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Showing posts from February, 2022

Some thoughts on UNEP@50

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Statement on behalf of the Womens Major Group on the UN Environmental Assembly negotiations on the Sustainable Nitrogen Management

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Presentation by Eirini Pitsilidi Global Head of Food Systems Advocacy from Compassion in World Farming on behalf of the Women's Major Group "We are glad to see that we have reached at such an advanced draft resolution for Sustainable Nitrogen Management. Mismanagement of nitrogen waste is an enormous planetary problem, it exacerbates climate change - the concentration of atmospheric N2O [nitrous oxide] gas is 300 times higher than that of carbon dioxide - it currently is the single most important ozone-depleting emission, it aggravates the loss of biodiversity and ecosystems, increases desertification, it pollutes our water bodies and negatively impacts small farmers and health.  Commodity chains, particularly, feedstock for industrial livestock production, are the main problem.   We therefore regret, that the current resolution no longer shows as clearly, the urgency and the importance for people and planet. We are saddened to see that the proposal to set a clear ta

Guest blog: Are we preparing the funeral of UNEP?

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Guest blog by  Leida Rijnhout , associate Stakeholder Forum, facilitator of the Major Groups inputs into this process since 2017.  Next week we will celebrate UNEP’s 50 anniversary. Two days of special sessions with dialogues and exchange of ideas on where to go with UNEP for the next decades, will be held on Thursday 3 and Friday 4 of March. While member states are getting ready for a big party, at the same time, the same member states are preparing the funeral for UNEP when negotiating the political declaration for the UNEP@50 event. As you may know it was already in 2019 when the UNGA adopted a resolution called 73/333, which the main objective to present “a political declaration on a high-level meeting with a view to strengthening the implementation of international environmental law and international environmental governance, in line with paragraph 88 of the outcome document of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, entitled ‘The future we want’”. Three cons

Guest blog: Time to Bridge the Gap Between Awareness and Action

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Guest blog by Nigel Topping: High Level Champion for Climate Action at COP26. Originally published here. At COP26, our national and global self interests aligned in a way that drove cooperation and resulted in the Glasgow Climate Pact, COP26 President Alok Sharma said in a  recent speech  at Chatham House. That pact is a success. It recognizes the science and calls on countries to phase down unabated coal-fired power and phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies. It asks countries to revisit and strengthen their 2030 emission reduction targets by the end of this year. And it commits countries to scale up climate finance and double finance for adaptation by 2025. “Yet, at the moment they are just words on a page,” Sharma said. “And unless we honour the promises made, to turn the commitments in the Glasgow Climate Pact into action, they will wither on the vine.” And the world is still far off the path to stabilizing global warming at 1.5°C, UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Esp

2022 UNC Water and Health Conference: Science, Policy, and Practice open for proposals for abstracts, side events, plenaries, and the technology showcase session

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We are pleased to announce that we are now accepting proposals for abstracts, side events, plenaries, and the technology showcase session for the 2022 UNC Water and Health Conference: Science, Policy, and Practice. The Conference will take place in Chapel Hill, North Carolina from October 24 – 28, 2022.  Since its founding in 2009, the goal of the Water Institute at UNC has been to inform the way the world works on water, sanitation and hygiene issues by generating the evidence that drives improvements in both practice and policy. Through this period, the Water Institute has remained steadfast in its commitment to improving public health by achieving universal access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WaSH) services that are safe, affordable and sustainable – particularly for the most marginalized. The annual UNC Water and Health Conference is intended to advance these goals by creating a space where policymakers, practitioners and researchers can gather to review the evi

Guest blog: Pressing the Reset Button on the Africa-Europe Relationship

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Guest blog by Inge Kaul has been adjunct professor and is now senior fellow at the Hertie School, Berlin. Previously she served as director of the Human Development Report Office and the Office of Development Studies at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP),  This blog is part of  a series  by CGD ahead of the EU-Africa Summit which will begin on 17 th  February 2022. This series presents proposals for priorities, and commentary on whether a meaningful reconstruction of the relationship between the two continents is likely.  When the European Union (EU)-African Union (AU) summit which will take place in February was cancelled in 2020, background documents had already been prepared, and some are still on the table. This includes the joint communication of the European Commission (EC) and High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (HR/VP) entitled “ Toward a Comprehensive Strategy with Africa ”. This document sets forth what the EU plans to do “w