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Climate change tops the bill as the number one 2010 election issue for Australians online according to new research from Experian Hitwise
During the World Peoples’ Conference on climate change and the Rights of Mother Earth in Cochabamba, 19-22 April, organized by UNIC La Paz in cooperation with the Government of Bolivia. (Photo credit: UNIC La Paz, 21 April 2010).
The entrance of Natural Park of Serra Malagueta, project created trough UNDP/GEF support, Santiago Island, Cape Verde.
The mountain areas of Western Balkan countries are predominantly covered by forests very rich in biodiversity, both in terms of flora and fauna of either global or European conservation importance. There are vast areas of still preserved, natural and semi-natural ecosystems providing benefits to both nature and people through the ecosystem services on which the majority of local communities still very much depend. Scattered relics of virgin forest still exist in remote areas, mountainous areas and wetlands, being the last refuge of these forests in Europe (Parviainen, 2005). Overall, forests in the region are experiencing a number of positive and negative trends. Both deliberate and natural afforestation on abandoned agricultural land have increased forest cover in some areas. The area classified as high conservation value forests (HCVFs) is increasing and improving the sustainable management of forests and their resources, including from the perspective of maintaining the flow of ecosystem services, prevention of soil erosion, and conserving threatened or endemic species. The conservation of forests for cultural, historical, or religious reasons is also advocated through HCVFs (Ioras et al., 2009), which also provide a buffer against illegal activities. In addition, declining rural populations and rural to urban migration, particularly from mountain areas, is resulting in fewer young people being involved in forestry and is placing less pressure on logging for household fuelwood. However, there is still concern in the region over the quality of the forests due to a history of coppicing and sub- standard management of both state-owned and privately-owned forests in some areas (Markus- Johansson et al., 2010), while factors such as illegal logging and corruption at various points in the value chain are thought to be hindering the forestry sector reaching its full potential.
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This photo has been graciously provided to be used in the GRID-Arendal resources library by: Cartografare il Presente/Nieves Izquierdo
Secretary-General of the United Nations Mr. BAN Ki-Moon delivering his statement at the High-Level Segment at COP 17/CMP 7
Residents being rescued during the January 2005 devastating floods on Warwick Road in Carlisle, after the river Eden burst its banks, Cumbria, UK.
Photo: © Global Warming Images / WWF-Canon
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E.ON's biofuel power station in Lockerbie, Scotland, with timber supplies.The power station is fuelled 100% by wood sourced from local woodlands and generates enough electricity to supply 70 000 houses. The plant is carbon neutral.
Temperature: Temperatures have risen in the region in the last fifty years, and every country in the region has experienced warming with this trend accelerating in the most recent decades (UNFCCC National Communications). Summer is the season which has warmed the most (Kostopoulou and Jones, 2005). One important effect of this trend is that the frequency and severity of temperature extremes has also increased across the region. In Albania, for example, the increase in the number of days over 40°C has been one of the clearest observed changes in recent decades. Heatwaves across the region are increasing in frequency and severity. Precipitation: Thee observed changes in precipitation in the last fifty years are not as pervasive or clear as the observed warming. Generalizing about the observed climatic trends is difficult due to the complex topography of the mountains, especially as the Western Balkans has two climatic areas – the Mediterranean and the alpine/continental. However, overall the region has received a decreasing amount of precipitation, with Albania, Croatia and FYR Macedonia displaying the clearest downward trend. The mountain region of Gorski kotar in Croatia had the greatest decrease. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia experienced mixed or unchanging precipitation patterns. Droughts have become significantly more common in Serbia, FYR Macedonia and Kosovo. Within the region, the Dinaric Alps generally receive the most precipitation (Lelieveld et al., 2012). The mountains in the Western Balkans are therefore central to the flow of fresh water (Schneider et al., 2013), as decreasing precipitation and increasing evapotranspiration are combining to make the region, and soils in general, drier.
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This photo has been graciously provided to be used in the GRID-Arendal resources library by: Cartografare il Presente/Nieves Izquierdo
Climate activists in Edinburgh sent a message to world politicians who are meeting now in Lima, asking them to agree a deal to prevent catastrophic climate change.
They took to the streets on Saturday to collect signatures supporting the Edinburgh Climate Action Pledge which also calls on the City of Edinburgh Council to take urgent steps to cut the city’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Matthew Crighton of Friends of the Earth Edinburgh commented
“To look after our planet and ourselves we have to stop burning fossil fuels – coal, natural gas and oil – and switch to renewables. It’s practical and can improve people’s lives at the same time. Transforming our energy system will create jobs, cut pollution and tackle dangerous climate change.
“Let’s take vigorous action now, rather than face the consequences of climate change- devastation to farming around the world, rising food prices and rising hunger, mass migrations and unrest, flooding of coastal areas; and disaster for the natural world.
“So we want a global agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions; and we also want action in Scotland to meet our emissions targets. We support Edinburgh Council’s target to reduce the city’s carbon emissions by 42% by 2020. We want to see action taken now to achieve and then exceed that target”.
Agriculture still plays an important role in the economies of the region and employment, despite its overall decline compared with industry and the services sector. Almost 50 per cent of land in the region is used for agriculture: 19 per cent as pastures and 29 per cent for arable land and permanent crops. This sector is heavily water- dependent, where disruptions in the precipitation regime and a higher risk of drought and extreme weather have significant implications on the stability of the sector. Water resources are also used to generate electricity. On average, about 37 per cent all electricity generated comes from hydropower, although this is much higher in Albania (100 percent), Croatia (42 per cent) and Montenegro (45.3 per cent). Hydropower can be affected by accelerated evaporation and drought, and changes in the timing and volume of flow to storage systems. More frequent extreme events, such as flooding, may also threaten all types of energy infrastructure, with the associated increase of maintenance costs.
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This photo has been graciously provided to be used in the GRID-Arendal resources library by: Cartografare il Presente/Nieves Izquierdo
During the World Peoples’ Conference on climate change and the Rights of Mother Earth in Cochabamba, 19-22 April, organized by UNIC La Paz in cooperation with the Government of Bolivia. (Photo credit: UNIC La Paz, 21 April 2010).
Participants of the first Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) African meeting held in Addis Ababa Ethiopia on 18-19 November 2014 (photo credit: ILRI).
Tyson Slocum, Public Citizen's energy program director, discusses comprehensive climate change legislation Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) are introducing.
The panel of energy and climate experts dove deeper on what Congress can do in the near-term to shift the U.S. electricity system toward cleaner sources of power.
Panelists
* Rachel Cleetus, Policy Director, Union of Concerned Scientists
* Mary Anne Hitt, Director, Beyond Coal Campaign, Sierra Club
* Dan Lashof, Director, World Resources Institute U.S.
* Karen Palmer, Senior Fellow and Director, Future of Power Initiative, Resources for the Future
* Amy Harder, Reporter, Axios (moderator)
Climate change has reemerged as a top priority on Capitol Hill — and the conversation has matured from whether to take action to how.
Learn more at www.wri.org/events/2019/04/reenergizing-climate-action-ca...