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Showing posts from December, 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