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Health restrictions by the German authorities left no alternative but to defer negotiations planned for October, UN Climate Change said.
There will be no UN climate negotiations this year, after preparatory talks scheduled in October have been postponed a second time into 2021.
On Monday evening, top climate diplomats decided the intersessional meeting which happens every year between UN climate summits in Bonn, Germany, where UN Climate Change is headquartered, would not be able to take place on the proposed dates of 4-12 October. A new date for the meeting is yet to be decided.
The meeting, initially scheduled in June, was tentatively moved to October after the coronavirus pandemic made it too risky to hold international conferences. The next major summit, Cop26 in Glasgow, UK, has been pushed back to 1-12 November 2021.
The UN Climate Change bureau, which is constituted of 11 climate diplomats from around the world, met at short notice on Monday after the German government announced last week it would extend a ban on large events until at least the end of October, to avoid a new wave of coronavirus infection.
In a statement, UN Climate Change secretariat said the decision was based on the need to ensure “the well-being and safety of all involved under the current travel restrictions and guidelines from local German health authorities”.
Earlier this month, observers to the climate talks also raised concerns after top diplomats presiding over the process warned participation at the October meeting would likely have to be restricted to ensure physical distancing inside the conference venue. UN Climate Change said the talks’ delay to 2021 was also based on the need to ensure “full inclusion and participation”.
Members of the bureau regretted having to take the decision but stated there was no alternative, the statement said.
Federica Fricano, a member of the UN Climate Change bureau and Italy’s director of international climate negotiation, said in a tweet the bureau would meeting again soon to discuss the work ahead. “Climate change is and remain[s] the emergency to tackle,” she said.
The Bonn meeting was expected to make progress on the last unresolved issues of the Paris Agreement rulebook, which was supposed to be finished in 2018. Climate diplomats have yet to agree the rules of a new global carbon market, the transparency framework for reporting emission reductions and the timeframe for aligning countries’ climate plans.
Chile, which is still officially presiding over the Cop process, the UK, which is due to take over at the start of Cop26 in Glasgow, and the UN Climate Change secretariat committed to do “everything to drive the process forward despite the adverse circumstances”.
Carolina Schmidt, Cop25 president and Chile’s environment minister, said this would include a continued dialogue with countries to submit tougher climate plans before the end of the year and the formulation of a clear roadmap to Cop26.
The discussion focused on a proposed Declaration of the CBFP as a ‘type 2’ partnership, which while is not in the position to impose decisions on states, does have an influence over discussions and negotiations at the international level which relate to the region – UNFCCC and CBD in particular.
In almost equal measure, discussions and actions around racism in 2020 have been extremely painful, and extremely hopeful. The following scenarios came from a wider discussion around race and privilege that began in February at the Pathways 2020 Human Dimensions Conference held in Nairobi.
This first edition focusses on Indonesia and Vietnam and the articles were written in collaboration with our local partners. In many cases, they report that they are more able to contribute to policy discussions and that at least some authorities are paying closer attention.
The first call for proposals for Small Technical Grants for Assessment (STGA) is now open until 29 January 2021. It is an open ended-call and proposals will be reviewed on a rolling basis in order of their receipt.
The development process of the PAFC CB forest certification standard sparked enthusiasm among forest management stakeholders who provided more than 300 comments.
New report shows the long-term benefits of restoring forests outweigh the costs. The long-term benefits of restoring forests outweigh the costs, and this is a key factor in driving the implementation of forest landscape restoration (FLR) in many countries, a new WWF and IUFRO study finds.
Payments for environmental services (PES) are at the heart of Côte d’Ivoire’s REDD+ and forest policies, which aim to restore and conserve the country’s forest cover up to 20% of the country’s land area. The EU REDD Facility has analysed the experience and lessons learnt from two innovative pilot projects, which tested several PES models aimed at restoring forest cover in cocoa landscapes. I have the pleasure of sharing with you the results of this analysis.
The publication comes on the heels of the European Parliament’s report An EU legal framework to halt and reverse EU-driven global deforestation, adopted on 22 October. Such a regulation will only be effective if accompanied by action to tackle the drivers of forest loss and human rights violations on the ground. Getting the incentives right suggests that the EU negotiate partnership agreements with major producers of forest risk commodities.
Smallholder farmers across Côte d’Ivoire rely heavily on cocoa production, but rarely manage to generate a living income from cocoa alone. Balancing the well-being of farmers and the conservation and restoration of forests along with cocoa production is a pressing challenge.
The BIOPAMA programme will launch a series of new calls for proposals, with the first one to be issued in the following days! The indicative schedule of the calls is: End of November 2020: Call for proposals for Small Technical Grants for Assessment for improved protected area management and governance...
Read: CBFP Facilitator, Honorable Dr Christian Ruck, makes successful entrance into Congo Basin’s diplomatic and political scene; CBFP Facilitator, the Honourable Dr Christian Ruck, in audiences with high-ranking political leaders in Cameroon; 16 October 2020 – Implementation of N’Djamena Declaration in West Bloc gets major boost following visit of CBFP Facilitator of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Honourable Dr Christian Ruck…
September and October were marked by intense rainfalls and flooding of the Limbe river which dangerously weakened the protective wall at the Limbe Zoological Garden/ Limbe Wildlife Centre. We are extremely worried that it will collapse and put animals and infrastructures at risk.
Yaoundé, Cameroon, 29 October 2020 - In order to encourage informed decision-making for sustainable forest management, conservation and responsible use of biodiversity in Central Africa, the Observatory of Central African Forests (OFAC), a technical unit of the Central African Forest Commission (COMIFAC), has set up a new analysis platform with key indicators of regional, national and local policy trends and their impacts on forest ecosystems.
To read: Regulation on the social contract clause agreement forest concession in DRC; New partners for the brand Fair&Precious; Interholco, member of ATIBT publishes sustainability report….
Kinshasa, 12 October 2020 - A meeting of technical and financial partners based in Kinshasa was held at the Pullman Hotel in Kinshasa with close to twenty participants, including: Donors, Technical and financial partners, The private sector, Research institutions.
The meeting of the West Bloc Coordination Platform will hold on 26 January 2021. Such was the conclusion of the meeting of partners and countries of the West Bloc Coordination Platform for monitoring the implementation of the N’Djaména Declaration.
From 19 to 22 October 2020 - Yaoundé - The Facilitator of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Honorable Dr Christian Ruck is visiting Cameroon as part of his first sub-regional tour.
The CBFP Facilitator of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Honorable Dr Christian Ruck, paid a working visit to the DRC from 07 to 14 October 2020 and to Cameroon from 15 to 22 October 2020.
In contrast to other regions of the world, Africa could soon become the continent of deforestation, with DRC losing more than 1 million ha of tree cover per year. In Central Africa, small-scale agriculture is the main driver of deforestation.
Gabon is pursuing a low-carbon development strategy that optimizes economic goals while preserving forests and their ecosystems. The country has therefore committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50% within 2025 through sustainable land-use. Tackling forest degradation, often a result of illegal logging, is essential to reducing Gabon's carbon emissions, as such degradation accounts for 50-80% of the country's total emissions.
GENEVA, 7 October 2020 – Revising the operating procedures of the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI) is an endeavour that started earlier this year and has just received valuable recommendations from a new report by Transparency International (TI). Acknowledging the work achieved on transparency and integrity while identifying areas for improvement, the report released today by TI provides useful input into the process.
Thursday, 22 October 2020: Dr Christian Ruck, the CBFP Facilitator and Mr. Raymond Mbitikon the CBFP Co-Facilitator, undertook a working mission to the premises of the Reinforcement and Institutionalization Project of the Central African Forests Observatory.
22 October 2020, Yaoundé: The CBFP Facilitation team headed by the CBFP Facilitator of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Honourable Dr Christian Ruck visited the COMIFAC executive secretariat in Yaoundé, for a discussion and work meeting.
Tuesday, 20 October 2020: The CBFP Facilitator of the Republic of Germany, the Honorable Dr Christian RUCK and the Permanent Secretary of OCFSA, Dr Ibrahim LINJOUOM, met for a working session at the offices of the German Regional Cooperation in Cameroon.
Monday, 19 October 2020, Hotel La Falaise, Yaoundé - the CBFP Facilitation team led by the Honorable Dr. Christian RUCK, the CBFP Facilitator of the Federal Republic of Germany held discussions with civil society.
All ATIBT members, regardless of their status, are reminded that they can become partners of the brand simply as members of the Association.Created in November 2017 at the initiative of the International Tropical Timber Technical Association (ATIBT), and with the support of AFD and KfW, Fair&Precious is a collective and collaborative brand.
Within the framework of the FLEGT-Certification program of ATIBT, the UFIGA requested and directed the realization of a review of the situation of the VPA FLEGT process in Gabon in order to contribute to an effective resumption of negotiations of the VPA FLEGT process.
This white paper aims to provide Northern and Southern Development partners and decision- makers with a better understanding of: a) why spillover of disease from wildlife to humans occurs, and why these zoonotic disease outbreaks can spread and become epidemics and pandemics such as COVID-19; b) what they can do to prevent, detect and respond to future spillover events, with a special focus on priority interventions at the human–wildlife–livestock interfaces.
This policy brief provides decision-makers with a set of actionable recommendations1 that can be implemented to prevent future epidemics caused by the spillover of diseases from wildlife and wild meat.
In 2020, INTERHOLCO has a word for it: ALLIANCE. It is a theme that runs right through in its Sustainability Report. With a rainbow, stretching over the forest it manages in the Republic of Congo.
CIB is thrilled to be recommended by the auditor for renewal of the FSC certification for 2021. Our four concessions, Pokola, Kabo, Loundoungou and Mimbeli-Ibenga are 100% FSC certified. This year’s audit was not free of challenges that the pandemic brought with it.
This training, organized by IFED in partnership with Queen's University (Ontario, Canada), will be facilitated by trainers and high-level professionals with proven (many years) experience in the field of training and management of protected areas. Registation deadline: October 26, 2020.
The Summit focused on the theme “Urgent Action on Biodiversity for Sustainable Development,” to highlight the urgency of action at the highest levels in support of a post-2020 GBF that contributes to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda) and places the global community on a path towards realizing the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity, “Living in harmony with nature.”
In many parts of the world, autumn is the time to gather the harvest and count our blessings. This year’s trials and tribulations have taught us that while we can count on blessings bestowed by other humans to overcome the COVID-19 crisis, we are wholly dependent on blessings bestowed by nature to survive and flourish.
Illegal trafficking and unsustainable trade in wildlife are causing unprecedented declines in some species. They can also potentially lead to the spread of zoonoses, such as SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19. While the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora has been in force since 1975, there are growing calls to build a stand-alone international instrument to address illegal wildlife trade and crime.