2nd Climate Diplomacy Week 2018 - Highlights
Climate Diplomacy Week is a perfect opportunity to highlight positive climate action, set new goals and engage more and new actors in the fight against the devastating impacts of climate change. Each year, the week has its own character. Climate Diplomacy Week 2018, from 24-30 September, was marked by action – throughout the world, civil society participated in inspiring educational activities and engaged the wider public in the climate cause. We’ve selected some of the highlights for you.
In Venezuela and Serbia, citizens went on cycling tours to remind us that low-carbon transportation is possible…and fun!
Meanwhile, EU ambassadors spoke to local communities in Malaysia and hosted a river clean-up event:
Many organizations and embassies have hosted a range of climate-related events, tackling region-specific problems and focusing on engaging a key societal group in the climate change talk: youth.
#ClimaDiplo Week is also an ideal occasion to address in-depth some of the cross-cutting issues that contribute to climate change, such as waste management and industry-specific impacts, as demonstrated by the German Embassy in Nigeria.
Climate change is all about inequality, both in terms of who will suffer its effects most and who contributes most to its causes. During Climate Diplomacy Week, vulnerabilities and responsibilities come to the surface and pave the way for fruitful dialogue and exchanges:
Incidentally, have you seen our best climate diplomacy stories of 2018 yet?
And last but absolutely not least, our touring exhibition on Environment, Conflict and Cooperation (ECC) in Indonesia was a blast! If you are in Jakarta, make sure to drop by until 14 October 2018. If not, take a look at our permanent online exhibition and share it in your networks.
This is just a glimpse of all that happened during this (second) #ClimaDiplo Week 2018. The climate community is a global force which is becoming stronger. We are excited to see what Climate Diplomacy Week 2019 will bring!
Meanwhile, take a look at our summaries and highlights of the (first) 2018 Climate Diplomacy Week. See you next year!
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Even as the US officially pulled out of the Paris Agreement earlier this week, it might be too soon to lose hope on the country's long-term commitments to climate action. If a Democrat wins the upcoming presidential elections, which are set for November 2020, a reaccession process could begin shortly after the withdrawal is complete. In the meantime, however, the effect on trade policy could be significant.
European peatlands could turn from carbon sinks to sources as a quarter have reached levels of dryness unsurpassed in a record stretching back 2,000 years, according to a new study. This trend of “widespread” and “substantial” drying corresponds to recent climate change, both natural and human-caused, but may also be exacerbated by the peatlands being used for agriculture and fuel.
Tackling Food Security and Protracted Crisis in Horn of Africa
The Kingdom of the Netherlands has contributed $28 million to back FAO's work to boost the resilience of food systems in Somalia, Sudan, and South Sudan - part of a new initiative to scale-up resilience-based development work in countries affected by protracted crises.
A group of five small countries have announced that they will launch negotiations on a new Agreement on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainability, which, if successful, would constitute the first international trade agreement focused solely on climate change and sustainable development. The initiative also breaks new ground by aiming to simultaneously remove barriers for trade in environmental goods and services and crafting binding rules to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies. Small countries can pioneer the development of new trade rules that can help achieve climate goals, but making credible commitments, attracting additional participants, and ensuring transparency will be essential ingredients for long-term success.