Climate Change

The agricultural union Agri SA has requested over $1 billion in government subsidies to help farmers through the crisis, but a cut-price solution could soon be available -- from an unlikely source.

Johannesburg schoolgirl Kiara Nirghin, 16, recently won the Google Science Fair's Community Impact Award for the Middle East and Africa with her submission "No More Thirsty Crops."

The REDD+ FRL represents the expected evolution of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the forest sector in the absence of REDD+.

 A common approach to setting a FRL is to take an average rate of emissions from historical deforestation, but these can also be adjusted to account for future changes in a country.

Results of REDD+ activities like agricultural expansion, conversion to pastureland, infrastructure development and destructive logging are measured against the FRL.

A Scholar for the Islands Society, Genevieve Neilson, said climate change funding for Pacific countries is improving with the US contributing $US500 million to the Green Climate Fund, and new programmes starting in the region.

But she said Pacific states would like greater opportunity to make decisions about how the money was spent.

"If it's being decided in a boardroom somewhere which programmes are being run or how programmes are going to be run or funded then that can really take away from the closer needs of the community."

A Scholar for the Islands Society, Genevieve Neilson, said climate change funding for Pacific countries is improving with the US contributing $US500 million to the Green Climate Fund, and new programmes starting in the region.

But she said Pacific states would like greater opportunity to make decisions about how the money was spent.

"If it's being decided in a boardroom somewhere which programmes are being run or how programmes are going to be run or funded then that can really take away from the closer needs of the community."

The April Salumei REDD+ Pilot Project is located in the 526,000 hectares’ area of East Sepik Province.

It involves an estimated total of 126 landowner groups and represented by six landowner companies under the April-Salumei REDD+ Working Group.

The REDD+ initiatives will mitigate greenhouse gases from the atmosphere and stabilise the global temperature. The project is the first project PNG has actually brought it to the point of sale.

Landowners came from the project area in the Ambuti/Drekikir and Wosera/Gawi of ESP for the discussions with stakeholders.

On Earth Day, April 22, the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry joined a record number of global leaders at the historic ceremony for the Paris Agreement at the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York.

The ceremony, convened by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, was the first step in implementing the Paris Agreement adopted in Paris, France, on December 12, 2015, during the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP21). Friday, April 22 was the 46^th anniversary of Earth Day, which was first celebrated in 1970.

Jonathan Pershing, who took over the top post at the Office of the Special Envoy for Climate Change a few weeks ago, said the so-called high-ambition coalition that helped deliver December's accord could also inject ambition into negotiations over shipping and airline emissions.

The training was made possible with the support of the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Pacific-American Climate Fund (PACAM).

 The youths came from 12 villages and were selected by their own communities. They were trained on the concept of climate change, climate change effects and adaptation and how they can help formulate community action plans for their respective villages.

Speaking on ABC’s Lateline, Hunt said the process to formally approve the deal would start as soon as he signs the UN treaty in New York today (Friday).

“We hope to have that ratified as soon as possible and be one of the countries to have that done this year,” he said.

Australia would also aim to ratify the 2013-2020 extension to the Kyoto Protocol, a treaty that commits developed countries to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions.

The call was made by the Attorney General and Minister for Finance, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, at the second ministerial dialogue of the V20 Group of Finance Ministers in Washington DC. 

The V20 or Vulnerable 20, founded last year, is made up of the top 20 countries who have been designated by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund as being at most risk to climate change.