The Environment Chronicle

At an international conference in Kyiv on 19 April 2011, the world community pledged 550 million euros extra cash for the containment of the Chernobyl site. There is still a shortfall of 740 million euros in the funds needed for the two major projects in Chernobyl: a second New Safe Confinement (NSC) around the sarcophagus and the construction of an interim storage facility for spent fuel elements. The aim of the pledging conference was to close this gap as much as possible.

The sixteenth Conference of the Parties (COP 16 ) and the sixth Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 6) took place in Cancun, Mexico, from 29 November to 10 December 2010. The Cancun Agreements were the first to officially recognise the two degree target in a UN decision and contain a reference to the submitted mitigation commitments from industrialised and developing countries, the establishment of a global climate fund, arrangements on adaptation to climate change, forest conservation (REDD+), technological cooperation and capacity building in developing countries. A procedure was agreed for reviewing whether measures taken will suffice to meet the two degree target. Moreover, basic agreements were made regarding the transparency of countries’ climate action (MRV – measurable, reportable and verifiable). Industrialised countries pledged under certain conditions to mobilise funding from public and private sources for climate action in developing countries. These funds are to total 100 billion dollars per year by 2020.

On 23 November 2010 thw World leaders and countries that have wild tigers endorsed a major plan to double the number of tigers in the wild by 2022 underscoring their commitments at the historic International Tiger Conservation Forum. Hosted by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, governments capped a year-long political process with about USD 127 million in new funding to support the plan, known as the Global Tiger Recovery Programme.

On 29 October 2010 some 18,000 participants representing the 193 Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and their partners closed the Nagoya Biodiversity Summit by adopting historic decisions that will permit the community of nations to meet the unprecedented challenges of the continued loss of biodiversity compounded by climate change. The meeting took decisions in three key areas: participants adopted a new target and an ambitious strategy on the global conservation of biological diversity from 2011 to 2020, set binding financing targets for its implementation and adopted internationally binding regulations for access to genetic resources and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from their utilization.

The tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, hosted by the Government of Japan takes place from 18 to 29 October 2010.

As a contribution to the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity, which the General Assembly proclaimed in 2006 to stress the necessity to reverse the continued loss of biodiversity (A/RES/61/203 ), the General Assembly convened a high-level meeting on biodiversity on 22 September 2010.

On 3 September 2010 was an international meeting on biodiversity in Geneva (Switzerland). Switzerland invited ministers representing the former and upcoming presidencies of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to an informal meeting. The participants agreed on the Geneva Ministerial Biodiversity Call for Immediate Action, in which they affirmed the key role of biodiversity and its services for humans and called for a trend reversal in international biodiversity policies. The declaration calls upon heads of state and government, who will meet at the high-level meeting of the General Assembly as a contribution to the International Year of Biodiversity on 22 September of this year, to send a clear signal to the delegates of the 10th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the CBD in Japan this October.

Germany and Mexico invited environment and climate ministers from 43 countries to attend informal discussions from 2 to 4 May 2010 on the Petersberg near Bonn. The Petersberg Climate Dialogue has brought new momentum to the international climate negotiations. Germany's Environment Minister Röttgen commented at the end of the conference: "These two-and-a-half days of intensive discussions have clearly shown that there is broad consensus among the international community. I am delighted that with the Petersberg Climate Dialogue we have succeeded in holding an open exchange in a constructive atmosphere of trust. This is a good basis for further cooperation and sets us off on the road to an ambitious UN climate agreement."

The Bolivian President Evo Morales has called for the First World People's Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth (WPCCC) to be held in Bolivia. The conference took place April 19-22 near the city of Cochabamba.

Representatives of the Dutch, Danish and German governments meeting on 18 March 2010 in Westerland/Sylt agreed on new impetus for the protection of the Wadden Sea. At the conference, which was attended by over 130 international participants, the three partners of the Trilateral Wadden Sea Cooperation adopted a management plan for the entire Wadden Sea. Decisive action will now be taken against invasive alien species and the major challenges resulting from climate change. For the Wadden Sea ecosystem and for mankind it is vital to facilitate adaptation to the impacts of climate change through a package of measures. At the conclusion of the conference the governments of the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany agreed on a joint political programme for the coming 3 years geared towards even better protection of the common ecosystem. The conference on Sylt included the signing of a modernised founding document for the Cooperation and a new administrative agreement for the Common Wadden Sea Secretariat. In future, a newly established Wadden Sea Board will take on the strategic leadership of the Wadden Sea Cooperation. This board will be comprised of representatives of the three governments - or in Germany's case the Wadden Sea federal Länder - as well as two representatives from the nature conservation associations and the Wadden Sea Forum, an independent platform of stakeholders in the region. With the conclusion of the Sylt Conference, the presidency of the Wadden Sea Cooperation passes from Germany to Denmark.

The fifteenth Conference of the Parties (CoP15) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) took place from 13-25 March 2010, in Doha, Qatar. On 25 March the parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora failed to agree on stronger protection for endangered fish species. The proposals submitted by the EU, the United States and other countries did not receive the required majorities. The EU proposal put forward by Germany on the protection of the porbeagle missed the requires two-third majority by one vote. Previously, the proposal on the spiny dogfish had also failed to receive the necessary support. The United States, which submitted proposals for six shark species to be listed in Annex II, suffered the same failure. Equally abortive was the proposal put forward by Monaco on a temporary ban on international trade of the bluefin tuna. However, some amphibian species made it into the CITES Appendices this year: some tree or leaf frog species from Central America, for example, were listed in Appendix II of the Convention and the Luristan newt from Iran even received the strict protection status of Appendix I. Moreover, elephants in Tanzania and Zambia retained their protection status under Appendix I.

Ministers and high-level representatives responsible for the water management in the Danube River Basin from Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Montenegro, the Republic of Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine and the European Commission attended a Ministerial Meeting of States Parties to the Danube River Protection Convention, hosted by the ICPDR on 16 February 2010 in Vienna, Austria. The Ministerial Meeting adopted the Danube River Basin Management Plan, which outlines concrete measures to be implemented by the year 2015 to improve the environmental condition of the Danube and its tributaries. The measures include the reduction of organic and nutrient pollution, offsetting environmentally detrimental effects of man-made structural changes to the river, improvements to urban wastewater systems, the introduction of Phosphate-free detergents in all markets and effective risk management of accidental pollution. Further, measures to restore river continuity for fish migration as well as the reconnection of wetlands will be tackled. The plan takes a source-to-sea approach and addresses key requirements of the European Union Water Framework Directive.

The 2009 Copenhagen Summit was held in Copenhagen, Denmark, between 7 December and 18 December. The UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen fell short of expectations. The conference threatened to collapse on several occasions. Towards the end, the Danish presidency called together a small group of 25 states and worked with them to draft a closing statement. The substance of the agreement and the way it came about attracted vehement objections in the Plenary. Several developing countries said they could not approve an agreement that had been reached by a non-representative group. As a result, the COP merely ‘took note’ of the Copenhagen Accord.The closing statement contains a very general reference to the target of keeping global warming to a maximum two degrees Celsius. Industrialised states and emerging economies have until 1 February 2010 to ‘inscribe’ their national reduction targets.

The 15th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC and the 5th session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol took place from 7-18 Dezember 2009 in Copenhagen and was hosted by the Government of Denmark. The goal was to make binding decisions on central elements of a new climate agreement. This was not achieved. In Copenhagen a group of representatively selected heads of state and government only managed to draw up the Copenhagen Accord (CA) during the last two days of negotiations. All countries supporting the Copenhagen Accord committed to the goal of limiting the rise in global temperature to less than two degrees. The industrialised countries pledged up to 30 billion US-Dollars for climate action in developing countries from 2010-2012. Further plans include establishing a Technology Mechanism and a REDD+ Mechanism. These mechanisms are aimed at supporting developing countries in technology programmes and reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.

The Government of Maldives hosted the first Climate Vulnerable Forum to highlight the impact of climate change on vulnerable states from 9-10 November 2009, in Bandos Island Resort, Republic of Maldives. The new 11-nation group (V11) adopted a declaration for a low-carbon future to be presented at the U.N. climate-change summit in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The resumed ninth session of the the Ad Hoc Working Group on Further Commitments for Annex I Parties under the Kyoto Protocol (AWG-KP) and resumed seventh session of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action under the Convention (AWG-LCA) were held from 2-6 November in Barcelona.

Representatives from 11 countries met in Bonn, Germany, from 16-18 September under the auspices of the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic, North East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas (ASCOBANS). Supported in its deliberations by several international and nongovernmental organizations dealing with marine conservation, the meeting agreed a number of measures to protect and enhance populations of small whales and dolphins in these European waters. A new strategy for the future prioritises activities focusing on the key threats to small cetaceans, namely bycatch (the incidental capture of animals by fishing activities) and disturbance by noise.

The Third World Climate Conference (WCC-3) was held in Geneva, Switzerland, from 31 August to 4 September 2009. It was organised by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), in collaboration with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the United Nations Environment Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Council for Science and other intergovernmental and non-governmental partners. The WCC-3 decided to establish a Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS), a UN-led initiative spearheaded by WMO to guide the development and application of science-based climate information and services in support of decision-making. The GFCS has four initial priority sectors: agriculture and food security, water, health and disaster risk reduction.

The Ad Hoc Working Group on Further Commitments for Annex I Parties under the Kyoto Protocol (AWG-KP) and the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action under the Convention (AWG-LCA) held intersessional informal consultations from 10 to 14 August 2009. The meetings are taking place at the Hotel Maritim in Bonn, Germany.

At the L'Aquila summit both the G8 countries and the group of the 16 major developed and emerging countries (Major Economies Forum, MEF) committed themselves to international climate protection. MEF countries produce about 80 percent of the annually emitted greenhouse gases. The pledge of both groups of countries to limit the average temperature increase to less than 2 degrees based on pre-industrialisation reference levels is a substantial success. In the fight against climate change the G8 thus again assume a frontrunner role by setting a greenhouse gas emission reduction goal of 80 percent by 2050 for developed countries.

International scientists hold the first ever debate on the contribution of cultural studies to climate research. The foreseeable consequences of dangerous climate change call for combined global efforts for climate protection – efforts that require great social, political and cultural changes. These aspects of climate protection will be discussed for the first time between scientists of various disciplines and international experts from the worlds of politics and business. The conference from June 8-10 in Essen (Germany) aims to consolidate the social debate on climate change and provide new incentives for scientific policy advice in the run-up to the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December 2009. The conference is hosted by the Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities in Essen (KWI) and Stiftung Mercator, in cooperation with the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy.

A second round of global climate talks was hold in Bonn from 1-12 June 2009. The conference aimed to make progress towards a new international climate agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.

The first World Ocean Conference take place from May 11 through May 15, 2009 in the Indonesian city of Manado in North Sulawesi. Environmental experts, officials and ministers from over 80 will discuss the state of the oceans and the role they play in the world's changing climate. One of the main aims is to create a forum to coordinate international conservation efforts to counter the impact of rising sea levels and dwindling fish stocks blamed on higher temperatures.

A two-day conference in Athens on the future of European biodiversity policy entitled "Biodiversity Protection – Beyond 2010" will open on Monday the 27th of April. Some 230 delegates from all the EU Member States, together with representatives from NGOs, European business and UN organisations will discuss current EU policy on preserving EU biodiversity identify priorities for future action.

The Seventh session of the AWG-KP and fifth session of the AWG-LCA took place from Sunday 29 March to Wednesday 8 April 2009 in Maritim, Bonn. It was the first of five planned negotiating sessions before COP 15 in Copenhagen in December.

The First Asian Ministerial Conference on Tiger Conservation was held at the resort of Hua Hin, Thailand from January 27-30, hosted by the Royal Government of Thailand. All 13 tiger range countries (Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand, and Vietnam) were represented in Hua Hin. During this conference, the ministers and representatives adopted the Hua Hin Declaration on Tiger Conservation. In the declaration, tiger range states pledged to increase occupancy and numbers of the remaining wild tigers within each country and jointly strive to double the global tiger population by 2022.

The 14th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 14) and the 4th session of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 4), took place from 1 December to 12 December in the Polish city of Poznan in 2008. COP 14 represented an important intermediate stage in the international negotiation process for a new post-2012 climate agreement, marking a transition from sharing the respective positions to concrete negotiations on the content of a new agreement. In this sense Poznan acted as a working conference in which key elements of a new climate regime were discussed and where the Parties could sum up their negotiating positions. The discussions on content focused primarily on the necessary national greenhouse gas reduction targets and on financial support for climate action in developing countries. The nature of the conference meant that no decisions were taken at that stage, but Parties agreed to submit their national reduction targets or measures for 2020 by mid-February 2009.

Climate 2008 / Klima 2008 is being organized by the Research and Transfer Centre "Applications of Life Sciences" of the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences. The Centres undertakes fundamental research on life sciences issues as well as on aspects of climate, energy and sustainable development.

From 19 to 30 May 2008 Germany will host the 9th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity. With Germany as chair, the global community will discuss measures against the ongoing destruction of nature over the coming weeks. The key international instrument for the protection of biological diversity is the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which is one of the three agreements under international law that were passed at the UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. The approximately 190 Parties to the CBD convene every two years. These conferences are the highest–level decision-making body of the Convention. In addition to the national delegations, a broad spectrum of environmental and development organisations participate actively in the UN conferences.

The 13th Conference of the Parties (COP 13) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the 3rd Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 3) 13 took place from 3 to 14 December 2007 in Bali, Indonesia. The conference culminated in the adoption of the Bali Action Plan. In this Action Plan the Parties to the FCCC agreed to negotiate issues such as concrete commitments and contributions from all countries to emissions reductions (including a reduction of deforestation), adaptation, technology and financing up to and beyond 2012. Originally, these negotiations were to be concluded at the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP 15) in Copenhagen. In Durban it was decided that the work was to be concluded in Doha.

Kenya hosted the second meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 2), in conjunction with the twelfth session of the Conference of the Parties to the Climate Change Convention (COP 12), in Nairobi from 6 to 17 November 2006. Discussions at the Climate change conference centred around African issues. The summit agreed on the principles and structure of the Adaptation Fund and on a five-year work programme on adaptation. The Parties also agreed that Africa should be supported through capacity building and assistance in the development of concrete projects and thus increase the continent's participation in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). Germany and the EU announced that they would substantially top up the European Union's umbrella fund Global Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Fund (GEEREF). The aim is to mobilise around 1.25 billion euros in climate-friendly investments and thus advance the elimination of energy poverty, particularly in Africa.

The Eleventh session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 11) and the first session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 1)took place from 28 November to 9 December 2005 in Montreal, Canada. The Climate Change Conference resulted in the Montreal Action Plan, a roadmap to a post-2012 international climate regime. Some countries, for instance the United States and Australia, only accepted the FCCC but rejected the Kyoto Protocol. These states participated in the Montreal negotiations as observers. Following the Marrakesh Accords the Kyoto Protocol was fully implemented and equipped with a robust review regime. The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) was topped up with a further 7.7 million USD of funding, its organisation improved and institutional position strengthened. The summit also adopted the five-year programme of work on impacts, vulnerability and adaptation to climate change.

The first meeting of the Conference of the Parties of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP) took place in Punta del Este, Uruguay. 800 participants from 130 states established a review committee that will be responsible for evaluating additional chemicals that could be added to the treaty's initial list of 12 POPs ("the dirty dozen"). Four more chemicals have been proposed already. Target is phasing out of the production of these substances.

Tenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 12) took place from 6 to 17 December 2004 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The Buenos Aires Conference tagged the tenth anniversary of the Climate Convention. It ended with a minimal compromise after a one day delay. For less developed countries in particular, funds of 400 million euros per year are to be made available by the EU alone in order to provide them with better protection against flooding, storms and other climate damage. There was an agreement on a second meeting to be held in Bonn in May 2005 about the further reductions in greenhouse gases after 2012. The US have reconfirmed their denial of the Kyoto Protocol.

Since the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989, there remains a strip of land running the entire length of Europe, from the Barents to the Black Sea, which remains comparatively undisturbed. It is the aim of the ?Green Belt? project to have this entire strip, or key habitats within it, as well as the connected areas become part of an ecological network. The first Conference of the Working Group is being organised by BfN and IUCN.

CEHAPE is a document for policy makers, negotiated with Member States, that highlights the main commitments on children's environment and health and details the four regional priority goals (RPGs) for Europe. CEHAPE was adopted by European Ministers at the Budapest Conference through the Conference Declaration. The Budapest Conference is the fourth in a series started in 1989, bringing together ministers of health and of the environment as well as major stakeholders. European ministers are expected to reach consensus and make political commitments to ensure safer environments for children, through the adoption of a Conference declaration and of a children's environment and health action plan for Europe.

The conference charted the way towards an expansion of renewable energies worldwide, responding to the call of the Johannesburg summit for the global development of renewable energy. It also kept up the momentum generated by the coalition of like-minded countries for promotion of renewable energies (known as the Johannesburg Renewable Energy Coalition, JREC). 3600 participants met in Bonn, among them official governmental delegations including energy, environmental and development ministers, representatives of the United Nations and other international and non-governmental organisations, civil society and the private sector.

Ninth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 9) took place from 1 to 12 December 2003 in Milan, Italy. The Climate Change Conference was initially adversely affected by Russia's contradictory statements on its ratification of the Kyoto Protocol, the uncertainty regarding the date of the Protocol's entry into force and by the US going on the offensive in its climate policy approach in the media and at side events. Nevertheless, COP 9 was able to make it clear that the Kyoto Protocol had the support of the overwhelming majority in the international community. One key outcome of COP 9 was the successful conclusion of the two-year negotiations on the rules for afforestation and reforestation projects in developing countries. This closed the last gap in the Kyoto Protocol's rules of implementation.

The eighth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 8) took place from 23 October to 1 November 2002 in New Delhi, India. The Climate Change Conference took on a bridging function. Negotiations on the details of the Kyoto Protocol were essentially complete and it was expected to enter into force the following year. However negotiations on a second commitment period were deferred until the entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol. For this reason, COP 8 held initial talks with key countries such as Brazil, India and China on the options regarding fair commitments for developing countries. However, these talks only took place on an informal level. Besides this political discussion, decisions were taken on the design of the Clean Development Mechanism and the use of funds provided by industrialised countries for climate action in developing countries. In addition the New Delhi summit also discussed new guidelines on the national reports to be drawn up by developing countries, and agreed on a work programme aimed at raising awareness of climate issues and anchoring them more firmly in the Parties' educational programmes.

The main result of the so far largest conference of the United Nations was to mark the future path to sustainable development by new priorities, targets and programmes. Important new targets were established, such as: to halve the proportion of people without access to basic sanitation by 2015; to use and produce chemicals by 2020 in ways that do not lead to significant adverse effects on human health and the environment; to maintain or restore depleted fish stocks to levels that can produce the maximum sustainable yield on an urgent basis and where possible by 2015; and to achieve by 2010 a significant reduction in the current rate of loss of biological diversity.