29 September 2008: Nicholas Haysom, Director for Political
Affairs in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General, and Robert Orr, one
of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s top aides, highlighted during a news
conference that the role of the UN and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in global
crises is increasingly recognized.
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26 September 2008: Speaking at the thirty-second meeting of
the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Group of 77 (G-77), Baldwin Spencer,
Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Antigua and Barbuda and Chair
of the G-77, welcomed the Group’s continued efforts to strengthen its
solidarity and unity in advancing its development agenda. Referring to the
recent debates on climate change, he warned that the position of developed
countries with respect to development cooperation does not bode well, noting
that it will be “a tough battle.”
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26 September 2008: In his address to the thirty-second
meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Group of 77, Kemal Derviş,
Administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), outlined the development
challenges and opportunities created by the current global economic
environment, and the role of the UN and UNDP’s own support to programme
countries.
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26 September 2008: In preparation for the first meeting of
the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group (AHTEG) on Biodiversity and Climate Change,
to be held from 17-21 November 2008, in London, UK, the Secretariat of the
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is launching an internet-based
discussion group at: http://www.cbd.int/climate/forums/public/.
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26 September 2008: Pascal Lamy, World Trade Organization
(WTO) Director-General, addressed the 2008 WTO Public Forum highlighting that
trade in “environmental goods and services, in particular in climate-friendly
technology, can make vital pollution prevention and reduction equipment more
accessible to countries in need; thereby easing the climate crisis.”
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24 September 2008: The Adaptation Fund Board (AFB) held its
third meeting from 15-18 September 2008, at the UN Campus in Bonn, Germany. The
Board discussed several issues pending from its first and second meetings. Work
was concluded on draft Rules of Procedure of the AFB, draft Roles and
Responsibilities of the Board, and draft Strategic Priorities, Policies and
Guidelines.
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24 September 2008: Marcus Stephen, President of Nauru, and
Runaldo Ronald Venetiaan, President of Suriname, used their opening statements
at the sixty-third session of the UN
General Assembly (UNGA) to call for assistance in, respectively, adapting to
and mitigating climate change.
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23 September 2008: The meeting of the World Meteorological
Organization’s (WMO) Commission for Climatology Expert Team on Research Needs
for Intraseasonal, Seasonal and Interannual Prediction, including the
Application of these Predictions, took place from 23-26 September 2008, at US
National Weather Service headquarters in Maryland, US.
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24 September 2008: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has
announced the launch of the United Nations’ Reduced Emissions from
Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) Programme, which aims to combat
climate change through creating incentives to reverse deforestation trends.
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24 September 2008: The International Labor Organization
(ILO), UN Environment Programme (UNEP), International Trade Union Confederation
and the International Organization of Employers have released the first
comprehensive study on the emergence of a “green economy” and its impact on the
world of work.
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