Today, leaders around the world meet in Poznań, Poland for the UN Climate Change Conference until 12 December. The goals:
Agree on a plan of action and programmes of work for the final year of negotiations after a year of comprehensive and extensive discussions on crucial issues relating to future commitments, actions and cooperation
Make significant progress on a number of on-going issues required to enhance further the implementation of the Convention and the Kyoto Protocol, including capacity-building for developing countries, reducing emissions from deforestation (REDD), technology transfer and adaptation.
Advance understanding and commonality of views on “shared vision” for a new climate change regime
Strengthen commitment to the process and the agreed timeline
In the video below, three essentials are outlined which need to be in place by the December 2009 Copenhagen meeting:
clarity on how to generate additional financial resources
clarity on the institutional framework needed to deliver for adaptation and for mitigation
Can a little laptop save the planet? The One Laptop Per Child initiative has decided to go mainstream by expanding their Give One, Get One campaign. The idea is simple: buy a laptop for a needy child in a developing country, and receive one for the child in your life.
I know this is a break from the ordinary group of topics on this site, but I thought it was appropriate to write about a program which I have had a keen interest in for several years.
Close to 1 billion people entered the 21st century unable to read and more than 130 million of those were school aged children. (see State of the World’s Children 1999) Coincidentally, or perhaps not, 1 billion around the world also live in poverty. Not surprisingly there seems to be a clear link between these two problems.
We must examine how we have gotten to such a low place in our history that we must struggle to fix a basic right like education or an adequate standard of living. Education is the foundation to tackling every obstacle. If a child is educated he can start a small business to stimulate economic growth in his local community. If a child is educated, she can grow up to become a confident adult, and rise into politics to become an agent of change. If a child is educated, he can become a scientist to develop technology for new sources of sustainable energy. You get the idea…
Do your part this holiday season and give a gift that has real meaning and benefit to someone.
The United Nations have just released a report (1.4 MB PDF) warning of the threat of ‘atmospheric brown clouds’ primarily in Asia which ‘have dramatically reduc[ed] sunlight in many Chinese cities and [has lead] to decreased crop yields in swaths of rural India.’ The report addresses the vulnerability of the Asian Monsoon System, the stability of glaciers and snow packs, food security, and health. (via NY Times)
Andrew Revkin asks if humans will be ‘the first life form to exert a global-scale influence’ in Dot Earth. According to a paper in the journal Nature, the chances of ‘a quasi-permanent big chill’ are possible unless action is taken. (via NY Times)
Today is World Usability Day which is “about making our world work better.” With fuel prices all over the place this year it is fitting that the focus this year is on using technology to improve transportation.
World Usability Day and the Usability Professionals’ Association will launch the Global Transport Challenge on November 13th. It’s an easy way for you to understand how you use transportation everyday and the impact it has on our environment.
Check out the Global Transport Challenge to:
MEASURE your everyday transportation usage
MONITOR your personal carbon travel footprint and compare yourself to others around the world
MINIMIZE your energy usage through alternative transportation choices, carbon offsets, and simple travel changes thereby maximizing the impact on our world.
Yesterday I also came across a site for pedestrian commuters in the UK. Walkit.com allows you to find the best walking route in many cities in England and Scotland while giving an estimate of travel time and CO2 emissions saved versus riding in a car, taxi, or bus.
Some facts on poverty and the environment found here:
Some 1.1 billion people in developing countries have inadequate access to water, and 2.6 billion lack basic sanitation.
Almost two in three people lacking access to clean water survive on less than $2 a day, with one in three living on less than $1 a day.
More than 660 million people without sanitation live on less than $2 a day, and more than 385 million on less than $1 a day.
I have recently discovered a joint programme between the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) known as the Poverty-Environment Initiative.
The UNDP-UNEP Poverty - Environment Initiative (PEI) is a joint programme to provide financial and technical support to countries to build capacity for mainstreaming poverty -environment linkages into national development planning processes…
Based upon experience over the past few years in assisting nine countries in Africa and Asia to launch sustainable programmes to mainstream poverty-environment in to national development plans, budget processes and sector implementation programmes, UNDP and UNEP have launched an effort to scale-up the PEI significantly and to work closely with key donors and other partners to expand the effort to other countries and regions.
Despite the high levels of investment in environmental management over the last 35 years, few national development plans really integrate environmental management into poverty reduction and growth strategies. This directly affects poor people who are heavily dependent on a healthy environment for their livelihoods. Good environmental management contributes to economic growth and increased well-being. Environmental degradation leads to increased impoverishment.
I will continue to research this initiative further and write more posts and perhaps an essay related to the topic. Stay tuned…
