URGENT: Will the Obama administration, undermine U.N. role in Doha?

US considers shifting climate negotiations away from UN track

US reportedly looking to move policy debates from the UN's Doha climate conference and towards Major Economies Forum

Click here to read this story in full at The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/nov/16/us-considers-climate-negotiations-un

New offices and hotels in the West Bay and Oneiza district in Doha, Qatar, where climate talks resume in November. Photograph: Nadine Rupp/Getty Images

 

The US is considering a funnel of substantive elements of the Doha Climate Summit away from the UN framework and into the Major Economies Forum (MEF), a platform of the world's largest CO2 emitters, EurActiv has learned.

Since 1992, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has provided an umbrella for talks to curb global greenhouse gas emissions, and on 26 November, will host the COP18 Climate Summit in Qatar.

But it has been confirmed to EurActiv that Washington is increasingly looking to shift policy action to the MEF whose members account for some 85% of global emissions, and which the US views as a more comfortable venue for agreeing climate goals.

If the idea gains traction, it could demote the UNFCCC to a forum for discussing the monitoring, reporting and verification of emissions reductions projects, sources say.

Michael Starbæk Christensen, the deputy head of cabinet for EU Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard, said he expected the US to convene another MEF forum soon which could be fruitful for discussing raised climate ambitions.

"We need to broaden the group to work together on this and whether it is inside our outside the UNFCCC, by all means do it outside," he told a Green Party conference in the European Parliament on 15 November.

"Ideally we would like to see as much happening inside the UNFCCC as possible," he continued, "but if we can engage with the US in other forums, it is the action that counts".
Brussels sees the MEF as a complement - rather than an alternative - to the UNFCCC, and is mindful of giving the newly-elected President Obama time to finesse his climate agenda.

It would be considered a "provocation" if the US was to unilaterally leave the UNFCCC process itself, sources say, and could potentially split the world into rival climate blocks led by Washington and Beijing.

The MEF is a successor to the Major Economies Meetings set up by President Bush, and criticised by several governments for undermining the UN process.

Its participants include: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States...

Click here to continue read this story in full at The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/nov/16/us-considers-climate-negotiations-un

DURBAN SCANDAL: While King Mswati III of Swaziland is a billionaire - UNDP pays to fly ministers of Swaziland to attend Durban and vote on COP17

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#DURBAN SCANDAL: #KingMswati of #Swaziland is a billionaire,@UNDP pays 2 fly his ministers 2 attend #Durban & vote on COP17 @helenclarkundp

CLICK HERE FOR STORY ON SWAZI OBSERVER

UNDP rescues Minister Macford, funds trip to COP 17

THE United Nations Development Fund (UNDP) has rescued government by providing funding for Minister of Tourism and Environmental Affairs Macford Sibandze to attend the Conference of Parties (COP 17) in Durban.
The conference started on Monday. “As part of its support to the country, UNDP is providing technical and financial support to a delegation from Swaziland to attend the global conference in Durban, South Africa.
“The UNDP is particularly pleased that the delegation will be led by the minister of tourism and environmental affairs and confident that their participation would strengthen the country’s systems and capacity for resilience to environmental shocks which often have direct implications on development,” reads a statement issued by the organisation.. The importance and impact of climate change and environment issues on development have increased over the years. Environmental degradation impacts on access to clean water, affordable energy services, causes food shortages and increases poverty.
Pollution due to industrialisation and the burning of fossil fuels has resulted in the depletion of the ozone layer, fuelling climate change and global warming that is resulting in increasingly violent storms, worsening of droughts, unprecedented floods and new diseases.
“These problems will be part of the agenda of the ongoing 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC),” the organisation said. The statement also states that UNDP helps countries increase their capacity for environmental sustainability and disaster risk reduction at the global, national and community levels through sharing best practices, providing innovative policy advice and linking partners through pilot projects.
The organisation also states that UNDP, in collaboration with the Swaziland Environmental Authority (SEA), has undertaken a campaign to remove and dispose of all ozone depleting gases from the environment.
It also reveals that UNDP is also currently supporting the SEA to decommission industrial equipmentcontaining gases that contribute to climate change and replace them with hydrocarbon natural gases.
Further, the organisation supported the deputy prime minister’s office in preparing a disaster management policy and decentralised disaster preparedness plan aimed at preparing local development committees to deal with possible floods, drought and bush fires.
After the 2008 forest fires that decimated commercial forests and crippled the forestry industry, UNDP supported the government develop a multi-sectoral bushfires contingency plan to address the problem at the community level.

KING MSWATI III of Swaziland

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Wealth

Mswati has been criticized for his lifestyle, especially by the media. Following criticism of his purchase of luxury cars, including a $500,000 luxury automobile, he banned the photography of his vehicles. According to the former CEO of the Office of the king, the purchases were personally funded and the king of Swaziland earns a high salary as Head of State, has investments within and outside the country and owns an unspecified amount of shares in different companies within Swaziland^{[citation needed]}.

According to the Forbes 2009 list of the World's Richest Royals, king Mswati is worth a reported $200 Million USD.^[7] This does not include a sum of about $10 Billion USD that his father king Sobhuza II put in trust for the Swazi nation during his reign, in which Mswati III is the trustee.

In January 2004 the Times of Swaziland reported that the king requested his government to spend about $15-million to redecorate three main palaces and build others for each of his 11 wives.^[8] The Prime Minister's Office issued a press statement saying the article in the Times of Swaziland was "reckless and untrue" and that the proposal was for the construction of 5 State Houses, not Palaces, and the cost was only E19.9 million.^[9] Later that year the go-ahead was given to build five new palaces at a cost of more than $4-million out of public funds.^[10]

UNDP: Durban - What is at stake for Africa?

• Date:29 Nov 2011
• Source(s):United Nations Development Programme - South Africa (UNDP South Africa)

At its most fundamental, climate threatens to negate the achievements of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and hinder positive movement in the areas directly related to UNDP’s mandate. Ensuring that developing countries are best able to tackle the many dimensions of climate change is therefore core business for our organization. The mechanisms established by the Cancun Agreements provide new opportunities for countries to develop, finance and deliver climate change programming. UNDP's role will be to help them to make the most of the emerging mechanisms.

Why is the current round of climate negotiations important for Africa?

The current round of climate negotiations, known as 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), will take place in Durban. It is hoped that Africa will be better represented than in the past. As a region, Africa is the least responsible for climate change but it will be most affected. The region has been speaking with one voice but is struggling to be heard. For Africa, the requirements are the same as in previous years. First, countries from the region are asking that global warming be kept below a 1.5 degrees temperature increase by the end of the century – which is almost impossible now given the current trends in emissions. Secondly, African countries are asking that developed and emerging countries (China, India, Brazil, etc.) agree to massively reduce their emissions. The third requirement is for the international community to help Africa adapt to the impact of climate change because its economies are fragile, like their agriculture which is often rain-fed.

What should be the most important message for developed countries?

Developed countries must fulfill their previous commitments. The Bali Roadmap had created opportunities in the area of technology transfers, adaptation, mitigation and financing. On financing, developed countries had estimated the needs at USD 30 billion by 2012 and 100 billion annually by 2020. But the current economic downturn has made it much more difficult to confirm these commitments. Today, some Northern countries are proposing that we should include private sector investments in these global commitments. Africa is calling for new and additional financial commitments.

What are the most important mechanisms which will be discussed in Durban?

In Cancún, one of the agreements was to establish a Green Climate Fund. Since then, a few great ideas have emerged, such as the adoption of an international currency tax to feed that fund. The Adaptation Fund will also be on the agenda, currently financed by a 2 percent levy on all carbon credits, which allow Northern countries to reduce emissions in Southern countries by purchasing emissions permits. The future of the fund will obviously be uncertain if the Kyoto Protocol is not extended. Another issue in Durban will be technology transfers, including the creation of a center and a network devoted to the issue. There is already a consensus and this point will probably constitute a real step forward in the negotiations. Durban will also see further progress on REDD, which allows developing countries to finance their reductions in carbon emissions by protecting their forests.

What is the role of UNDP and can you provide some examples of our work on the ground?

In general terms, UNDP aims to build the capacities of developing countries, particularly in the climate change negotiations. In addition, UNDP assists them in accessing the funds that are being gradually established, helping them to define strategies for developing low- carbon and climate resilient economies.

Another example is our “Boots on the Ground” programme, through which we mobilized 26 climate change focal points from UNDP in the Least Developed Countries, including 14 African countries. This initiative aims to support African decision-makers in their approach and understanding of the problem. Climate change cannot be the sole jurisdiction of Environment Ministries – all government departments must be involved. Tackling climate change involves designing policies on land use, agriculture, the economy, energy, etc. UNDP is also following countries in their application for direct access to international funds, which will allow for more flexibility and better responses to their requests. So far, international funds were available through implementing agencies. Now, we are helping them to meet the fiduciary requirements for direct access. Thus, Senegal became the first African country to identify a national agency that will have direct access to financing from the Adaptation Fund.

Additional information

http://www.undp.org.za/cop17-information/416