Number of questions: [4]
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Posted on 13/03/2008 21:05:14 |
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What is the United State's position on sustainable development in Asia?
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Caitlyn (from United States of America)
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Dear Caitlyn,
Thank you for your question. However, I am afraid that your question is out of my area of expertise and needs to be more specific. What I can say to you on your question now is that the USA is one of the global leaders on sustainable development, and has a lot of programmes to support the sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific. For more iInformation, I would like to invite you to visit a homepage of the Environmental Protection Agency of the USA, specifically on international collaboration part at: http://www.epa.gov/oia/about/01_oia.htm.
With Best Regards,
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Posted on 13/03/2008 05:31:30 |
Dear Jechul Yoo,
What strategies do you propose for educating policy-makers in your area of specialization?
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Centre for Environment Education (from India)
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Thank you for your question. As my colleagues, Jian Lie and Liza Leclerc answered to your same question before, policy makers are faced with making time and cost bound decisions and are accountable for the use of public funds. In order to help them, climate experts need to speak in policy language and provide the type of information that policy makers need to justify public spending in climate change. A good example is the report of Intergovernmental Pannel on Climate Change, 'Summary for Policy-makers (www.ipcc.ch)' to alert the urgency and feasibility to combat climate change.
Another starting point would be to demonstrate how climate change impacts the development sectors such as health, water and infrastructure. Presenting data on the costs and benefits of adaptation options also will assist policy makers to understand and to make a case for spending on risk management types of measures in the various sectors or regions. There have been and are a variety of predictions and assessments currently going on about the costs for adaptation to the impacts of climate change. The strategy of convincing them to act would include providing them with the knowledge on the above mentioned facts and predictions, best available technologies, and the means for converting the knowledge in policy/plain language.
UNEP has prepared a UNEP-wide climage change strategy and is also preparing climate change adaptation action plan, which includes a national legislatros' and planners' forum to discuss and develop future adaptation needs, options, cost and challenges, especially focusing on developing countries. I expect this forum will be of assistance to policy makers.
With Best Regards,
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Posted on 13/03/2008 04:19:14 |
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How a community with marginal economic development response and adapt to global climate change
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TAUFIQUL ISLAM (from Bangladesh)
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Thanks for your question. Yes, adaptation to climate chage is a big challenge for the communities with marginal economic resources. Therefore international community such as the Global Environment Facility, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the World Bank, and many developed countries provide diverse funding to assist developing countries response and adapt to climate change. They include the Least Developed Countries Fund, the Special Climate Change Fund, Strategic Priority on Adaptation, the Millenium Development Goals Fund, and so forth. Additionally it was agreed at the 13th Conference of Parties to the UNFCCC in Bali to establish an Adaptation Fund. Developing countries have access to these funding sources either directly to the fund or through international institues such as UNEP, UNDP, and the World Bank. I hope these will virtually help developing countries with less resources.
With Best Regards,
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Posted on 13/03/2008 01:08:01 |
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Will Carbon Pricing work?
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Eddi Sarpong (from United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)
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Thanks for your question. Carbon emission trading scheme through pricing mechanism is internationally recognized as an equitable, effective and efficient way to reduce greenhouse gas emission. The price for unit of emission of greenhouse gas will influence decisions by producers, consumers and investors, encouraging them to reduce emissions and look at more environmentally friendly alternatives via sending price signals to influence the decisions of individual businesses. However, carbon pricing needs to be supplemented by other measures such as greater efficiency and more use of renewable energy, widespread uptake of low carbon technologies, support to capacity building of and technology transer to developing countries, etc.
With Best Regards,
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