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Statement from scientists on the need for a joint work programme between the CBD and the UNFCCC

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 Researchers have sent a l etter to the Parties and Presidents of the Conference of the Parties (COP 16) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC, COP29) asking them to initiate processes towards the creation of a much-needed joint policy framework between the CBD and the UNFCCC.  Scientists from #insert your institution# are among the signatories of a letter to the Parties and Presidents of the Conference of the Parties (COP 16) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC, COP29) asking them to make high levels of integration between biodiversity and climate change agendas a priority both in the upcoming COP16 and COP29 and in the years to come. The call was signed by over 140 scientists from nearly 50 countries with expertise in climate change and biodiversity, including a previous UNFCCC COP president, Intergovernmental Science-Polic
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Rachel Kyte appointed as the UK’s Special Representative for Climate

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Rachel Kyte will support ministers to increase senior international diplomatic engagement on climate and clean energy. Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Energy Secretary of State Ed Miliband have announced  Rachel Kyte  as the UK’s Special Representative for Climate. The role, previously left vacant for over a year, has been re-appointed under this administration as part of our ambitions to restore the UK’s role as an international leader on the climate. Ms Kyte is Professor of Practice in Climate Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford and dean emerita of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. She has extensive international climate experience with previous roles including Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and CEO of Sustainable Energy for All, World Bank Group Vice President and Special Envoy for Climate Change as well as Vice President for Sustainable Development at the World Bank and for Business Advisory Services a
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John Scanlon AO Elected As Executive President of the International Council of Environmental Law

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Madrid, October 4: John E. Scanlon AO has been unanimously elected as the new Executive President of the International Council of Environmental Law (ICEL) by its Governing Board. Amongst other roles, he is currently also Chair of the Global Initiative to End Wildlife Crime , CEO of the Elephant Protection Initiative Foundation , and former Secretary General of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). In warmly welcoming Mr. Scanlon as incoming Executive President, ICEL Chancellor and Chief Justice of the National High Court of Brazil, Antonio H. Benjamin said “John brings a unique blend of experience to ICEL, from the courtroom, to river basin management, to global negotiations. He’s been an attorney in legal practice, a political advisor, a chief executive in government, and served in senior roles in the UN”. Chief Justice Benjamin added that “John has been highly influential in the world of e
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Global Science-Policy Initiative Aims to Supercharge Planetary Resilience

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  Republished from Future Earth here.   With a “Key Must-Knows in Resilience Science” report, sustainability researchers from across the world are coming together in a new science-policy initiative. The report will inform UN agencies, governments, civil society, and businesses to build resilience to safeguard the planet. Climate change, biodiversity loss, pandemics and conflicts are leading to unprecedented costs for economies, societies and the planet, threatening the future of humanity. In this new global crisis landscape, practicing resilience is critical to manage high uncertainty and turbulence. But in most cases, resilience is used as a general attribute for recovery or as a path to ‘bounce back’ as fast as possible. At Climate Week NYC 2024, Stockholm Resilience Centre, Global Resilience Partnership and Future Earth, announce a new initiative between science and policy with the ambition to integrate resilience science in decision-making and governance. The first outcome of the s
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OBITUARY William (Bill) Cosgrove

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Below is the obituary posted on digital memory . Before reading I just wanted to say a few words of my own. Bill was a kind and supportive part of the water community who was always helping move forward the agenda and mentoring new people in joining the water community to engage in it. He will be missed by all of us who have spent time working with him and the water community has lost a huge advocate.  OBITUARY William (Bill) Cosgrove (1932-2024)  On September 23, 2024 at his home in Beaconsfield. Devoted husband, partner and best friend to Frances Cosgrove (née Buote). Loving father of Anne-Marie Cosgrove (Juris); Carolee; Christopher-John Cosgrove (Myriam); Sean Cosgrove (Jenny); Ginny Cosgrove (Todd); and Catherine Cosgrove (Philippe). Cherished grandfather and great-grandfather. He will be sadly missed by brothers Paul (Frances) of Brockville, ON, and Ronald (Jane) of Victoria, BC; sister-in-law Suzanne Bulow and brother-in-law Sabin Buote, and by many nieces, nephews, cousins and
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Shorts at San Sebastian Film Festival a disappointment

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In between going to follow the Italian Retrospective I added two sessions of the shorts being shown at the San Sebastian Film Festival. The first was led by Southern Brides – the information we had in the guide said it would be about: “Mature women discuss marriage, their first time, their intimate relationship with sexuality. By repeating these ancient rites, the director questions her lack of wedlock, children and, with it, a chain of disappearing mother-daughter relations.” Good films, whether long or short have a good ark to describe the story they want to tell. Southern Brides did not have that. It would have benefitted from an overview by the filmmaker explaining the intent and what the film was perhaps an ending where she brought together the message, she wanted people to take away. The film was disjointed, and the interviewer clearly had her thoughts which she would at times try and impose on the people she was interviewing. It didn’t clearly keep to the structure of w
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Wild Robot Film

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 The main focus of my 2024 San Sebastian Film Festival has been the  Italian Retrospective which focused on the so-called poliziesco genre. It looked at fascism, terrorism and the mafia - 22 films which I perhaps saw a third of them.  I balanced the political films with a wonderful family movie 'The Wild Robot' by DreamWorks Animation which has produced such classics as Shrek, How to Train Your Dragon, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda and Megamind. Wild Robot is another huge success. As the darker nights descend what better than taking your children to an uplifting film. We are all becoming more aware of AI and Robots and the impact they may have on our lives. Here is one robot that takes a different direction :-)  So what is the story? It is based in the future where a robot from the ROZZUM series made by the Universal Dynamics company finds itself shipwrecked on an uninhabited island.  Roz as the robot is called is designed to serve - but as this is an uninhabited island what is she
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