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| Title | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|
Carbon intensity of world economy on the riseThe latest edition of the Low Carbon Economy Index finds that the world economy is going backwards rather than forwards in efforts to limit global warming to 2º Celsius as agreed during the Cancun round of climate change talks last year. |
11 Nov 2011 | News briefs |
Disaster resilience key to green economyA strong push from the UN Environment Programme for green investments to protect key sectors of the economy from crises and shocks has earned praise from private companies keen to reduce disaster risk. |
16 Nov 2011 | News briefs |
UNISDR champion receives "Asian Leaders Award" for climate change advocacyUNISDR champion Senator Loren Legarda received the Asian Leader Award for Environment Policy, Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation last week. The award was given by publishing company Seagull Philippines, which held its 1st Seagull Philippines Asian Leaders Awards ceremony for Excellence, Best Values and Social Responsibility, at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati City last Friday. |
16 Nov 2011 | News briefs |
IPCC negotiates in climate challenged UgandaSporadic light rain fell this morning on the vastness of Uganda’s Lake Victoria as Alex Bakunda MP, chairman of the Ugandan Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, chatted with local fisherman, Babalanda Yusuf, about the difficulty of making a living from fishing in Africa’s largest body of fresh water. |
17 Nov 2011 | News briefs |
IPCC and UNISDR welcome new report as historic contribution to understanding disaster riskThe Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, Margareta Wahlström, today issued the following statement welcoming the approval in Kampala, Uganda, by the IPCC member States of the Summary for Policy Makers of the Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX). |
18 Nov 2011 | Press release |
IPCC puts risk reduction at centre of climate debateThe Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has put disaster risk reduction at the centre of the climate change debate with the weekend publication of its Summary for Policymakers of the Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (IPCC SREX). |
21 Nov 2011 | News briefs |
IPCC SREX important for Hyogo Framework implementation says NorwayIt was over three years in the making but after one final all-night negotiation in Kampala last Friday, the IPCC Summary for Policymakers of the Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX) was agreed by the member governments clearing the way for the publication of the full report early next year. |
23 Nov 2011 | News briefs |
Action plan for disaster risk reduction takes shape in the Arab regionThe League of Arab States (LAS) and UNISDR move one step closer to a plan of action on disaster risk reduction for the Arab region. The action plan is expected to be endorsed at the first-ever Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in the Arab region planned for 2012. |
23 Nov 2011 | News briefs |
IPCC authors speak out on special reportFollowing agreement on the Summary for Policymakers, the authors of the 800-page Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX) will be busy between now and the end of the year reconciling the changes agreed by IPCC member governments to the Summary with the text of the nine final chapters which will make up the SREX when it is published early next year. |
25 Nov 2011 | News briefs |
OECD warns of irreversible, catastrophic climate changeDespite the goal set at the Cancun climate talks last year to stabilize the global average temperature increase at 2°C, a forthcoming report of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) 'Environmental Outlook to 2050' warns that global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions continue to increase. |
25 Nov 2011 | News briefs |
Alpine cities feel heat from climate changeIn Tyrol, Austria, a poster showing a green valley with snow-capped mountains in the distance greeted delegates to a conference on climate change – a beautiful summer scene which hides a potential nightmare scenario for winter tourism in the alps. |
29 Nov 2011 | News briefs |
Invest today for a safer tomorrow says President ZumaSouth African President, Jacob Zuma, borrowed the UNISDR slogan "invest today for a safer tomorrow" when he spoke today at the opening of the Durban Local Government Convention which aims to develop an Adaptation Charter this weekend which will feed into the high-level segment of the UNFCCC-COP17 climate change negotiations. |
2 Dec 2011 | News briefs |
ICLEI takes the lead on climate changeLocal Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI) is the driving force behind a major effort to have the voices of cities and local governments heard at the UNFCC-COP17 climate negotiations in Durban. |
2 Dec 2011 | News briefs |
DRR and climate change adaptation key to reducing extreme weather eventsLinking disaster risk and climate change is key to reducing the impacts of extreme weather events that have increasingly been on the rise, according to a high level debate today at the Climate Change talks in COP-17 in Durban. The discussions were part of a UNISDR side-event showcasing experiences on climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction (DRR). |
3 Dec 2011 | News briefs |
Adaptation Charter – good start to the weekThe Durban Climate Change Adaptation Charter for Local Government adopted yesterday was hailed by UNISDR Chief, Margareta Wahlstrom, as "the best possible start to a critical week in the life of this planet when we so urgently need real leadership on mitigation and adaptation." |
5 Dec 2011 | News briefs |
UNISDR welcomes local government focus on climate adaptationThe Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Disaster Risk Reduction, Margareta Wahlström, today welcomed the Durban Climate Change Adaptation Charter for Local Government agreed yesterday by Mayors from around the world as "the best possible start to a critical week in the life of this planet when we so urgently need real leadership on mitigation and adaptation. |
5 Dec 2011 | Press release |
Risk reduction must be priority in COP17 talks says IPUParliamentarians from around the world gathered in Durban, South Africa, yesterday to press for progress in the COP17 climate change negotiations and called on the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) "to prioritize disaster risk reduction and capacity building as cross-cutting issues and to give them the utmost attention." |
6 Dec 2011 | News briefs |
UNISDR launches policy brief on building resilience in AfricaAccording to a new UNISDR policy brief launched today at the Durban COP 17, although African countries are committed to reducing flood and drought risks, current investments are found to be wanting, particularly in development sectors. |
6 Dec 2011 | News briefs |
Turn the science into action on climate change says UNISDR ChiefUNISDR Chief, Margareta Wahlström, told an exclusive gathering of 35 eminent scientists and politicians from around the world at the COP 17 in Durban that "there is a huge need to translate the best science on climate change into practical action." |
7 Dec 2011 | News briefs |
No climate fund, No poverty reduction?The President of the African Development Bank, Donald Kaberuka, told a major forum at the COP17 talks in Durban yesterday that ”failing to fund climate change is failing to fund poverty reduction.” |
8 Dec 2011 | News briefs |
Mexico City brings some good news to COP17While good news remains in short supply from the main climate change talks here in Durban, there is a growing sense that local government is taking the lead on mitigation and adaptation without waiting for their central governments to direct their efforts. |
8 Dec 2011 | News briefs |
Durban decision imminent on Green Climate FundTen years after the first Funds were established to support adaptation activities in developing countries, the world, and Africa in particular, is waiting to see if a deal can be brokered this weekend at the UN Climate Change Conference in Durban which would amount to a quantum leap in the finance available to reduce disaster risk in countries bearing the brunt of climate change. |
9 Dec 2011 | News briefs |
Venice braces for climate changeIt's one of the world's greatest cultural attractions. About 20 million tourists pour through its streets each year and travel its waterways. Venice, Italy, sits at sea level, and any changes in the mean sea level leaves the city open to floods, endangering the artistic and cultural heritage of this 1,000-year old UNESCO world heritage site. |
13 Dec 2011 | News briefs |
Typhoon Sendong – Chronicle of a disaster foretoldPresident Benigno Aquino of the Philippines today declared a “National State of Calamity” as the official death toll from Typhoon Sendong reached almost 1,000 and 338,000 people remain affected in 13 southern and central provinces. Almost 50,000 people who lost their homes are in shelters. |
20 Dec 2011 | News briefs |
UNISDR and lawmakers agree on global advisory groupMembers of parliament from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Senegal, Uganda and the East African Legislative Assembly came together in Geneva this week to agree on the establishment of a Global Advisory Group for parliamentarians with UNISDR’s Special Adviser on Parliamentarians, Feng Min Kan. |
21 Dec 2011 | News briefs |
DRR exchange between Japan and the PhilippinesUNISDR has organized an exchange visit between the Philippines and Japan, two of the countries worst-affected this year by a series of disasters ranging from a major earthquake which triggered a tsunami and a nuclear meltdown in Japan, and back-to-back typhoons in the case of the Philippines... |
22 Dec 2011 | News briefs |
Funding crucial for national disaster prevention plansIn an era of climate change, countries without national disaster prevention plans will find their cities and municipalities repeatedly engulfed by disasters, warned Philippine Senator Loren Legarda, UNISDR Champion for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation in the Asia Pacific, who said governments should not be “content with post-disaster relief and rehabilitation” alone. |
29 Dec 2011 | News briefs |
Bangkok floods, reducing urban risk in a changing climateAs the Thai capital, Bangkok, recovers from the worst flooding in a century, many are concerned that the disaster may be a sign of things to come amid a changing climate. |
3 Jan 2012 | News briefs |
UN Secretary-General, Assembly President, highlight disaster prevention as key 2012 priorityUN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, in a recent interview, highlighted the prevention of disasters and making the world safer among his 'five generational priorities' for his second term which began on Sunday. |
5 Jan 2012 | News briefs |
Disaster prevention key to stopping climate displacement“The animals are dead. The rivers, lagoons and dams are dry. They have to move to neigbouring countries like Tanzania in search of pastures and water. As they move, they suffer from hunger and they want lie down because they’re tired from having to walk long distances”. These are the words of Jemimah Maitei Kerenge, Maasai filmmaker and an advocate for the dire situation of her drought-devastated people in Kenya. Their ancient culture is being destroyed by climate change and they are being forced to migrate in their thousands out of their ancestral lands into neighbouring countries. |
19 Jan 2012 | News briefs |
The Fourth Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction will take place in Geneva, Switzerland in May 2013.