UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer said COP15 had produced
three key outcomes: raising climate change to the highest level of
government; political consensus on the long-term, global response
to climate change, and negotiations which brought the set of
decisions to implement rapid climate action closer to
completion.
Preparatory meetings between representatives from the world's
leading economies were recently held in Washington ahead of the
December UN COP16 summit in Cancun, Mexico.
UN Chief: World Needs Clean Energy
Revolution
On 28 April, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched a report
by his advisory group on energy and climate change calling for
"universal access to modern energy services" by 2030 and stressing
the need to cut energy intensity by 40 per cent by the same
year.
"We cannot achieve the [poverty reduction] Millennium
Development Goals without providing access to affordable modern
energy," said Mr Ban in highlighting that rich and poor nations
need a "clean energy revolution" in order to cut greenhouse gas
emissions responsible for global warming.
Noting that 1.6 billion people around the world
lack access to electricity while 2 to 3 billion still rely on
traditional energy sources such as firewood, peat or dung, Mr Ban
said access to energy must be expanded "in the cleanest, most
efficient way possible".
The report said these ambitious goals can be achieved through
technology innovation by adopting appropriate national strategies
and international finance, including innovative financial
mechanisms, climate finance and private sector participation.
2010 Climate Competitiveness Index Shows Promising
Gains
The annual Climate Competitiveness Index (CCI) shows that in
spite of uncertainty surrounding international climate
negotiations, countries forged ahead with low-carbon growth
strategies in the first quarter of 2010. It concludes that despite
gaps in performance and accountability, 46 per cent of countries
have demonstrated some improvement in climate accountability since
the UNFCCC Copenhagen conference in December 2009.
Produced by the independent non-profit institute AccountAbility,
in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme, it is
the most comprehensive study to date of national progress to create
green jobs and economic growth through low-carbon products and
services.
The CCI predicts that the global market for low-carbon products
and services will be in excess of US$ 2 trillion in 2020. However,
to secure this market, countries need ambitious climate
competitiveness strategies and the institutional infrastructure to
build markets and convince investors.
For more information visitwww.accountability.org
FAO Global Forest Resources Assessment
2010
According to The Global Forest Resources Assessment
2010 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations (FAO), world deforestation, mainly the conversion of
tropical forests to agricultural land, has slowed over the past 10
years but continues at an alarmingly high rate in many countries.
Covering 233 countries, the study was the most comprehensive forest
review to date, and found that globally around 13 million hectares
of forests were converted to other uses or lost through natural
causes each year between 2000 and 2010 as compared to about 16
million hectares per year during the 1990s.
"For the first time, we are able to show that the rate of
deforestation has decreased globally as a result of concerted
efforts taken both at local and international levels," said Eduardo
Rojas, Assistant Director-General of FAO's Forestry Department.
"However, the rate of deforestation is still very high in many
countries and the area of primary forest - forests undisturbed by
human activity - continues to decrease, so countries must further
strengthen their efforts to better conserve and manage them," he
added.
European Air Closures Impact on African
Exporters
European airspace closures resulting from the eruption of
Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano on 14 April have had a
detrimental effect on the exports of many developing countries,
particularly African producers of perishable goods. With Europe
being the prime destination for African horticulture exports and
products such as cut flowers, the horticulture industry has been
the worst affected, but others, such as the fishing industry, have
also been badly affected.
East African countries have been hit particularly hard as
horticultural products, largely exported by airfreight, constitute
a large source of revenue for the economies in this region. The
crisis illustrates the vulnerability of airfreight transport and
those who depend on it.
The European Union has suggested that it may compensate the
airline industry for the loss of business. No such explicit
suggestion of government assistance has been made to producers in
African countries, leaving producers and exporters across East
Africa alone to face the effects of the crisis.