February 22, 2012
- During the Council meeting on Economic and Financial Affairs, European Finance Ministers adopted conclusions on Climate Finance – Follow-up to the Durban Conference, which address: the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the work programme on long-term finance, REDD+, and carbon pricing of global aviation and maritime transportation.
- The UNEP report, titled “Financing Renewable Energy in Developing Countries: Drivers and Barriers for Private Finance in Sub-Saharan Africa,” outlines the current obstacles to sustainable energy solutions in Africa including the cost of electricity and difficult grid access. The report was released to mark the African launch of the 2012 UN International Year of Sustainable Energy for All.
- The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has released a report titled the “Foresight Report,” which concludes that the most pressing emerging issue facing the planet is the need to align governance to the challenges of global sustainability. The second most pressing issue is defined in the report as the need to transform human capacities for the 21st century, and to move towards a green economy.
- The Ramsar Secretariat has released the first tranche of the draft resolutions for consideration by the 11th meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties (COP 11), which address, inter alia: partnerships and synergies with Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) and other institutions; tourism and wetlands; wetlands and energy issues; wetlands and health: taking an ecosystem approach; and an integrated framework for linking wetland conservation and wise use with poverty eradication.
- The UNCCD Secretariat notes that "zero-net land degradation (ZNLD) can be achieved when, over a given period of time, non-degraded land remains healthy, and already degraded-land is restored," and has indicated that it will provide an analysis of the possible implications and impacts of this target for policy-makers.
- World Tourism Day 2012 will take place under the theme "Tourism and Sustainable Energy: Powering Sustainable Development".
- The 2012 celebration of World Day to Combat Desertification, an annual event on 17 June, will focus on the theme "Healthy soil sustains your life: LET’S GO LAND-DEGRADATION NEUTRAL". In 2012, World Day to Combat Desertification falls three days before the start of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20), and the global observance is planned to take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
- The sixth Aviation and Environment Summit will bring together around 350 industry and stakeholder representatives, in Geneva, Switzerland, to explore ways in which aviation can continue to provide jobs, power economic growth and serve the flying public while minimizing the industry's environmental footprint. The March 2012 Summit will build on the 2008 Summit, which provided a forum for the signing of a declaration on climate action by leaders from across the aviation industry.
- At the MoSEFF award ceremony, seven energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in Moldova were honored. To date, 37 projects, from the agriculture and food-processing to the manufacturing sector, have been funded for a total of €9.26 million in loans that achieve a collective carbon emissions reduction of about 24,178 tonnes annually.
- The latest International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Newsletter features the results of three key events – the Pacific Leader's Meeting, the Second Assembly of IRENA, and the World Future Energy Summit (WFES) – all of which focused on renewable energy strategies at regional and international levels.