2006 |
2005
Environment
reforms must accelerate to reach 2015 poverty goals
15 December 2006 — Egypt, Peru, Vietnam and Mongolia
are among a number of countries taking the lead in putting the environment
at the heart of their plans to cut poverty by 2015, according to
a new report launched by UNDP in partnership with UNEP. However,
unless more governments take more ambitious steps to protect the
natural world, overall development goals will be jeopardized, according
to the Report.
"Developing-country governments must recognize and address
the natural world’s central role in poverty," said UNDP
Administrator Kemal Dervis.
Top
Insurer Highlights Dire Consequences of Climate Change
21
November 2006 — Global reinsurer SwissRe has been named
'Business Leader of the Year' by Scientific American magazine for
its commitment and leadership in the area of sustainability, most
notably the Climate
Change Futures (CCF) project,
developed with UNDP and Harvard
Medical School's
Center for Health and the Global Environment.
This three-year study and report
examined the health, ecological and economic risks of climate instability,
highlighting
the potentially disastrous economic consequences of climate change.
The 'Climate
Change Futures' report outlines recent trends in climate and
severe weather and traces the possible effects of two different
climate change scenarios on prospects for heat waves and flooding,
infectious and chronic disease, and managed and natural resources.
Both scenarios are based on unchecked greenhouse gas emissions.
Helping
Africa adapt to Climate Change
15
November 2006 — A bold new initiative to secure a greater
share of the international carbon finance market for the world’s
poorest countries was announced today by UNDP and the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP) at the climate convention talks in
Nairobi.
World
water and sanitation crisis urgently needs a Global Action Plan
9 November 2006 — A Global Action Plan under
G8 leadership is urgently
needed to resolve a water and sanitation crisis that causes nearly
two million child deaths every year. This year’s
Human Development
Report was launched
in Cape Town, South Africa on November 9, 2006.
More on UNDP's
work on Water and Development.
MDG
Support Services - Energy Costing Tool
23
October 2006, New York - A
crucial part of developing MDG-based national development strategies
is MDG costing, which quantifies the specific financial and human
resources needed, as well as infrastructure required, to meet the
MDGs. UNDP's Energy Costing Tool has been designed specifically
to help government planners and decision makers estimate the amounts
and types of energy investments required to meet the MDGs.
Biodiversity for Development
20
September 2006, Paris - As
part of the 'Biodiversity
in European Development Cooperation'
conference, UNDP co-chaired a workshop with the World Conservation
Union (IUCN) on “Ecosystem services in national development
and poverty reduction strategies”, designed to explore options
to support partner countries in their needs to integrate ecosystem
services into national development plans and strategies to meet
the MDGs. More...
Investing in Water for Poverty Reduction
20-26
August 2006, Stockholm - As
part of this annual global meeting place for capacity development,
partnership-building and follow-up on the implementation
of international processes and programmes in water and development,
UNDP convened a seminar entitled 'What’s
Water Worth?', with WHO and other organisations, making the
economic case for investing in water to encourage poverty reduction
and economic growth; water should be viewed as a solution, not a
hurdle, for national development. More...
New Report: Energy Services for the Millennium Development
Goals
3 May 2006, New York - 2.4 billion people
remain without access to modern energy services. A new report highlights
the importance of increased access to energy services for reaching
the MDGs. Speaking at the launch, Jeffrey Sachs
said, "Without increased investment in the energy sector, the
MDGs will not be achieved in the poorest countries." This report
is a call to action to provide higher quality and larger quantities
of energy services in order to meet the MDGs. More...
Energizing the MDGs: UNDP at CSD-14
1 May 2006, New York - UNDP lead a number of events at
the fourteenth session of the UN
Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-14), which meet at
UN Headquarters in New York from 1-12 May 2006. As the first year
of the second implementation cycle, CSD-14 reviewed progress in
the following areas: Energy
for Sustainable Development; Industrial Development; Air pollution/Atmosphere;
and Climate Change.
More...
Biodiversity's role in achieving the MDGs
20 March 2006, Brazil - UNDP participated
in the 8th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention
on Biological Diversity in Curitiba, including hosting a side event
on "Incorporating
Biodiversity into National MDG Strategies: Lessons from experience",
offering countries a forum to share lessons and insights on how
to integrate biodiversity targets and commitments into national
development plans and strategies to meet the MDGs. More...
Water distribution must be improved
9 March 2006, Mexico - Mismanagement, limited resources
and environmental changes mean that almost one-fifth of the planet's
population still lacks access to safe drinking water, according
to the new UN World Water Development Report, presented at the 4th
World Water Forum in Mexico City. More...
International Conference on Chemicals Management
6 February 2006, Dubai
- UNDP supported the development of SAICM and participated
in the International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM),
hosted by the Government of the United Arab Emirates. The conference
resulted in the adoption of the Strategic
Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) which
includes: a high level declaration, overarching policy strategy
and a global plan of action. More than 100 government representatives
agreed to SAICM initiatives that aim to position countries in the
direction of reaching the 2020 WSSD
goal on using and producing chemicals in ways that minimize adverse
effects to health and the environment.
More...
2005 News Archive
UNDP's MDG Carbon Facility
7 December 2005 - At a UNDP side event at Montréal 2005,
leaders and experts from Annex I and non-Annex I governments,
multilateral agencies and the private sector discussed this new
initiative, which is an innovative mechanism designed to channel
increased carbon finance toward projects that contribute directly
to meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in developing
countries - with a special focus on least developed countries.
The Facility will provide a unique product in the carbon offsets
market, supplying tangible, broad-based MDG benefits not usually
available through other offset products. For more information
about this event, please read the
Earth
Negotiations Bulletin coverage.
More...
United Nations Climate Change Conference – Montréal
5
December 2005 - This historic conference represents the first
ever Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (MOP-1) since
its entry into force in February 2005. The MOP was held in parallel
to the 11th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (COP-11).
In
addition to the MDG Carbon Facility side event (above), UNDP also
hosted a panel discussion on the Contribution
of Energy Efficiency Standards to Reducing Global Emissions,
bringing together six of the world’s leading experts on energy
efficiency standards and labels. UNDP-GEF has considerable experience
implementing Standards
and Labels (S&L) activities in a range of developing countries,
and UNDP believes that energy efficiency standards and labels offers
one of the lowest cost options for reducing GHG emissions, increasing
energy security and contributing to socioeconomic development. However,
a more concerted international effort is now needed to coordinate
and implement S&L activities. More...
Climate Change Futures: Health, Ecological and Economic
Dimensions
1
November 2005 - A new report, the result of a 3-year project
in collaboration with Harvard Medical School’s Center for
Health and the Global Environment, supported by Swiss Re and UNDP,
was launched today in New York. This international, multidisciplinary
scenario-building project evaluated health, environmental and economic
damages from climate change and associated extreme weather events
based on a set of climate projections and development trajectories.
UNDP’s goal is for this study to provide critical information
that will help countries better adapt to and cope with climate change
and lessen its impact on their ecosystems, health, and livelihoods.
Because of climate change’s potentially devastating impacts
on biodiversity and people, particularly in the developing world,
this initiative makes an important contribution to countries’
efforts to meet the MDGs. More...
Environment
for MDGs Policy Dialogue
14 September 2005 - Major development and environment
agencies came together during the 2005 World Summit to call for
the significant scaling-up of worldwide investment in environmental
management as an essential addition to the global strategy to
eradicate poverty. Through two “Environment for the MDGs”
events, including an afternoon Policy Dialogue and an evening
Head of State Dinner, the agencies that form the Poverty-Environment
Partnership (PEP) were joined by distinguished guests from
throughout the world to remind all those taking part in this historic
summit that a lack of such strategic investment, and the resulting
potential for unchecked environmental degradation, will undermine
progress made in other fields toward achieving the MDGs. These
events are part of a broader PEP initiative on "Environment
for Achieving the MDGs". Webcast...
Promoting Access to Legal Protections for the World's Poor
13 September 2005 - The High Level Commission on Legal
Empowerment of the Poor is a new independent global initiative
co-chaired by former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright
and Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto. Commission members include
Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa, U.S. Supreme Court Justice
Anthony Kennedy, former Presidents Fernando Cardoso of Brazil
and Mary Robinson of Ireland and Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin
Ebadi of Iran. The Commission’s work is based on the conviction
that broadening the rule of law and ensuring users’ and
property rights for the poor and marginalized populations leads
to economic and social empowerment. More...
26
August 2005 - UNDP’s new publication highlights the important
role that energy and ecosystem services play in providing the poor
with the means to improve their livelihoods, as well as protecting
nature’s capacity to provide invaluable ecosystem services upon which
economic growth depends. The book is a comprehensive compilation of
UNDP’s work in each of its 166 programme countries, demonstrating
how local communities from Kenya to Syria, Guatemala to Mongolia are
working to create sustainable livelihoods while contributing to addressing
global environmental 2001–2010. More...