The environment in the news

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  Panel: US Faces Change As Climate Warms (Central Florida News)
  
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  Die gelbe Gefahr; Korea leidet unter den Stürmen aus Sand und Gift, die aus China und der Mongolei herüberwehen (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung)
  
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  Disastrous global warming predicted (Press Iran)
  
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  Pronóstico de catastrofe por calentamiento global (La Opinion)
  
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  Southern Europe 'to become climate change hotspot' (Environmental Interactive)
  
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  Global Compact Board Convenes Second Meeting (AGIPNEWS)
  
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  Energy Globe Award 2007: Kenyan solar project honoured (Peace Journalism)
  
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  Ghana; Energy - Paradigm Shift Advocated (All Africa)
  
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  La réunion d'Agadir, un moment clé de la réflexion sur la gouvernance internationale de l'environnement ministre français (Atlas Vista )
  

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  Ban impresses in first 100 days (BBC)
  
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  Monster warning to protect oceans (BBC)
  
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  Galapagos Islands 'facing crisis' (BBC)
  
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  Retailers told less waste means more customers (The Independent)
  
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  Listen to the chiffchaff - and prepare for a hot spring (The Independent)
  
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  World Bank must lead on climate change, says Benn (Guardian Unlimited )
  
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  Indonesian Earthquake Killed Vast Coral Reefs(ENVIROMENT NEWS SERVICE)
  
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  Airlines Should Buy More CO2 Credits in EU Plan – MEP (Reuters)
  
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  Transport Seen Surging, Damaging Climate - UN Draft (Reuters)
  
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  Schwarzenegger in Washington: Make Environment Sexy (Reuters)
  
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  Uganda forest protest turns deadly (Al Jazeera)
  
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  Uganda: I Cannot Be Intimidated, Says Museveni (The Monitor)
  
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  Security Council Accused of Overstepping Bounds (Inter Press Service)
  
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  Indonesia wants compensation to make its forests world`s lungs(Antara News)
  
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  Première détection d'eau sur une exoplanète (LE MONDE)
  

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  UN Daily News of 12 April2007
  
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  S.G.’s Spokesman Daily Press Briefing of 12 April 2007
  

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Central Florida News: Panel: US Faces Change As Climate Warms

Thursday, April 12, 2007 9:05:32 AM



Chicago and Los Angeles will likely to face increasing heat waves. Severe storm surges could hit New York and Boston. And cities that rely on melting snow for water may run into serious shortages.

According to the panel, global warming is already having an effect on daily life but when the Earth gets a few degrees hotter, the current inconvenience could give way to danger and even death.

And North America will not escape the impact of climate change, and the impact will be felt from Florida and Texas to Alaska and Canada's Northwest Territories, the panel said.

"Canada and the United States are, despite being strong economies with the financial power to cope, facing many of the same impacts that are projected for the rest of the world," Achim Steiner, executive director of the U.N. Environment Program which co-founded the panel, said in a statement.

He said the findings underline that the best way to reduce the effects of global warming is "deep and decisive cuts in greenhouse gas emissions to avoid dangerous climate change in the first place."

The panel warned that shifts in rainfall patterns, melting glaciers, rising temperatures, increased demand and reduced supplies of water in some places are likely to increase tensions between users _ industry, agriculture and a growing population.

"Heavily-utilized water systems of the western U.S. and Canada, such as the Columbia River, that rely on capturing snowmelt runoff, will be especially vulnerable," the report said.

A temperature warming of a few degrees by the 2040s is likely to sharply reduce summer flows, at a time of rising demand, it said.

By then, the panel estimated that Portland, Oregon, will require over 26 million additional cubic meters of water as a result of climate change and population growth, but the Columbia River's summer supply will have dropped by an estimated 5 million cubic meters.

Meanwhile, it said, just over 40 percent of the water supply to southern California is likely to be vulnerable by the 2020s due to losses of the Sierra Nevada and Colorado River basin snow packs.

The panel also said "lower levels in the Great Lakes are likely to influence many sectors" and exacerbate controversies over diverting water to cities such as Chicago, and the competing demands of water quality, lake-based transport, and drought mitigation.

Cities could also be at risk from high tides and storm surges, it said.

Near the end of the 21st century, under a strong warming scenario, the New York City area could be hit by increasingly damaging floods from surges, "putting much of the region's infrastructure at risk," the panel said.

Boston's transportation network may also be at risk from a sea level rise and the increased probability of a powerful storm surge, it said.

As for the impact of rising temperatures, the panel said a 25 percent increase in heat waves is projected for Chicago later this century, while the number of heat-wave days in Los Angeles is projected to increase from the current 12 per year to between 44 and nearly 100.

By the mid-21st century, regions in Alaska and Canada's Northwestern Territories are likely to be at "moderate to high risk" due to coastal erosion and thawing of permafrost including the report said.

North American producers of wood and timber could suffer losses of between $1 billion and $2 billion a year during the 21st century if climate change also sparks changes in diseases, insect attacks and forest fires, the panel said.

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12. April 2007

SEOUL, 11. April. Es hätte ein schönes Frühlingswochenende werden können. Die Luft mild, die ersten Knospen offen, perfektes Ausflugswetter. Doch als die Bewohner Seouls aus den Fenstern schauten, sahen sie eine gelbliche Dunstglocke über ihrer Stadt hängen. Die Berge am nahen Horizont waren im Nebel fast verschwunden. Das geschwungene blaue Dach des Präsidentenpalastes war von der Innenstadt kaum noch auszumachen. Der gelbe Sand fegte über das Land - zum sechsten Mal in diesem Jahr.

Doch dieser Sandsturm hatte es in sich. Das Wetteramt gibt eine offizielle Warnung heraus, wenn die Konzentration des Staubs in der Luft pro Stunde und Kubikmeter mehr als 800 Mikrogramm beträgt. Für die Hauptstadt wurden 1124 Mikrogramm gemessen, in der Gangwon-Provinz sogar fast 2000 Mikrogramm, mehr als 25 Mal so viel wie normal. Die sonst von Autos verstopften Straßen waren gespenstisch leer, die Parks verwaist. Wer konnte, blieb zu Haus und hielt die Fenster zu. In Apotheken standen dennoch Menschen Schlange, die über trockene Augen, Atembeschwerden, Husten, Hautjucken klagten. Manches Geschäft nahm den Wetterbericht ernst und bot zur Selbsthilfe Gesichtsmasken, Mundspülung und Augentropfen an, im praktischen Set. In einigen Landkreisen blieben Schulen und Kindergärten tags darauf geschlossen. Kaum, dass der Himmel wieder klar ist, kündigt das Wetteramt den nächsten Staubsturm an. 2007 könnte das schlimmste Sand-Jahr der Geschichte werden.

Der gelbe Staub, in Korea "hwangsa" genannt, ist nicht nur ein chinesisches Phänomen, auch wenn er dort seinen Ursprung nimmt. Erosion, Rodung, Überweidung, Überdüngung, Ackerlandgewinnung und Klimaeinflüsse haben dazu beigetragen, dass in der Mongolei sowie im Norden und Nordwesten Chinas die Dürregebiete immer größer werden. Jedes Jahr kommen in China bis zu 3000 Quadratkilometer Wüste hinzu. In der Folge entstehen Sandstürme, die im Frühjahr nicht nur Peking zusetzen, sondern auch das Leben auf der koreanischen Halbinsel und in einigen Gegenden Japans beeinträchtigen. Die jüngsten Winde wurden sogar vom nordkoreanischen Staatsfernsehen vermeldet.

Schon vor mehr als 1500 Jahren wurden Sandstürme in koreanischen Schriften erwähnt. Doch erst in den vergangenen zwei Jahrzehnten wurde das Präsent aus China zum Problem. Die Zahl der Stürme, die Jahr für Jahr den Staub der Wüste Gobi über Korea blasen, hat zugenommen - und sie werden auch zunehmend unangenehm. Herrschte vor zwanzig Jahren noch durchschnittlich an vier Tagen im Jahr Sand-Alarm, waren es in den Neunzigern schon acht und jetzt rund zwölf Tage. Nach Informationen des UN-Umweltprogramms (Unep) hat sich die Zahl der Sandstürme in Asien seit 1950 verfünffacht. Dadurch entstehe in der Region ernsthafter wirtschaftlicher Schaden; von rund 6,5 Milliarden Euro im Jahr ist die Rede. In Südkorea hält man das noch für untertrieben. Besorgt ist die Bevölkerung vor allem wegen der Schadstoffe und Abgase, die der Wind auf seinem Weg mitnimmt, während er über die rauchspeienden chinesischen Industrieanlagen zieht. Der gelbe Staub, sagen koreanische Wissenschaftler, sei belastet durch Schwermetalle und Dioxine. Je größer der industrielle Fortschritt der Volksrepublik, desto gravierender die Umweltfolgen für die Nachbarstaaten.

Im vergangenen Jahr wurde in Korea elfmal gelber Staub in "gesundheitsgefährdender Konzentration" gemessen. Dieses Jahr wird wegen des milden und trockenen Winters in China und der Mongolei mit schlimmeren Stürmen gerechnet. Doch was dagegen tun? In Korea macht man sich Sorgen und fühlt sich machtlos. Der Wind ist nicht aufzuhalten, es geht also um Schadensbegrenzung. Jedes Jahr zwischen Februar und Mai schnellt die Zahl der Augeninfektionen und Atemwegserkrankungen in die Höhe, es trifft vor allem Asthmatiker und Allergiker. Bis zu 160 Menschen sterben jedes Jahr an den Folgen von "hwangsa", hat das koreanische Umweltinstitut festgestellt. Hunderttausende erkranken, vor allem Alte und Kinder. Der Bevölkerung wird geraten, in der akuten Phase im Haus zu bleiben, Fenster geschlossen zu halten und Sport zu meiden, lieber Brille als Kontaktlinsen zu wählen und durch die Nase statt durch den Mund zu atmen, damit der Staub nicht direkt in die Lunge gelangt. Langärmelige Kleidung soll man anziehen, möglichst oft Hände, Füße und Haare waschen und sich häufig die Zähne putzen. Obst und Gemüse sollte man besser nicht vor dem Haus lagern. Die Empfehlung, mehr fettes Schweinefleisch zu essen, weil es den Abbau von Schwermetallen begünstige, trieb prompt den Absatz in die Höhe.

Tückisch und unbemerkt treibt der Sand sein Spiel. Er nistet sich überall ein, legt sich wie ein schmieriger Film auf Fenster, Kleider und Autos. An klaren Tagen beträgt die Sichtweite zehn Kilometer, mit Sand nur noch ein bis drei Kilometer. Klagen kommen auch von Hochtechnologie-Firmen, zum Beispiel Herstellern von Computerchips und anderen sensiblen Geräten, die sich mit zusätzlichen Filteranlagen gegen den feinkörnigen Feind wappnen müssen. Seit einigen Jahren versucht die Regierung nun schon, die mongolisch-chinesische Invasion abzuwehren. 2002 wurde der Aufbau eines Frühwarnsystems beschlossen. 21 Messstationen gibt es im Land, sechs weitere sollen bald dazukommen, wenn möglich auch einige auf nordkoreanischem Gebiet.

Es gibt Überlegungen, die Mongolei als ein Ursprungsland der Sandwinde und das ebenfalls von den Auswirkungen getroffene Nordkorea in die Beratungen eines Regionalforums einzubeziehen, in dem bislang China, Südkorea und Japan tagen. Die letzte Sitzung der Umweltminister fand im März in der südkoreanischen Auto-Stadt Ulsan statt, wo man zu der wenig überraschenden Erkenntnis kam, dass Land- und Weidewirtschaft in der Mongolei und Nordchina die Desertifikation beschleunigen und dass es größerer regionaler Kooperation bedarf. Umweltexperten in Korea fordern die Gründung einer multinationalen Organisation in Nordostasien, um die gemeinsamen Probleme wirksamer bekämpfen zu können. Sicher hilft es nicht, dass in der Region, zumal zwischen China und Japan, ausgeprägte Rivalitäten und Antagonismen herrschen, die einer regionalen Zusammenarbeit oft im Wege stehen.

Immerhin hat China mit einem Aufforstungsprogramm begonnen. Dort erklärt man die Stürme freilich vor allem als unvermeidliches naturgegebenes Phänomen: Sandstürme gebe es in dieser Region schon seit Millionen Jahren. Doch die Koreaner zeigen sich mehr und mehr beunruhigt. In dieser Saison häufen sich die Berichte in den Medien über gesundheitliche und ökonomische Folgen. Dabei kommen die eigenen Umweltsünden allerdings weniger zur Sprache. Auch ohne "hwangsa" ist Seouls Luft schon dick genug.

Foto AP

Thu, 12 Apr 2007

According to a panel of hundreds of scientists, global warming is already affecting people's daily lives, but a few degrees increase may have disastrous results.

Canada and the United States are facing many of the same impacts that are projected for the rest of the world," Achim Steiner, executive director of the U.N. Environment Program which co-founded the panel, said in a statement.

Most at risk are the widely used water systems of US and Canada, such as the Columbia River, which relies on the melting snow.

In the report, the effects of global warming were described in case-specific examples: water supply losses in southern California, damaging floods in New York City, rising sea levels affecting the Boston transportation network, and an increase in heat-wave days from 12 per year to between 44 and 100 days in Los Angeles were some examples.

The panel concluded that by the mid 21st Century, regions in Alaska and Canada's northwestern territories will run at medium to high risk, mainly affected by melting glaciers and ice caps.

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La Opinion: Pronóstico de catastrofe por calentamiento global

April 12, 2007

WASHINGTON, D.C.- Un informe del Panel Intergubernamental de Cambios Climáticos (IPCC) concluyó que el calentamiento global está teniendo y tendrá efectos devastadores en todas las regiones del mundo y las urbes como Los Ángeles corren el riesgo de sufrir intensas olas de calor por mayores períodos de tiempo, inundaciones, tormentas, deslaves y sequías severas con todo el impacto humano, económico y ambiental que ello conlleva.

El reporte da armas al debate sobre los controles de las emisiones de gases, sobre todo de dióxido de carbono. "En general, los hallazgos subrayan que la mejor y probablemente la más efectiva forma de adaptación desde el punto de vista del costo es mitigar, en otras palabras, profundos y decisivos recortes en las emisiones de gases para evitar peligrosos cambios climáticos", declaró Achim Steiner, director ejecutivo del Programa de Medios Ambientes de la Organización de las Naciones Unidas (UNEP), organismo que cofundó el IPCC.

Mil científicos de 74 países del mundo participaron en la elaboración del extenso reporte y de hecho, hasta el Consejo de Seguridad de la Organización de las Naciones Unidas (ONU) planifica discutir el fenómeno climático próximamente.

El calentamiento global se genera con la emisión de gases provenientes de la combustión de petróleo, carbón y gas y el más común es el dióxido de carbono. Éste se acumula en la atmósfera, retiene el calor solar y produce el efecto invernadero.

La presión por reducir la emisión de gases en Estados Unidos se ha intensificado y una prueba es el fallo de la Suprema Corte de la nación la semana pasada indicando que el gobierno federal tiene la autoridad de regular las emisiones de dióxido de carbono.

La Administración del presidente George W. Bush, empero, no parece inclinada a acatar el fallo, aunque el mismo valida hasta cierto punto, los esfuerzos de figuras como el gobernador de California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, que inició allí el año pasado la cruzada nacional contra las emisiones de gases.

El gobernador anunció este año planes para que los productores de combustible en California reduzcan en 10% para el año 2020 las emisiones de dióxido de carbono y otros gases.

Schwarzenegger, de hecho, se reunió ayer con la senadora demócrata de California, Dianne Feinstein, para discutir temas relacionados con el agua y con la emisión de gases.

Feinstein es la autora de la legislación -apoyada por el gobernador- para reducir las emisiones de dióxido de carbono de vehículos de motor. Su medida es una de más de seis que se han presentado en el Senado para tales fines en los últimos tiempos.

El IPCC concluye que los efectos del calentamiento global ya se dejan sentir a través del globo pero sus efectos serán más devastadores con el paso de los años con el alza en las temperaturas.

Por ejemplo, "un alza de 25% en las olas de calor se proyecta para Chicago más adelante en el presente siglo... en Los Ángeles se estima un alza de los 12 días actuales [en las olas de calor] a 44 o cerca de cien [días]", dice el reporte.

"Cambios en los patrones de lluvias, glaciares derretidos, altas temperaturas, mayor demanda y menor oferta [de agua] en algunos lugares tienen mayores probabilidades de agravar la situación a menos que se recorten las emisiones de gases para reducir la escala y el paso del cambio climático", agrega el reporte.

"Canadá y Estados Unidos, pese a ser economías fuertes con suficiente poder financiero para lidiar [con el cambio climático] enfrentarán muchos de los mismos impactos proyectados para el resto del mundo", agregó Steiner.

El IPCC dijo también que desde 1992 Latinoamérica y el Caribe sufren "eventos climáticos extremos altamente inusuales" con efectos negativos en las poblaciones incrementando la mortalidad en las áreas afectadas.

Y los efectos irán al alza ya que para el año 2050 la población de Latinoamérica será 50% más numerosa que en el año 2000 y la migración hacia las ciudades continuará.El reporte anticipa reducciones en la diversidad de plantas y animales; derretimiento de glaciares tropicales; reducción de agua; aumento de aridez; cambios en áreas costeras afectando a la gente, recursos y actividades económicas, plagas en las cosechas, cambios en la distribución de enfermedades humanas, y emergencias generadas por nuevas enfermedades.
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Environmental Interactive: Southern Europe 'to become climate change hotspot'
12 April 2007

The early impacts of a warming climate already experienced in Europe are set to magnify in coming years, with Southern EU countries bearing the brunt of global warming, a major UN report has warned.

The IPCC report assessing the impacts of climate change worldwide said that developing countries would be hardest hit but also pointed to Southern Europe as a region likely to suffer more than others.

"Having just experienced the warmest winter on record, Europeans can clearly see that their climate is changing, and changing rapidly," said Achim Steiner, executive director of the UN Environment Programme. He pointed to effects such as the killer heat waves of 2003 and melting alpine glaciers as consequences of climate change.

The effects of rising temperatures on Europe will be unequally distributed, with the South hardest hit, according to the report produced by experts from 100 countries which includes a chapter on the implications of climate change for Europeans.

Europe's sensitivity to climate change has a "distinct north-south gradient," the UN said quoting the IPCC report. Farmers across Spain, Italy and other south-European countries will suffer drought and large areas of forest will be destroyed by drought and fires.

Europe's low-lying areas, such as the Netherlands, will also be hard-hit by rising sea levels, which threaten up to 2.5 million extra people each year.

In Northern Europe flooding is expected to be a major concern as precipitation and run-off increase. More coastal corrosion and glacial melt is also expected as temperatures rise.

On the positive side, the North will see expanding forests and increased agricultural productivity, while in the South both forests and productivity suffer, the report predicts.

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12/4/2007

NEW YORK - The Global Compact Board, a panel of 20 leaders from business, civil society and labor chaired by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, came together at UN Headquarters in New York for its second meeting.

In his opening remarks, the Secretary-General emphasized the Board’s role in providing guidance, advocacy and stewardship to the initiative: “Your work is helping all of us to advance our shared mission – peace, human rights and development”. He went on to stress the importance of the Global Compact Leaders Summit, to be held in Geneva July 5-6, 2007.

“This historic gathering in Geneva will be instrumental in bringing our joint vision for the future cooperation between business, the United Nations, governments, civil society and labor to full scale. It will also provide valuable inputs with respect to the future of the Global Compact.” He further called on Board members to support the preparation of the Summit, which will be the largest gathering ever convened by the United Nations on the issue of corporate citizenship.

The Secretary-General also appointed Sir Mark Moody-Stuart and Mr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh as co-chairs of the Global Compact Board, to conduct the Board’s business and chair the meeting during his absence.

Following an update on recent developments and the current activities of the initiative by Global Compact staff, the Board meeting focused largely on the Global Compact Leaders Summit and on ways in which Board members can contribute to the Summit’s success.

After an initial briefing on the status of preparations for the two-day event, board members emphasized the high-level nature of the Summit, which is open only to top executives of Global Compact participants in good standing.

Nearly 700 business leaders, as well as hundreds of top representatives from government, civil society and labor are expected to attend the Summit. Several Board members stressed that the Summit represents a unique opportunity to recognize and showcase leading business practices and to initiate collective action around key challenges, from climate change to poverty reduction. Board members also pledged support for outreach and awareness-raising efforts prior to the Summit and to provide substantive input on several of the Summit’s key sessions.

Further outcomes of the Board meeting include the following:

• Discussing the further development of the Global Compact’s integrity measures, the Board decided that Global Compact participants listed as “inactive” for one year or more should be removed entirely from the Global Compact database of participants.

• The Board also agreed to undertake further efforts to ensure that the forthcoming ISO 26000 guidance on social responsibility will be consistent with and supportive of the Global Compact and its ten principles.

• The Board further encouraged that UN Member States, during the next session of the General Assembly, lend further political legitimacy to the Global Compact as a unique and global public-private partnership.

• Individual Board members committed to undertake further activities in all regions of the world to strengthen Global Compact networks.

• Finally, board members discussed a number of activities business can undertake to advance practical solutions to seriously address climate change. The issue will play a prominent role at the Leaders Summit, and a Global Compact working group has been formed in cooperation with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) to present a comprehensive plan of business action at the event.

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13/04/2007.

Yesterday the state-owned Daily Graphic reported on its front page that the "government has resolved to opt for nuclear energy as an alternative source of power in a move to avert any future energy crisis in the country." Attribution was given to a source at the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission. Ghanaians at home and abroad continue to give other ideas. ADM received the following yesterday.

The energy problem is not going away anytime soon; we may weather the storm and hopefully succeed in doubling our energy needs but that will only be temporary. The population growth projections and economic growth potential that we need clearly suggest we will run out of power in less than a decade even if current developments all become a reality as promised.

Reading from most of the experts on energy in Ghana and even from our own SNEP (Strategic National Energy Plan 2006), World Bank reports on how to generate energy for Ghana and the continent, there seems to be an underlying paradigm. Most of the studies and reports treat Ghana as just another country in the temperate North. Most of the solutions put forward seem to assume parameters that are not very relevant to us. It is not uncommon to read reports making a strong case against the lack of energy when the sun is not available in the winter; the problem with this line of argument is that we live on the equator and we will not be seeing winter and snow anytime soon.

We should move away from this line of thinking and fashion out a system that best suits our circumstances. Towards this effort I propose a new paradigm which splits energy production into two modes: night production and evening production.

Ghana can be powered by solar thermal plants and small solar paneled outfits during the day. We should project to generate 1000MW of energy this way by 2020. Solar thermal power plants concentrate solar energy to heat water or oil to power turbines. A visit for example, to Wa in the UWR in January is enough to convince any doubting Thomas that this is very possible. Our aim should be to use this to power the country during the day time only. What this means is that the entire Akosmbo Dam can be shut down for at least 10 hours every day. Since we will not be purchasing solar energy preservation kits like battery banks, molten sodium and things of that nature such that these plants will run in the evening they will not cost that much to build. The by product of this plant which is usually purified water can even be fed to the water companies. For example a 64-megawatt solar thermal plant is being built near Boulder City , Nevada , by solar power giant, Schott, one of the partnering companies in the project is projected to power over 30,000 homes. We just need 10 of these upgradeable units and we are on our way to energy independence.

While an initial assessment in Ghana, reveals more than 2,000 MW of wind energy potential, mainly along the border with Togo, in Africa, this is quite a significant amount, as by some estimates, the continent needs just 40,000 MW of electricity to power its industrialization (see UNEP Governing Council Report). We should also have an ambitious wind approach on the Keta coastline with a proven potential of over 2000MW.

We will link this system to our gas powered generators and create a system where gas powered generation is reduced when there is enough wind power and goes up and vice versa. This way we eliminate the problem of having only wind power when there is wind energy since gas will step in to make up for the shortfall, whiles at the same time cutting down on our thermal energy bills. Spain has done it and to give credence to my claim I list the following existing wind energy capacity for major companies in Spain : Gamesa Eólica, 3281 MW; Made, 803 MW; Neg Micon, 715 MW; Ecotécnia, 446 MW etc. (Source Spanish Energy Ministry).

We should also embrace the idea generating energy from the municipal waste we generate using biomass energy production techniques. There is enough waste in our urban areas to make this a reality, adding gasoline or coal to aid in combustion is a real possibility. I believe this should be used to plug the hole created by the use of airport lighting and municipal lighting and government buildings and things of that nature. We can ignore the collection on methane and issues of that nature for a phase II approach.

Our night power requirements will then be skewed towards hydro and gas turbines; this way we would have built in an implicit ration system, where Akosombo and Bui are needed only in the night with the same situation existing for expensive gas. A country powered by night on 75% renewables and 25% non-renewables during the day, and on 75% non-renewables and 25% renewables at night may not work well if you have 4 seasons in the temperate North but it is sure and real possibility if you live close to the equator

We live in the tropics and our emphasis on solar solutions should not be that of the West who are researching how best they can use this technology in the winter; sure there will be overcast days but our dedicated night sources which are hydro and gas will always be available to plug this shortfall and in sunny Ghana there is not a whole lot of such overcasts. Adopting a regional approach of using about 20 large solar thermal systems scattered all over the region, this situation can be ameliorated.

We must embrace the technologies of today and pick and choose what works for us as opposed to waiting for someone to finish doing it and then proceed to buy the entire turnkey application for billions when we could have hitched along for a ride and paid far less. The number of high paying jobs to be created from this industry and the export potential to other African countries is enormous.

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La session d'Agadir devrait favoriser un dialogue fructueux et élargi afin de dégager des lignes consensuelles sur ce que pourrait être l'ONUE, a affirmé Mme Ollin, ajoutant que la réunion constitue une occasion pour renforcer la concertation internationale sur la gouvernance de l'environnement.

La ministre française a exprimé sa satisfaction du fait que le cercle initial des amis de l'ONUE se soit élargi pour embrasser 52 pays, se félicitant, par la même occasion, de cette forte mobilisation pour permettre à la réunion d'Agadir de parvenir à un résultat à la hauteur des enjeux et des engagements qui animent l'ensemble des acteurs.

Mme Ollin a soumis aux participants quatre thèmes de réflexion, pour guider les débats dans le cadre des ateliers prévus vendredi, à savoir l'interdépendance des enjeux, l'approche inclusive et participative des questions transectorielles, la conciliation entre développement et environnement et la conciliation entre le renforcement du programme des Nations unies pour l'environnement (PNUE) et l'émergence d'une ONUE.

S'attardant sur cette dernière question, la ministre française a souligné que le groupe des amis a engagé des efforts pour soutenir la transformation du PNUE en Organisation des Nations unies pour l'Environnement (ONUE) dans le contexte de la réforme des Nations unies.

""Des efforts de persuasion et de dialogue ont été menés par tous les membres pionniers du groupe, non seulement les européens mis également tous les pays de différents continents qui ont souhaité se mobiliser après la Conférence de Paris"", a-t-elle relevé.

Les délégations de plus de 40 pays prennent part à cette réunion qui fait suite à la Conférence de Paris pour une gouvernance écologique mondiale (2 et 3 février), laquelle conférence a permis de dégager un consensus sur la nécessaire création de l'ONUE.

La Conférence de Paris a suscité une large mobilisation qui s'est traduite par l'appel de Paris et la création d'un ""groupe des Amis de l'ONUE"".

La réunion d'Agadir se fixe comme missions de poursuivre les discussions entamées à Paris, approfondir la réflexion sur les modalités de la mise en place de l'ONUE et identifier les actions futures à mener par le groupe des amis de l'ONUE aux niveaux international, régional et national.

Plusieurs personnalités ont marqué de leur présence la séance d'ouverture de cette réunion dont le ministre de l'aménagement du territoire, de l'eau et de l'environnement, M. Mohammed El Yazghi, le ministre de l'énergie et des mines, M. Mohamed Boutaleb et M. Alain Juppé, ancien Premier ministre et président du comité d'honneur de la Conférence de Paris.

La séance d'ouverture a été également marquée par la présence du wali de la région Souss-Massa-Draa, M. Rachid Filali, le président du conseil régional, M. Aziz Akhennouch ainsi que plusieurs ministres et ambassadeurs, chefs des délégations représentant les pays participants.

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Gestern wurde im Plenarsaal des Europäischen Parlaments in Brüssel der erste Energy Globe Award verliehen, in der weltweit Lösungen für jeden Einzelnen aufgezeigt wurden.

Unter Leitung der indischen Umweltpolitikerin Maneka Ghandi vergab die internationale Jury die Preise.