Soroptimist International New York Representative to the UN, Yoko Komori Olson, attended a DPI briefing on the climate change debate post Cancun.
"After the Copenhagen Climate Conference in 2009 and the Cancun conference in 2010, the UN has made no new decisions regarding the stance towards climate change. The climate continues to rise above normal temperature.
According to Mr. Daniel Shepard, who is currently the Focal point for Climate Change and sustainable Development in the Strategic Communication Division of the UN DPI, the Cancun conference could not reach a scientific result agreement. The “Green Climate Fund” (Climate Change Financing, has set a goal of raising $100 billion annually by 2020 to help developing countries, but surprisingly, no decisions have been made on how use this money.
Under the Kyoto Protocol, binding targets were set for 37 industrialised countries and the European community for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This expires in 2012.
Developed and developing countries must work to ensure that the Earth temperature does not increased by more than 2 degrees Celsius. Which countries have responsibility for stopping Climate Change? According to Ms.Kate Horner, a policy analyst at Friends of the Earth, the responsibility lies with all countries. Unfortunately, not all countries hold the same level of importance for this issue. For instance, the priorities of developing countries usually are more focused on issues that are closer to home such as their economic development, population health, and education.
How do we move forward?
NGO’s can keep the pressure on Government and UN delegates, to reduce the gap between Developed and Developing countries.
Climate Change is important for our future generations. Negotiation and agreement between 194 countries is not easy, but it is critical to reach the goal of cleaner air, and reduced CO2 emissions. Unfortunately, many developing countries did not attend the Cancun Conference."
What is the Kyoto Protocol?
The Kyoto Protocol is a legally binding agreement under which industrialised countries will reduce their collective emissions of greenhouse gases by 5.2% compared to the year 1990 (but note that, compared to the emissions levels that would be expected by 2010 without the Protocol, this target represents a 29% cut). The goal is to lower overall emissions from six greenhouse gases - carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulfur hexafluoride, HFCs, and PFCs - calculated as an average over the five-year period of 2008-12. National targets range from 8% reductions for the European Union and some others to 7% for the US, 6% for Japan, 0% for Russia, and permitted increases of 8% for Australia and 10% for Iceland.
Monday, January 31, 2011
100 Day Action Plan Launched by UN Women
The head of the new United Nations agency promoting women’s rights and full participation in global affairs laid out a 100-day action plan last week, embracing a full spectrum of issues from supporting national partners to promoting coherence within the UN system.
“Women’s strength, women’s industry, women’s wisdom are humankind’s greatest untapped resource,” the Executive Director of UN Women, Michelle Bachelet, a former president of Chile, told the first regular session of the agency’s executive board. “The challenge then for UN Women is to show our diverse constituencies how this resource can be effectively tapped in ways that benefit us all.”
Stressing the need to “balance ambition with common sense,” Ms. Bachelet said UN Women would focus on five core principles: enhancing implementation of international accords by national partners; backing intergovernmental processes to strengthen the global framework on gender equality; advocating gender equality and women’s empowerment; promoting coherence with the UN on the issue; and, acting as a global broker of knowledge and experience.
UN Women – known formally as the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women – was established by the General Assembly in July last year, with the merger of four former UN agencies and offices: the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues, and the UN International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (UN-INSTRAW).
UN Women will be formally launched on 24 February during the 55th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), the global policy-making body dedicated exclusively to gender equality and the advancement of women. Soroptimist International will be there, posting daily onto the blog!
“I am determined that UN Women will be a catalyst for change, offering new energy, drawing on long-standing ideas and values, and bringing together men and women from different countries, societies and communities in a shared endeavour,” Ms. Bachelet said.
She noted that UN Women’s approach will be a global one, though its impact will be experienced primarily at the country level, “thus UN Women’s technical support and expertise will be available, on request, to all countries, developed and developing countries, alike.”
Ms. Bachelet also laid out five thematic priorities in the country-specific context: expanding women’s voice, leadership and participation; ending violence against women; ensuring women’s full participation in conflict resolution; enhancing women’s economic empowerment; and gender equality priorities central to national, local and sectoral planning and budgeting.
Soroptimist International fully embraces the above priorities and we look forward to supporting UN Women as their work gets underway. SI will be at the Commission for the Status of Women (CSW) from February 22nd until March 4th where lots more information about UN Women will be forthcoming so remember to keep checking the blog to read daily reports from our CSW delegation in New York!
“Women’s strength, women’s industry, women’s wisdom are humankind’s greatest untapped resource,” the Executive Director of UN Women, Michelle Bachelet, a former president of Chile, told the first regular session of the agency’s executive board. “The challenge then for UN Women is to show our diverse constituencies how this resource can be effectively tapped in ways that benefit us all.”
Stressing the need to “balance ambition with common sense,” Ms. Bachelet said UN Women would focus on five core principles: enhancing implementation of international accords by national partners; backing intergovernmental processes to strengthen the global framework on gender equality; advocating gender equality and women’s empowerment; promoting coherence with the UN on the issue; and, acting as a global broker of knowledge and experience.
UN Women – known formally as the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women – was established by the General Assembly in July last year, with the merger of four former UN agencies and offices: the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues, and the UN International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (UN-INSTRAW).
UN Women will be formally launched on 24 February during the 55th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), the global policy-making body dedicated exclusively to gender equality and the advancement of women. Soroptimist International will be there, posting daily onto the blog!
“I am determined that UN Women will be a catalyst for change, offering new energy, drawing on long-standing ideas and values, and bringing together men and women from different countries, societies and communities in a shared endeavour,” Ms. Bachelet said.
She noted that UN Women’s approach will be a global one, though its impact will be experienced primarily at the country level, “thus UN Women’s technical support and expertise will be available, on request, to all countries, developed and developing countries, alike.”
Ms. Bachelet also laid out five thematic priorities in the country-specific context: expanding women’s voice, leadership and participation; ending violence against women; ensuring women’s full participation in conflict resolution; enhancing women’s economic empowerment; and gender equality priorities central to national, local and sectoral planning and budgeting.
Soroptimist International fully embraces the above priorities and we look forward to supporting UN Women as their work gets underway. SI will be at the Commission for the Status of Women (CSW) from February 22nd until March 4th where lots more information about UN Women will be forthcoming so remember to keep checking the blog to read daily reports from our CSW delegation in New York!
Visit the UN Women website: http://www.unwomen.org/
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Competition to find the most influential female agents of Change!
The theme of Commonwealth Day 2011 is ‘Women as Agents of Change’. Women and girls make up over half of the world’s population. In the Commonwealth, that’s over one billion women and girls! As part of the events taking place throughout the year to celebrate this theme, the Commonwealth is running a competition to find the Commonwealth’s most inspiring women agents of change and we want to make sure Soroptimists are represented!
Every day, Soroptimists in Commonwealth countries work to improve the lives of women and girls in communities all over the world. Some of these women work all day to ensure that there is food on their family’s table. Others are campaigning for political, social and economic rights. Many are setting examples to others, pushing through vital reforms in public services or running community projects.
To celebrate and highlight the achievements of these inspiring women, please forward any nominations you may have to your Federation. They will then send you a nomination form and further details. Nominees may come from any walk of life, social background or profession. SI can enter three women into the competition. A shortlist of the nominations will go to a judging panel who will decide on the Commonwealth's most inspiring agents of change based on the strength of their achievements in making a positive difference to the lives of others.
The Commonwealth's most inspiring agents of change will be featured in a special publication, which could be presented at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in October 2011 in Perth, Australia.
The countries eligible for this competition, by Federation, are:
SIA:
Canada
SIE:
Cyprus, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda
SIGBI:
Antigua, Barbados, Cameroon, The Gambia, Grenada, India, Jamaica, Malawi, Malta, Mauritius, Nigeria, Pakistan, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago, UK
SISWP:
Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands
All entrants must be aged 18 or over and any winners must be willing to participate in publicity surrounding the competitions including the publishing of their details, photographs and any video footage which will be made available in all media, including on the internet.
Please visit the women as agents of change website for more information about the Commonwealth theme.
SI must recieve all nominations by March 9th. We look forward to receiving nominations!
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