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Africa-wide Civil Society Climate Change Initiative for Policy Dialogues - ACCID
- News Digest - |
| Week ending 19 June 2009 |
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World Climate Community launched
Azocleantech.com, 15 June 2009 Copenhagen: The World Climate Community, the world's first online social community for discussion and debate about issues relating to climate and environmental change has been launched at www.worldclimatecommunity.com... Nigeria, EU signs new energy pact The Guardian, 15 June 2009 Abuja: Nigeria and the European Union (EU) have signed a new agreement on energy aimed at exploring non-oil sources for development. The development of energy from renewable sources (biomas, wind or solar), and low-carbon technologies top the list of areas to be explored... First book focusing on adaptation to climate change in cities Africa Science News Agency, 15 June 2009 Nairobi: Mombasa residents are among the most vulnerable to climate change - this is according to a new book to address in detail the ways in which cities can adapt to climate change by a team from the International Institute for Environment and Development. The book, case studies of the risks faced by among others Dhaka, Cotonou, Mumbai, Rio de Janeiro and Shanghai, describes one of the world's first city-based adaptation plans - from Durban in South Africa... Nigeria yet to domesticate Kyoto Protocol Daily Independent, 15 June 2009 Lagos: The Head, Special Climate Change Unit, Ministry of Environment, Dr Victor Fodeke, has said that Nigeria is yet to domesticate the Kyoto Protocol five years after it ratified the agreement... SADC: Groundwater still underutilised Inter Press Service, 15 June 2009 Johannesburg: Despite the significant role groundwater could play in alleviating poverty, improving food security and contributing to overall development in Southern Africa, a lack of skills, finances and awareness of the resource means only a small percentage of the region's supplies are tapped into... Call for a Green Fund Inter Press Service, 15 June 2009 Rome: Environmental legislators from the 13 countries with the largest greenhouse gas emissions have called for the creation of an international green fund to be included in the Copenhagen protocol on climate change. The fund would provide developing countries with financial and technical resources to create a carbon-free economy... Motlanthe: Green economy in SA needs to grow IOL, 16 June 2009 Cape Town: The government has set itself a six-month deadline to implement a multi-billion rand plan aimed at creating 500 000 jobs and protecting millions from unemployment and poverty. Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe is adamant South Africa's attempt to lessen the impact of the current economic crisis is not out of reach... Nigeria, 16 others may turn to nuclear power plants Guardian Newspaper, 16 June 2009 Abuja: Nigeria and 16 other African countries may soon start power generation from nuclear plants, under a power base diversification programme being backed by the Austria-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)... Model guides flow of climate change migrants Reuters AlertNet, 16 June 2009 Scientists have developed a mathematical model to guide policymakers in making decisions about relocating people within their own countries as a way of adapting to climate change. Low-lying areas in many developing countries could be vulnerable to flooding from rising sea levels and arid areas could become uninhabitable as water becomes scarcer, meaning that millions of people will need to migrate... G8 Development Ministers' meeting: communique extracts on climate change African Development Bank, 16 June 2009 G8 Development Ministers and senior officials, including from the EU Presidency and the European Commission, met in Rome on June 11 and 12, 2009, together with representatives from Brazil, China, India, Mexico, South Africa and Egypt, from the Presidency and the Commission of the African Union, from the Presidency and the Steering Committee of NEPAD, from the OECD, the UN, the FAO, the IFAD, the WFP, the WHO, the World Bank, CGIAR-Bioversity and the African Development Bank... Effects of climate change worries President Sirleaf Liberia Government, 17 June 2009 Monrovia: President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf says her Government is revitalizing the National Disaster Relief Commission to educate the public about disaster risk education, a measure she said would help the public respond more effectively to disasters... Mozambique needs $70m for climate change, Noticias says Bloomberg, 17 June 2009 Maputo: Mozambique will need at least $70 million dollars to fight the effects of climate change, Noticias reported, citing Environment Minister Alcinda Abreu. She said her ministry is working on a project which involves 29 international partners led by the World Bank... Swedish PM briefs on priorities for EU presidency People's Daily Online, 17 June 2009 Stockholm: Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt has said that managing the financial crisis and unemployment and addressing climate change will be the two main priorities of the Swedish Presidency which begins on July 1st this year... AfDB on desertification African Development Bank, 17 June 2009 Tunis: Desertification, land degradation and drought (DLDD) threaten human security by depriving people of their means of life – by taking away food, access to water, the means for economic activities, and even their homes. Failing policies and climatic change are putting more pressure than ever on the soil... Meles stresses need for transforming agriculture-bio energy interaction in Africa Walta Information Centre, 17 June 2009 Addis Ababa: Prime Minister Meles Zenawi underlined the need for transforming the interaction between agriculture and bio-energy in Africa as the primary means of adjusting the continent's economy to climate change... Africa's sun to power Europe's homes? UPI, 17 June 2009 Berlin: A group of 20 German companies wants to invest $555 billion in concentrated solar power plants in northern Africa to sell green power to Europe and make the continent less dependent on oil and gas imports. It would be one of the world's biggest private renewable energy projects... Information 'weakest link' in managing climate risk - report AlertNet, 18 June 2009 Rani Begam's father lost four sisters and his first wife in a cyclone - a tragedy that inspired her to take part in a Red Cross project that gives villagers in southern Bangladesh information about what to do when storms and floods are approaching... Food insecurity blamed on climate change UGPulse.com, 18 June 2009 Kampala: The programme coordinator of Sustainable Livelihoods International, Ronald Mutebi, has said that the climate change leading cause of food insecurity in the Uganda today. Mutebi says these days the seasons are unpredictable and unreliable, which means that rainfall has become less useful to the farmers since it does not come at time they need it... Uganda to benefit from £800m UK climate fund New Vision Online, 18 June 2009 Kampala: Uganda is one of the countries that will benefit from the £800m (sh2,856b) international climate investment fund set up by the UK to support initiatives on clean technologies and action against climate change... Legislators want climate change report New Vision Online, 18 June 2009 Kampala: MPs have demanded an explanation on the fluctuating rainfall pattern, which they said had become difficult for farmers to understand. Discussing the looming famine in many parts of the country, several MPs yesterday said farmers could not tell when to plant the crops due to the erratic rainfall patterns... US govt report calls for swift action to avoid climate chaos Inter Press Service, 18 June 2009 New York: Fiercer heat waves and wildfires in the U.S. western states, bigger storm surges along the country's coasts, and disruptions to energy, water and transportation systems are just some of the expected impacts of climate change, according to a new White House report that marks the first scientific statement from the Barack Obama administration acknowledging that the problem is already directly impacting U.S. citizens... Africa's agricultural map shifting IOL, 18 June 2009 Paris: By mid-century, climate change may have outrun the ability of Africa's farmers to adapt to rising temperatures, threatening the continent's precarious food security, warns a new study.Growing seasons throughout nearly all of Africa in 2050 will likely be "hotter than any year in historical experience," reports the study... 'Climate change affecting crop production' The Herald, 19 June 2009 Harare: The decline in Zimbabwe’s crop production should not be attributed solely to the country’s land reform programme, but also to climatic changes, a British Council official has said... Mobiles boost Africa climate data BBC, 19 June 2009 London: Gaping gaps in weather and climate data across Africa may be filled by a partnership between humanitarian groups and mobile phone companies. The project aims to deploy 5,000 automatic weather stations across the continent mounted on phone masts... 'What happens next, with climate change?' IOL, 19 June 2009 Cape Town: The Western Cape produces enough food to feed everyone in the province, yet an alarming 22 percent of adults report that they sometimes go hungry. Most of these hungry people live in the Cape metropole.This was one of the figures to emerge at the Agribusiness and Climate Change Conference on Wednesday, organised jointly by the British Consulate, the SA Agri Academy and the Western Cape Department of Agriculture... |
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Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN)
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Disclaimer: This newsflash was made possible through financial support provided by the Government of Norway to the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). FANRPAN is mandated by COMESA to implement the Africa-wide Civil Society Climate Change Initiative for Policy Dialogues (ACCID). The opinions expressed in the articles carried in this newsflash are those of the author(s) and quoted sources, and do not necessarily reflect the views of COMESA, FANRPAN and the Government of Norway. For more details visit www.africaclimatesolution.org and www.fanrpan.org
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