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Published on 25 March 2015 Global
Research in Nature Climate Change reveals that adaptation measures have the potential to generate further pressures and threats for both local and global ecosystems. Lead researcher Dr Carlo Fezzi, from UEA’s School of Environmental Sciences, said: “Climate change is a just a little bit more complicated than we previously thought. We need to take into account not only the direct impact of climate change…
Published on 25 March 2015 Vietnam
Deputy PM Hai made the warning while addressing a meeting held in northern Bac Giang province on Friday to mark the World Day of Water (March 22). This year, World Water Day carries the theme of “Water and Sustainable Development,” which is aimed at calling on everyone to pay more attention to the important role of water, but also implies a warning about…
Published on 25 March 2015
She said the situation was proven via eight cyclone occurrences in Malaysia last year, four times over land and four times at sea (known as waterspouts). "Previously, cyclone occurrences were rare in Malaysia, but last year, it happened. The probability of cyclone recurrence cannot be predicted as Malaysia does not have the expertise on this," she told Bernama in conjunction with the World Meteorological…
Published on 23 March 2015 Global
At least 1.6 billion people directly depend on forests for food, fuel, shelter and income, but everyone benefits from the clean air, water, and climate regulation that forests provide. Three fourths of freshwater, crucial for human survival, comes from forested catchments. Healthy forests are critical for building resilience -- the ability to bounce back from storms and other natural disasters. Mangrove forests, when left…
Published on 23 March 2015 Vietnam
Could you tell us about the new MoU between Rotterdam and HCM City and the status of the climate-change plan. What has been accomplished and what will be done in the years to come? Rotterdam has been supporting HCM City since 2009 by sharing its own knowledge and experience regarding climate resilience, and in particular by helping HCM City develop an integrated Climate-Change Adaptation…
Published on 19 March 2015 Feature
Governments have agreed to submit these Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) in advance of December’s UN Climate Change Conference in Paris. Many developed and bigger developing countries are expected to do so in the first quarter of this year. But the relatively short deadline for communication of these plans requires intensive work to gather technical and scientific information and conduct consultations at national level…
Published on 19 March 2015 Southeast Asia
In a statement made at the 3rd UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction meeting in Sendai, Japan at the weekend, the Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin explained the importance of meeting the threat posed by disaster risks head-on. The ASEAN region is ready to respond to the challenges posed by natural disasters and extreme weather events, the statement explained…
Published on 19 March 2015 Global
This week, the president of Vanuatu, Baldwin Lonsdale, made the assertion that climate change is contributing to the disaster in Vanuatu. “This cyclone is a huge setback for the country’s development,” Lonsdale told the Third U.N. World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai, Japan, on March 14. “This is why I am attending this conference and why Vanuatu wants to see a…
Published on 19 March 2015
Minister for Foreign Affairs and Law K. Shanmugam announced this at the Third United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction yesterday as he offered Singapore's humanitarian assistance to Vanuatu, the South Pacific nation devastated by the "monster" Cyclone Pam last Friday. On the training programme to be held in Singapore, Mr Shanmugam said it was targeted at helping developing countries, particularly Small Island…
Published on 16 March 2015 Global
Stating that women are the most vulnerable group hit hard by the climate change and environmental effects, the government further pledged that it would prioritize policies and programs in the sector of environment and climate change mitigation and adaptation in the coming days. Addressing the on-going 59th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) at UN Headquarters on Wednesday, Minister for…
Published on 16 March 2015 Philippines
The Asian archipelago, whipped by about 20 typhoons and storms each year, is now in the grips of the "El Niño" phenomenon that can make storms "stronger" and more "erratic", weather service Chief Vicente Malano said. "El Niño may cause the behavior of tropical cyclones to become erratic, affecting (their) tracks and intensity," he said in an advisory, adding that the same number of…
Published on 16 March 2015
Although not as bad as last year's dry spell, it is still the second year in a row the Republic is experiencing such weather conditions, on top of other symptoms of climate change, such as heavier rain and flash flooding. But there is hope for this concrete jungle. An internationally renowned urban planner has suggested that in built-up Singapore, its buildings could do more to…
Published on 16 March 2015 Global
It is now time for countries and regions to turn the outputs of Lima into realities, both nationally and regionally. The African Union’s position had always been that adaptation is a priority in all actions related to addressing climate change in Africa. However, this position had been reasoned differently in Central Africa. Here, mitigation—through REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation), conservation and sustainable…
Published on 16 March 2015 Thailand
Hidden under the house and its wraparound porch are steel pontoons filled with Styrofoam. These can lift the structure three meters off the ground if this area, two hours north of Bangkok, floods as it did in 2011 when two-thirds of the country was inundated, affecting a fifth of its 67 million people. The 2.8 million baht ($86,000) amphibious house in Ban Sang village…
Published on 16 March 2015 Vietnam
Quang said in an interview with Vietnam News Agency (VNA) that responding to climate change is an urgent and long-term task given Vietnam is one of the 10 countries most vulnerable to climate change by the end of the century. The Mekong Delta - the country's largest rice granary - is among the three deltas hardest hit by climate change which is directly affecting…
Published on 16 March 2015 Feature
Nongtdu, a Kashmiri resident, barely had time to rush to the third floor of her house before water burst through her gate and inundated the first and second floors. Nongtdu and her family survived, but unusually heavy monsoon rains in September 2014 triggered floods in India and Pakistan that claimed more than 500 lives. It was the year’s costliest catastrophe. Those floods may have…
Published on 16 March 2015 Feature
In May 2011, a postdoctoral student at Los Alamos National Laboratory named Park Williams set out to predict the future of the dominant iconic conifers of the American Southwest — the Douglas fir, the piñon pine and the ponderosa pine. As the planet warms, the Southwest is projected to dry out and heat up unusually fast — few places will be more punishing to trees…
Published on 16 March 2015 Feature
Post-2020 INDCs, which will be released this year, are foundational to an international agreement to meet the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change’s (UNFCCC) goal of limiting global warming to 2°C above pre-industrial temperatures. Here’s an in-depth look at what INDCs are, and why they’re so important for curbing global climate change: Why are INDCs important? INDCs are the key vehicle for governments…
Published on 9 March 2015 Philippines
The action is a Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action (NAMA) option that intertwines policy, economic incentives, and education to ensure lasting and transformative change. This NAMA is the result of collaboration between the Philippine government and The United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and is an exceptional model of scalable, replicable action to address climate change in the context of sustainable development. The need for…
Published on 9 March 2015 Global
The “Manila call to action on climate change”, issued last week on the occasion of the French president's state visit to the Philippines, summarizes what is at stake when, from November 30 to December 11, 2015, the yearly round of climate change negotiations will take place in Paris. It has become, unfortunately, an annual event where despite the urgency to act, progress remains too slow…
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