Posts

Showing posts from 2012

Doha Briefs: Of Apples, Mangoes and Gateway

Finally, COP18 has come to an end; but then, the reactions on the outcome, dubbed Doha Climate Gateway , have been mixed.  But then, let us sort through the apples and mangoes by looking into the nitty gritties of the Doha Climate Gateway. Hot Air The issue of renewing the commitment period for the Kyoto Protocol has been one of the main interests in the build up to COP18. The issue of surplus carbon emission permits, commonly referred to as ‘hot air’, was bound to determine the outcome of talks geared towards getting a second commitment period (CP2). It is important to note that the Kyoto Protocol’s first commitment period will run out at the end of this year. Australia, EU, Japan, Lichtenstein, Monaco and Switzerland agreed to drop their ‘hot air’ and enter CP2 on a clean slate. The Kyoto Protocol Mechanisms ( Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) , Joint Implementation(JI) and the International Emissions Trading (IET) ) will be available during CP2, but only for

Doha Briefs Approaching the End

It is late, very late and the convention centre is emptying up pretty quickly. There are only a handful of us here still churning out the last snippets of energy for the day. Well there have been a couple of issues that still have to be sorted out and some which are pretty crucial. Adaptation For starters the issue of financing for adaptation mechanisms is proving to be quite a hustle. There is still the issue of provision of funds for the Adaptation program is essential yet not yet finalized. The kitty is running out. In fact it is in the red in terms of the amount of funds available. The gist of the position of particularly developing countries is that there is need to sort out the issue of provision and access of ADEQUATE financial and other resources to facilitate adaptation mechanisms as regards climate change. These funds are crucial to the efficient operation of the National Adaptation Programs for Action (NAPA) since they draw upon these resources. Co

Doha Briefs: Pulling off the Blinders

Ambition has been the buzzword of late at COP18 , and this is especially with regards to finance and cutting down of Green House Gas emissions. Ambition Lacks! There has been a constant outcry by least developing countries and Association of Small island States (AOSIS) with regards to the lack of commitment by Annex I (developed countries) to put money on the table to finance mitigation and adaptation projects.  Also, the lack of ambition by Annex I countries to cut down on their Green House Gas emissions has been manifested by the withdrawal of Canada, Japan and New Zealand from the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol. Interestingly, this happened in the backdrop of a report by the World Bank that warns that Annex I countries need to deeply cut down on emissions by 25 – 40% by 2020 so as to avert the 4 degrees Celsius increase in warming that is catastrophic. The Gulf goes Green The significance of Qatar hosting COP18 cannot be understated.

CLIMATE CHANGE AND AFRICA’S HEALTH

For health anywhere to be sustained, people need clean air, safe water, adequate food, tolerable temperature, stable climate, and high levels of biodiversity. Climate change is envisaged to alter all these requirements of a healthy population especially in Africa where poverty and frequent famines have exacerbated the continent’s ability to adapt and prevent effects on climate change. The economic and environmental wellness coupled with the health of the African population have deeply rooted inter-linkages that adverse effects on any of the components will surely affect the whole system consequently impeding the minimal progress. Although some African countries have seen most of the worst effects of climate change effects on health, the bad news is that it is projected to get worse. Horn of Africa has suffered malnutrition expressly from the recurrent food shortages. Malnutrition is the most touted health effect resulting from climate change yet not much has been done to arrest th

Doha Briefs: Common Accounting Mechanism and the Status Quo Games

Us against them? It just hit 2am and everybody’s looking at each other with a wee bit of anger. Everyone’s tired obviously. Mugs of coffee are scattered all over the table. Thus far the negotiations have centred on two fronts; on one side there is a conglomerate of state parties who do not want to push through the agreements and another struggling to do the complete opposite. One of the issues that have caused quite some uproar is the position of the U.S, yes Obama’s U.S and New Zealand concerning accounting. Basically they have refused to advance the accounting rules, hence stalled the negotiations concerning common accounting. It is like throwing the spanner in the works. Essentially, common accounting is crucial in terms of quantifying emission reduction [1] . The commitment problem!! Annex 1 countries are still not coming out clearly and transparently concerning their targets. Common accounting rules are important in assessing progress towards the g

Climate Change and Conflict: Where does the youth constituency fall in the scope of things?

Image
The nexus… It is really hard to talk about climate change without mentioning conflict. So where is the nexus? It’s pretty easy to see the connection. See, climate change manifests itself through the effects and events that result like droughts and food scarcity. There is one crucial aspect to everything though. Rafael Reuveny talks about migration of people displaced by climate change related occurrences [1] . It is easy to see his point. Migration of people induces conflict. The environment on the other hand majorly contributes to migration of people. Real People, Real Stories….. Musa from Mauritania explains this when he says that back home there is continuous conflict between people of various backgrounds as a result of movement of people. Nomads often move to find food for their animals. They end up having to encroach into areas occupied by farming communities and in the competition for resources, conflict ensues. Kennedy Liti from Kenya also exp

Doha Briefs: Hurdles

Day 3 of COP18 was punctuated with news of numerous hurdles hampering the progress of the search for solutions to combat climate change. Typical of most negotiations, there were parties who were keen on making it near impossible to agree on a number of issues. As you may all understand, one of the biggest issues at COP18 is putting in place a second commitment period for the Kyoto Protocol, which is to take effect from 1 st January 2013. However, the biggest hurdle has been in sorting out the issue of the outstanding carbon emission permits ( AAUs ). The Surplus Issue If you are not familiar with carbon trading issues, you can take a slight detour and check out this primer on carbon emission permits and trade  There are around 13 billion emission permits from the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol (2008 - 2012). In the quest for a second commitment period, the issue is what will happen to these permits. Where it all came from : In the first commitment

Doha Briefs: Commitment Issues

Commitment has been one of the buzzwords at COP18 , no doubt, and this is with regard to cutting down on carbon emissions. There have been calls to increase ambition towards committing to the reduction of carbon emissions, especially by Annex 1countries . The Scenario At the start of COP18, the good news was that the EU had already achieved its carbon emission targets it had set for the year 2020; that’s eight years ahead of schedule! The bad news is that the EU indicated that they were considering going for an eight-year lull before considering further measures to cut down on their carbon emissions. Australia caused a stir when it indicated that it was willing to cut down its carbon emissions, but this happened to be only one part of the story. The disappointment emanating from their pledge lay in the numbers: the plan was to cut down their carbon emissions to 0.5% below their 1990 level.  In climate change negotiation circles, that is what is known as ‘A Bi

CLIMATE CHANGE: THE GENDER DIMENSION

Daniel Wasonga,  African Union Youth Volunteer, Ethiopia The global crisis that climate change has become is already taking its toll on development and less than adequate responses have often contributed to the escalation of its impacts. Meaningful responses have been concentrated more on the scientific and economic solutions than on the significant human aspects such as gender dimensions. Women and children are known to bear more of the brunt of climate change related events such as floods, heat waves and hurricanes, yet they contribute the least to its causes. They also have the weakest voice in issues concerning climate change policies and responses. Prior to Rio+20, there were sustained calls to consider and act upon linkages between climate change, sustainable development and gender equality concerns. Practical strategies are still too scarce and uncoordinated to suggest any real headway in this regard. Holistic approaches that address gender and climate change are key to t

Doha Briefs: Expectations

So, its that time of the year again when the world meets to talk about Climate Change  ( COP18 ) and how to tame this menace. This year’s talks are quite unique in that it is the first time a country from the Middle East is hosting the talks. The mood is honestly difficult to pinpoint, with some people quite upbeat that this COP will be a success, while others believe that nothing significant will come out of these talks. All in all, it is quite important to figure out which issues will most definitely shape the climate talks this year.   Issues at stake There are quite a number of issues that will be at stake during COP18; a quick list of these items won’t hurt: ·       Demonstration of ambition to solve the climate issue with guidance from intergenerational justice ·       A second commitment for the Kyoto Protocol, which actually runs out this year ·       The issue of continuing and revamping Fast Track Finance ·       Operationalizing of the Green

Innovation Is The Solution To Climate Change

Image
I stumbled across this video and found it quite intellectually provoking. But I will not give you a spoiler; check it out! Posted by: Kennedy Liti Mbeva

My confession, how I contributed to climate change today…

My pricey Rollex alarm went on at 0530HRS reminding me of a new day in the lackluster office. You see, working in a Nothing Going on Office aka NGO has taught me a fundamental lesson that it doesn’t really matter how long you work, what matters is your achievement at the end of the day, and in case you achieve nothing, which happens most of the times, your technical appearance in the office serves as a compliment. Convinced with my intelligent reasoning I went back to sleep until 0700 hrs when the sun was already out. Like I always do, I put on everything that could light the house; from my five bedrooms lights, washrooms, kitchen, dining room to security lights, totally ignoring the God’s freely given natural light.  When I made sure that everybody felt that the ‘owner of the house’ is up, I headed to the bathroom, spending over 10 minutes in shower which takes exactly 2½ minutes during a power blackout. It’s high time that KPLC and NWSCo started paying loyalties to those