Earth Conscious magazine

December 2013 ISSN 2070-4593

December 2013

CONTENTS

Editor:Linda Hutchinson-Jafar

Technical Editor:Faies Jafar

Contributors:Jo-Anne Nina SewlalJordan Brandon JafarShahad Ali

Design and layout:Karibgraphics Ltd.

is published by:Caribbean PR Agency#268 Harold Fraser Circular, Valsayn, Trinidad and Tobago, W.I.T/F: (868) [email protected]

2013. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher.

On our CoverDelegates and presenters at the Youth Forum on Climate Change, December 7, 2013 - Trinidad and Tobago.

A personal message from Christiana Figueres to the youth delegates at the Third Annual Youth Forum on Climate Change in Trinidad and Tobago.

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From the Editor

UN Climate Change Conference in Warsaw

The third annual Youth Forum on Climate Change

Message - Minister of the Environment and Water Resources, Trinidad and Tobago

Message - Executive Secretary, UNFCCC

Message - Editor, Earth Conscious magazine

Youth Forum on Climate Change - Declaration 2013

Profile - Ministry of the Environmentand Water Resources, Trinidad and Tobago

Young Voices

The importance of being empowered

Life beyond the treeline

Germany and ECLAC sign protovol for structural change based on equality and sustainability

Norway contributes US$10M to support cliimate services for adaptation in Africa

BioCarbon Fund launches US$280M initiative for sustainable forest landscapes

Record high for global greenhouse gas emissions

Ocean acidification may increase by 170 per cent this century

December 2013

2 Earth Conscious December 2013

The Conference of Parties (COP 19) held last month in Warsaw, Poland attracted numerous controversies but all that is now behind us as countries work towards building on the various outcomes from the two-week long meeting.

It was the second time that the meeting was held in Warsaw and the 2013 conference attracted over 8,000 participants including 4,000 government officials, over 3,500 representatives from UN bodies and agencies, intergovernmental organizations and civil society organizations and more than 650 members of the media.

Negotiations were focused on the implementation of agreements reached at

previous meetings, including pursuing the work of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action.

The meeting which came to an end a day after it was scheduled to close adopted an ADP decision that invites parties to initiate or intensify domestic preparations for their intended nationally-determined contributions, and resolves to accelerate the full implementation of the Bali Action Plan and pre-2020 ambition.

Parties also adopted a decision establishing the Warsaw international mechanism on loss and damage, and the “Warsaw REDD+ framework,” a series of seven decisions on REDD+ finance, institutional arrangements and methodological issues.

You can read a lot more about the different outcomes in this edition of Earth Conscious as well as the response from various organisations.

The other big news for us was the 3rd annual Youth Forum on Climate Change which was organised by Earth Conscious magazine and held in Port of Spain on December 07.

It was attended by scores of young people who were not shy about getting deep into discussions about the impact of climate change on two major sectors: water and agriculture.

Again, you can read more about it in this edition.

May I also take this opportunity to thank our advertisers and readers for their support of our digital magazine and may you continue to adopt sustainable practices in 2014 as we continue to take care of Mother Earth.Best wishes to you and yours.

Linda Hutchinson-JafarEditor

The UN Climate Change Conference in Warsaw ended with a promise of keeping governments on a track towards a universal climate agreement in 2015 and including significant new decisions that will cut emissions from deforestation and on loss and damage.

“Warsaw has set a pathway for governments to work on a draft text of a new universal climate agreement so it appears on the table at the next UN Climate change conference in Peru. This is an essential step to reach a final agreement in Paris, in 2015,” said Marcin Korolec, President of the COP19 Conference.

In the context of 2015, countries decided to initiate or intensify domestic preparation for their intended national contributions towards that agreement, which will come into force from 2020. Parties ready to do this will submit clear and transparent plans well in advance of COP 21, in Paris, and by the first quarter of 2015.

Countries also resolved to close the pre-2020 ambition gap by intensifying technical work and more frequent engagement of Ministers.

The conference also decided to establish an international mechanism to provide most vulnerable populations with better protection against loss and damage caused by extreme weather events and slow onset events such as rising sea levels. Detailed work on the so-called “Warsaw international mechanism for loss and damage” will begin next year.

UN Climate Change Conference in Warsaw keeps governments on a track towards

2015 climate agreement

“We have seen essential progress. But let us again be clear that we are witnessing ever more frequent, extreme weather events, and the poor and vulnerable are already paying the price,” said Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

“Now governments, and especially developed nations, must go back to do their homework so they can put their plans on the table ahead of the Paris conference,” she said.

In addition, governments provided more clarity on mobilizing finance to support developing country actions to curb emissions and adapt to climate change. This includes requesting developed countries to prepare biennial submissions on their updated strategies and approaches for scaling up finance between 2014 and 2020.

The Warsaw meeting also resulted in concrete announcements of forthcoming contributions of public climate finance to support developing nation action, including from Norway, the UK, EU, US, Republic of Korea, Japan, Sweden, Germany and Finland.

Meanwhile, the Green Climate Fund Board is to commence its initial resource mobilization process as soon as possible and developed countries were asked for ambitious, timely contributions by COP 20, in December next year, to enable an effective operationalization.

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Cutting emissions from deforestation

The agreements included a significant set of decisions on ways to help developing countries reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and the degradation of forests, which account for around one fifth of all human-generated emissions. The Warsaw Framework for REDD+ is backed by pledges of US$280 million financing from the US, Norway and the UK.

President Korolec said: “I am proud of this concrete accomplishment. We are all aware of the central role that forests play as carbon sinks, climate stabilizers and biodiversity havens. Through our negotiations we have made a significant contribution to forest preservation and sustainable use which will benefit the people who live in and around them and humanity and the planet as a whole. And I am proud that this instrument was named the Warsaw Framework for REDD+.”

Further progress in help for

developing nations

In Warsaw, a milestone was passed after 48 of the poorest countries of the world finalized

a comprehensive set of plans to deal with the inevitable impacts of climate change. With these plans, the countries can better assess the immediate impacts of climate change and what they need in the way of support to become more resilient. Developed countries, including Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland have also paid or pledged over US$100 million to add to the Adaptation Fund, which has started to fund national projects.

Governments completed work on the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN) so that it can immediately respond to requests from developing countries for advice and assistance on the transfer of technology. The CTCN is open for business and is encouraging developing countries to set up focal points to accelerate the transfer of technology.

Climate action at all levels

COP19 has been a showcase for climate action by business, cities, regions and civil society. The UNFCCC secretariat also celebrated its annual Momentum for Change lighthouse activity awards for climate actions that demonstrate positive results through innovative finance, by women and the urban poor.

Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary, UNFCCC and Marcin Korolec, President of the COP19 Conference.

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In addition, Momentum for Change launched a new initiative focusing on contributions by information and technology sector to curb emissions and increase adaption capacity.

“A groundswell of action is happening at all levels of society. All major players came to COP19 to show not only what they have done but to think what more they can do. Next year is also the time for them to turn ideas into further concrete action,” Ms. Figueres said.

2014 New York Summit/

next UNFCCC meeting In Warsaw, UN Secretary General Ban

Ki-moon reiterated his invitation to all governments, and leaders from finance, business, local government and civil society, to a climate summit in New York on 23 September 2014. This will be a solutions summit, complementing the UNFCCC negotiations. “I ask all who come to bring bold and new announcements and action. By early 2015, we need those promises to add up to enough real action to keep us below the internationally agreed two degree temperature rise,” he said.

The next UNFCCC meeting of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform is to take place in Bonn from 10 to 14, March, 2014.

About the UNFCCC

With 195 Parties, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has near universal membership and is the parent treaty of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.

The Kyoto Protocol has been ratified by 192 of the UNFCCC Parties. For the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, 37 States, consisting of highly industrialized countries and countries undergoing the process of transition to a market economy, have legally binding emission limitation and reduction commitments.

In Doha in 2012, the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol adopted an amendment to the Kyoto Protocol, which establishes the second commitment period under the Protocol. The ultimate objective of both treaties is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that will prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system.

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Global Civil Society

UN Climate Talks Achieve Virtually NothingRich Countries Continue to Block International Climate Action

Global civil society vowed to redouble their efforts to raise the alarm bell on the failure of governments to confront the planetary emergency of climate change as the UN Climate Summit closed twenty-four hours behind schedule.

“Civil society walked out on mass of the Warsaw climate talks to highlight that fossil fuel industry lobbyists have too many governments in their pockets - those lobbyists would be delighted with their return on investment...” Asad Rehman, Head of International Climate, Friends of the Earth EWNI said.

Emission Cuts“The blocking by rich industrialised countries has been disgraceful. They blocked any reference to a specific number on pollution controls, such as the 40% called for by the IPCC. Similarly they rejected a target on financing of $70 billion by 2016. The ratcheting up of pre-2020 action is an equally important outcome of these negotiations and yet countries led by the US refused to have any specific numbers included on pollution targets and finance. An abysmal moral failure by the richest people in human history.” Meena Raman, negotiations expert at Third World Network said.

“The agreement here is for countries to discuss their contributions to the international effort toward the ultimate objective of the Convention. That means that post-2020 contributions will have to add up to avoid 1.5C of warming. The negotiations next year will have to grapple with the emissions budget required and how to share it fairly based on

historical responsibility and capacities, if the world is truly to avoid dangerous climate change.” Meena Raman, negotiations expert at Third World Network said.

Clean Versus Dirty Energy “People across the world were clear this was to be a clean versus dirty energy conference. There was a chance to choose clean energy but the word energy is nowhere in the ADP text. Instead there’s another technical talk shop. Why not listen to people who have real people-focused energy solutions and raise them up. There was a concerted push for a globally funded feed-in-tarriff here but that call from the poorest people in the world, those with no access to energy, was roundly ignored. Another victory for the fossil fuel corporations, who just so happen to be the official sponsors of the conference.” - Asad Rehman, Head of International Climate, Friends of the Earth EWNI.

Climate Finance“This so-called ‘finance roadmap’ lacks a specific number as that was blocked by the US and others entirely. It provides none of the clarity required and predictability required. In Warsaw rich governments have refused to recognise their legal and moral responsibility to provide international climate finance.” - Lidy Nacpil, director, Jubilee South, Asia Pacific Movement on Debt and Development.

Kumi Naidoo, Executive Director, Greenpeace International, being interviewed by the press


Mr. Delano Bart, St. Kitts and Nevis. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and Permanent

Representative to the United Nations.

“St. Kitts and Nevis numbers among those most vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. We have a population of fewer than 50,000 people and a landmass of 105 square miles, with the majority of settlements based on the coasts. We are particularly concerned about the present and future implications for health, infrastructure, water security, and food and nutrition security.

Climate change is the greatest global challenge of our time. It is of significant concern to us that while we continue to negotiate a global agreement, emissions continue to rise to record levels. St. Kitts and Nevis joins other small island developing states, in calling for urgent and ambitious action.”

Synopsis of statements from Caribbean Community countries to the High Level Segment of the United Nations Climate Change Conference,

COP 19 and CMP 9, Warsaw, Poland

Mr. Kenred Dorsett, Bahamas. Minister of the Environment and Housing.

We are a small archipelagic nation of 350,000 people. The need to replicate and repair critical infrastructure throughout our islands, is paramount to my nation’s ability to adapt to climate change. We must operationalise and capitalise the green climate fund.... now! More importantly, vulnerable states like the Bahamas must be given access to such funding mechanisms.

Per capita income cannot be the primary criteria for eligibility for funding, as it does not reflect the real economic and fiscal challenges of developing countries.

The Bahamas needs your help! We are not fully able to adapt to or mitigate the loss and damages associated with climate change induced processes. We are losing territory, livelihood and lives, and we call upon this COP, to make a decision to implement an adequate mechanism to address loss and damage.

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Mr. James Fletcher, Saint Lucia.Minister for Sustainable

Development, Energy, Science and Technology.

While no single weather event, no matter how severe, can be ascribed solely to climate change, it is clear that global warming resulting from human actions is serving as a trigger for the intensification of such events.

Coming from a part of the world where hurricanes frequently leave a trail of death and destruction, it is painful and frightening for us in the Caribbean to face the reality that the worst is yet to come. It is even more depressing when we have to admit that this bleak future is the direct result of the sluggishness of the global response to climate change.

At this Conference, we are expected to take actions that will meaningfully advance the process of realising a new global climate agreement by 2015. But have we really made any progress or have we, to use a Caribbean phrase, been merely ‘spinning top in mud’?

Ms. Lisel Alamilla, Belize. Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and

Sustainable Development.

Adaptation is now an imperative for our sustainability. Belize is a low lying coastal state with a fringe of islands and cays extremely vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change and climate variability. The livelihoods of our people are persistently threatened by floods that destroy homes, roads and bridges while leaving communities isolated.

Recurrent droughts have affected agriculture and our electricity sectors. During the past decade, Belize has been severely affected by six major hurricanes leaving many homeless in already impoverished areas, and destroying critical transport and energy infrastructure. These storms wreaked havoc in our agriculture and forest sectors resulting in millions of dollars in loss and damage.

Belize is entrusted with the largest Barrier Reef System in the Northern Hemisphere, a system that includes three of the four atolls in the Caribbean and over a thousand cays. It is estimated that the reef systems provide $395 - $559 million US dollars in goods and services. However, this World Heritage site is being threatened by higher sea temperatures and ocean acidification caused by increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the ocean.

Adaptation is costly for my country. Critical climate change financing is needed to move Belize towards a climate resilient and low carbon future of sustainable development.

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The top United Nations official has called on foreign ministers to prioritize the environment in domestic politics and contribute to climate financing as a way of moving towards a new global climate change agreement by 2015.

“This can do more than anything to unlock the huge investment necessary for climate change adaptation and mitigation,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told a ministerial-level meeting on the margins of the UN-led climate change talks in the Polish capital, Warsaw last month.

“We must send the right policy signals,” Mr. Ban said, adding that the development of high-impact opportunities would unlock

Ban - “Climate finance is essential to addressing climate change”

clean energy investments, close the viability gap between green and fossil fuel-based projects and de-risk renewable energy and low-carbon investments.

He called for public finance, private finance, and support to the Green Climate Fund as three areas for common action.

“Smart public financing can encourage local and international private investments,” the UN chief said, urging investors and companies to join forces with the public sector.

Mr. Ban also with chief executives and senior representatives attending the inaugural Caring for Climate Business Forum being held alongside the UN Climate Change Conference in Warsaw.

The Forum was launched by UN Global Compact, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) secretariat, and UN Environment Programme (UNEP).

“The bulk of institutional investors’ assets are in high0carbon investments,” noted Mr. Ban.

“These investors have the power – and I believe the responsibility – to do their part in transforming the global economy and settling us on a safer path.”

Mr. Ban also called for support to the recently established Green Climate Fund, which functions under the guidance of the Conference of the Parties (COP), and supports projects, programmes, policies and other activities in developing countries.

In addition, the Fund also aims to strengthen national ownership and enable countries to develop the capability and institutions needed to use climate finance effectively.

The UN chief described the current state of the new entity as “an empty shell” and called for it to be brought into full operation “as soon as possible” so support could be provided to developing countries’ adaptation and mitigation efforts.

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Earth Conscious hosts 3rd Youth Forum on Climate Change

Earth Conscious magazine hosted the third annual Youth Forum on Climate Change held at the Capital Plaza, Port of Spain in early December.

The 2013 Youth Forum themed ‘Impact on Livelihoods: Water & Food Security’ focussed on agriculture and water resources, two major sectors that are already adversely impacted by climatic changes.

The objectives of this year’s Youth Forum were:

• Knowledge Sharing on Impact of Climate Change on Food Sustainability & Access to Water

• Modify Behaviours & Attitudes to Land & Water Resources

• Influence Policy Change in the use of Land and Water Resources

Youth delegates between ages 13-25 were drawn from a number of schools and tertiary institutions as well as from agencies across Trinidad and Tobago.

The day’s programme included a keynote address from Ms. Lynn Patterson, Director, Corporate Responsibility of Royal

Bank of Canada (RBC) who spoke about the importance of water to people, business and nature and a presentation from Ms. Diana Francis from the IICA who looked at the impact of climate change on agriculture.

It also included a panel discussion on the impact of climate change on water which was moderated by Mr. Steve Maximay.

The broader objectives of the Youth Forum on Climate Change aim to engage and empower youth to develop and pursue innovative ideas aimed at addressing the issues of climate change and its potential negative impact on our society, beginning at the personal and community levels. Within this context, there are three key objectives: Awareness, Leadership and Action:-

• To build awareness among youth on issues of the environment and climate change

• To foster the next generation of leadership in sustainable development and climate change adaptation

• To encourage environmental action



n September 27, 2013, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the leading international body for the assessment of climate change, released the first instalment of its Fifth Assessment Report (AR5), on the science of climate change. The report shows that human influence on the climate system is clear. It is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century. The evidence for this has grown, as a result of better and more frequent observations and improved climate models.

The main messages from the report include:• Warming in the climate system is unequivocal - Each of

the last three decades has been successively warmer at the Earth’s surface than any preceding decade since 1850.

• Heat waves are very likely to occur more frequently and last longer

• Over the period 1901 – 2010, global mean sea level rose by 0.19 metres.

• The atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide have increased to levels unprecedented in the last 800,000 years. Carbon dioxide is the major global warming gas and its concentrations have increased by 40% since pre-industrial times, primarily from emissions from the combustion of fossil fuel used for energy.

Senator The Honourable Ganga SinghMinister of the Environment and Water

Resources, trinidad and Tobago

The 2013 Youth Forum themed ‘Impact on Livelihoods: Water & Food Security’ will bring together the youth of Trinidad and Tobago to facilitate discussions on these two critical sectors that are already adversely impacted by climatic changes, and will be further impacted based on the above projections. The objectives of this year’s Youth Forum are:• Knowledge Sharing on Impact of Climate Change on Food

Sustainability & Access to Water• Modify Behaviours & Attitudes to Land & Water Resources• Influence Policy Change in the use of Land and Water

ResourcesThe broader objectives of the Youth Forum on Climate Change aim to engage and empower youth to develop and pursue innovative ideas aimed at addressing the issues of climate change and its potential negative impact on our society, beginning at the personal and community levels. Within this context, there are three key objectives: Awareness, Leadership and Action:• To build awareness among youth on issues of the

environment and climate change• To foster the next generation of leadership in sustainable

development and climate change adaptation• To encourage environmental action

It is envisioned that this forum will provide the opportunity for youth to engage, learn and network while facilitating the exchange of ideas. It is anticipated that a platform will be developed for action and execution of these ideas through future collaboration with the public and private sector.

As the results from the latest and best available science become clearer, the challenge becomes more daunting, but simultaneously the solutions become more apparent. The continued emission of greenhouse gases will cause further warming and changes in all components of the climate system and limiting climate change will require substantial and sustained reductions of greenhouse gas emissions.

The Government will play its part by setting the policy framework, but everyone has a critical role to play whether through lifestyle adjustments or changes to business processes. Every individual effort, such as buying more energy efficient appliances, taking public transport, and using less energy, will count. We need to work together to ensure that Trinidad and Tobago remains a clean and green paradise; one which current and future generations are proud to call home.


thank the Trinidad and Tobago Youth for Climate Change for inviting me to provide a written

statement to the Annual Youth Forum on Climate Change. I welcome this opportunity because two things are clear: we must act now on climate change and action by young people is crucial to meeting the climate challenge.

The world is waking up to the need for urgent action on climate change. The conclusions of the recent IPCC Fifth Assessment Report, our most up-to-date look at the science of climate change, are alarming. We have record greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere and are still on track to exceed acceptable temperature rises. Business as usual is a fundamental threat to the life-support systems of development – our energy system, our economic system, our agricultural system and our land management system. In short, without immediate action on climate change, we jeopardize our ability to provide food, water and viable economic opportunity to the world’s growing population.

Young people are proving to be a critical component of climate action. Two years ago, I addressed Trinidad and Tobago’s First Youth Forum on Climate Change and challenged Generation C, or Generation Climate, to use the powerful tools of the Internet, communication technology and social media to make your voice heard on climate change. The results speak for themselves. The voice of youth is infusing the climate conversation as information is shared across platforms and across continents. Governments are enacting more and more climate friendly policies. Businesses are offering more and more climate friendly goods and services. We see record levels of accountability and transparency.

You have proven you are capable of linking up with like-minded people and getting your message heard. This forum is an opportunity to build on that success and explore how to best use and share knowledge, how to make your voice louder, and how to make your message stronger. Now is the opportunity for Generation C to turn their attention and talent to climate action that helps guarantee every person has access to food, water and Youth economic opportunity. We must do this for our planet and for future generations. You have a central role to play and must continue to make sure your voices carry, across the oceans and into the rooms where major decisions are made.

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economic opportunity. We must do this for our planet and for future generations. You

have a central role to play and must continue to make sure your voices carry, across the

oceans and into the rooms where major decisions are made.

Christiana Figueres

UNFCCC Executive Secretary

You have proven you are capable of linking up with like-minded people and getting your message heard. This forum is an opportunity to build on that success and explore how to best use and share knowledge,

Christiana FigueresExecutive Secretary

UN Framework Convention on

Climate Change (UNFCCC)


ear Youth Delegate,It is my pleasure to welcome you the third annual Youth Forum on Climate Change which is helping to shape the next generation of leadership in sustainable development and climate action.

The Youth Forum offers a unique opportunity for youth to become game changers and to engage with each other towards the sustainable development of our country – by informing policy and influencing decision-making at all levels.

More than 50 percent of the world’s population is younger than 30 years and you are part of that huge percentage that will dictate, direct and determine the survivability of the planet.

That’s why today, we are looking to you for new ideas, new thinking and new answers for the myriad of problems - social, economical, political and environmental that continue to confront our societies.

I urge you to use your creativity, energy, vitality and optimism to lead the debate and drive decisive action by fully participating in the Forum and ongoing discourse.

This year we are exploring a major challenge facing our country, the Caribbean region and indeed the world – sustainable water resources. Climatic changes are also having huge impact on food and livelihood, the other issue that is under focus by the Youth Forum. Your advocacy on these two issues is of critical importance at this time.

I want to encourage many more of you to become climate change ambassadors and to take the message to your peers at schools, to your families and your communities. Write your Member of Parliament, pen a letter to the newspaper and send corporate T&T a strong message to protect and preserve the environment.

For the emerging professionals coming from the university level, we encourage you to become agents of change for sustainability.

We all have our part to play in making our country and our planet a healthy place.

We hope you can be part of that movement that is already gaining momentum among young people throughout the world.



KEYNOTE SPEAKER FOCUSES ON CLIMATE IMPACT ON WATER

Lynn Patterson, Director, Corporate Responsibility of Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) was the keynote speaker at the 2013 Youth Forum on Climate Change.

Her presentation focused on the importance of water to

people, business and nature.

Ms. Patterson, a Canadian national, oversees RBC’s

global corporate responsibility strategy, including programs,

communications and reporting. She is responsible for strategy

and communications for the RBC Blue Water Project and the

RBC Believe in Kids Pledge. The RBC Blue Water Project was

launched in 2007 to help create a culture of water stewardship,

and to date, the company has supported more than 600 not-for-profit water protection

organizations worldwide, with donations of more than CA$33million.

Ms. Patterson has more than 25 years experience in corporate communications, and

was a contributor to “Better by the Drop: Revealing the Value of Water to Canadian

Agriculture’, published by the Blue Economy Initiative in 2013.

Youth delegates and presenters at the Forum on December 7, 2013


WE, the delegates of the Third Youth Climate Change Forum held in Port of Spain Trinidad and assembled at the Capital Plaza Hotel this 7th day of December 2013;

REPRESENTING the youth of Trinidad and Tobago;

CONCERNED about Trinidad and Tobago’s ability in the face of global climate change, to attain a functioning state of sustainable development in terms of food security and continuous access to adequate and clean water resources supply for all;

AWARE of the important role that young citizens must will play as future leaders, decision makers and the inhabitants of the world;

RECOGNISE that there is an inextricable link between climate change and access to water resources and food security;

KNOWING that access to fresh water is critical to the well-being of citizens, for agriculture, food security, health and economic development viability and that Trinidad and Tobago as well as the Caribbean region faces significant challenges in providing sustainable access to food and water for all; UNDERSTANDING that due to our small size, competition for depleted water resources and inadequate food supply will create a multitude of social and environmental pressures associated with competition for the use of the water;

APPRECIATING that there is an absence of policy and legislation that are responsive to the current crisis or that adequately satisfy a more sustainable approach to food security and water management;

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COGNISANT that current policies and legislation are outdated and not known to the average citizen;

RECOGNISING that the Integrated Approach to Water Resources management as a strategic approach imperative to a more sustainable water sector and better livelihoods;

REALISING that we the youth pay the heaviest price for short-sighted water policies and the lack of effective governance in the management of water resources and food supply;

HEREBY AFFIRM our support for the concepts and tenets of sustainable development and call on the Governments of Trinidad and Tobago and other Caribbean states to focus their efforts to ensure better management for our already stressed water resources, and to implement relevant and responsive food security programmes and policies. As representatives of the youth sector we call on our government to RECOGNISE the necessity of updating current legislation governing water resource management and food security, and to ensuring fully engage youth and other members of the proper public participation in the pursuit of such legislation. especially from the youth population;

We COMMIT to educating ourselves and others on the impact of climate change on water resources and food security and to use our personal and collective action to advocate for policy change that will achieve increased food security and more sustainable water resources management.

In this regard we will work collaboratively with government and civil society to ESTABLISH water banks, encourage rainwater harvesting in water stressed areas, promote backyard gardening, encourage certification of farms, advocate for ecologically sound practices in agriculture, support environmental clubs in schools, and a youth led forum that will closely interact with the government on environmental issues that represent an unbiased true representation of the youth citizenry of Trinidad and Tobago.


The Ministry of Planning and Sustainable Development (MP+SD) under the leadership of the present Minister, Senator the Honorable Dr. Bhoendradatt Tewarie; and Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Arlene McComie is the primary vehicle for alignment of activities of the government’s Seven Pillars for Sustainable Development . These pillars are; People Centered Development, Poverty Eradication & Social Justice, National & Personal Security, and Use of Information & Communication Technology, Creating a Diversified & Knowledge Intensive Economy, Good Governance and Foreign Policy.

Obligations of the Ministry embrace the coordination of the National Framework for Sustainable Development, as well as, the systematic execution of key projects to fulfill the selected strategic initiatives for the planning period 2011 – 2014.

Moreover the Ministry is responsible for the National Framework for Sustainable Development; Economic Management, Planning, Coordinating, Monitoring, Priority Setting and developing the Nation’s Five Growth Poles; Coordinating and Monitoring Strategic Plans; National Human Development; National Innovation System; National Manpower Planning; Population; National Statistics; Town and Country Planning and Urban Development; Technical Co-operation (Projects and Programmes); the Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP) and the Public Sector Maintenance Programme (PSMP). Under the Ministry’s portfolio, there are Statutory

Boards and other bodies, namely, the Advisory Town Planning Panel, the National Population Council, the Council for Competitiveness and Innovation, the Economic Development Board, the Caribbean Industrial Research Institute (CARIRI), the Chaguaramas Development Authority and the East Port of Spain Development Company Limited. To facilitate the conduct of its operations, the Ministry is organized intofunctional divisions/units which target the specific areas of its portfolio, namely:• Town and Country Planning Division• Socio Economic Policy Planning Division• Central Statistical Office• National Transformation Unit• Planning and International Cooperation Unit• Project Planning and Reconstruction Division• European Development Fund• Technical Cooperation Unit

At present the Ministry is involved in the realignment of its strategy to the new national economic direction which incorporates the National Innovation System and Competitiveness Initiatives, confronting the challenging aspects of economic diversification. One such initiative is the hosting of the VIII Americas Competitiveness Forum (VIII ACF) which is the largest forum for government, business and other institutions to focus on issues of competitiveness in the western hemisphere. Trinidad and Tobago is the smallest country to host the ACF and this will take place on October 8-10, 2014. Everyone is invited to be a part of this.

Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources

Profile


Young VoicesBy Jordan Brandon Jafar

A Note from Jordan

The Youth Forum on Climate Change

Our magazine, Earth Conscious earlier this month organised the third annual Youth Forum on Climate Change where hundreds of young people had a chance to engage in discussion about climate change impact on water and agriculture.

I was very impressed with the speakers at the one-day conference but at the same time, I was very concerned about the impact of climate change on these two very valuable resources.

We heard from Ms. Lynn Patterson, Director of Corporate Responsibility for RBC who spoke about water being a major issue for everyone in the world, especially with climate change impact and population growth.

Ms. Diana Francis from IICA also gave some startling information when she spoke about the impact of climate change on agriculture.

Do you see a future where we might be eating bugs as food? Well, that’s a real possibility!

The information coming from these two speakers and others at the Forum really gave food for thought for young people like me who were there.

The Forum brought the information to the youth delegates and hoped to instil a sense of awareness of climate change impact on these sectors among young people.

The Forum urged young people to get involved in the debate and take action on climate change – and just don’t leave it to someone else to do.

I think many of us left the Forum more fortified that although we are young people, we have power in our hands. We have power to put pressure on the governments to adopt the best policies in our interest; to put pressure on corporations to act sustainably and we have the power in our hands to decide whether we want to support products that use unsustainable inputs like a lot of plastic and dye.

The Forum has certainly left me empowered to do more for my environment and my planet.

Jordan thinks deep fried bugs might taste great!Diane Francis

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In the Caribbean, there is a very important focus on young people. Organisations, both private and governmental, have formed several youth driven initiatives in order to groom young people to become future successes. This emphasis on the youth may have been absent in the previous years, but there is a realisation that young people can play a key role in the definition of sustainable development.

The Importance of Being EmpoweredBy Shahad Ali

While our elders would try their best to guide us along a path to help sustain our own future, we also have the responsibility to remain focused and empowered.

Securing the needs of the future is probably one of the most challenging aspects of sustainable development. Young people are the ones who will carry on the legacy of our own nations. Investments into health care, social well being and our education have become the forefront of regional news. It is without a doubt that most established organisations have been trying very hard to get young people more involved, however are we responding?

Earth Conscious Magazine has also been heavily involved in the investment of young people. One such investment is the yearly National Youth Climate Change Forum in Trinidad and Tobago. The forum provides an avenue for young people to not only be properly informed about the issues of Climate Change, but it also gives them a platform to voice their many concerns as young people.

What I have come to realise is that a lot of young people are afraid to act upon their own suggestions. This in itself is sad, because people of the Caribbean carry too much pride to not act upon anything we suggest. I come bearing gifts of advice. It may sound cliché, but according to one of my very good friends, clichés are what they are, because they are

true. Young people of the Caribbean are far too intelligent to let their voice be heard, but their actions not seen or felt. The world is far too competitive to allow ourselves to fall short.

Believe in yourselfThis is as cliché as it gets. If there is no belief in who you are; you would not get very far with respect to anything in life. When we make our suggestions to develop our future, make it your reality. Make it your future! We are the ones who have to live in the world tomorrow. If we do not stand up and act on our own suggestions, no one will!

Be entrepreneurs While I was attending the University of the West Indies (St. Augustine), the past dean of the Faculty of Science and Agriculture Dr. Dyer Narinesingh, said something to me that would always stay with me forever. He told me that too many students come out of Universities looking for jobs, when in reality we all should be creating jobs.

I admit that many of our education systems may not facilitate this but having an entrepreneurial vision to create, inspire and motivate is a direction that interests me.

Act!Action is probably the key message of my entire column this quarter. Speaking at a forum, must always be justified with action. We may be very capable of speaking on an issue, but at the end of the day, do we share an action plan? This is not just about your thoughts on how we can get the job done, but also about what you can do to help get your thought or suggestion be pushed into the realm of reality. Keywords: Think! Talk! Act!

Be confidentBecoming an empowered youth is very challenging. You have to be well informed, updated and well networked among your peers. It all seems to be a mouthful when we speak about the issues that are close to our hearts, but to make the process easier, confidence needs to be ever present. We as young people must always have the confidence to achieve the impossible, so that when the impossible faces us, we will always have the solution!

“If there is no belief in who you are; you would not get very far with respect to anything in life. When we make our suggestions to develop our future, make it your reality. Make it your future! We are the ones who have to live in the world tomorrow. If we do not stand up and act on our own suggestions, no one will!” Youth delegates speaking out at the

Youth Forum on Climate Change in Port of Spain, Trinidad. 07.12.13


The inspiration for this article came from a summer road trip to the United States of America earlier this year. As we drove through the Northern states it was amazing to see the mountains covered in a carpet of green which seemed to stop abruptly before reaching the top. This was quite a fascinating sight to one coming from the tropics where the hills and valleys are covered in lush green vegetation.

The treeline of mountains indicate the boundary at which conditions ideal for tree growth, survival and reproduction cease. From a distance it looks as though the treeline forms a sharp and clearly defined border but as one gets closer, one can see that it is by no means a distinct line but rather a transitional zone, between vegetation types. There are many different types of treelines some of which are defined by geology and others by ecology. Treelines exist in different ecosystems as well for instance those found in deserts, Artic, Antarctic or alpine. This article will mostly concentrate on alpine treelines and the conditions found there as well as the flora and fauna that are found in the region beyond the treeline.

On mountains, the treeline usually ends from between 800 to 5,200 metres above sea level, with the lowest alpine treelines occuring in places which already have quite extreme conditions like cold for example, Norway and Sweden. The highest treelines (5,200 m) is in

By Jo-Anne Nina Sewlal

the Bolivarian Andes. Treelines also tend to be lower on north facing slopes compared to south facing slopes which have less sun so they are colder. However the treelines on mountains in the same country vary depending on the temperature for instance, some provinces in Canada like British Colombia. The reason being that the warm wind

sucks out the moisture from any exposed branch not covered in snow.

Alpine treelines are the focus for this article since it is the highest elevation at which trees can survive. The climate above treeline is called alpine climate and the terrain is regarded as alpine tundra. The environment above the treeline is similar to the Artic and as such there are conditions which limit the amount of biodiversity found here. The conditions that form the alpine treeline are mainly influenced by temperature. As the altitude increases, the temperature decreases and the growing condition becomes less hospitable.

So in order for the metabolic processes that control tree growth to occur, there must be a temperature maintained between 5 to 7oC. Temperature is also a factor in stem development as in very cold conditions trees will not develop stems. The cold can also damage the tissue of plants causing physiological stress, by withdrawing moisture and the water freezes in the cells causing damage to them.


The low temperatures also limit the development of new tissue. Energy is also needed for new tissue growth obtain via photosynthesis, however this growth may be further hampered by low temperatures.

But there are other possible causes for the development of a treeline which include disturbance, as the plants are constantly being damaged by animals munching on them. Heavy winds and the weight of snow on their branches can also cause them to break. The length of the growing season is also an important factor as a very short growing season also means that the tree cannot develop a stem. Some other factors that influence the presence of a treeline include fungal diseases associated with snow. Another cause for the development of treelines is the extremity of the conditions present for instance, where the conditions are too extreme for trees to grow such as around hot springs or volcanoes due to the heat, acidity or salinity.

So what lives beyond the treeline? Grasses and wildflowers thrive in this area and during the summer liven up these mountain tops with an array of colour. Animals such as pikas which are small rodents live in burrows in the rocks and hibernate during the winter. Mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus) which is more closely related to antelopes are also found here. Many bird species are found in the northern tundra are also present here as well as the conditions are similar.

But how are these animals able to call such a harsh environment home? First of all it is very cold, so that the animals that live here have very thick fur. Some develop a thick layer of fat so that their bodies can survive off of this while they hibernate such as the Hoary Marmot (Marmota caligata) which are related to pikas but more so to groundhogs. Alpine salamanders are black which allows them to absorb as much heat as they can. The short growing season of plants means that there is a shortage of food. To get around this some animals like the pika store food in their rocky burrows.

Some animals on the other hand have special adaptations to get to their food, like the Rocky Mountain goat where its hooves have a rubbery underside that gives it traction and allows it to grip the rocks on cliffs so that it can reach food almost inaccessible to other animals. This environment is quite barren which means fewer places to hide so that biodiversity is low. Those that do live here are well adapted like the snow leopard whose white coat allows it to blend in against the snow and pounce on unsuspecting prey. Finally there is a shortage of oxygen because the air gets thinner the higher one goes. The llama has adapted by having a greater number of red blood cells compared to other animals, so that it can circulate more oxygen through its blood.

The conditions here are very stressful on plants so that the trees growing closer to the border become shorter and shorter until the conditions are so harsh that they stop growing. But the trees survive wind at the edge of the tree line are called krummholz trees which is German for “twisted wood” forming low mattered bushes which survive as their covering of snow insulates them from the harsh temperatures.

Mountain Goat (Oreamnos americanus). wikipedia.org


So it comes as no surprise that the plants that live there also have special adaptations to help them survive in this environment, such as hairy leaves which insulate the leaves and thus prevent them from drying out in the wind. Many plants also have twining and twisting root systems to help anchor them so that they will not get blown away.

In addition to wind, shortage of food and oxygen. As I mentioned earlier the growing season is very short so that in order for plants to get a head start, many flowering plants start growing as bulbs underground.

Therefore if temperature is such an important influencing factor this begs the question of how will climate change affect treelines? The main cause of climate change is the excess production of greenhouse gases like methane and primarily carbon dioxide which have the ability to trap heat close to the planet’s surface. So it is predicted that the Earth’s temperature will rise.

Trees also depend on carbon dioxide as the fuel for photosynthesis which is how trees get their energy. Often you would see that pines or

conifers are those that make up the tree line which is because they are best adapted to cold conditions. A study done by the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF) on the effects of carbon dioxide and soil warming on two tree species Pine and Larch, showed that for Pine, a warmer climate increased growth while for Larch, growth was limited by carbon dioxide.

Therefore the effects of climate change appear to be species specific. However, do not expect that the treeline will change overnight due to climate change as trees at the tree line have a slow metabolic rate and are long-lived so that if there is a change it will be quite a while before it is seen. So the next time you see a mountain vista in a magazine or on the television just bear in mind that there is a whole world above the treeline and not just snow and bare rock.

Jo-Anne works with the Dept of Life Sciences, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad.

She wonders if Bigfoot lives up there.



UNESCO Panel Recognizes Critical Role of Mountain Regions in Water Security

Water resources in mountainous areas play a critical role in agriculture, biodiversity, hydroelectricity and water supply, according to a High Level Panel Session organized during the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) 37th General Conference. The panel, titled ‘Climate Change Impacts on Water Resources and Adaptation Policies in Mountainous Regions,’ recognized the high sensitivity of mountains to climate change and discussed strategies for coping with climate change impacts on water resources in mountainous areas.

Glacier retreat, and its effect on water availability and quality, is among the most significant of environmental changes in mountainous regions, according to the Panel. Glacier retreat increases natural hazard risks, such as floods and landslides and impacts river flow and variability, affecting downstream water supplies. The phenomena also impacts mountain biodiversity, including cloud forests, grasslands, montane forests and wetlands, which plays a critical role in ecosystem services, such as preventing erosion, reducing flood risks, filtering water and improving water quality.

Irina Bokova, UNESCO Director General, underscored the importance of “monitoring glacier mass balance and snow cover” to better understand glacier retreat impacts. UNESCO’s International Hydrology Programme (IHP) 2014-2020 programme will, inter alia, evaluate the impacts of climate change on water resources and develop adaptive strategies.

The panel recommended increased collaboration between scientific communities and policymakers to develop adaptation options and strategies. It further recommended that UNESCO-IHP collaborate with scientists around the world to establish a scientific and technical base for the sustainable management of water resources impacted by climate change. Panelists also supported regional cooperation to develop shared monitoring systems on glaciers, snow and permafrost and to exchange experiences across mountain regions.



Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Alicia Bárcena has signed a protocol with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) aimed at boosting structural change based on equality and sustainability.

On behalf of Germany, the agreement was signed by Ingolf Dietrich, Deputy Director for Latin America and Global and Sectoral Affairs of BMZ, and has three main axes: innovation for sustainable structural change; social and climate protection; and sustainable energy policies and fiscal environmental policy.

The Structural change for equality and sustainability programme lists actions and objectives that are expected to be achieved in each area.

The protocol, which covers the period 2014-2016, provides continuity to the cooperation between ECLAC and BMZ, which since 2006 has led to the implementation of four biennial programmes.

This new agreement signed in November strengthens the strategic partnership forged by ECLAC and BMZ over the past 30 years on the basis of shared values aimed at supporting integration efforts, boosting technical and policy dialogue between Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean, and promoting sustainability in the region.

Following the signing of the protocol, the Executive Secretary travelled to Berlin to deliver an address on “Structural change for equality: challenges and opportunities for Latin American and Caribbean development in the 21st century” in the BMZ offices to an audience of German Government authorities, accredited diplomats and civil-society representatives.

Germany and ECLAC Sign a Protocol for Structural Change Based on Equality and Sustainability

In her speech, Alicia Bárcena emphasized that ECLAC proposes growth for equality and equality for growth. In other words, economic growth, environmental sustainability and equality must go hand in hand.

According to Ms. Bárcena “Equality involves spreading capacity building, technical progress, full labour opportunities and universal access to social safety nets and benefits throughout the production structure and the social fabric.”

The Executive Secretary underlined the fact that macroeconomic policy and industrial policy cannot continue along separate paths, but rather they must link to build synergies as part of humankind’s greatest technological revolution (involving new information and communications technologies).

Ms. Bárcena stated that this was the only way for civilization to tackle the climate insecurity hanging over the planet that will have a particularly strong effect on island nations such as those in the Caribbean. She affirmed the need for states to be more active and decisive when it comes to policies with a universalist focus.

The Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Alicia Bárcena, and the Deputy Director for Latin America and Global and Sectoral Affairs of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Ingolf Dietrich, sign in Bonn a protocol for structural change based on equality and sustainability. Credit: ECLAC


#268 Harold Fraser Circular, Valsayn, Trinidad and TobagoTel: (868) 645-0368 . Email: [email protected]; [email protected]

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The World Meteorological Organization has partnered with leading research, UN agencies and humanitarian organizations to launch the Climate Services Adaptation Programme in Africa in an effort to increase the climate change resilience of some of the world’s most vulnerable countries.

The programme, funded by a grant of US$ 9,750,000 from the Government of Norway is the first multi-agency initiative to be implemented under the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS). It represents a unique approach that includes natural and social scientists as well as large development and humanitarian agencies working on the ground in a bid to ensure that climate services are tailored to the practical needs of the user community.

The challenges are huge. An estimated 70 nations, including many of the Least Developed Countries, have inadequate or no climate services and are ill-equipped to meet the challenges of both natural variations in the climate and human-induced climate change.

WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud and State Secretary Hans Brattskar of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs signed the agreement during the annual climate change conference taking place in Warsaw.

“The Climate Services Adaptation Programme in Africa is a model of how a wide range of partners can unite to ensure that the benefits of scientific advances reach those who are most at risk from weather and climate-linked hazards,” said Jarraud. “The funding from Norway will allow us to roll out climate services to help African countries adapt to our changing climate and to increase resilience to droughts and floods and other extremes.”

Norway contributes US$10 million to support climate services for adaptation in Africa

“Africa is the continent most vulnerable to a wide range of impacts of climate change. Africa is already facing a decrease in food production, floods and inundation of coastal zones and deltas, as well as the spread of waterborne diseases and malaria. Often it is the most vulnerable people that suffer the most, and there is an urgent need for effective and coordinated action. Norway firmly believes that with this multi-agency climate services program, we can deliver climate services to those vulnerable people and also contribute to strengthening the global framework as the knowledge and action hub of climate services,” said Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Børge Brende.

The provision of more and better climate services will allow farmers to fine-tune their planting and marketing strategies based on seasonal climate forecasts; empower disaster risk managers to prepare more effectively for droughts and heavy precipitation; assist public health services to target vaccine and other prevention campaigns to limit climate-related disease outbreaks such as malaria and meningitis; and help improve the management of water resources.

Michel Jarraud, Scretary General,World Meteorological Organization

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These activities all contribute to appropriate adaptation planning to a changing climate.

The main countries to benefit initially will be Malawi and the United Republic of Tanzania. The programme will build on existing climate services in food security, nutrition and health, and disaster risk reduction at national, local and regional level. It is intended that the Climate Services Adaptation Programme will become operational in other African countries in the future and will serve as a model for other parts of the world.

“The Norwegian support for the GFCS project in Malawi will enable consideration of how to better meet user needs in Malawi, and provide opportunity to make progress,” said Mr. Jolamu L Nkhokwe, Director of Climate Change and Meteorological Services in Malawi. “While a great emphasis in Malawi has been placed on the ability to forecast large-scale rainfall patterns, it is a known factor that users often request tailored packages that integrate a variety of information, including more detailed features of the expected rainfall, other climate variables, and information about the consequences of the expected climate. Within this project, a number of simple methods of statistical downscaling of the large scale climate product will be turned into the type of rainfall information requested by many users in Malawi.”

Dr. Agnes Kijazi, Director General of the Tanzania Meteorological Agency, said “The Programme will be a significant opportunity for enhancing availability of wide range of data and assuring better access to all available data and information. Furthermore, the programme will empower the meteorological agency to better serve our key customers, in particular the agriculture sector and the authorities responsible for disaster management in the country. This in turn will contribute to improved food security and disaster management for the country.”

The Climate Services Adaptation Programme in Africa is implemented by seven partner organizations: WMO; the CGIAR Research Programme on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS); the Centre for International Climate and Environmental Research – Oslo (CICERO); the Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI); the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC); the World Food Programme (WFP); and the World Health Organization (WHO).

There is growing momentum towards the provision of climate services in both developed and developing countries alike within the context of the Global Framework for Climate Services. This is a country-driven initiative to provide accurate and accessible climate services to users such as disaster management authorities, water and energy utilities, public health agencies, the transport sector, and farmers, as well as the community at large.

This new programme is building on achievements made under another Norwegian supported programme. The GFCS Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction in Africa programme started in 2011 with the aim of contributing to the amelioration of weather and climate related disasters and to climate change adaptation in Africa through operationalizing the Global Framework for Climate Services. Tangible impacts obtained so far with Norwegian support include the holding of roving seminars for farmers in 17 different African countries, during which the farmers have received information about weather and climate, future climate change and the implications in their region, climatic risk in production of different crops in their region and better risk management.

The World Meteorological Organization is the United Nations System’s authoritative voice on Weather, Climate and Water.


Three nations are funding a major new BioCarbon Fund initiative to support forest landscapes. The funding pledge was announced during an event at the recently-held United Nations’ climate summit in Warsaw, known as COP19.

Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States together committed US$280 million – up to $135 million from Norway, $120 million from the U.K, and $25 million from the U.S. – as part of their efforts to slow climate change.

The initiative will be managed by the BioCarbon Fund, a public-private program housed within the World Bank that mobilizes finance for activities that sequester or conserve carbon emissions in forest and agricultural systems.

The investment comes on the heels of a report showing that the Earth lost an area the size of Western Europe to deforestation over the last decade, a trend that speeds up global warming.

The growing threat of climate change underscores the need for more holistic land use programs – all with the goal of benefitting

the environment as well as local communities.The new Initiative for Sustainable

Forest Landscapes seeks to scale up land-management practices across large landscapes, including improved livestock management, climate-smart agriculture, and sustainable forest management, with a focus on protecting forests and greening and securing supply chains.It will engage a broader range of actors, including the private sector, initially through a portfolio of four to six programs in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

“The fate of the climate, forests, and agriculture are bound together. If agriculture and land-use change continue to produce up to 30 percent of global greenhouse gases, it will mean further disaster and disruption from climate change”, said Rachel Kyte, the World Bank’s vice president of sustainable development. “That’s why the new BioCarbon Fund Initiative for Sustainable Forest Landscapes it so important. Its grants and results-based financing aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the land sector, through REDD+, climate-smart agriculture practices and land-use planning.”

BioCarbon Fund Launches US$280 Million Initiative for Sustainable Forest Landscapes

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/11/14/these-maps-show-where-the-earths-forests-are-vanishing/

http://www.worldbank.org/content/dam/Worldbank/document/SDN/BioCF_ISFL_Flyer.pdf

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In Oromia, for example – a region that contains 60 percent of Ethiopia’s forests – technical and financial support will be provided for a range of connected interventions: Sustainable agricultural practices will increase productivity, new markets for timber and non-timber forest products will be developed, and more efficient cook stoves be delivered to families.

“We have learned a lesson,” says Ato Yitebitu Moges, National REDD+ Coordinator for Ethiopia. “For forestry preservation to be successful, a paradigm shift needs to occur on how we manage our land and forest resources. We need a more holistic approach.”

To be able to scale up climate-friendly land use practices, there’s a general agreement that the private sector must be on board. Companies can provide capital, innovation, operational resources, and valuable technical expertise to accelerate the greening of supply chains.

Engagement and support of the private sector therefore lies at the core of the new BioCarbon Fund initiative.

In fact, corporations such as food and health products giant Unilever, Mondelez, andBunge have been deeply involved from its inception, spearheading a new model of engagement.

“This is exactly the type of initiative that we are delighted to support. We need to find new forms of public-private partnership to address global challenges such as deforestation,” said Paul Polman, Unilever’s chief executive officer. “Multilaterals like the World Bank play a critical role in catalyzing these new business models and Unilever is interested to learn how we can participate and partner with the BioCarbon Fund.

The fate of the climate, forests and agriculture are bound together. If agriculture and land use change continue to produce up to 30 percent of global greenhouse gases, it will mean further disaster and disruption from climate change. That’s why the new BioCarbon Fund Initiative for Sustainable Forest Landscapes it so important.

Rachel Kyte Vice President for Sustainable Development, World Bank

http://www.unilever.com/

http://www.bunge.com/


RECORD HIGH for Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions

The 2013 climate conference in Warsaw, Poland, which was intended to lay the groundwork for a global climate agreement in 2015, stands in sharp contrast to the continued growth in emissions of greenhouse gases.

Negotiators and activists alike confront not only the fact that carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions reached the highest annual total to date, but also a shifting geographic distribution of emissions. The international community must take swift action, concludes a new Vital Signs Online trend released by

New Worldwatch Institute report critically examines global greenhouse gas emissions

the Worldwatch Institute (www.worldwatch.org). According to the Global Carbon Project, CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion and cement production reached 9.7 gigatons of carbon (GtC) in 2012, with a ±5 percent uncertainty range, and may reach 9.9 GtC in 2013. The 2012 value is 58 percent higher than emissions in 1990, the year often used as a benchmark for emissions trends. Coal (43 percent) and oil (33 percent) accounted for the majority of these emissions, with natural gas (18 percent), cement production (5 percent), and flaring (1 percent) making up the remainder.

Recent U.S. government and World Bank moves to limit international financing for new coal projects signal a desire to shift away from this particularly carbon-intensive resource. For now, however, coal remains a major driver of CO2 emissions, accounting for 54 percent of the emissions increase in 2012.

Coal use is rising in countries currently undergoing energy sector transitions. Coal-

related emissions increased in Germany (4.2 percent) and Japan (5.6 percent)-both of which are phasing out nuclear power plants. Oil, gas, and cement accounted for 18 percent, 21 percent, and 6 percent of the global increase in 2012 respectively.

Although CO2 is the primary greenhouse gas emitted through human activities, it is not the only one with significant warming effects.

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Other major long-lived greenhouse gases include methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). Each gas’s contribution to climate change depends on such factors as the length of time it remains in the atmosphere, how strongly it absorbs energy, and its atmospheric concentration

Fossil fuel combustion, together with deforestation and land use change, has pushed the mean atmospheric concentration of CO2 to approximately 393.9 parts per million (ppm) in 2012, an increase of more than 40 percent since 1750 and of 24 percent since the Scripps Institution of Oceanography began keeping detailed records in 1959.

Scientists have suggested that the CO2 concentration will need to be reduced to at least 350 ppm if we hope to

maintain a climate similar to that which has supported human civilization to date. Atmospheric CO2concentration increased by 2.2 ppm in 2012 alone, exceeding the average annual increase over the past 10 years. And the Scripps Institution’s measurements indicate an average of 396.2 ppm for the period of January to September 2013, implying an even greater increase this year.

Although the parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change agreed in 2010 that the increase in average global temperature since the pre-industrial period must be kept below 2 degrees Celsius, many projections now put the climate on track for warming that is significantly above that. The Global Carbon Project foresees a “likely” increase in temperature of

3.2-5.4 degrees Celsius. A World Bank report projects an approximate 20 percent likelihood of exceeding a 4 degrees Celsius increase by 2100 if current mitigation commitments and pledges are not fully implemented.

Emissions data also highlight the shifting geographical and historical complexity that makes international negotiations so contentious. The global distribution of emissions in 2012 looked very different than it did in 1990, when the Kyoto Protocol was established. At that time, industrial countries accounted for 62 percent of emissions; by 2012, that figure had dropped to 37 percent, reflecting rapid industrialization and development in emerging economies and shifting patterns in production and consumption.


Marine scientists launched a major new report on ocean acidification at COP 19 in Warsaw. The summary for policymakers concluded that if emissions continue on the current trajectory, the acidity of the world’s oceans may increase by around 170 per cent by the end of the century, bringing significant economic losses. People who rely on the ocean’s ecosystem services – often in developing countries – are especially vulnerable.

The authors of the report agreed on ‘levels of confidence’ in relation to ocean acidification statements summarising the state of knowledge.

Ocean acidification may increase by 170 per cent this century

Very high confidence• Ocean acidification

is caused by carbon dioxide emissions from human activity to the atmosphere that end up in the ocean;

• The capacity of the ocean to act as a carbon sink decreases as it acidifies;

• Reducing carbon dioxide emissions will slow the progress of ocean acidification;

• Anthropogenic ocean acidification is currently in progress and is measurable;

• The legacy of historical fossil fuel emissions on ocean acidification will be felt for centuries.

High confidence• If carbon dioxide emissions

continue on the current trajectory, coral reef erosion is likely to outpace reef building sometime this century;

• Cold-water coral communities are at risk and may be unsustainable;

• Molluscs (such as mussels, oysters and pteropods) are one of the groups most sensitive to ocean acidification;

• The varied responses of species to ocean acidification and other stressors are likely to lead to changes in marine ecosystems, but the extent of the impact is difficult to predict;

• Multiple stressors compound the effects of ocean acidification.

Medium confidence• Negative socio-

economic impacts on coral reefs are expected, but the scale of the costs is uncertain;

• Declines in shellfisheries will lead to economic losses, but the extent of the losses is uncertain;

• Ocean acidification may have some direct effects on fish behaviour and physiology;

• The shells of marine snails known as pteropods, an important link in the marine food web, are already dissolving.

The new report includes infographics showing ocean pH in 2100 (high emissions scenario) and Aragonite saturation in 2100 (high emissions scenario) summarising some of the key conclusions. The summary for policy makers was led and published by the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme and is the result of the world’s largest gathering of experts on ocean acidification ever convened. The Third Symposium on the Ocean in a High CO2 World was held in Monterey, California in September 2012 and was attended by 540 experts from 37 countries. The summary was launched at the UNFCCC climate negotiations in Warsaw on Monday 18 November, for the benefit of policymakers at an event organised by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission.


http://www.igbp.net/publications/summariesforpolicymakers/summariesforpolicymakers/oceanacidificationsummaryforpolicymakers2013.html

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March 2013 ISSN 2070-4593 June 2013 ISSN 2070-4593 September 2013 ISSN 2070-4593 December 2013

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