Sam Milton, MALD
Project Coordinator, Energy Technology Innovation Policy
Belfer Center for Science & International Affairs
Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
79 JFK Street, Box 53, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA
(617) 496-5584 phone, (617) 495-8963 fax
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ENVIRONMENT-CHINA: Coal Far Costlier Than Thought – Study
By Antoaneta Bezlova from Beijing, for IPS (The Frontline of Environment).

BEIJING, Oct 29 (IPS) - Often criticised for its massive coal-based industries that jeopardise international efforts to combat global warming, China is undoubtedly the biggest victim of its voracious coal consumption.

Even more significantly, they calculate the hidden cost of environmental and social damage caused by China’s coal mining industry to be seven percent of the country’s 2007 gross domestic product.

***

If the so-called external, or hidden costs, were added to current coal tariffs, prices would rise by 23 percent, ‘The True Cost of Coal’ predicted.

***

Commissioned by Greenpeace, the U.S.-based Energy Foundation and WWF, the study was researched by Chinese economists for over two years. They sought help from experts in the country’s biggest coal producing region — Shanxi province — and from the national Centre for Disease Control.

“It is far too complicated to calculate those costs accurately,” said Mao, adding that if the costs of the impact of climate change resulting from coal combustion were factored in, China’s coal bill would be significantly higher.

***

China maintains that richer, developed nations should take the lead in reducing greenhouse gas emissions while helping poor nations with money and technology to fight climate change.

But even if China wants the developed world to shoulder the historic burden of reducing carbon dioxide emissions responsible for climate change, the uncomfortable truth remains that its people are most exposed to the effects of what Mao termed an “excessive use of coal”.

***

Inhaling soot particles from coal-fired power plants is causing an epidemic of chronic respiratory diseases among Chinese. Without providing exact figures, the study estimated that the death rate per one million tonnes of coal produced and consumed in China was 70 times higher than in the U.S., and seven times higher than in Russia and India.

The report suggests the introduction of coal tax by 2009, which is expected to raise prices by nearly a quarter but reduce consumption only by seven percent. This means that coal would continue to dominate the country’s energy mix.

Yang Ailun, Greenpeace climate and energy campaign manager who helped coordinate the study, saw the bright side.

“Recognising the true cost of coal would create incentives to develop cleaner and more sustainable energy sources,” she said. “This would reduce China’s environmental pollution and show its leadership in fighting climate change.”

Harmonious Cities – a Social and Environmental Solution.
Mario Osava, IPS, October 23, 2008.

RIO DE JANEIRO – Sao Paulo emits only a tenth of the greenhouse gases that San Diego produces, even though this Brazilian metropolis is four times larger than that city in California, according to a report released today by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat). Based on such comparisons, the State of the World’s Cities 2008/2009 — a report published every two years by the UN agency, which in this new edition focuses on “Harmonious Cities” — concludes that the contribution of cities to global warming has more to do with consumption patterns and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita than it does with the level of urbanisation.

The most urbanised region in the developing world is Latin America and the Caribbean, with 77 percent of its population living in cities — a proportion expected to increase to 85 percent within the next two decades, Cecilia Martà nez, UN-Habitat’s Latin America regional director, highlighted at a press conference.

The report, which contains analysis and recommendations on spatial, social and environmental harmony, was also launched in Bangkok and London. Prosperity alone does not produce harmony; cities also need equity and sustainability, said UN-Habitat Executive Director Anna Tibaijuka.

Latin America is also the region with the highest number of unequal cities.

The Gini inequality index, which measures the degree of income disparity, marked a 0.55 average coefficient for a selection of 19 Latin American cities, exceeding even the levels for Africa, which has the cities with the largest number of poor people and the greatest proportion of slum communities.

UN-Habitat considers a 0.4 coefficient as the alert line, with anything above that level indicating an unacceptable level of inequality. Western Europe, with averages ranging from 0.25 to 0.30, presents the largest number of most equal cities, but the city with the highest equality level in the world is Beijing, with a Gini coefficient of 0.22.

Not only does inequality within cities or between cities, and between regions in the same country, directly affect urban harmony, it also creates more inequality by having a dampening effect on economic growth and contributing to a less favourable environment for investment, Tibaijuka pointed out at the presentation of the report.

Latin America and the Caribbean also stand out for the faster growth rate registered in many small cities, which have gone from having tens of thousands of inhabitants to populations numbering in the hundreds of thousands in just over a decade. An example of this rapid growth is Itaquaquecetuba, on the outskirts of Sao Paulo, which in the 1970s was a city of 30,000 and has since grown to 334,000, with an annual growth rate of ten percent in the last decade.

Some 70 Brazilian cities have experienced a similar phenomenon in the past 15 years, as a result of a boom in tourism in many areas, the installation of large corporations, and other factors of economic prosperity or quality-of-life enhancement, Martínez explained.

As of 2007, the world has stepped into an “urban century,” as last year for the first time ever the number of urban dwellers in the world surpassed the number of people living in rural areas, she added.

***

However, there are still sharp differences from one region to another, with Asia and Africa having only 41 and 39 percent, respectively, of their populations in urban areas, while the level of urbanisation in other continents and regions is above 70 percent.

But the current trend makes it possible to forecast that by 2050 these differences will be less pronounced, with Asia, for example, bringing its urban population up to 63 percent, chiefly driven by the growth of Chinese cities, which will account for 70 percent of that country’s total population, offsetting a slower rate of urbanisation in India.

The report and several UN-Habitat officers agree that while cities are an environmental problem and one of the great causes of global warming, they are, and must be, “part of the solution” as well.

***

Better planning in the use of energy-efficient means of transportation, less dependence on motorised vehicles, an increase in urban density and policies aimed at reducing waste and spatial and social inequality could work to curb carbon emissions and contribute to mitigating climate change, they say.

The disparity in the rates of greenhouse gas emissions per person that exists between the large cities of the world is more a reflection of the patterns of consumption, in particular energy use, than of the levels of income or visible pollution.

The report’s findings reveal that Mexico City generates 2.9 tonnes of carbon emissions per person per year, and that Sao Paulo produces double that amount. San Diego is at the top of the list of carbon emitters, with 11.7 tonnes per capita — more than double the amount produced by Tokyo and three times the emissions generated by Stockholm and Seoul, but followed closely in volume of emissions by Toronto and Shanghai.

With 3,351 coastal cities located in low-altitude areas — that is, under 10 metres above sea level–, and therefore threatened by the rise in sea level, there is an enormous urban population that will suffer severe consequences as a result of climate change, the report underlines.

In addition, there are human agglomerations that are facing the risk of water shortages and natural disasters, such as those caused by the El Niño climate phenomenon in the Andean region and hurricanes in the Caribbean, Martínez said.

Adapting cities to mitigate the consequences of climate change is one of UN-Habitat’s chief concerns, and, in association with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the agency is encouraging cities to “observe the phenomena” which are taking place and implement integrated urbanisation and environmental plans to address foreseeable challenges, Martínez concluded.

————

Major cities call for dramatic emission cuts by all nations – Mayors and officials from 32 major cities from around the world urged “all nations” Thursday to achieve “drastic cuts” in greenhouse gas emissions under a global climate accord to succeed the Kyoto Protocol in 2012.

Kyodo News, October 24, 2008.

“The international community must cooperate in making an abrupt shift in direction for drastic cuts in greenhouse gas emissions,” Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara and Toronto Mayor David Miller said in a joint statement issued after a two-day meeting in Tokyo of the so-called C40 group of major international cities.

Stressing national governments’ crucial role in curbing global warming, delegates at the C40 Tokyo Conference on Climate Change said cities are “acting now” and “showing leadership on combating climate change” in the runup to high-level U.N. climate talks in Copenhagen slated for December 2009, where global negotiations for a post-Kyoto framework will be concluded, the statement said.

The United Nations is set to begin the final phase of negotiations on the post-Kyoto deal at ministerial talks in December in Poland.

The C40 will hold a summit next May in Seoul to advance climate change initiatives.

Since its inception in London in 2005, the C40 has been working to accelerate programs by the participating cities to combat climate change by sharing effective practices and taking action to reduce greenhouse gases.

THEN ESCAP URGES the SPECA CENTRAL ASIA TO STRENGTHEN TIES WITH REST OF CONTINENT FOR GREATER SECURITY. The above has clearly political implications by bundling non-Arab Islamic States.

Greater cooperation between Central Asia and the rest of Asia is essential to achieve sustainable development for the whole continent, given the current climate of global financial instability and food and energy insecurity, a senior United Nations official, ESCAP’s Executive Director   stressed today of all places – right in Moscow.

The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) stands ready to facilitate technical and regional cooperation and provide a neutral forum for engaging in policy dialogue, Executive-Secretary of ESCAP Noeleen Heyzer told a gathering of senior Central Asian policymakers in Moscow.

“We are gathering here against the backdrop of a gloomy economic environment with pressing challenges in food and energy security, as well as the need for greater financial stability,” Under-Secretary-General Heyzer warned participants at the UN Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA) meeting.

“By adopting the South-South cooperation modality, SPECA can provide home-grown solutions and policy options to achieve inclusive and sustainable development,” she told officials from the seven SPECA member states – Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

SPECA aims to strengthen sub-regional cooperation, mainly in the areas of energy and water, transport, trade, technology, gender and the economy, in Central Asia, as well as its integration into the world economy with support from the UN Economic Commission for Europe (ECE).

IOM Press Briefing Notes
Friday 5 September 2008

INDONESIA – Religious Teachers Carry Ramadan Message of Community Policing to Aceh – IOM is working with the Ar-Raniry State Islamic Institute and the Aceh Provincial Police (Polda NAD) through the Holy month of Ramadhan to promote community policing in the Indonesia’s northernmost province through the use of Islamic cultural values unique to the area.

The 15-day Safari Kemitraan Ramadhan (Ramadhan Partnership Road show), which kicks off today, is funded by the European Commission and the Royal Netherlands Embassy, and aims to inform villagers about the value of community policing using religious messages.

IOM is providing logistical support, transport and printed materials for the team of religious teachers from the Institute and police officers implementing the scheme.

“Communities in Aceh will benefit from all the positive values embodied in community policing. The roadshow will help to endorse the program and will be an effective tool to build partnerships with Acehnese across the province,” says Dr. Abdul Rani, Msi, a professor of Ar-Raniry.

Located at the northernmost tip of the island of Sumatra, Aceh is also known colloquially as Mecca’s Veranda. For hundreds of years it served as the final port of call for pilgrims making the long sea voyage from Indonesia, the most populous Moslem nation on earth, to Mecca. It is the most devout area in Indonesia, and proud of its Islamic heritage.

Aceh Senior Police Commissioner Setyanto says he supports the use of a culturally sensitive approach to informing a public that is deeply suspicious of the police. Aceh was the scene of a violent, decades-long separatist conflict that drew to a close in 2005, with the signing of a peace agreement between rebels and the central government.

{As it happens, Aceh is also home of large oil fields with international oil companies having had involvement here. Aceh once was sponsored from the outside in its attempt of becoming independent from Indonesia – thus the announcement and the backing are quite interesting.}

IOM is in the midst of a two year programme to training more than 7,200 of the roughly 9,200 police officers in Aceh in community policing and human rights. The trainings aim to reduce conflict and underpin a return to peace and security in the province.

For further information, please contact Jihan Labetubun at IOM Jakarta. Tel. +62 8111907028. Email:  jlabetubun at iom.int

From:  media at avaaz.org
Subject: Release: global Olympic handshake to reach Beijing
Date: August 22, 2008

The August 23, 2008 – PRESS RELEASE – Will Appear In the International Herald Tribune and China’s Ming Pao, on the Day of The Beijing Olympics’ Closing. It Willl Say – Love China / Love Tibet / Love Burma / Love Darfur – and Will Promote Human Rights For China – a Hanshake to the World.

175,000 STRONG GLOBAL HANDSHAKE TO LAND IN BEIJING AHEAD OF OLYMPIC CLOSING CEREMONY see avaaz.org

A virtual global handshake will land in Beijing tomorrow ahead of the Olympic Closing Ceremony.

Since the beginning of the Olympics, Avaaz.org has taken actions worldwide to promote a dual message of friendship with China and the need for renewed dialogue and action on human rights post Olympics. Aside from the handshake website, they have launched a sister website in China www.onevoicechina.org, and have run an ad campaign which has made a splash in London, New York, Hong Kong, San Francisco and Sydney using print media, adwalkers, and mobile billboards to carry the message Love China / Love Tibet / Love Burma / Love Darfur. You can see images of these ads at avaaz.org

To culminate the campaign, this weekend, Avaaz.org has taken out an advertisement in Saturday’s International Herald Tribune and China’s Ming Pao to deliver the handshake to the world.

“Some in China have slandered human rights activism as violent and anti-Chinese. Our handshake campaign is an attempt to reach out to Chinese people and show that our call is for peaceful and respectful dialogue”, said Avaaz Executive Director Ricken Patel.

However, Avaaz is concerned that the end of the Olympics may herald an era of further oppression.

“People around the world are concerned that the Olympics are coming to a close without any changes in Chinese policy on Tibet, Burma or Darfur — will things get better or worse?” said Patel.

***

The global handshake petition reads:

“With this handshake, we reach out to one another as citizens round the world in the Olympic spirit of friendship and excellence, committing to hold all our governments to a higher standard of peace, justice and respect for human dignity wherever they fall short – be it in Tibet, Iraq, Burma or beyond. Dialogue is the best way forward, for China, and the world.”
For more information, see www.avaaz.org

***

AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEW

Ricken Patel, Executive Director,  ricken at avaaz.org, +1 646 229 5416
Brett Solomon, Campaign Director,  brett at avaaz.org, +61 407 419 320

***
ABOUT AVAAZ:

Avaaz is a global web movement with over 3.3 million members worldwide, working to ensure that the views and values of people everywhere inform global decision-making. Avaaz means “voice” in many languages.

The World Values Survey is available at: www.worldvaluessurvey.org www.happyplanetindex.org

Download the reports
Download the Happy Planet report (2006, pdf)
Download the European Happy Planet report (2007, pdf)

See the Global HPI map:  http://www.happyplanetindex.org/map.htm

From:      munekata at iges.or.jp
Subject: IGES Call for Abstracts: Climate-Friendly Transportation Strategies in Asia: Overcoming Obstacles to Co-benefits
Date: August 6, 2008

Call for Abstracts: Climate-Friendly Transportation Strategies in Asia: Overcoming Obstacles to Co-benefits.

The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) Climate Policy Project invites abstracts (two A4 pages) on co-benefits of greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation in Asia’s transportation sector.

Selected authors will be invited to contribute full-length papers for a multi-chapter book project. Selected authors will also be sponsored to attend the Better Air Quality (BAQ) 2008 Workshop in Bangkok, Thailand and present their findings at a pre-event panel scheduled for 11 November 2008.

Due Date: 1 September 2008

Project Rationale:

Rising rates of motorization in developing Asia have become a source of concern outside and inside the region. Outside the region this concern stems from projections that carbon emissions from Asia’s transport sector could triple by 2025. Inside the region it stems from projections that urban air pollution levels, fuel costs, and commuting times could increase just as sharply over the same period. The key to altering these projections may lie in integrated transportation policies. Integrated transportation policies are so named because, rather than focusing on either developmental or climate goals, they pursue both objectives simultaneously. Integrated policies therefore have the potential to be more cost-effective than isolated climate or developmental policies.

A number of studies have demonstrated this potential by estimating the developmental benefits of integrated policies. These benefits are commonly referred to as co-benefits.   The values of co-benefits are often found to be significant in developing Asia, which would presumably draw interest from regional policymakers. But while the influence of this research seems likely to expand, thus far its impacts on policies have been limited. This book project seeks to determine why these potentially sizable impacts have yet to materialize in developing Asia’s transport sector. More concretely, the project’s main goal is to understand the opportunities for and obstacles to maximizing the co-benefits of transportation policies in developing Asia.   A second goal is to propose countermeasures based on that assessment.

Abstracts should focus on one of the following three themes.

Analytical Framework: Papers should identify categories of transportation policies with significant co-benefits and barriers to realizing those benefits. Papers may focus on technical, financial, political, and social barriers. Analytical frameworks offering explanations for why some categories of policies are more likely to succeed than others are encouraged.

Case Studies: Papers should examine specific projects/programmes/ policies where the co-benefits have or have not materialized in developing Asia.   Submissions should highlight the actors, interests and institutions that contributed to the case’s performance. Comparative case studies are encouraged.

Co-benefits in the Post-2012 Climate Regime: Papers should explore opportunities for recognizing and rewarding transportation co-benefits in the post-2012 climate regime. Insights into how the post-2012 climate regime could strengthen the design and implementation of integrated transportation policies are encouraged.
Abstracts should be submitted as a PDF file attachment by email to  cobenefits at iges.or.jp by 1 September 2008. Include “IGES CO-BENEFIT ABSTRACT” on the subject line of the email.   The abstract should include the following: the title of the paper, name and institutional affiliation of author(s) and their disciplines on the title page. Only English-language submissions will be considered.

The IGES Climate Policy Project will acknowledge receipt of all submissions by email. Notification of selected abstracts will be made by 15 September 2008. The authors of selected abstracts will be asked to submit the draft version of full paper by 5 November 2008. This call for abstracts is open to policy practitioners, scholars, and students from both developed and developing countries. The focus of study should be Asia; cases outside the region can be used for comparative purposes.

About the Climate Policy Project at IGES

The mission of the project is to recommend effective climate policies for sustainable development in Asia in this era of evolving global climate regime. In Phase 4 of its research (April 2007-March 2010), the project is conducting research on four sub-themes: market mechanisms, adaptation, climate regime beyond 2012, and co-benefits. This call for papers is specifically designed to assist the work of the sub-themes of climate regime beyond 2012 and co-benefits. For additional details of the project, please refer to http://www.iges.or.jp/en/cp.

For additional details regarding this call for abstracts, please contact:
Dr. Ancha Srinivasan, Principal Researcher and Manager at:              cobenefits at iges.or.jp

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.”

Sunday, Aug. 3, 2008

Fukuda vows action on oil, terror: Anticlimactic Cabinet reshuffle casts doubt on prime minister’s ability to tackle tough issues

By MASAMI ITO
Staff writer Japan Times online.

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda vowed to tackle pressing issues like surging oil prices and participation in the “war on terrorism” as his new Cabinet was officially launched at an attestation ceremony at the Imperial Palace on Saturday.

New crew: Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and his new Cabinet head for a photo session after holding their first Cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister’s Official Residence on Saturday.

“I will give everything I’ve got in building a government that puts itself in the people’s shoes, a foundation in which people can live without worry, and an economic society in which the people can feel affluence,” Fukuda said in a statement. “And at the same time I will do my best to contribute to the peace and stability of the world and resolve the global environmental issues.”

On diplomacy, Fukuda stressed the importance of a strong Japanese-U.S. alliance but also vowed to create an open relationship to work “together” with Asia-Pacific countries.

“As a nation that actively cooperates to realize peace, I will cooperate with the international society in the ‘war on terrorism,’ ” Fukuda’s statement said, adding that he will also devote himself to resolving the North Korea’s nuclear, missile and abduction issues.

***

The key issue for the upcoming extraordinary Diet session is whether Fukuda and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party will forcefully extend the Maritime Self Defense Force’s activities in the Indian Ocean to refuel multinational naval ships engaged in counterterrorism operations.

The special antiterrorism law that enables the MSDF activities will expire in January.

The LDP’s coalition partner, New Komeito, is backed by Japan’s largest lay Buddhist organization Soka Gakkai. As an advocate of peace, it has been expressing increasing reluctance to help the LDP force the extension through the Diet.

“As a ‘peace-cooperating nation,’ I will promote international cooperation like peacekeeping operations, antiterrorism measures and rehabilitation aid,” Fukuda told a news conference Friday evening after the reshuffle. The comments were interpreted as an intention to extend the refueling activities.

***

On domestic issues, Fukuda especially expressed concern over the recent surge in prices and the aging society due to a low birth rate.

“To solve the two issues, we need to continue economic growth for more employment and an increase in income,” Fukuda said.

On Friday evening, Fukuda reshuffled his Cabinet for the first time since he was appointed prime minister in a bid to boost the stagnant support rate of his Cabinet. Most of his previous Cabinet ministers were selected by Fukuda’s nationalistic predecessor Shinzo Abe, who quit abruptly last September.

Despite calls from within the LDP to have Fukuda choose his own ministers, Fukuda continued on for 10 months mostly with Abe’s handpicked ministers.

But critics say that despite strong expectations, Fukuda’s picks were not that exciting and that is doubtful the new Cabinet lineup will give Fukuda the public support he needs to proceed.

Four ministers were retained, including Machimura and Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura. Three of the previous LDP executive members including former Secretary General Bunmei Ibuki were given ministerial posts.

————-

Sunday, Aug. 3, 2008

Sub developed radioactive leak in Sasebo: U.S.
Tainted water not dangerous but delay in report angers city officials.

Compiled from Kyodo, Staff report

WASHINGTON — A U.S. Navy submarine began leaking water with trace amounts of radioactivity during a port call in late March in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, U.S. Navy officials said Friday. – Leaving a trail: The Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine USS Houston UNITED STATES NAVY.

The leak was found on the USS Houston, a Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine, after it went to Hawaii for routine maintenance last month, the officials said, confirming a CNN television report earlier.

The officials said the amount of radiation leaked into the water was very low, but the Navy alerted the Japanese government on Friday (Japan time) because the submarine had docked in Sasebo during its travels around the Pacific.

The incident comes at a time when the Navy is trying to smooth over a problem with a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the USS George Washington, which is due to replace the aging, conventionally powered Kitty Hawk this summer as the sole U.S. carrier based in Japan.

In Tokyo, the Foreign Ministry said Saturday it was notified by the Navy that the radiation has “no effects on the environment and human bodies,” with a senior Japanese official saying it is “not a level that should be deemed problematic.”

The ministry, however, came under fire for not disclosing the information sooner after the U.S. government notified it about the leak Friday afternoon in Japan.

The ministry did not communicate it to the concerned local governments because “we judged there was no need to immediately report it since it would not have any impact on humans,” an official said.

The ministry reported the finding on Saturday morning to Sasebo and to Okinawa Prefecture, where U.S. warships make frequent port calls, after the CNN report. But it also said the notifications had nothing to do with the media report.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said about the delay that it is “not good that a media report came earlier.”

“I believe the Foreign Ministry should report a matter of this kind immediately to the prime minister’s office and make it public when it is notified by the U.S. government, because it concerns ‘radioactivity,”‘ Machimura said.

Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura told a news conference that a delay in reporting is “inadmissible.”

Komura said that he became aware of the incident through reports on CNN Saturday morning and immediately ordered appropriate measures to be taken.

“I watched the report on CNN and contacted the ministry” for details, Komura said, expressing regret over the delay of communication.

“Exchange of information should have taken place earlier,” Komura told reporters.

***

Sasebo and Okinawa were notified of the leak only after orders from the minister were made.

***

The Houston crisscrossed the western Pacific from March to June, spending a week in Sasebo in late March and stopping over at its home base in Guam and Hawaii from May to June.

The total amount leaked while it docked in Sasebo, Guam and Hawaii is estimated at less than half a microcurie and has no adverse effects on the environment and crew, the Navy officials said. One microcurie is one millionth of a curie.

***

The problem was discovered July 24 after the sub underwent a regular maintenance check in Hawaii, the officials said, adding that the water had not been in direct contact with the nuclear reactor and that a crew member who was exposed to the water proved to be unaffected.

The Navy reported the case to health authorities in Hawaii on July 25, meaning that a report to the Japanese government came a week later.

The latest development came after a large-scale fire broke out on the George Washington while en route to Japan in May. The fire was traced to crew members smoking near improperly stored flammable materials.

While there was no damage or threat to the nuclear reactor, the ship was diverted to San Diego for repairs. It is now expected to arrive in Yokosuka, Japan at the end of September.

The Navy this week fired the captain and his deputy, saying an investigation into the fire led to a lack of confidence in the leadership of both men.

BAN DRESSES DOWN TO ‘COOL’ THE UN – as per an August 1, 2008, UN press release.

In lieu of his usual business suit, United Nations Secretary-General donned a more casual outfit, as part of the “Cool UN” initiative which seeks to curb the world body’s greenhouse gas emissions, which kicked off today.

The three-pronged scheme seeks to limit the use of air conditioning, slash emissions and save money for the UN.

“We are not just cutting back suits and ties,” Mr. Ban told reporters, adding that the month-long “Cool UN” programme at the Secretariat in New York will make a 10 per cent saving in energy consumption. Use of steam will be cut by more than 4 billion pounds, the equivalent of 300 tons of carbon dioxide in terms of greenhouse gas emissions.

The UN estimates that the scheme will also result in financial savings of more than $100,000.

If the initiative is extended beyond August and into the winter, savings will be even greater, the Secretary-General noted.

Calling on the support of the UN family and Member States, he said that
“ultimately, this will be important for our common efforts in addressing
climate change issues.”

The main UN premises in Bangkok, which houses over a dozen of the
Organization’s entities, joined the Secretariat today in rolling out the
“Cool UN” scheme.

Like the Secretariat in New York which is raising the thermostats by five
degrees from 72 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit in most parts of the landmark
building, ESCAP turned up the temperature by 2 degrees Celsius. Most of its
staff members also came to work today in lighter clothing, including
national dress.

“Cool UN” is just one of several schemes ESCAP is involved in to slash
energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Since 2002, it has cut
back electricity consumption by 16 per cent yearly by replacing old and
inefficient appliances such as power transformers, elevators, air
conditioners, lights and pumps.

ESCAP’s service also has pilot solar panels and wind turbines, and water
usage has been reduced by 30 per cent every year through new
higher-efficiency water closets and using recycled water for the main
gardens.

—————–

UN’s Ban in Shirt-Sleeves, a Cooling Room Next Door, Asked about Double-Standards by Fox.

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis

UNITED NATIONS, August 1 — Television camera crews were waiting for the UN’s Ban Ki-moon on Friday morning; he showed off for them a short sleeved shirt and lack of tie. To set an example, he said, of action for climate change, the UN will raise the temperature in the building by five degrees. A photo opportunity was scheduled for 9:15 in Ban’s office, but upon arrival the Press was told there would not be enough space. It was said Ban would take no questions, that no reporters should go upstairs.

Ultimately questions were allowed, by CNN, Fox and Inner City Press.

The Fox TV reporter demanded that Ban address the “double standard” in the cooling of rooms on the 38th floor. Ban’s office felt warm, but a conference room next door was, the Fox team estimated, closer to 60 degrees. Ban said, “I have been sometimes very warm in this room, I have to switch to the next conference room.” To some, this meant that he will have his own cooling spot upstairs, which Fox called a meat locker, while other UN staff, particularly in rooms facing the sun and East River, sweat through August.

The Staff Union, in a July 31 meeting, questioned whether Ban had consulted with the UN medical service.

UN’s Ban and “two advisors,” cooling room and Fox’ double-standards question not shown

Inner City Press asked Ban if he is encouraging Presidents like George Bush and Nicolas Sarkozy to follow his lead. “I don’t have any control over member states,” he said. “They are sovereign member states… I will be happy if member states follow.” In fact, South Korea and Japan, for example, already have such programs. Ban added that when he met with Japan’s foreign minister, they did so without ties.

The Press was then escorted down to the UN’s third and fourth sub-basements, control and machine room. One staffer said, “This won’t really reduce greenhouse gasses, but it might save us money.” He said that under Kofi Annan, something similar was tried, in order to save money. When Inner City Press asked how much money had been saved, he said to ask the spokesperson’s office. Inner City Press did, at Friday’s briefing, and will publish the answer when received.

And at 6:16 p.m. on Friday the following arrived –

“The UN introduced a cost-savings program in 2002 in response to significant budget cuts made by the General Assembly at the time. The program included the total shutdown of the fan system every night after 6 p.m. There were other measures that were introduced, such as reduced service to the conference rooms and reduction in mail service. Most of the services were later restored. No specific savings figure is available.”

We can further report that, at least for today, complaints were becoming widespread about being too hot, about whether the savings were worth it and, yes, about what some called Ban Ki-moon’s cool room on the 38th floor…

As the UNSG, Ban Ki-moon Hosted the Foreign Minister of Israel Ms. Tsipi Livni, we wonder if she was received in the “cool room.” We know she never wears a tie, but we also know that when Israel’s Founding Prime Minister David Ben Gurion’a office had no air conditioner or a fan, this applied also for him. Further, unless he had to come to the UN, he never wore a tie anyway. Could the UNSG be asked to allow himself the same measure of equality as David Ben Gurion instituted in the new reborn State of Israel? As we predicted in our first version of this posting, the one that did not include the Matthew Lee material, we were clear that the above was instituted by the UN only when it will deal this to the staff, but will have no meaning when the UN potentates show up.

From:  unobserver at iom.int
Subject: International Organization for Migration: Press Briefing Notes 29 July 2008.
Date: July 29, 2008

MYANMAR – UK Backs IOM Medical Teams in Cyclone-Affected Irrawaddy Delta – The UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) has pledged £428,000 (US$ 850,000) to support IOM medical teams providing primary health care to Cyclone Nargis survivors in the Irrawaddy Delta.

The project, which was included in the UN Flash Appeal for Myanmar issued earlier this month, targets primary health care needs in South West Bogale (Tabin Seik), Eastern Bogale (Amar) and Mawlamyinegyun.

IOM mobile medical teams, using Zodiac inflatables and other boats to access remote locations hit by the cyclone, have treated over 24,600 patients in 327 villages in the Delta townships of Bogale, Pyapon and Mawlamyinegyun since the cyclone struck Myanmar on 2nd May.

IOM has also set up 15 temporary tent clinics in areas where medical infrastructure was completely or partially destroyed by the cyclone.

“People are mainly suffering from the effects of unclean water and food, lack of proper shelter and clothing, and a lack of proper sanitation,” says IOM Myanmar National Health Coordinator Dr Aye Aye Than, who heads up the Bogale health team.

The DFID funding will support both the mobile teams and the clinics for up to six months, employing some 44 medical staff, together with ancillary logistics and coordination personnel, as well as paying for essential medicines and medical supplies.

“This funding will allow us to meet one of our top priorities – continuing to deliver primary health care to cyclone survivors – while communities start to recover and rebuild pre-cyclone health infrastructure,” says IOM Health Programme Manager Dr Nenette Motus.

“We are also appealing for additional funding to rebuild primary health care facilities and birth centres, strengthen the delivery of mental health services and raise HIV and AIDS awareness in communities displaced by the cyclone,” she adds.

IOM’s Cyclone Nargis relief operations in the Delta are now coordinated from offices in Bogale, Pyapon and Mawlamyinegyun townships. In addition to providing direct medical aid, they have included the ongoing distribution of relief items including tarpaulins, jerry cans, chlorine for water purification, hygiene/family kits, rain ponchos and insecticide-treated mosquito nets.

Other donors contributing to IOM’s response to the disaster include the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), USAID/OFDA, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), AmeriCares Foundation, International Medical Corps, and Chevron.

For more information, please contact Chris Lom at IOM’s Regional Office in Bangkok. Email:  clom at iom.int. Tel. +66.819275215.

——————–

In the light of the continuing releases by Inner City Press – from the UN building in New York – the UN has lost at least US$10 million in fraudulent exchange rates with the Myanmar government – so how does the UK handle these disbursements for the humanitarian activities in Myanmar/Burma?

Sir John Holmes, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, is from the UK and it seems that he is continuously fooled by the Burmese Officers’ junta.

We just picked up articles with information right out of Myanmar -
 http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art…

 http://www.irrawaddy.org/article1.php?ar…

Currency Loss Unacceptable, but UN Aid to Continue: Holmes
By LALIT K JHA, Tuesday, July 29, 2008. The Irrawaddy, Covering Burma and South East Asia out of Thailand.

NEW YORK — The chief UN humanitarian official said on Monday that the loss of crucial foreign aid due to distorted currency exchange rates, while “unacceptable,” should not be the basis for stopping or restricting UN-led international relief operations in cyclone-devastated parts of Burma.

“The losses are significant, but not absolutely gigantic,” John Holmes, the UN’s under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, told reporters at the UN headquarters in New York on his return from a three-day trip to Burma.

Holmes was in Burma last week visiting parts of the Irrawaddy delta, which was devastated by Cyclone Nargis in the first week of May, to review the progress of humanitarian relief work in the region, and then traveled to the new capital, Naypyidaw, to meet the prime minister and other senior junta officials.

This was the first visit to Burma by a top-level UN official since Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s trip to the country in May.

Holmes estimated that the UN, which was initially reluctant to acknowledge the substantial loss of foreign aid money due to a currency exchange mechanism dictated by the junta, has lost some US $10 million of the $200 million in aid money it has so far dedicated to the relief effort.

“Clearly this is a significant problem in terms of the loss generated,” Holmes said. “That’s why we’ve raised it with the government now.” He added that the UN was pressing the Burmese regime to help minimize the currency loss.

Responding to a volley of questions from the media on this issue, Holmes said the impact of the currency exchange rate was being felt in areas where money is being spent locally, and not on imported goods or international staff salaries.

The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has calculated that the exchange rate affected about one third of total aid expenditure, he said.

Holmes said, clearly the current situation “is not acceptable when we’re losing 20 percent, even if it’s only on some of our expenditures.” He acknowledged that donors have expressed concern about the matter, but this is unlikely to have any adverse impact on these countries’ contributions towards the UN flash appeal, which now totals $482 million.

“This is a complicated issue, which we’ve had some time getting our heads around,” he said, adding that OCHA, which he heads, was not aware of the extent of the loss when he presented the revised appeal.

“If we had known it at that time, maybe it would have been better to include it in the appeal,” he said in response to a question.

“Obviously we would like to have a situation where there was no exchange loss. The ideal situation would be if we could pay with our dollars and get the market rate back in kyat—and that is what we’re asking for,” he said.

“Whether that can be achieved is another question, especially since any organization working in a country has to operate according to the rules of the host government. Those rules have been in place for a long time, but the problem is growing because the spread has widened so much,” he observed.

“Perhaps we were a bit slow to recognize—because the spread suddenly widened in June—how big a problem this was going to become for us. We have recognized it and are taking it up with the Government,” Holmes said.

Giving his impression of the progress of the humanitarian relief operations in the Irrawaddy delta, Holmes expressed a sense of satisfaction and said he appreciated the steps taken by the Burmese military junta in this regard.

“We’re in a much better position than we were just a couple of months ago,” Holmes said.

Citing major efforts to rebuild homes, repair schools and get health clinics up and running, Holmes said there has been a lot of progress in the last two months. Farming and other agricultural activities were also picking up, he said.

“A degree of normality” is beginning to return in some areas around the delta region, with many schools functioning and increased traffic on major waterways, he observed.

At the same time, Holmes asserted that challenges remain with regard to the humanitarian relief work in the Irrawaddy delta. “There is no room for any kind of complacency. There is still a lot to do to make this operation a lasting success and to reach all people with what they need for a sustained period,” he said.

The main challenge for the next few months, Holmes said, is to ensure a more systematic pipeline of aid, both food and non-food items. It is important to reach out to those in the most remote areas who were difficult to reach because of poor infrastructure.

“Systematic aid delivery is needed for at least six to nine months,” he said.

Among other challenges for the relief operation is the drop in the number of World Food Programme helicopters from ten to five.

Holmes hoped that some of these five could be kept flying for at least three or four months. This is to ensure that the most remote areas could be reached by aid workers delivering goods and supplies, he said.

——————-

UN loses $10m aid in Burma exchange rate scam.
By Andrew Buncombe, Asia Correspondent, The Independent of London,
Wednesday, 30 July 2008

The UN has admitted losing about $10m ( £5m) to the Burmese regime while delivering emergency aid to the country in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis because of a distorted official exchange rate.

The UN’s senior humanitarian aid official said it had suffered the “significant” loss because the junta enforced an artificial exchange rate that was at least 15 per cent lower than the genuine rate. It has been alleged that the UN had been aware of the loss for weeks and had accepted it as the price of “doing business” with the regime.

“We were arguably a bit slow to recognise… how serious a problem this has become for us,” John Holmes, the under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs, told reporters in New York. “It’s not acceptable.”

The losses came about because of the system whereby, when providing aid, the UN uses foreign exchange certificates with a nominal value of $1 each that are then exchanged for the local currency, the kyat, at a rate set by Burma’s military government. The market rate for kyats is close to 1,100 per dollar, but the UN exchange rate is now about 880. As a result, the Burmese regime has been making a healthy profit even as the UN provides emergency support.

Mr Holmes said he did not know where the money was going or who was directly benefiting. The Inner City Press blog that first posted the allegations of the losses said some humanitarians believed that allowing the government of General Than Shwe to make a profit was a price worth paying. It also said officials have been aware of the losses since early June.

This month, the UN issued an appeal for more than $300m in extra aid for the country.

——————

We do not say that the loss of funds caused by the fact that the humanitarian activity happens within a country with a very unsavory regime, but we do say that in the private enterprise world a manager with performance like this would be sacked – and this performance is not from just now, and not only by Sir Holmes, but just the same from the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon under whose watch this goes on, and under the Administrator of the UNDP Kemal Dervis, under whom similar activities went on in other similar unsavory regimes the like of North Korea. As said, much more on this can be found on www.InnerCityPress.com and we posted also a general article about this lack of oversight on the part of the UN:

“Now it is Accepted Officially At the UN, Something www. SustainabiliTank.info Argued Three Years Ago – The UN Funds The World’s Worst in a Neat Way – Call It Exchange Rates. We Had Brought This Up As A Way UNDP Did Fund The North Korean Atom Bomb, Now UNSG Holmes Recognized As Correct The ICP Statement That The UN Funds The Myanmar Government.”
Tuesday, July 29th, 2008.

As we realize that it will be hard to come by accountability at the UN, the purpose of our posting this is to ask if the UK government is ready to assume oversight for the funds for which it caries responsibility to UK taxpayers?

Further, we see that also USAID/OFDA, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), or the US and Swiss taxpayers, are funding these operations also. So what do the US and Swiss Administrations say of the transfer of funds to the Burmese junta rather then the full use of those funds for the humanitarian work? Also, even when NGOs or an oil company like Chevron, spend money on a humanitarian operation, these funds are mostly tax-deductible, so again the regular Joe who pays the taxes, it is his money, that was mismanaged under UN auspices.

The Honest Question is – Can This UN Management Be Trusted To Handle Money or Anything Else?

New York Times Editorial – Big Tobacco, Meet Big Philanthropy.
Published: July 29, 2008

Is it possible that the tobacco industry has met its match? After years of watching public-health groups and governments struggle to rein in the multinational tobacco companies, it was good to hear that Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City and Bill Gates have joined forces to combat the smoking epidemic threatening many low- and middle-income countries.

When two highly visible billionaire philanthropists put their resources and stature behind a campaign, the results are apt to be good. And their target is a worthy one: tobacco companies and government-owned tobacco enterprises trying to addict hundreds of millions of new customers in the developing world as sales stagnate or shrivel in the industrialized nations.

Mr. Bloomberg and Mr. Gates jointly announced commitments from their charitable foundations last week that will raise the money available to roughly $500 million over the next several years. Mr. Bloomberg plans to invest another $250 million over the next four years on top of $125 million that already had been committed. Mr. Gates, who was happy to join the crusade, is to allocate $125 million over five years.

The new funds will dwarf the $20 million a year currently spent on antismoking campaigns in poor and middle-income countries. The money is to be spent to promote strategies whose effectiveness has already been proved to the satisfaction of the World Health Organization. The campaign will urge governments to sharply raise tobacco taxes, prohibit smoking in public places, ban tobacco advertising, start antismoking campaigns and help people quit smoking. It will assist governmental agencies and provide funding for nongovernmental organizations to help press for tobacco controls.

The goal is to reverse the rapid rise of smoking in such countries as China, India and Russia and to head off the epidemic in Africa before it can become entrenched.

One big problem is that many countries have become addicted to the revenues generated by tobacco taxes or government-owned tobacco companies. They will have to be persuaded that the long-term health damage caused by tobacco far exceeds any short-term gain from tobacco revenues.

A conference on climate change and security taking place 3 September in London.

Climate Change: Preparing for the New Security Environment.
 http://rusi.org/events/ref:E48481B8ED91E…

At present, responses to the security implications of climate change are embryonic and disjointed. Current understandings of the nature and timing of climate change impacts remain speculative, yet the magnitude of the potential consequences demands an urgent response. This dichotomy presents a pressing challenge for policy makers, the climate science community and security actors alike.

The RUSI climate change and security conference will provide a forum to discuss the current state of research on the linkages between climate change and security, with a special focus on responses and solutions for planners and policymakers.

Key issues:

·             How will climate change reshape future approaches to defence and security?

·             What policy initiatives are needed in order to deal comprehensively with climate-driven insecurity, and what steps need to be taken to make these changes?

·             How should security planning proceed within an environment of incomplete information – regarding the timing and severity of climatic changes, and the linkages between climate change and instability?

·             How can the international community mitigate tensions around strategic assets, territorial claims and access to resources in the Arctic?

·             What are the latest assessments from the climate science community, and how can climate modelling be integrated into social science to deliver sound projections of future vulnerabilities?

·             How will climate change affect international relations, security policy, economic relationships and tensions within and between countries?

Confirmed Speakers:

·             Lord Mark Malloch-Brown, Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN, Foreign and Commonwealth Office

·             Sir Ian Andrews, 2nd Permanent Undersecretary, UK Ministry of Defence

·             Major General Richard Engel (Ret), Deputy National Intelligence Officer for Science and Technology, U.S. National Intelligence Council

·             Nick Mabey, Director, E3G and author of RUSI’s ‘Delivering Climate Security’

·             Professor Paul Berkman, Head, Arctic Ocean Geopolitics Programme, University of Cambridge

·             Rob Varley, Government Services Director, UK Met Office

·             Professor Neil Adger, Head, Adaptation Programme, Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, University of East Anglia

·             Major Shannon Beebe, Senior Africa analyst, US Department of Defence

Registration information and further programme details are available at:
 http://rusi.org/events/ref:E48481B8ED91E…

Shiloh Fetzek
Researcher, Climate Change & Security Programme
Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies (RUSI)
Whitehall
London
SW1A 2ET

Tel: +44 (0)207 747 2629
Mobile: +44 (0)7894 348 185
Email:  shilohf at rusi.org
Web: http://www.rusi.org/climate

RUSI Climate Change conference:
Perparing for the New Security Environment
3 September 2008
 http://rusi.org/events/ref:E48481B8ED91E…

 Missed Opportunity for G8 Leaders on Climate Change Says Achim Steiner.

Nairobi,   9   July   2008   –   As the G8 Summit wrapped up in Japan, Achim Steiner, the Executive
Director   of   the   United   Nations   Environment   Programme   (UNEP),   said   the world’s richest
countries had shown insufficient leadership on climate change.

“We   are   under pressure to act. We have no time left to waste,” said Mr Steiner. ” However, I
think the G8 leaders missed an opportunity to provide the kind of signal that would accelerate
the international negotiation process,” he added.

“I   think   the   G8   delivered   what   it   could. But in terms of what the world needs, what the
Intergovernmental   Panel   on Climate Change has asked for and what is necessary in view of the   Copenhagen meeting in 2009 — the results fall short,” he said. “The South African Minister of   the Environment called it empty slogans — where is the substance?”

“The   G8   Summit   has   not delivered enough leadership. We have some 500 days until we meet in
Copenhagen   to   reach   a   global agreement,” the UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive
Director   said. “We have less than seven years to stabilize emissions globally. The absence of
short-   and   medium-term   targets   and   commitments by the leading industrialized nations is a
shortfall of the summit.”

“We   are   beyond the rhetoric of climate change. We must now put numbers on the table. We must
also give developing nations the clear conviction that industrialized nations are taking their
responsibilities seriously,” he said.

 Mr   Steiner   noted   that a number of countries including Germany, Norway and the UK as well as   South Africa and Indonesia are now committing to targets.

“We will continue to be stuck until all industrialized nations commit to firm targets–ones to
be met by 2020 not in 42 years time,” he said.

***********************************
Jim Sniffen
Information Officer
UN Environment Programme
New York
tel: +1-212-963-8094/8210
 info at nyo.unep.org
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Discuss this article

Seemingly, Ban Ki-moon, In Korea, Has Stepped Into American Cow Manure. He is Ready to Advise Korea About American Beef but Told Us On June 26th, 2008 That He Cannot Advise Them On Climate Change.

At the UN Headquarters in New York, Inner City Press on July 3, 2008,   asked Ban Ki-moon’s spokesperson for his views on the standoff between South Korea, where he is, and the U.S. on mad cow disease.  From the transcript –

Inner City Press: does Mr. Ban, while he is in South Korea, does he have any intention to have American beef?  Does he have any view of that whole American beef situation?   What’s his view?

Spokesperson:   (laughter) I think he will certainly eat American beef.   I don’t think he has any special theoretical view on it.   It is, of course, an issue that has really been taken very seriously in his home country, but he has no specific opinion on that.

Question:   But I think the Prime Minister, whom he knows well, bought like 18 kilograms of American beef to somehow show that it is safe, I am just wondering if he wanted to say that it’s safe or does he–

Spokesperson:   You mean whether he will eat it?   I don’t have such details!   (laughter)   Thank you very much.

  But then came an AP article entitled “ UN chief tells South Koreans to trust beef imports,” quoting Ban that “ it is very important for the people to support policies of the government and to actively have trust in the government and to ensure and support the Korean government’s desire to act in accordance with international standards and agreements.”

 ———————-

www.SustainabiliTank.info is touchy about this US Mad Cow Disaster – just look at our special center button on our home page. It has become quite a symbol of everything that is wrong with a corporate driven Administration.

This was a US Policy disaster – one of those famous cover-ups when a lobbyist becomes top-office-holder and buries the very industry she lobbied for, by raising credibility questions of her leadership of the US Department of Agriculture, that became much larger then the original news that she tried to hide.

Then the UN aspect of the story when that same lady is exiled from the US Administration in Washington DC to the wastelands of UN New York and turns up as an UnderSecretary-General in charge of UNICEF.

So, Where is here the UN beef?

Mr. Ban Ki-moon is indeed a Korean, and nobody can take this away from him – but then there are two issues that spring in our face from above AP report:

(a) has he become a lobbyist for American beef? Did Ms. Veneman had anything to do with this?

(b) would the UNSG   have dared to go to any other country and ask the people to obey their government, we clearly would have told him – this is not his job or his business. Just by being Korean, we believe, does not entitle him to say what he said on the beef issue – if that is true – even to his own country-of-origin government.

To be completely honest on our part – please note the question we asked Mr. Ban Ki-moon on June 26, 2008, at his farewell speech, on the eve of his departure for this Far-East Asia trip – before the joint celebrations of the Japan and Korean Societies.

our posting:

NORTH EAST ASIA Laid Out Before Us By UNSG Ban Ki-moon, Across The Street From the UN, Before A Joint Audience Celebrating 100 Years in New York to the Japan Society, and 50 Years to the Korean Society. We Asked Why Does Korea, an OECD Country, Still Have No Commitments Under The Kyoto Protocol?
Posted on Sustainabilitank.info on June 29th, 2008
by Pincas Jawetz ( PJ at SustainabiliTank.com)

towards the end of the meeting – and towards the end of the article – we have:

 ”Pincas Jawetz asked for www.SustainabiliTank.info about the fact that Korea, an OECD country, has no obligations under the Kyoto Protocol – no commitments whatsoever. As the UNSG will be talking on his trip about climate change regime issues, will he raise this point with the Korean Government?

A: I am glad that Korea gets rich – I do not know – but I am not going to advise them what to do. It will not do me any good. The common and differentiated responsibilities principle is very important. Things must be viewed from this angle. { I do not consider that the UNSG answered my specific question which goes to the essence of what kind of a climate change just regime. The fact is that Korea is not poor anymore, it is a member of the OECD, and everything else he said puts it in league with Japan – at least as the younger economic brother of Japan, so why should Korea get away with treatment allowed for developing countries, when it has already become a rather developed country?}”

Now, I would never have asked the Secretary-General above question had he not emphasized the issue of climate change. That is why I felt completely in my right to ask him about this incongruity of a Korea that has already graduated to the OECD but still behaves as an underdeveloped country when it comes to do something about CO2 emissions. It is inconceivable to watch Korea try to line up with China, when in effect they already should line up with Japan in matters of the Kyoto Protocol.

The UNSG answered that it is not for him to advise the Korean Government on what to do when it comes to his flag issue – climate change. So why did he advise the Korean people what to do about their beef eating policy? We will be looking for further clarifications on this squestion.