Advancing Adaptation through Climate Information Services http://www.unepfi.org/fileadmin/documents/advancing_adaptation.pdf Foreword by the UNEP Finance Initiative Climate Change Working Group (CCWG) This study focuses on the information needs of the financial sector with respect to direct physical risks of climate change impacts. Clearly, there are many issues for the sector relating to mitigation (i.e. the control of greenhouse gas emissions). Mitigation continues to be the top priority. However, that is not the subject of this study. This survey focuses on the climate information requirements of the financial sector as part of their and their customers’ adaptation strategies. The evidence comes from sixty financial service providers, through a survey conducted by the UNEP Finance Initiative, and the Sustainable Business Institute (SBI), Germany. Blending Climate Finance through National Climate Funds: A Guidebook for the Design and Establishment of National Funds to Achieve Climate Change Priorities (UNDP) http://www.beta.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/Environment%20and%20Energy/Climate%20Change/Capacity%20Development/Blending_Climate_Finance_Through_National_Climate_Funds.pdf
This guidebook aimed at helping decision makers in developing countries to better take advantage of the billions pledged to address climate change. A step-by-step guide on setting up national climate funds, the publication is a key resource for policymakers, economists, investors and donors involved in national responses to climate change. Catalysing Climate Finance: A Guidebook on Policy and Financing Options to Support Green, Low-Emission and Climate-Resilient Development (UNDP) http://content.undp.org/go/cms-service/download/publication/?version=live&id=3267712 This guidebook is offered as a primer to countries to enable them to better assess the level and nature of assistance they will require to catalyze climate capital based on their unique set of national, regional and local circumstances. Cities and Climate Change: Policy Directions Global Report on Human settlements 2011 http://www.unhabitat.org/downloads/docs/GRHS2011/GRHS.2011.Abridged.English.pdf The effects of urbanization and climate change are converging in dangerous ways that seriously threaten the world’s environmental, economic and social stability. Cities and Climate Change: Global Report on Human Settlements 2011 seeks to improve knowledge, among governments and all those interested in urban development and in climate change, on the contribution of cities to climate change, the impacts of climate change on cities, and how cities are mitigating and adapting to climate change. More importantly, the Report identifies promising mitigation and adaptation measures that are supportive of more sustainable and resilient urban development paths. Climate Change Starter’s Guidebook (UNESCO / UNEP / WHO) http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0021/002111/211136E.pdf The aim of this guide is to serve as a starting point for mainstreaming climate change education into curricula lesson plans and programs. It provides an introduction and overview for education planners and practitioners on the wide range of issues relating to climate change and climate change education, including causes, impacts, mitigation and adaptation strategies, as well as some broad political and economic principals. Climate change, water and food security http://www.fao.org/docrep/014/i2096e/i2096e.pdf In assessing the anticipated impacts of climate change on agriculture and agricultural water management, it is clear that water availability (from rainfall, watercourses and aquifers) will be a critical factor. Substantial adaptation will be needed to ensure adequate supply and efficient utilization of what will, in many instances, be a declining resource. However, the long-term climatic risk to agricultural assets and agricultural production that can be linked to water cannot be known with any certainty. While temperature and pressure variables can be projected by global circulation models with a high degree of ‘convergence’, the same cannot be said of water vapour in the atmosphere. The levels of risk associated with rainfall and runoff events can only be determined with provisional levels of precision. These may not be sufficient to define specific approaches or levels of investment (e.g. the costs of raising the free-board on an hydraulic structure) in many locations. Environmentally Induced Migration and Sustainable Development (Background Paper, January 2011, UNDESA/DSD and UNU-EHS) http://www.webmeets.com/files/papers/EAERE/2011/1107/Environmentally%20Induced%20Migration%20and%20Sustainable%20Development_Milan_Areikat_Afifi.pdf The impact of environmentally induced migration (EIM) on sustainable development and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals is an emerging and relatively unexplored issue. This paper – that will be presented at the 18th Annual Conference of the European association of Environmental and Resource Economists (29 June – 2 July, Rome) analyses the nexus between environmental change and migration from the angle of sustainable development at regional, national and international levels, with focus on migration induced by slow-onset environmental degradation and exacerbated by climate change. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Climate Change and food systems resilience in Sub-Saharan Africa http://www.fao.org/docrep/014/i2230e/i2230e.pdf ISBN 978-92-5-106876-2, FAO 2011. Climate Change smart Agriculture: Policies, practices and financing for food security, adaptation and mitigation, FAO 2011. Food Crises and Gender Inequality (DESA Working Paper No. 107) http://www.un.org/esa/desa/papers/2011/wp107_2011.pdf This paper examines the current food crises, the projected effect of climate change, the vulnerabilities created by regional concentrations of food production, imports and exports, and the significant role of women as food producers, consumers and family food managers. Bridging productivity differentials between male and female farmers, by helping women overcome production constraints, would significantly increase agricultural output. This becomes an imperative, given the feminization of agriculture. Institutionally, a group approach to farming would help women and other small holders enhance their access to land and inputs, benefit from economies of scale, and increase their bargaining power economically and socially. Framework for Assessing and Monitoring Forest Governance (FAO / World Bank)
http://www.fao.org/climatechange/27526-0cc61ecc084048c7a9425f64942df70a8.pdf
FAO and the World Bank have unveiled a new guidance framework which can help countries assess the governance of their forest resources. The ability to demonstrate good governance in forestry is becoming increasingly important for countries wishing to participate in emerging climate change mitigation schemes. Mitigating Climate Change through Restoration and Management of Coastal Wetlands and Near-shore Marine Ecosystems Challenges and Opportunities http://data.iucn.org/dbtw-wpd/edocs/2011-009.pdf The current climate policy regime contains few incentives for restoration or disincentives to drain or degrade coastal wetlands. Yet, carbon dioxide emissions from drained coastal wetlands are sufficiently large to warrant inclusion in carbon accounting and emission inventories, and in amendments of national and international policy frameworks to reduce emissions from the loss of these ecosystems. Further work is needed to quantify the magnitude of emissions from near-shore marine ecosystems such as sea grass beds. It is, however, clear that improved management of these systems would slow or reverse ongoing loss of carbon sequestration capacity. Sustainable management of coastal wetlands and marine ecosystems also offer a wide range of co-benefits, including shoreline protection, nutrient cycling, water quality maintenance, flood control, habitat for birds, other wildlife and harvestable resources such as fish, as well as opportunities for recreation. Moving Towards a Climate Neutral UN (UN Sustainability Report) Report, summary & press release: http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=664&ArticleID=8687&l=en&t=long The United Nations has released details of its greenhouse gas emissions for 52 institutions, covering 200,000 employees, in a new report published as part of ongoing efforts to reduce the organisation’s carbon footprint. The report, co-ordinated by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), calculates the UN’s total greenhouse gas emissions for 2009 at 1.7 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent, or 8.3 tonnes per capita. CO₂ Planning for Climate Change http://www.unhabitat.org/pmss/listItemDetails.aspx?publicationID=3164 Climate change is fast becoming one of the most significant challenges of the 21st century. While there may be uncertainty surrounding the scale, scope and pace of climate change, one thing is clear – cities and towns everywhere will be exposed to significant climate change-driven impacts. All of us will need to play a role in helping to adapt to these changes. It is also widely accepted that cities are major producers of the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. Hence, cities need to play their part in both reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing their resilience to climate-driven impacts. Recycling Rates of Metals: A Status Report (UNEP) http://www.unep.org/resourcepanel/metals_recycling/ http://www.unep.org/resourcepanel/Publications/Recyclingratesofmetals/tabid/56073/Default.aspx Failure to recycle many metals around the world not only causes wasted resources and environmental damage, it threatens shortages of elements essential to modern technologies, according to the first-ever comprehensive analysis of the problem. “In spite of significant efforts in a number of countries and regions, many metal recycling rates are discouragingly low, and a ‘recycling society’ appears no more than a distant hope,” the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) states in a new report, the first attempt to gather accurate and consistent information about the extent to which metals are collected, processed and reused in new products. The weak performance is especially frustrating because, unlike most other resources, metals are “inherently recyclable,” says the study compiled by the UNEP-hosted International Resource Panel. Reddy Set Grow Part 1 A Briefing for Financial Institutions Opportunities and roles for Financial Institutions in forest carbon markets http://www.unepfi.org/fileadmin/documents/reddysetgrow.pdf A 50% reduction in deforestation is needed by 2020 if the forestry sector is to support, rather than undermine, global efforts aimed at holding global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius, the global climate target that the world’s governments have set themselves in the international climate change agreements of the UNFCCC1. Reddy Set Grow Part 2 Private Sector Suggestions for international Climate Change negotiators http://www.unepfi.org/fileadmin/documents/reddysetgrowII.pdf Forests are chronically undervalued in today’s economies, even though they underpin a wide range of complex and varied ecosystem services that one billion people immediately rely on for their livelihoods and that are central to economic progress and human welfare at a global scale. The nature of the problem is economic: the absence of a ‘positive’ price signal to protect and sustainably use forests lies at the heart of the current level of deforestation and makes the clearing of forests financially more attractive than preserving them. This notion applies equally to industrial-type deforestation – such as for the Brazilian soy and the Indonesian palm oil industries – and deforestation for subsistence farming in the Congo Basin and other regions. UNFCCC Climate Change: Impacts, Vulnerabilities and Adaptation in Developing Countries http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/publications/impacts.pdf The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) secretariat has produced this book to highlight the concerns and needs of developing countries in adapting to the effects of climate change. This book outlines the impact of climate change in four developing country regions: Africa, Asia, Latin America and Small Island developing States; the vulnerability of these regions to future climate change; current adaptation plans, strategies and actions; and future adaptation options and needs. Waste and Climate Change: Global trends and strategy framework (UNEP) http://www.unep.or.jp/Ietc/Publications/spc/Waste&ClimateChange/index.asp
The waste management sector is contributing 3-5 per cent of global man-made greenhouse gas emissions. Cutting emissions from the global waste sector, including the potent greenhouse gas methane, could play a part in combating climate change. Women, Gender Equality and Climate Change http://www.un.org/womenwatch/feature/climate_change/downloads/Women_and_Climate_Change_Factsheet.pdf In many of these contexts, women are more vulnerable to the effects of climate change than men—primarily as they constitute the majority of the world’s poor and are more dependent for their livelihood on natural resources that are threatened by climate change. Furthermore, they face social, economic and political barriers that limit their coping capacity. Women and men in rural areas in developing countries are especially vulnerable when they are highly dependent on local natural resources for their livelihood. Those charged with the responsibility to secure water, food and fuel for cooking and heating face the greatest challenges. Secondly, when coupled with unequal access to resources and to decision-making processes, limited mobility places women in rural areas in a position where they are disproportionately affected by climate change. It is thus important to identify gender-sensitive strategies to respond to the environmental and humanitarian crises caused by climate change. World Economic and Social Survey 2011: The Great Green Technological Transformation Report in English, Overview in English, French & Spanish: http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/policy/wess/index.shtml Humanity is close to breaching the sustainability of Earth, and needs a technological revolution greater – and faster – than the industrial revolution to avoid “a major planetary catastrophe,” according to this new UN report. Major investments will be needed worldwide in the developing and scaling up of clean energy technologies, sustainable farming and forestry techniques, climate-proofing of infrastructure, and in technologies reducing non-biological degradable waste production. World Youth Report 2010 http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unyin/documents/WYR2010Final%20online%20version.pdf The 2010 World Youth Report focus on youth and climate change, and is intended to highlight the important role young people play in addressing climate change, and to offer suggestions on how young people might be more effectively integrated as individuals and collective agents of change within the realm of climate change adaptation and mitigation. The Report is designated to assist youth and youth organizations in educating themselves and to become more actively involved in combating the threat of climate change.
– By UN info centre Pta
