Once again, another Conference of Parties is here, and once again, it is time to talk, talk and talk. Though the COP 17 is not the first COP held in an African soil (COP 12 was held Kenya in 2006), but this one by and large is the much talk-about COP in Africa, hence dubbed as the Africans COP. But the questions which remain are what make COP 17 really an African COP? What is unique about it?  Is it only because it is held in Africa and that’s it!! Or is organising the COP in Africa really means the outcome of the negotiation will favour Africa’s agenda? Can South Africa, the incoming president really steer the negotiation to make it swing in favour of Africa? 

Will the outcome of the discussion going to be as usual, a simple COP decision without any binding targets or this time round would it be a fair ambitious and a legally binding one?  Is this year’s COP going to be different from that of 2009, where few powerful countries meet in a green room, put up negotiating text, tailored to suite their selfish national interest then ask the world to accept what they decided?  Or is COP 17 going to be a COP, where leaders make franks talks, having the threat of climate change at the back of their minds and then make a COP where parties big or small unclenched their fists for national interest to a global climate treaty that is needed to salvage the planet and the future generation?

Well, these are questions that needs urgent and decisive answers yet many a time there is none. So the world once again sit and wait, and as usual hoping for the best but expecting the worst. The COP 17 ends on the 9th December 2011 and then we shall know what our leaders have put on the table for us.

While we are waiting, fingers-a-crossed, we want to reflect on what we think should constitute a successful COP or otherwise, in the eyes of an African youth. First, we want to join the African group stand at the negotiation and want to say to them, louder and clear that we are behind you. As young people, representing the future, the generation that will inherit whatever decision reach today, and living in Africa, the continent that is most vulnerable and less capacities to adapt, we are equally perturb by the slow pace to act by those countries that are able, and in fact responsible for current predicament of the changing climate.

We are now tired of the hide-and-seek and business as usual of talks that lead us nowhere. The COP is such an expensive under-taking that we can longer accept the lack progress to reach a definitive agreement for global emission reduction. So, it’s time to act.

In a recent interview of Tosi Mpanu, the chief Negotiator of the African group under the UNFCCC with leaderhiponline, he said that Africa has high respect for the Kyoto protocol, and will not comprise with the life of the KP, the only legally binding instrument that requires those countries most responsible for causing climate change to reduce pollution. We welcome this tough stand and are happy that our leaders think this way.

Though we has no doubt that with a united African front this is achievable, however, we are worried that annex 1 countries will use their divide-and-rule  tactic which they are very good at, to get an easy way out.  We hope that the respective African countries will not be lured again to comprise their concerted efforts for big promises that are often not fulfilled. What we want to see now is tangible commitments that is legally binding and support climate financing needed to curb the climate crises. Funding for climate change based on bilateral agreement cannot just work for Africa and should not be accepted.

We therefore join Mr.Tosi and the general African group to ask for tangible outcome from Durban that is based on science that is fair and that honours the promises all countries have made to each other in the UN Climate Convention and its Kyoto Protocol. Unlike the mainly perceive death of Kyoto protocol in Durban we expect nothing less extension of the KP to another commitment period, after the current commitment expires in 2012.

This agreement need to be reach in Durban in order to avoid gap. Parties need to agree to a level of co-operative global efforts that cut emission to a safe level for Africa and other developing nations. And hence we want implore on all parties to agree to global emission reductions well below 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Also, we want to remind parties do all it require to close the “mitigation gap”, ensuring that the developed countries take on the lead for fair and appropriate contributions to the global emission reduction efforts, based on historical responsibility and ability.

We want the “finance gap” to be close ensuring that the developed countries meet their commitments to enable the adaptation and mitigation efforts in developing countries that is clean and not following the annex 1 countries development pathway. In addition we want to see, capacity building, climate Education integrate into central focus on negotiation.

This may look to be a tall demand for many critics but we stand firm until these demands are met. We have Faith!!!

Ebrima S. Dem, youth climate activist. He is the climate change focal person for the Network of African Youth for Development ( NAYD),Climate change Education specialist and member African youth Initiatives on climate change (ayicc). He is currently the National Coordinator of Global Unification the Gambia. He can be reach at: climateinfo@nayd.org.

Connect4Climate launched in 2011 with a photo and video competition, inviting people from ages 13 - 35 to share personal climate change stories. We asked that the stories take place within the continent of Africa and focus: Agriculture, Energy, Forests, Gender, Health and Water. Through photos and short videos, participants shared with us how climate change affects their lives, communities, and environments. The selected winners were announced at a high-profile award ceremony at COP17 in Durban, where world leaders and prominent climate change thinkers had the chance to look, listen, and learn about these climate stories.

See the original competition information here

Receiving entries from every country in Africa, Connect4Climate team members have kept in touch with many of the contest participants and winners, including Mants’ase Children’s Home located in Mohale’s Hoek, Lesotho. Children from Mants’ase won three prizes for their photo submissions focusing on the agriculture and energy themes. 

On February 3, 2015, one Connect4Climate team member traveled to Mohale’s Hoek, Lesotho, and visited Mants’ase. The children and staff showed her the location of the winning photos and told her about the climate change projects they have implemented and how they are contributing to the global climate conversation.

One student living at Mants’ase studies by solar lamp. Photo by Leigh Vogel

According to Elaine Herbert, Mants’ase Children’s Home Secretary and liaison to the Connect4Climate team:

“In 2003, the first solar water heaters were installed (on the roof of the building) and since then we have purchased more solar water heaters, so that we now only use solar energy for heating water for baths, showers and for doing the laundry.

The pump that pumps the water from the well up to the water reservoir (situated at the highest place on the property) is powered by solar energy. There are two big solar panels (on top of tall poles) situated not far from the teenage boy’s dormitory. The water is then fed by gravity from the reservoir to the taps.

The children and staff at Mants’ase Children’s Home stand near the garden. Photo by Leigh Vogel

We have a few solar lights, including the ‘street light’ in the grounds, which has its own solar panel so that it is recharged every day. The electricity we buy (from the national grid) is a fairly clean form of energy in that most, if not all of it, is hydroelectricity.

A lot of thought and planning has gone into the positioning and orientation of the new buildings (still under construction) along with the number and size of the windows, to allow maximum natural heating of these buildings by the sun during winter. Although in mid-winter our temperatures often drop to well below freezing at night, and very cold winds blow from the mountains, winter is our dry season and most days are sunny. So by keeping the cold wind out, while allowing maximum sunshine in, we should be able to keep to a minimum the use of other forms of energy for heating these buildings during winter.

We reduce our carbon footprint in other small ways—the vegetable garden for example, drying our laundry outside in the sun, and by generating relatively little refuse.

As far as conservation is concerned, most of our efforts have been focused on preventing soil erosion on our property.”

See the prizes the Connect4Climate team is shipping to Mants’ase on the Mants’ase Facebook page here

At C4C we want to make your voices heard by the key actors in climate change policy. With that goal in mind, we set out to have a presence at COP17 in Durban, through participating in or hosting five interactive events that would allow us to showcase your messages on climate change issues and actions. The variety in scope of C4C’s events in Durban helped to amplify the voices of our community amongst both current and potential partner organizations as well as youth delegates who were active at the conference. Having events both in and outside of the security perimeter meant that audiences for the C4C events included both accredited delegation members as well as press, NGOs, academics, private sector, and concerned individuals. You can find more information on each of our events at COP17 below. 

C4C delegates unfurling a banner in the Africa Pavilion at COP17.

African Bloggers on Climate Change kicked off this morning and will run through October 31st. Below is a list of all the commentary and blog posts related to AVCC. We will update this list daily with all the blog posts that have been written so far. If you are an African blogger or a climate change, environment blogger, we encourage you to join the conversation. Check out the original AVCC posts for guidance on how to engage in the global conversation.

1) Voices

by Rowan Emslie

Recently the whole climate change debate has been mostly dominated by ‘climate deniers’ and those who deny their denials. A tale as old as time, we have progressive thinkers attacking conservative thinkers and vice versa.

2) Rwanda Shines in Conservation Where Her EAC Partners Falter

by Prof. Dr. Wolfgang H. Thome

Conservation is never easy, always full of the challenge to keep growing populations reconciled with having protected areas set aside near where they live and percolate benefits to those who live nearby, derived from tourism and conservation income.

3) Blogging for Connect4Climate - WildLife

by Solomon Jagwe

With most of the wildlife in the East African Rift Valley depending on the changing of seasons to migrate to areas where their offspring can stand a chance of survival, it is of great importance to discuss how the climate change adversely affects those migration patterns.

4) Innovative Solutions in Africa

By Independent Global Citizen

Deforestation and waste management are two challenges facing the global community.  Trees are often cut down in rural parts of developing countries to be used as firewood to cook and to fire mud bricks used in the construction of buildings like houses, shops, and latrines.

5) Act now, Act together, Act differently

By Mimieux

In just 3 years, Kenya has suffered two bouts of severe drought leaving thousands of people dead. Northern Kenya, boasting extreme temperatures of up to 35 degrees falls under the 80% of Kenyan land that is arid/ semi-arid and consequently not suitable for Agriculture.

6) This is about Climate Change really, but it's about My Childhood Too

By Iwaya Mataachi

The boys would run naked into the “river” and splash water at the giggling girls huddle on the bank and I could see, even then, in the corner of my eye, the boy and the girl who had split from the group to talk in private under a tree away from us.

7) Energy poverty - Where does the answer lie?

By Evelyn Namara

In Uganda today, according to a report submitted by UNESCO "Overall, only 9 percent of Uganda’s population is supplied with grid electricity (20 percent in urban areas compared to only 3 percent in rural areas), and 70 percent of these customers reside in the three major towns of Kampala, Entebbe and Jinja."

8) Changing the World

By Ruth Aine

You and I may never make it to The UN Convention on Climate Change: We may never be able to be part of the debate on the environment in Uganda led by the Ministry of Water and Environment; We may never be able to know and understand what is meant by major greenhouse gases being necessary to identify the current trends in atmospheric concentrations and climate change: But I believe that we can effect change by being the voice in our communities where we belong.

9) Listen; the trees and water are talking

By Mark Keith Muhumuza

Little known to the active men and human nature is that their actions will be met with vast environmental misgivings. The energy demands by human nature often growing and depleting natural resources like water and forests have vast consequences mostly unknown or that they have no control over.

10) "Climate Smart" - Agriculture Initiatives Will Save Africa

By Maureen Agena

Climate change impacts are much localised and hence some areas are more vulnerable than others. Therefore African Governments need to spearhead initiatives of climate proofing Agriculture with all partners involved in climate change adaptation strategies.

11) The environment does not need saving

By John K. Abimanyi

Go build an industry in a wetland, a sugar cane farm in a forest, a shopping arcade in a wetland, a hydro power dam on the longest river, a collection of nightspots in the few green spaces in the capital, cut some trees and make some charcoal, drain all the fish from the seas, and help promote the cause of humanity. Self-destruction is, after all, what humanity is best experienced at doing.

12) An Ode To Mother Earth

By Lydia Idem Finkley

I’ve always been a tree hugger. Directly because they are Nigerian, mine have always been “waste-not-EVER” parents. So even if they never admit it, it’s in my blood. I do my best to support local farmers and green companies. When I grow up, I’ll be an investor in green and sustainable technology.

13) Connecting4Climate: Promoting an Active Recycling Culture in Nigeria

By Tukeni Obasi

The present stigma attached to waste management and recycling reveals the disconnect between the average Nigerian and their waste and yet as reality has shown, climate change continues to connect us all. In order to turn that connection into a beneficial one, we must change our cultural practices.

14) Reflections on the festival of lights

By Neha Misra

Electricity access is fundamental for achieving UN’s millennium development goals (MDG’s), the most broadly supported, comprehensive and specific development goals the world has ever agreed upon. 

15) Energy at the cost of the environment

But that said, the energy demands of our nation need to be paid attention to and planned for wisely because our current energy consumption isn’t sustainable even in the short run. Uganda as a country needs a sustainable model of handling its energy demands and still paying respect to the environment from which these demands are met.

16) The road to sustainable energy in Nigeria

By Lyinoluwa.O Aremu

This is why the introduction of the new electric prepaid meter, few years back, is a good idea for sustainable energy in Nigeria. This meter, unlike the old one, requires customers to buy electric units on the meter, which will eventually be used up, depending on how many electric appliances are used or the frequency of the usage of the electric.

17) Our Health and Climate Change

By Njeri Nancy Maina

Water is life and as long as man shall live, water remains the most essential element to life on earth. Liquid in normal room temperature and ice when frozen; water is basic to our everyday activities especially around the home. Water may appear of less importance to those who have consistent access to it but once it’s out, one then realizes the service water offers.

18) 6th African Economic Conference: Youth employment within the new African Green Economy Agenda 

By Esther Agbarakwe

So does Green Economy bring hope to African youths seeking Jobs? Speaking at the Special Session on the Role of the State in promoting Green Economy, African Youths and experts urge government to ensure that decent Jobs are indeed created for Africa’s  youths and not use the notion of technology transfers and innovation to give jobs to non-Africans employed to help Africa transits to a green economy.

19) Dear baby Seven [ Billion ]

By TMS Ruge

That intelligence and ambition drives us to invent and reinvent. We are destructively creative beings by nature; never satisfied with the status quo. “Out with the old and in with the new,” is a motto you will hear a lot in your lifetime. We create to destroy.

20) A key: the role of women in climate change

By Iyinoluwa O. Aremu

So, how do we go about this? We don’t need much of government action in raising awareness of climate change to women, we only need interested and motivated people or organisations, who are ready to go into the rural areas, meet the women and show them demonstrations of how they can save their environment.

21) Impact of Climate Change on Agriculture and Food

By Olumide Idowu

Populations in the developing world, which are already vulnerable and food insecure, are likely to be the most seriously affected. In 2005, nearly half of the economically active population in developing countries—2.5 billion people—relied on agriculture for its livelihood. Today, 75 per cent of the world’s poor live in rural areas.

22) Nigeria: Why Climate Change

By Olumide Idowu

Peer-reviewed research accepted by the Journal of Geography and Regional Planning concludes that Nigeria’s average temperature has risen by 1.7 degrees in the period 1901-2005. The increase has been higher in the semi-arid regions and lower in the coastal zone. The paper also demonstrates that the rate of change has increased since the 1970s.

23) 7 Billion People and Counting: {Connect 4 Climate - Change}

By Andy Kristian

In short, more than 45% of the people that dwell in urban areas do not have electricity. And that’s not all, in the cities, the other 45% who have electricity, they probably don’t have it all week and sporadically experience power outages during the week.

24) Of Human Waste and Water: Cleaning up Lagos City

By Olatunbosun Obayomi

In July, Lagos experienced heavy rain fall. Storm water overwhelmed the poorly designed drainage and canal systems which were already choked with refuse. Twenty-five people lost their lives and the city came to a halt. Both rich and poor were impacted. The event was blamed on climate change, specifically the rise of the Atlantic Ocean.

Climate change is one of the major problems we face today.

It may lead to the permanent flooding of low-lying regions and the disruption of potable water supply to millions around the world as the ice-packs in the mountains shrink and deplete the water reserves of major population centers. It may also lead to the decline in oil and gas supplies as hydro-carbon reserves peak and the price of energy increases exponentially. These events would have an extreme affect on our world.

But climate change may also cause, directly or indirectly, deep fractures in world trade and commerce that would likely result in political tensions and armed conflict among religious, ethnic, and cultural communities across the world. Ending extreme poverty is impossible without tackling climate change. A few months away from the defining Climate Change negotiations in Paris, now is the time to face the defining challenge of our generation.

[video:https://vimeo.com/128639704]

 

"Communication has becoming the glue, the cement of all we do in everyday life, and especially when it comes tackling major global issues, such as climate change."

Whereas in the past, we were able to increase food production over a few cropping cycles, or establish income generating ventures in a couple of years, the “new” problems we face may take years, and in the case of climate change, several generations for the world community to resolve.

How do we build consensus and muster the altruistic intent of the present generation to consume less, de-escalate conflict, and subject ourselves to research so that future generations who will exist long after we are gone may inherit a habitable planet?

The tried and tested methods of agriculture extension, social mobilization, community participation, and multi-lateral negotiation are unlikely to succeed on their own as these systemic problems grow in their severity and people submit to innate human instincts for self-preservation and compete even more keenly for rapidly dwindling natural resources, ratchet-up violence, hoard energy and water, and close markets to international commerce.

We do not have appropriate strategies to begin addressing these “new” and highly complex challenges. 

At the 2012 edition of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the background report on the global risks our world faces clearly stated that three common, crosscutting observations from the varied groups of experts consulted:

* Decision-makers need to improve understanding of incentives that will improve collaboration in response to global risks;

* Trust, or lack of trust, is perceived to be a crucial factor in how risks may manifest themselves. In particular, this refers to confidence, or lack thereof, in leaders, in the systems which ensure public safety and in the tools of communication that are revolutionizing how we share and digest information;

* Communication and information sharing on risks must be improved by introducing greater transparency about uncertainty and conveying it to the public in a meaningful way.

Jan Servaes (PhD, 1987, Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium) is Chair Professor in the Department of Media and Communication at the City University of Hong Kong and UNESCO Chair in Communication for Sustainable Social Change. Servaes has undertaken research, development, and advisory work around the world and is known as the author of journal articles and books on such topics as international and development communication; ICT and media policies; intercultural communication and language; and participation and social change.

This morning we ran across two articles covering two different aspects of the climate change debate. Or should we say, two articles highlighting two very divergent realities about climate change. It is important to note that the climate change debate between scientists is a much different conversation than the conversation between those affected by climate change.

On one hand, most scientists have the luxury of empirical data upon which to base their arguments, either in defense or in denial of the phenomena. On the flip side, those affected by climate change most often live the experience of climate change. Their anecdotal contribution to the debate is very much passed over for lack of scientifically verifiable data. This creates a valley of misunderstanding where both sides are speaking past each other and not really putting the two sides of the debate on a equal pitch.

Here's a look at the two articles:

The first one is a prime example of what one normally sees in the climate change debate, highly-educated Western academics and practitioners locked into a battle of intellectual one-upmanship. In this case, Germany's Spiegel publication sits down with long-time activist Fritz Vahrenholt on his new book, The Cold Sun, in which he disputes that CO2 and man-made GHG as the major and sole contributors to climate change.

Today, I want new scientific findings to be included in the climate debate. It would then become clear that the simple equation that CO2 and other manmade greenhouse gases are almost exclusively responsible for climate change is unsustainable.

According to the interview, Vahrenholt asserts that global warming isn't happening, and that in fact, there's a global cooling period that is about to begin.

The whole Q&A session with Spiegel is a riveting exchange of equally matched intellectuals dancing around dissenting conclusions. However, it is important not to dismiss Vahrenholt simply as a climate denier. As a respected scientist in Germany's energy sector, his counter argument to the seemingly single story on climate change is going to carry a lot of weight and perhaps open a whole new chapter to the climate change debate. Vahrenholt, it seems, is aiming for this as an outcome.

"It hasn't gotten any warmer on this planet in almost 14 years, despite continued increases in CO2 emissions. Established climate science has to come up with an answer to that."

The second article was a pictorial featured on the BBC Africa website: In pictures: Making charcoal from Liberian rubber trees. The first thing you notice about this pictorial is that, the images tell the story, instead of the people in the images. The images tell the story of the after-market of rubber trees, a major industry in Liberia, that are cut down after every 25 years. The local population harvests the fallen trees and manufactures charcoal, the preferred energy source for most of the country. According to the captions, Liberia relies mostly on wood for it's access to energy. Only 1% of the country has access to modern clean fuels, the lowest in the world.

This is a polar contrast to Germany, with it's vast array of clean energy resources including wind, solar, nuclear, and hydro-electric. So vast that Vahrenholt casts off solar energy as not suitable for Germany. To Vahrenholt, solar should be relegated to developing markets. "Wind power and biomass are fine in Germany, but no solar panels, please! They're better off in Africa and southern Europe." Must be nice to have an abundance of choices.

The framing of the two discourses is also telling of the current state of the debate. On one hand, the intellectuals get the microphone to wax poetic in defense of their purview. Those at the bottom of the climate change pyramid are most often depicted through someone else's lens and are never part of an equal conversation. They are the users, the affected, and the statistical collateral damage of a polarizing debate.

What happens when the debates become about the people, and less about the science and cyclical anomalies? What happens when these rubber tree scavengers (call them recyclers really) become the center of conversation? Sure, keep science as the tent poles for reasoned policy, but centered around people-centric holistic solutions geared at sustainable development. Does the outcome of the debate change if we reverse course and look at the issue through a human lens? Climate change scientists (not surprisingly) defer on man's contribution to climate change in the grand scheme of the Earth's climate cycles, some dating back thousands of years before man's started producing GHGs.

The UN's Zero Draft documents is heavy on language calling for inclusive sustainable development, where all participants get equal participation and contribution. The document also highlights the need to connect the two spheres of the conversation by maximizing the use of ICT as a tool for development communication. Easier access to information for those at the bottom of the climate change pyramid could facilitate equal discourse between those that have the knowledge and solutions and those lacking climate change facts, data, and research.

@Connect4Climate~Due to high illiteracy levels (75%). Climate Change may seem an alien word to many pple in my locality!

— Abdisalan Ahmed (@Abdisalan_Ahmed) February 8, 2012

ICTs coincidentally, also address a little talked about barrier to a level discourse. As one of our social media followers, Abdisalan Ahmed from Kenya, pointed out on Twitter that "due to high illiteracy levels (75%). Climate Change may seem an alien word to many pple in my locality!"

What do you think, could the use of ICTs help close this gap?

The authors explore the many successful strategies and measures for climate resilience and low carbon development that communities and leaders have pursued at the subnational level. They draw on the rich and practical experiences of CDKN’s project partners and the broader ICLEI network.

They argue that the battle for climate compatible development will be won or lost in provinces, districts and cities. There are distinct challenges at subnational level– for example, future climate data for local and subnational levels is more uncertain than at larger scales, and subnational decision-makers face intense local pressure to act on the negative impacts of climate extremes and disasters. There are also unique opportunities. Subnational decision-makers often have a sound understanding of climate trends in their area, based on first-hand experience and local and indigenous knowledge. They have a good sense of solutions that are effective in the local context and they have the ability to mobilise local resources for implementation, including people’s time and knowledge.

Effective strategies for subnational climate compatible development respond to these challenges and build on these opportunities. Such strategies:

● use flexible modes of decision-making available at the subnational level to go beyond national mandates for climate compatible development and to innovate solutions.

● raise the awareness of climate ‘champions’ in subnational government and bolster their climate leadership.

● build a strong case for action through effective, locally relevant communications about climate change impacts and the benefits of low-carbon, climate-resilient development.

● mobilise local expertise and support including in-kind resources, and forge alliances among civil society, businesses, researchers (including climate scientists), government decision-makers and civil servants.

● secure additional resources from outside the locality where necessary.

CDKN’s and ICLEI’s programme experience demonstrates that these strategies yield promising results at the subnational level. However, the scale of the global climate challenge is huge. Alone, individual subnational initiatives do not achieve enough. It will take a global transformation in the way that society approaches development if we are to achieve a low-carbon, climate-resilient future. Successful subnational climate compatible strategies must be rapidly scaled up and scaled out to meet this challenge.

The paper will be launched at CDKN’s session ‘Tackling Poverty and Climate Change in Cities‘ at the World Urban Forum in Medellin, Colombia on 10 April 2014.

Download the full copy of the paper: Close to home: Subnational strategies for climate compatible development.

[video:https://vimeo.com/142404010]

 

An intimate dialogue promoted by Connect4Climate, a global climate change communication program founded by the World Bank and the Italian Ministry of Environment, took place on the Chile Pavilion at EXPO Milan. The Chile Pavilion, hosts of the discussion on sustainability in universal exhibitions, achieved 3 out of 4 categories of the "Towards a Sustainable EXPO" award, on October the 13th.

The event was an opportunity to share experiences and know-how among stakeholders from different industries and sectors on their roles in advancing sustainability. The discussion highlighted the importance of events like this in the fight against climate change - see participants here.

“There is not just an agreement, people are starting to connect together, together with this EXPO to move towards the next EXPOs in order to have a different approach to sustainability and really engage in making people aware of this huge problem, climate change,” said Massimiliano Falcone, Connect4Climate’s team member, summarizing the event.

After a brief introduction of Augusto Aninat, Director ProChile Italy, and Connect4Climate’s Massimiliano Falcone, the high-level panel discussion was facilitated by John Wyse, a BBC World News Speaker. He lead the dialogue along two main topics: technological innovation to tackle climate change and the role of traditional values to transition to a clean resilient future.

Technological innovation, at both a production and outcome (product) levels, were highlighted as climate solutions, to reduce CO2, mitigate fine dust, and other environmental impacts. The role of sustainability in business was mentioned as a paramount concept to measure up to.  Andrea Boragno, CEO of Connect4Climate’s partner Alcantara emphasized: “There is a strong idea and conviction that sustainability is not in conflict with the long term goal of increasing the economic and financial value of the company.” He went on the highlight that the final consumer has a huge say in advancing sustainability in business through their purchasing power, for sustainable products.

Presentation during the CLIMATEXPO discussion highlighting role fo solar. Credit: Roberto Razeto

The dialogue took a turn to introduce and discuss the concept of “Smart Cities,” and the role of traditional values in a global urbanized society. Farming and agriculture in a primarily Urbanized Global society can provide opportunities for societies to create new business and organizations, and explore new methods and improvements in technology, on the basis of traditional values that emphasize Social Capital and Human Cohesion.

The links between the role of the EXPO in address climate change and promoting sustainability were explored in the context of the recently announced Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the UN in September. “2015 is the year in which all the countries in the world have assumed their commitments and so EXPO could become and appointment, every 5 years, of disclosure, sharing all he progress made towards the achieving the SDGs,” said Maurizio Zollo, Dean’s Chaired Professor in Strategy and Sustainability at the Bocconi University. He emphasized that universal exhibitions could be the sites for governments to come together and showcase the progress they are making towards achieving the SDGs.

The role of business in advancing the sustainability is thought to be crucial. Maurizio Zollo underlined during the discussion that all the SDG goals “require companies fundamentally change the way that they behave the way they manage their businesses. Managers have to rethink what they are doing and how their companies are run, the role of the company within their social and environmental context, which requires a lot of willingness to innovate and to experiment.”

This Monday, the Empire State Building lit up in green as Climate Week (http://www.climateweeknyc.org/) kicked off in New York City. All across Manhattan, a number of climate-related events are taking place to direct the discussion towards an ambitious and binding agreement at the UNFCCC COP21 meeting in December in Paris. At the same time, the Sustainable Development Goals are a key topic of discussion in New York. On September 26, the United Nations will adopt the ‘2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’.

Connect4Climate recognizes the inevitable link between these goals and the need to act on climate change and we are supporting action on both fronts in several ways. In June, Connect4Climate teamed up with the UN Foundation to organize the New Voices, New Vision +SocialGood event in Cape Town, where it became very clear that the SDGs could not be discussed without making reference to the need for climate action. I moderated the panel on climate change and was encouraged by the clear new vision presented by young South Africans for the need to deploy renewable energy and embrace all climate actions in their daily lives to help the global transition to a cleaner, greener economy.

The connect4climate team is #AngryAboutClimateChange to support the launch of Champion for Earth. Credit: Max Thabiso Edkins

Connect4Climate also formed partnerships that helped emphasize the link between the SDGs and climate change during Climate Week. We’re supporting the Angry Bird Tournament Champion for Earth organized by Rovio and Earth Day Network. The Angry Birds, currently the most downloaded game in the world, will be sure to make an impact on millions worldwide as it incorporates climate change messages into its seven-day tournament.

We will also continue with support messages for Pope Francis’ encyclical “Laudato Si” as the world’s eyes will be on him as he visits Washington DC, New York City, and Philadelphia, and brings his message to act on climate change to American leaders.

We’ll also be supporting the exciting activities around the launch of the SDGs, including Project Everyone, the Global Citizen Festival, the Social Good Summit, the Solutions Summit, and particularly the Climate Week NYC Signature event, where President of the World Bank Group, Jim Yong Kim, will add his support for climate action. 

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Credit: UN/Project Everyone

The year 2015 is an important one for development. Across the world, individuals and organizations are supporting the #Action2015 call to action. The need for ambitious climate action is closely linked to the 2030 sustainable development agenda. Climate change impacts all, the poor the most, and has a direct link to all topics of sustainable development – health, water, education and policy, and finance. The people directly affected in each of these areas often have no voice, and that is why Connect4Climate exists – to form a global partnership platform that communicates climate impacts and solutions.

Connect4Climate is encouraging the enthusiasm shown by country leaders, business leaders, regional and city leaders and individuals for a more sustainable future and we look forward to carrying this momentum forward to COP21 and beyond. The impetus for ambitious climate action is certainly there, renewables have taken off around the world, legal systems are increasingly in place to support climate action – and world leaders, from different faiths, countries, cities and businesses have all shown their support for an ambitious outcome in Paris. Join us along the way.

Climate change is a global problem, but some nations are more susceptible to its negative impacts than others. According to research, the nations most vulnerable to climate change are not the ones that produce the highest levels of carbon dioxide emissions.

MHA@GW, the online master of health administration from the Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University, created this data visualization to illuminate the dichotomy between the countries most susceptible to climate change and the countries that emit the most CO2.

They compared data from the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Index (ND-GAIN) to data from the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC) to develop the map. The ND-GAIN evaluates a nation’s vulnerability and readiness to adapt to climate change, and the CDIAC does a yearly measurement of each nation’s CO2 emissions.