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Africa-wide Civil Society Climate Change Initiative for Policy Dialogues - ACCID
- News Digest - |
| Week ending 11 September 2009 |
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Air pollution law loophole The Times, 7 September 2009 Johannesburg: South Africa's biggest air polluters, who collectively belch a 400 million ton carbon cloud into the atmosphere, may be exempted from a new national deadline for big industry to clean up their act... New SADC president launches campaign against climate change Xinhua, 8 September 2009 Kinshasa: The Southern Africa Development Community on Monday launched the regional campaign against climate change in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo. DRC President Joseph Kabila, who took over the SADC presidency, officially kicked off the environment drive at the opening of the 29th summit of the 15-nation bloc... Climate change - SADC must strategise The Herald, 8 September 2009 Harare: Over the years, America and Europe have been using food as a tool for regime change, fanning unrest and causing instability in smaller nations. African leaders, viewed as errant, have found themselves on the receiving end and the only option left today, is for African countries to produce enough food for their people... Swaziland experiencing effects of climate change The Swazi Observer, 8 September 2009 Mbabane: Swaziland, like many other countries in the southern hemisphere is gradually experiencing frightening effects of climate change and the Deputy Prime Minister Themba Masuku reckons quick interventions must be put in place to avoid a looming calamity. Speaking during the Lutheran World Federation Southern Africa Regional consultation on the impact of climate change on food security... East Africa taps into carbon trading Business Daily, 8 September 2009 Nairobi: Communities living on the coastline will soon be earning cash from the global carbon emissions trade, thanks to a pilot project by the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute. It targets those living near mangrove forests and will involve imparting skills on how to use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) that capture, store, analyse, manage, and present data linked to a particular location... Lush land dries up, withering Kenya's hopes New York Times, 8 September 2009 Lokori: The sun somehow feels closer here, more intense, more personal. As Philip Lolua waits under a tree for a scoop of food, heat waves dance up from the desert floor, blurring the dead animal carcasses sprawled in front of him. So much of his green pasture land has turned to dust. His once mighty herd of goats, sheep and camels have died of thirst... Pascal Lamy: Only an inclusive approach can help us fight the global challenges Business Daily, 8 September 2009 Nairobi: We are living in worrying times. We are witnessing the first truly global economic crisis ever, its effects spanning all countries, North and South, rich and poor. We are witnessing pandemics such as the H1N1 virus which threaten to paralyse our societies. We are witnessing floods, droughts and food scarcity in many parts of our planet. In sum, we are witnessing a host of global challenges which are testing the capacity of the international system to address them... Delhi doesn't want to pay for climate change, but it's already bearing the costs The Globe and Mail, 8 September 2009 New Delhi: In the village of Pujar in the Himalayas, the burans - a species of rhododendron - flowers each spring. And the tradition in Pujar, since time immemorial, is that no one picks and eats the flowers until after the spring Shiva festival. To do otherwise is to risk the anger of the gods, explains Himal Behan, who farms near the foot of the glacier. “But this year, the tree flowered in December... Gujarat to develop India's biggest solar plant Gujurat Global, 8 September 2009 Ahmedabad: In the next five years, Gujarat will become hub of the solar power in the country. Four to five solar plants will result in the solar power of 3000 MW at the end of the five year period. This follows MOU Gujarat government has signed with the US-based William J Clinton Foundation. Gujarat is one of the four global sites the Foundation has selected for its global project called Clinton Climate Initiative... If charcoal trade is this lucrative, let's do it The East African, 9 September 2009 Nairobi: Recently, I read what was facetiously described as a technical document of the staff of the World Bank's Environmental and Natural Resources Unit of the African Region. Subtitled “Transforming the charcoal sector in Tanzania,” the 54-page document sets out to answer the potent question of whether the charcoal industry is an ‘environmental crisis in the making or a sustainable development opportunity... South Africa: Greener long-term plan central to state Business Report, 9 September 2009 Johannesburg: Environmental management would be central to the new strategic planning and monitoring framework envisioned by the Presidency, Collins Chabane, the Minister for Performance Monitoring and Evaluation, has promised... Paying the price of power The Times, 9 September 2009 Johannesburg: There could not be a better time to test the nerve than now. Eskom must double its output. We must foot the bill to help it do so, writes Saliem Fakir: Eskom's 2008-2009 financial results showed a record loss of R9.7-billion - the highest loss in its history... Nedbank to become ‘carbon neutral’ Engineering News, 9 September 2009 Johannesburg: Nedbank CEO Tom Boardman on Tuesday announced that after measuring and auditing the company's carbon footprint, the banking giant had taken the decision to become ‘carbon neutral’... Trying to work from the same weather page Irin, 9 September 2009 Geneva: Climate scientists describe Africa as an information “black hole”. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) notes that there are only 744 weather stations, but only a quarter of them are of international standard; at least 3,000, evenly spaced across the continent, are needed, with another 1,000 in densely populated areas; ideally, Africa should have at least 10,000 stations... Climate change - burden or opportunity for health? Irin, 9 September 2009 Dakar: Despite an international resolution to avoid environmental health hazards, the medical community - already overburdened with health challenges - has remained largely outside the climate change dialogue, according to a World Health Organization (WHO) climate change specialist. “The health community has been late in coming to the issue because we have enough on our plates,” said Diarmid Campbell-Lendrum with WHO's public health and environment department... Helen Clark: A green deal for rich and poor nations The Guardian, 9 September 2009 London: A few months ago, Rwanda's president, Paul Kagame, stated explicitly that the continent's future depends on what comes out of the Copenhagen climate change negotiations. He argued that Africa needs a strong climate deal, and quickly, so that global emissions can be brought under control as soon as possible. He also called for strong mechanisms to help the continent move towards a low carbon growth path and to strengthen its resilience to unavoidable impacts... US: Agriculture sharply divided over climate change legislation Associated Press/AgriNews, 9 September 2009 Omaha: Legislation to confront climate change could be an economic godsend to farmers and ranchers. Or it could be an enormous financial burden. It depends on whom you ask, and not even farmers and ranchers agree on the matter. Those who are against the bill say it would lead to skyrocketing fuel and fertilizer costs, cutting into farmers' and ranchers' already unpredictable profits. Those who support it contend any losses would be more than made up for through a provision that would allow companies to meet their pollution targets by investing in offset projects, such as farms that capture methane or plant trees... Climate-related migration estimates flawed, researchers say Irin, 10 September 2009 Dakar: Many recent studies have put the number of climate-change-related migrants at between 200 million and one billion by 2050, but critics say given insufficient data it is impossible to estimate the number. Some say inflated figures have spurred “fear-of-migration” rhetoric from policymakers and leaders... Desert winds stir new hope Inter Press Service, 10 September 2009 Cairo: With oil and gas reserves running dry, the most populous country in the Arab world is eyeing wind power as a solution to its looming energy crunch. Egypt relies on the burning of fossil fuels to satisfy about 85 percent of its electricity requirements. But with electricity consumption growing at 8 percent a year, and the country's oil and gas reserves expected to dry up within 30-50 years, energy policymakers have taken an increasingly hard look at the potential of wind power... The world needs a Marshall Plan for climate change Inter Press Service, 10 September 2009 United Nations: When world leaders meet for a mega talk-fest on climate change at the United Nations in late September, the focus will be more on politics and less on finance. “No new financial commitments to support the efforts of developing countries were expected during the summit,” says Janos Pasztor, director of the UN's Climate Change Support Team. “But it is hoped there would be a new framework (for funding arrangements),” he adds cautiously... UNEP, Kenyan government launch fund to save Mau Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, 10 September 2009 Nairobi: The government of Kenya in conjunction with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has launched a multi million dollar appeal to save the Mau Forests Complex... Oladipo emerges chair of Climate Change Network Nigeria THISDAY, 11 September 2009 Lagos: Prof. Emmanuel Olukayode Oladipo, an internationally acclaimed Professor of Climatology, has emerged as the Chair, Board of Trustees as well as National Stakeholders Advisory Group (NSAG) of the largest civil society coalition on climate change in the country. Climate Change Network Nigeria, with a membership base of now over 150 diverse civil society organisations across the nation... Uganda seeks local solutions as climate change effects hit harder Xinhua, 11 September 2009 Moroto: As the world continues to debate the effects of climate change and adaptation measures, Uganda is embarking on local solutions to beat the effects that have left 3.5 million people on the verge of starvation... S.Africa must lead efforts to avert climate change: EU AFP, 11 September 2009 Kleinmond: The EU on Friday urged South Africa to lead emerging powers such as China and India to commit to cutting carbon emissions, as world leaders grapple ambitious targets on global warming. Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt on Friday opened a summit with South Africa emphasising "the great importance of the role of South Africa in this issue ... SA will not commit to growth-threatening climate targets Engineering News, 11 September 2009 Johannesburg: The South African government would establish a reconfigured inter-Ministerial committee to formulate a national programme for climate change, as well as the country's formal negotiation stance ahead of global climate negotiations in December. But Cabinet reiterated on Thursday that it was not ready to agree to any targets at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations in Copenhagen, Denmark, that would undermine South Africa's growth trajectory... India: Now, law to tackle greenhouse gas emissions? The Times of India, 11 September 2009 New Delhi: The government has sought to make a bold move to prove its commitment to mitigating climate change with environment minister Jairam Ramesh suggesting that India could enact an overarching legislation to guide actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions... |
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Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN)
Africa-wide Civil Society Climate Change Initiative for Policy Dialogues - ACCID
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