Program Overview
Whereas the negative effects of climate change have become increasingly visible in the past few years, the world’s most vulnerable populations and ecosystems have already been struggling against them for decades. UNANIMA understands eco-justice as an environmental ethic that affects all life forms. We work with the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development and the NGO Working Group on Poverty and Climate Change to inform policy discussed in the Commission on Sustainable Development. Additionally, we observe the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Negotiations year-round.
Program Resources
Climate Change Negotiations Postcard – Bunnies (PDF)
Climate Change Negotiations Postcard – Slots (PDF)
UNANIMA International: Reflections on CSD-18 (PDF)
Don Barber on Hydraulic Fracturing (DOC)
Program Actions
None Currently
Ready for Rio?
Someone recently said they are already “tired of Rio.” (Rio+20 or the Sustainable Development Conference in Rio de Janeiro in June). But the UN is certainly energized by it. Even the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund are expressing the need to work more closely with the UN to make things happen! UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon says it is one of the most significant global opportunities of our lifetime, a real “transformative juncture.” With more than 110 heads of state in attendance, it will be one of the largest summits in world history. It is more than just an ecology conference: the three pillars on which it is based—social, environmental, and economic —will ensure that it includes something of interest to all of us. And we NGOs have a status in the process that we have never had before; we have already strongly influenced the content of the meeting. In fact, if we had not “pushed” at the first Rio conference 20 years ago, the UN Commission on Sustainable Development probably would not have been established.
Rio+20
We are watching our countries’ submissions for the Rio document, and we note that some of them read like a business plan, with no mention of climate change or the effects of some policies on the most vulnerable of the world. It is at the level of the state that these policies and directions are determined. What is the position of your government on the Rio issues of Sustainable Development and its three pillars of Social, Environmental, and Economic realities?
The Commission on the Status of Women 56
In accord with its multi-year program of work, the 2012 priority theme of the CSD is “the empowerment of rural women and their role in poverty and hunger eradication and development.” The commission will also evaluate progress in the implementation of last year’s theme of “financing for gender equality and empowerment.” UNANIMA is holding a side event on “Models of Empowerment of Rural Women” featuring a panel of women representing Africa and Latin America. Almost 20 representatives of UNANIMA communities are registered to attend. Registration is now closed, but you can follow events by checking the webpage for CSW56, or can see live webcasts on http://www.un.org/webcast .
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