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Africa-wide Civil Society Climate Change Initiative for Policy Dialogues - ACCID
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| Week ending 16 October 2009 |
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NEST launches Aba climate change adaptation scheme The Guardian, 12 October 2009 Lagos: A frontline environmental group has launched a climate adaptation scheme in five council areas in Aba, Abia State, which will be expected to stem rural-urban drift and tackle environmental degradation in communities. The scheme, by Nigerian Environmental Study Action/Team is a continental project backed by funding from the International Development Research Centre and Climate Change Adaptation for Africa... Can Libreville's electricity users save Gabon's Mbé watershed? InfoPlus Gabon, 12 October 2009 Libreville: As mining and logging spread across Gabon's Mbé watershed, they threaten the river that nourishes the capital city, Libreville, and also drives the city's turbines. USAID and the Global Environment Facility are helping the government of Gabon and the Wildlife Conservation Society entice electricity users into paying to maintain the watershed - for their good and the good of others... Can East African countries reclaim Lake Victoria? Sunday Nation, 12 October 2009 Nairobi: As millions of Kenyans face starvation, and as environmental activists blame bad environmental policies, climate change and deforestation for the current drought and famine facing the country, one important factor has been conveniently overlooked: the role that Britain and Egypt have played in denying countries of the Eastern Africa region the use of their own water resources... Satellite data instrumental in combating desertification Science Daily, 12 October 2009 With land degradation in dryland regions continuing to worsen, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification has agreed on scientist-recommended indicators for monitoring and assessing desertification that signatory countries must report on... Burkina farmers successful in fight against advancing desert AFP, 12 October 2009 Selbo: As African policy makers demand compensation for the effects of climate change at a forum in Burkina Faso's capital, the country's farmers fight a daily struggle to halt the advancing Sahara desert. “Because of the (advancing) dunes many villages have moved,” Boubacar Diallo, a farmer in the village of Selbo, some 280 kilometers (174 miles) to the north of Ouagadougou, explained... Eskom starts counting the costs of coal dependency Business Report, 13 October 2009 Johannesburg: Eskom estimates it could cough up between R22 billion and R56bn a year if the government implements a carbon tax. Put another way, the lower level of this band would - over three years of payment - exceed the R60bn loan to be made available over three years by the state to help fund Eskom's shortfall on its build programme... Greenpeace sets sights on South Africa Taiwan Times, 13 October 2009 Johannesburg: South Africa can cut its annual greenhouse gas emissions by more than 200 million tons by 2050 without sacrificing economic growth if it uses energy more efficiently and increases wind and solar power production, Greenpeace said Monday... South Africa's Eskom sees solar key in future power supply Reuters, 13 October 2009 Johannesburg: Solar energy is South Africa's single biggest renewable resource and the only one likely to have a significant impact on the country's electricity supply, an official at power utility Eskom said... Oil industry poised to reduce gas emissions - Barkindo Vanguard, 13 October 2009 Abuja: The group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Dr. Sanusi Barkindo, has said the nation's oil and gas industry will continue to implement strategies designed to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases in the country... UK climate body urges “step change” on emissions Reuters, 13 October 2009 London: Britain must cut greenhouse gas emissions six times faster than at present and consider more aggressive intervention in energy markets if it is to meet its low carbon targets, the government's chief climate change adviser said on Monday... Community answers to climate chaos: getting climate justice through the UNFCCC Christian Aid, 13 October 2009 London: This paper gives suggestions of how a successful deal can be made at the Copenhagen Conference in December 2009. It argues that during the conference world leaders must agree on a global response to climate change that will shield the world, its economy and its people from the threat of climate chaos... Ancient Africans adapted to climate change Voice of America, 14 October 2009 While scientists today are trying to determine the full effects and causes of ongoing climate change, it's not the first time the earth has experienced such changes. For example, in what is now Botswana's Kalahari Desert, a giant dry lake bed is revealing clues to ancient weather and how early man adapted... MPs want compensation on climate change New Vision, 14 October 2009 Kampala: MPs from the Great Lakes region want developed nations to compensate poor countries for the impact of global warming. Dan Kidega, a member of the East African Legislative Assembly, noted that much as sub-Saharan Africa contributes less to depleting the ozone layer, it continues to suffer from the effects... Put women at core of climate change debate, say activists Irin, 14 October 2009 Bangkok: Women are being excluded from the debate over climate change, despite being most at risk, and governments should do more to ensure their situations and views are represented, campaigners and experts say. So far, climate change negotiations have responded poorly to the effects on women, activists say... Carbon storage key to UN climate deal: ministers AFP, 14 October 2009 London: New technology to capture carbon emissions and store them safely must be part of climate change talks in December, ministers from a 23-country group said at a meeting here Tuesday. The Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum agreed to ramp up the case for carbon capture and storage to be included at climate talks in Copenhagen... Manmohan moots integrated effort for building capacity Economic Times, 14 October 2009 New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has cautioned against “compartmentalised” thinking while building up domestic capacities in the science of climate change. The Prime Minister's Council on Climate Change met on Tuesday to discuss the national mission on strategic knowledge for climate change... India launches network to assess climate change Zeenews, 15 October 2009 New Delhi: In a bid to strengthen its expertise and study on climate change, India today launched a network of scientists from country's premier institutes to study effects of the problem on the economy and suggest ways to combat it... ‘Striving for No’ in climate talks New York Times, 15 October 2009 New York: In doing my reporting for the story in The New York Times today on Saudi Arabia's latest maneuvers in climate treaty talks (they are reviving longstanding demands for compensation for lost oil revenue), I found an interesting paper on the oil kingdom's involvement in climate talks by Joanna Depledge, a research fellow at Cambridge University focusing on climate negotiations... Mali: Faking snow in the desert to boost rain Irin, 15 October 2009 Bamako: The same technology that ski resorts in rich countries have used for decades to make snow has been brought to sub-Saharan Africa, but with a different aim: to keep crops and communities alive. “Thirty minutes after our plane goes up, it rains,” said Daouda Zan, an engineer at Mali's meteorology service... Benin farmers unite against effects of climate change Reuters AlertNet, 15 October 2009 Cotonou: Farmers in Benin are implementing their own research findings to boost the soil fertility and moisture retention of their plots. The experiment is part of the project Strengthening the Capacity to Adapt to Climate Change in Rural Benin - established in late 2007 - which aims to create a three-way conversation between farmers, meteorologists and the government, and help farmers make informed choices about when to sow and harvest crops... Nigerian climate observatories established Vanguard, 15 October 2009 Lagos: The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency has entered into partnership with the Nigerian Meteorological Agency and the University of Ife to establish climate observatory centres... Kenya: Groups demand Sh1.6bn over climate change Daily Nation, 15 October 2009 Nairobi: The government and Kenyan lobby groups joined hands in demanding Sh1.6 billion worth of compensation per year from developed countries for the disastrous effects of climate change on the country. More than 60 groups under the umbrella body - the Kenya Climate Change Working Group - told a continental forum that the industrialised countries needed to take responsibility for a continual emission of toxic wastes into the atmosphere... ‘Nigeria can get 18000mw from renewable energy’ This Day, 15 October 2009 Abuja: Federal government yesterday raised the hope of Nigerians on the possibility of surpassing the projected national target of 6000MW of electricity generation by December saying it is partnering with the private sector on initiatives to encourage energy efficiency products that would extend power generation capacity to 18000MW... Nigeria: Long wait for green politics This Day, 15 October 2009 Lagos: Over the years, Nigerians have witnessed a lot of reforms in various spheres of life. A whole range of things which have for years been taken for granted in advanced nations, have now become part and parcel of our everyday lives. For instance our banks have come of age and now provide top of the range financial services such as ATM cards, credit cards, on-line services etc... Climate change worsening farming's trade-related woes Inter Press Service, 15 October 2009 Berlin: Numerous research institutes and international organisations agree that climate change will in the short and medium term worsen Africa's agriculture and food production capabilities, unless greenhouse gases emissions (GHE) are substantially reduced and adequate trade and investment policies put in place... AGRA initiative to empower African agricultural policies AGRA, 15 October 2009 Nairobi: The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa today launched an initiative to empower African governments to shape home-grown agricultural policies that provide comprehensive support to smallholder farmers. The initiative is supported by a US$15 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation... George Soros pledges $1.1 billion to fund climate change initiatives Reuters, 16 October 2009 Philanthropist and businessman George Soros announced this week that he would be the next in a line of wealthy front-runners to fund initiatives in clean technology. Soros is the founder of hedge fund Soros Fund Management LLC, and has been known for making monetary contributions to other charitable efforts that effect the well-being of society, such as health care and education; now he's shifting his focus to play a part in reducing the impact of climate change... Rising seas trigger flood probe for new haven Weekend Post, 16 October 2009 Port Elizabeth: The government is to carry out a detailed study of the impact of rising sea levels along the Southern Cape coastline. An Environmental Affairs and Development Planning Department consultant has been appointed to carry out the study, to be completed by the end of February next year... Biggest obstacle to global climate deal may be how to pay for it New York Times, 16 October 2009 New York: As world leaders struggle to hash out a new global climate deal by December, they face a hurdle perhaps more formidable than getting big polluters like the United States and China to reduce greenhouse gas emissions: how to pay for the new accord. The price tag for a new climate agreement will be a staggering $100 billion a year by 2020, many economists estimate; some put the cost at closer to $1 trillion... |
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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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