Initiative launched to strengthen Climate Resilience of the world’s most vulnerable countries and people

A new initiative to build climate resilience in the world’s most vulnerable countries has been launched by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and 13 members within the UN system at COP21, the Paris Climate Conference. 

The new initiative will strengthen the ability of countries to anticipate hazards, absorb shocks, and reshape development to reduce climate risks.

The newly announced initiative, the  UN Secretary-General’s Climate Resilience  Initiative — Anticipate, Absorb, Reshape — will help address the needs of the nearly 634 million people, or  a tenth of the global population who live in at-risk coastal areas just a few meters above existing sea levels, as well as those living in areas at risk of droughts and floods. 

The world is now experiencing a strong El Niño event, which could place as many as 4.7 million people at risk from drought in the Pacific alone.

Bringing together private sector organizations, governments, UN agencies, research institutions and other stakeholders to scale up transformative solutions, the SG’s Resilience Initiative will focus on the most vulnerable people and communities in Small Island Developing States, Least Developed Countries, and African countries.

Over the next five years, the Initiative will mobilize financing and knowledge; create and operationalize partnerships at scale, help coordinate activities to help reach tangible results, catalyse research, and develop new tools.

The Secretary-General’s Climate Resilience

Initiative will support the work of partners, such as the Africa Risk Capacity, to ensure that by the time the new climate agreement enters into force in 2020,  over 30 countries are provided with $2 billion in coverage against drought, flood and cyclones,  including $500 million in adaptation financing.  150 million Africans will be indirectly insured.

While much of the attention at Paris is focused on reducing emissions in a bid to keep global temperature rise to less than two degrees Celsius by the end of the century, many climate impacts will continue to increase—including rising sea level and more extreme weather events—even if greenhouse emissions cease, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

A recent report issued by the UN shows that over the last twenty years, 90 per cent of major disasters have been caused by 6,457 recorded floods, storms, heatwaves, droughts and other weather-related events.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, “These are the people who did the least to cause climate change, yet they stand to lose their homes, their jobs, and even their lives because of the growing impacts of climate change.  That is why I have asked the UN system to put together a package of initiatives to address this urgent need.”

“The Secretary-General’s Climate Resilience Initiative signals a new era in how the United Nations and its agencies think about our global future,  said Dr. Judith Rodin, author of The Resilience Dividend and president of The Rockefeller Foundation, which has made pioneering investments of more than a half-billion dollars to build resilience globally over the past decade. “Crisis is the new normal, and our world demands that we seek solutions that solve multiple problems at once, for the greatest number of people, while strengthening the fabric of their communities, economies, and lives.”

The 13 UN entities participating in the Initiative are FAO, UNEP, UNFCCC, UN-
Habitat, UNICEF, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNOPS, UNISDR, WFP, OCHA, WHO, and WMO.

Climate talks open with call by governments and businesses to end fossil fuel subsidies

An unprecedented coalition of close to 40 governments, hundreds of businesses and influential international organisations has called for accelerated action to phase out fossil fuel subsidies, a move that would help bridge the gap to keep global temperature rise below 2°C.

On the opening day of the UN Conference on Climate Change (COP21), New Zealand Prime Minister John Key formally presented the Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform Communiqué to Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), on behalf of the Friends of Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform, The Prince of Wales’s Corporate Leaders Group and other supporters of the Communiqué.

The Communiqué calls on the international community to increase efforts to phase out perverse subsidies to fossil fuels by promoting policy transparency, ambitious reform and targeted support for the poorest.

“Fossil fuel subsidy reform is the missing piece of the climate change puzzle. It’s estimated that more than a third of global carbon emissions, between 1980 and 2010, were driven by fossil fuel subsidies,” said John Key. “Their elimination would represent one seventh of the effort needed to achieve our target of ensuring global temperatures do not rise by more than 2°C. As with any subsidy reform, change will take courage and strong political will, but with oil prices at record lows and the global focus on a low carbon future – the timing for this reform has never been better”.

Governments spend over $500 billion of public resources a year to keep domestic prices for oil, gas and coal artificially low. Removing fossil fuel subsidies would reduce greenhouse gas emission by 10 per cent by 2050. It would also free up resources to invest in social and physical capital like education, healthcare and infrastructure, while leveling the playing field for renewable energy.

Christiana Figueres said "these subsidies contribute to the inefficient use of fossil fuels, undermine the development of energy efficient technologies, act as a drag on clean, green energy deployment and in many developing countries do little to assist the poorest of the poor in the first place. The huge sums involved globally could be better spent on schools, health care, renewable energies and building resilient societies. The current, very low oil prices are a good opportunity to really get going on this issue."

Close to 40 countries have endorsed the Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform Communiqué, including Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Samoa, the United Kingdom, the United States, Uganda and Uruguay.

Hakima El Haite, Environment Minister of Morocco, candidate for the presidency of COP22, said: “Not only do fossil fuel subsidies put a strain on government coffers but they also don’t help the poorest of society.”

Eliminating fossil fuel subsidies can accelerate the economic shift needed to tackle climate change and remove one of the obstacles to delivering the low-carbon future COP21 is aiming for.

World leaders write script for a new climate future

Over 150 heads of state and government – the largest group of leaders ever to attend a UN event in a single day – arrived in Paris today to give their public support to the climate change talks.

The nations of the world have gathered to reach a new and universal climate change agreement, in the knowledge that they have already delivered an almost universal set of national responses to meet the long-term climate challenge before the conference even begins.

“You are here today to write the script for a new future,” said UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. “A future of hope and promise -- of increased prosperity, security and dignity for all”.

He says leaders gathering in Paris have the power to secure the well-being of this and succeeding generations. 

He has set what he says are the “four criteria for success” - First, the agreement must be durable; Second, the agreement must be dynamic; The third requirement for success is an agreement that embodies solidarity with the poor and most vulnerable; and Fourth, the agreement must be credible. 

“The peoples of the world are also on the move.  They have taken to the streets, in cities and towns across the world, in a mass mobilization for change. I met with several key civil society groups yesterday. It is clear to me that they have come to Paris filled with energy and emotion – and that they expect each and every one of you to show leadership equal to the test” said Ban Ki-moon.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres said that the eyes of millions of people around the world were on the governments meeting in Paris, not just figuratively but literally.

“You have the opportunity, in fact the responsibility, to finalize an agreement that enables the achievement of national climate change goals, that delivers the necessary support for the developing world and that catalyses continuously increasing ambition and action by all,” she said.

Ms. Figueres said that the past year had been a turning point and that after many years of hard work, the world was finally seeing that the direction towards a low-carbon, resilient future was irreversible.

“This turning point is truly remarkable, but the task is not done. It is up to you to both capture this progress and chart an unequivocal path forward, with a clear destination, agreed milestones and a predictable timeline that responds to the demands of science and the urgency of the challenge.”

On the eve of the COP21 conference, 184 countries covering around 95 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions had delivered their national climate action plans to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). These pledges constitute a good foundation, but are not enough to keep the world below the internationally agreed maximum global average temperature rise of 2 degrees Celsius.

COP21 President, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, called on governments to step up their efforts, stating that “the stakes are too high, and the menace of climate change is too great for us to be content with a minimalistic agreement. The Heads of State and Government who have come to Paris have come to express the voice of ambition.”

Ahead of the Paris meeting, thousands of companies and investors and thousands of mayors and regional governments announced their commitment to the essential economic and social transformation to low-carbon, sustainable growth and development.

Minister Fabius said the conference would serve to highlight the importance of non-state actors within the framework of the Lima-Paris Action Agenda.

During the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris, the governments of France and Peru, along with the UN, are organizing a series of high-level events to demonstrate that the transition to low carbon and resilience is under way.

Throughout the eight days of the LPAA, inspirational new commitments will be announced, in action areas ranging from forests and agriculture to clean energy and private finance for climate action.

Close to $250million pledged to GEF climate fund for most vulnerable countries

Eleven donors have pledged close to $250 million in new money for adaptation support to the most vulnerable countries on the planet giving a welcome boost to the start of the climate talks in Paris.

Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and the United States of America announced their contributions on Monday to the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF), a climate fund hosted by the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

Welcoming the injection of new financing, GEF CEO and Chairperson, Naoko Ishii, said “Given that we’re already locked into climate change trajectories for many years to come, increased investment in adaptation has to be at the core of the new climate agreement.” 

“We know that many billions are required over the next few years to fill the gap in climate finance, but the money pledged today is vital to help some of the most vulnerable people on the planet cope with the immediate impacts of our rapidly warming world,” Ishii continued.  “I commend all the donors for their support. This funding for adaptation is urgently needed to help sustain the hard-earned momentum for action on the ground that some of the most vulnerable countries have achieved in recent years.”

Demand from developing countries for financing from the LDCF remains strong.  Droughts, violent storms, sea-level rise and other climate changes are already impacting the poorest and most vulnerable countries and communities.

The new financing will enable the GEF to respond to existing requests for support ranging from investments in new approaches to agriculture to national adaptation planning and building resilience against climate change variability and disasters.

Since 2001, the GEF – through the LDCF and the Special Climate Change Fund and the Strategic Priority on Adaptation program - has provided $1.3 USD billion in grant financing and mobilized $7 USD billion from other sources for 320 adaptation projects in 129 countries, including all Least Developed Countries and 33 Small Island Developing States.

These projects are expected to directly reduce the vulnerability of 17 million people.

New $500 million initiative to boost climate action in developing countries

Four European countries – Germany, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland – have announced a new $500 million initiative that will find new ways to create incentives aimed at large scale cuts in greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries to combat climate change.

The World Bank Group worked with the countries to develop the initiative.

The Transformative Carbon Asset Facility will help developing countries implement their plans to cut emissions by working with them to create new classes of carbon assets associated with reduced greenhouse gas emission reductions, including those achieved through policy actions.

The facility will measure and pay for emission cuts in large scale programs in areas like renewable energy, transport, energy efficiency, solid waste management, and low carbon cities. For example, it could make payments for emission reductions to countries that remove fossil fuel subsidies or embark on other reforms like simplifying regulations for renewable energy.

“We want to help developing countries find a credible pathway toward low carbon development,” said World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim. “This initiative is one such way because it will help countries create and pay for the next generation of carbon credits.”

This new initiative is planned to start operations in 2016 with an initial expected commitment of more than $250 million from contributing countries. The facility will remain open for additional contributions until a target of $500 million is reached. It is expected that the new facility’s support will be provided alongside $2 billion of investment and policy-related lending by the World Bank Group and other sources.

“Putting market forces to work is an efficient way of reducing emissions. We expect to achieve significant impact on the ground through the facility and ensure the sustainability of reducing emissions even beyond the facility’s initial support, for example, through carbon pricing instruments like emissions trading systems and carbon taxes, or stronger low-carbon policy standards and their enforcement,” said Prime Minister Erna Solberg of Norway. “We are pleased to support this initiative that will help guide the next generation of carbon market programs.”

This facility will work alongside a range of global initiatives and national climate plans to help both developed and developing countries achieve their mitigation goals. It will pay for carbon assets with high environmental integrity and a strong likelihood to comply with future international rules, and will share its learning with the international community. 

"It is very encouraging to see this new initiative launched when all eyes are on Paris. Four countries are leading with their example and bridging one of the main challenges for developing countries to achieve low carbon growth. By working with developing countries to establish market-based carbon pricing policies and programs, the facility can help achieve both better growth and a better climate for all,” said Felipe Calderón, Chair of the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate and former President of Mexico.

Eiffel Tower lights up with messages of hope on eve of COP21 Climate Conference

The night before the long-awaited COP21 negotiations in Paris, and the day over 2000 climate marches took place around the world, artistic messages advocating climate change solutions lit up the famous Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Created by artist Naziha Mestaoui, the series of inspiring images called for a shift to 100% renewable energy and the protection of the world’s forests, and were projected onto the full facade of the Eiffel Tower, Paris’s most iconic landmark that has recently transitioned to be powered by 100% renewable energy.

The installation, “1 Heart 1 Tree”, aims to engage citizens and to help drive an ambitious global deal at COP21. Following the November 13 attacks in Paris, the artist also incorporated messages of unity and hope, and the hashtag #NousSommesUnis.

The projection was launched at an event next to the Eiffel Tower on Sunday night featuring speeches from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, celebrity ambassador Marion Cotillard and the artist Naziha Mestaoui.

“I created this installation so that people everywhere can realise what is possible if we come together,” said Mestaoui. “We can protect and regrow our forests, we can tap the natural powers of the sun, the wind, the earth and the sea, and we can build a safer future if we go 100% clean energy for everyone.”

United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, commented, “as Secretary General of the United Nations, I am telling you that you should raise your voices and make your leaders accountable to their promises. We have to make the world better for all.”

Nicolas Hulot, Special correspondent for the French President for the Environment, touched on the recent terrorist attacks in Paris, saying “this work reminds us that in a forest we hear the trees that fall, but we don’t hear the 1000 saplings grow. In cities, we hear the ten idiots who kill, but we don’t hear the millions that love.”

Academy Award-winning actress Marion Cotillard, ambassador for and long-standing supporter of “1 Heart 1 Tree”, acted as MC for the evening. She said of the project, “I found this artistic, citizen project very inspiring because our climate is in a state of emergency, and this is why we’re all here tonight.”

Global campaigning organization Avaaz joined the event to represent over 3.6 million people who have signed a petition calling for a 100% clean energy world. Executive Director Ricken Patel said: "From millions of people in the streets, to leaders in summit rooms, to experts from all disciplines, everyone is calling for one clear answer, the only answer, to climate change: a transition to 100% clean energy. Paris must commit to it." 

Global Climate Marches see over half a million call for urgent climate action

On the eve of the Paris Climate Summit, over 570,000 people around the world took to the streets over the weekend for the record-breaking Global Climate March to urge leaders to scale up action on climate change to achieve 100% renewable energy, eliminate poverty and protect people from worsening climate impacts.

This number of 570,000 is still provisional and could rise further with big marches in Mexico City, Ottawa and Vancouver still to come in later. These events came despite the Paris event, where 400,000 were expected to march today, being cancelled.

People joined in more than 2300 events across 175 countries. Coming from all walks of life, people from affected communities, development organisations, climate movements, the young and old, people of faith, indigenous people, trade unionists and many more marched together.

In Paris, 22,000 pairs of shoes - including that of Pope Francis and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, were placed at Place de la Republique, on behalf of the 400,000 people who were expected to have marched if possible. Afterwards, 10,000 people held hands in solidarity with frontline communities affected by climate change.

The marchers demonstrated that tackling climate change affects so many of life’s essentials, from equality and poverty, food and energy, to water, jobs, safety and human rights. Support for scaling up climate action has never been higher, and world leaders cannot ignore these calls. Doing so would place them firmly on the wrong side of history.

The UN Climate Summit in Paris (30 Nov-11 Dec) is an opportunity for over 190 countries to build a platform, which scales up the just transition away from fossil fuels to 100% renewable energy for all, and provides adequate support for those affected by climate impacts.

Climate change is already harming communities all around the world and a further one hundred million people could be forced into poverty if we do not rapidly scale up climate action.

We have the solutions to tackle the problem - frontline communities, cities and businesses are leading the way in harnessing the benefits of renewable energy and boosting the resilience of vulnerable communities. Now it is time for governments to listen to the people on the streets and step up.

A strong, diverse coalition of groups supporting climate action will be in Paris during the Climate Summit to continue to maintain pressure on governments to deliver an ambitious agreement.

“The voices of people all around the world calling for climate action are echoing in the streets of Paris and must now ring in the ears of world leaders meeting at the summit tomorrow. Millions of people have shown they expect the best possible climate deal for the world's poorest people already hit hardest. For the future of us all, world leaders must aim high and deliver,” said Kelly Dent, climate change lead, Oxfam.

There are no jobs on a dead planet – trade unions for climate justice

The large-scale, long-term shift in the planet’s weather patterns is a threat to the livelihoods of the world’s population.

Vulnerable people are most at risk because of their poor capacity to adapt to the changing change. Reducing the release of greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane – into the atmosphere will help mitigate the effects of global warming.

“If we allow climate change to continue growing and growing and causing havoc, sooner than later it will reach a catastrophic stage which becomes impossible to manage; at that point the planet will be dead and there will be no jobs on a dead planet,” observed Kingsley Ofei-Nkansah, General Secretary of the General Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU) of the Trades Union Congress (TUC).

Globally, businesses and investors are taking bold climate action to foster a low-carbon economy and are expected to call on governments to create an ambitious, actionable climate agreement in Paris.

The UN Climate Change Summit this December will attract more than 1,000 of the world’s leading companies who have vested interest in the outcomes of the negotiations.

Whilst business leaders take action, trade unions cannot sit aloof in the face of climate change, hence the need to mobilize workers across the globe to have interest in the quest for climate justice, said Mr. Ofei-Nkansah.

“Working people, trade unions are particular about jobs; without jobs there are no trade unions. So in saying that there are no jobs on a dead planet, we’ll like to draw attention to those who are cynical and skeptical about trade union involvement to the fact that trade unions are part of the citizens of the global community and that trade unions exist only when there are jobs,” he said.

Ghana, like many Africa countries, have majority of the workforce in the agricultural sector. Farmers have been at the mercy of the weather in the recent times.

The negative impacts of the changing climate on agricultural production threaten livelihoods and food security.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), access to information remains the single most important factor for Ghanaian agriculturists to cope with the unexpected changes in the weather.

Mr. Kyekyeku Oppong-Boadi, a Deputy Director at the EPA, says agricultural extension officers will need the right information at the right time in order to help meet the needs of the farmers.

“Our focus is on how the farmers will be able to adapt to the changing climate; the types of crops that they have to plant at what time and also how they can prepare themselves in case there is a short in rainfall,” he said.

Sustainable land and water management, according to GAWU, remains critical to agricultural production and food security.

The Union also expects State actors to prioritize intensification of food production to cope with the challenge of water scarcity as a result of climate change.

“We must have the resources to develop the kind of varieties which can fruit even in an environment that has high temperatures, provided we’ve taken care of the supply of water that is needed for the plant to grow,” he said. “It is important to organize the people who are doing the farming so that they take control of the new systems, otherwise the big corporations will give them a raw deal”.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh 

Global Landscapes Forum to Urge Action on Forests and Farming at Paris Climate Talks

Ghana’s former President, John Agyekum Kufuor, is among high-profile speakers to address the Global Landscapes Forum – one of the most important side events at the climate change talks in Paris in December.

The Forum, which holds on December 5-6 is devoted to forests and farming, is expected to draw 2,500 leaders from business, government, civil society, local communities and think tanks from across five continents: Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America.

More than a dozen new government and corporate commitments, innovative research and cutting-edge tools focused on ending emissions from forests, fields and waterways will be launched at the event

Leaders from African countries will announce a major new initiative to restore forests and agricultural lands. The R100 is a pan-African, country-led restoration effort to bring degraded landscapes in Africa under restoration by 2030.

The event will focus on all aspects of land use, which is expected to attract high-level attention at this year’s talks. National climate pledges submitted to the UN in advance of the negotiations have been criticized for not including enough on forests and farming.

Yet the sector lies at the heart of most Sustainable Development Goals, including those focused on food, water, green growth, biodiversity, climate and energy. In addition, bold commitments by companies—especially those engaged in agricultural commodities—and countries to protect and restore natural resources have continued to buoy prospects for action on forests and farms.

Participants at the Forum will pool their knowledge in search of practical ways to overcome the economic, social and political barriers to achieving land use goals. Debates will scrutinize corporate “zero deforestation” commitments and government-level land restoration pledges.

They’ll dissect barriers to unlocking finance. And they’ll analyze persistent practices that marginalize indigenous people, women, and youth.

World Bank Group unveils $16billion African Climate Business Plan

The World Bank Group today unveiled a new plan that calls for $16 billion in funding to help African people and countries adapt to climate change and build up the continent's resilience to climate shocks.

Titled “Accelerating Climate-Resilient and Low-Carbon Development”, the Africa Climate Business Plan will be presented at COP21, the global climate talks in Paris, on November 30. It lays out measures to boost the resilience of the continent’s assets - its people, land, water, and cities - as well as other moves including boosting renewable energy and strengthening early warning systems.

"Sub-Saharan Africa is highly vulnerable to climate shocks, and our research shows that could have far-ranging impact - on everything from child stunting and malaria to food price increases and droughts," said World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim. "This plan identifies concrete steps that African governments can take to ensure that their countries will not lose hard-won gains in economic growth and poverty reduction, and they can offer some protection from climate change."

Per current estimates, the plan says that the region requires $5-10 billion per year to adapt to global warming of 2°C.

The World Bank and the United Nations Environment Programme estimate that the cost of managing climate resilience will continue to rise to $20-50 billion by mid-century, and closer to $100 billion in the event of a 4°C warming.

Of the $16.1 billion that the ambitious plan proposes for fast-tracking climate adaptation, some $5.7 billion is expected from the International Development Association (IDA), the arm of the World Bank Group that supports the poorest countries.

About $2.2 billion is expected from various climate finance instruments, $2.0 billion from others in the development community, $3.5 billion from the private sector, and $0.7 billion from domestic sources, with an additional $2.0 billion needed to deliver on the plan.

"The Africa Climate Business Plan spells out a clear path to invest in the continent's urgent climate needs and to fast-track the required climate finance to ensure millions of people are protected from sliding into extreme poverty," explains Makhtar Diop, World Bank Group Vice President for Africa. "While adapting to climate change and mobilizing the necessary resources remain an enormous challenge, the plan represents a critical opportunity to support a priority set of climate-resilient initiatives in Africa."

Global climate marches to record high numbers calling for action

On November 28 and 29, hundreds of thousands of people around the world will take to the streets in more than 2000 events in 150 countries to turn up the heat on leaders heading to the Paris Climate Summit.

Frontline community representatives, unionists, faith leaders, and families will call on politicians to forge an ambitious new global climate agreement this December that speeds up the just transition from fossil fuels to 100% renewable energy and protects vulnerable people from worsening climate impacts. The people’s call for leadership will be harder and harder to ignore.

With the major march in Paris cancelled due to security concerns following the horrific terrorist attacks which occurred there on November 13, French activists are calling for people around the world to march in their name, in solidarity with them.

No matter what, citizens’ voices will be heard throughout the Paris Climate Summit which runs from November 30 to December 11, 2015 – including in the streets of the French capital as activists explore creative ways forward.

The Summit is set to deliver a comprehensive climate agreement which should scale up the transition to 100% renewable energy.

“Unprecedented numbers of people are coming on to the streets because they know that we have solution to this crisis – we've kickstarted the move away from fossil fuels in cities, communities and businesses around the world. Now it’s time for leaders at the Paris Climate Summit to agree to speed up the fair, funded transition to 100% renewable energy for all,” saidWael Hmaidan, Director, Climate Action Network International.

The Global Climate Marches happening around the world will be a symbol of the unshakeable resolve of the movement working for a safer, fairer and cleaner world. 

Kuapa Kokoo gets cooperative status to benefit from Fairtrade Premium

Cocoa farmers under the Kuapa Kokoo Farmers Union are now in the position to fully benefit from Fairtrade premium in cocoa sales.

A Fairtrade Premium is added to the purchase price of cocoa and used by cooperatives for social and economic investments such as education, health services, processing equipment and loans to members.

The farmers also have a bigger say in the business of trading their cocoa beans, as their operations are formalized and legalized under the Co-operative Societies Decree NLCD 252 of 1968.

Acting Registrar of the Co-operatives Department, Jerome Adopley, says the co-operative certification will empower the farmers.

“All what we want to do is to divulge authority to the farmers, who are owners of the business, because it centers around their welfare,” he said. “Even though Cote d’Ivoire has overtaken Ghana in good quality cocoa production, Ghana is still number one because of the cooperative nature of the way we handle our cocoa”.

The Kuapa Kokoo Farmers Union has operated for over 20years but the farmers lacked administrative authority.

The Union will now operate under the name Kuapa Kokoo Co-Operative Cocoa Farmers and Marketing Union.

In line with the Fairtrade arrangement, the Department of Co-operatives has registered 57 primary societies together with the Union as a unified co-operative.

Executive Secretary of the Union, Apau Abrampah-Mensah, tells Luv Biz the new status will enable the farmers take their own decisions in the management of premium.

“This is going to help the Fairtrade to know the total and actual membership; they [farmers] are now going to take their own decisions as to how they’ll manage their premium,” he said.

Kuapa Kokoo currently has 6.9% market share of Ghana’s cocoa output. Membership of its farmers union has increased to 100,500 across the Ashanti, Central, Eastern, Western and Brong Ahafo Regions.

The Kuapa Kokoo Farmers Union also owns the biggest share of 44% in Divine Chocolate Limited, based in the UK with a franchise in the USA.

Climate Policies at Work World-Wide to Boost Resilience

The report, “Climate Action Now – A Summary for Policymakers 2015” has been released by the secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at the request of governments.

The report underlines the critical connection between reducing emissions fast enough in order to avoid the worst climate change impacts and therefore reduce the scale of future adaptation required but also to enable many immediate adaptation co-benefits.

Energy efficiency, for example, can improve the ability of communities to adapt to climate change by reducing the peak demand they put on power systems during high temperatures or unexpected weather while improving the comfort level of buildings in uncertain weather.

“This report underlines that many of the specific and cooperative actions needed to reduce emissions also have multiple co-benefits including in the area of adaptation and building more resilient countries and communities,” said Ms Figueres.

“These include improved agricultural practices, efficient land-use management, forest management food security, environmental sustainability, and socio-economic development,” she added.

The report is full of good practice climate policies across six thematic areas: renewable energy, energy efficiency, transport, land use, carbon capture, use and storage and controlling non-CO2 greenhouse gases.

Immediate action by all nations has the potential to reduce emissions by 2020 by between 10 Gigatons and 19 Gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent.

Renewable Energy

Excluding hydropower, renewables accounted for just over nine per cent of global electricity generation in 2014, up from 1.8 per cent in 2004. This momentum has led to approximately 58 per cent of net additions to global power capacity in 2014 coming from renewables, which is more than from coal and gas combined.

The Republic of Korea smart grid initiative – “Smart grids” that use digital technology to manage flows of power more efficiently are vital for integrating a large volume of distributed, intermittent, low-carbon generation while improving energy efficiency

African Group Renewable Energy Partnership – to establish a global partnership to accelerate energy transformation in Africa to wider use of renewables via the deployment of, for example, feed-in tariffs and other incentives. By 2020 the partnership could enable the installation of at least 10 GW of renewable energy capacity in Africa

Energy Efficiency

Scaling up investment in energy efficiency could generate a net increase in global economic output of $18 trillion by 2035, says the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Denmark – The National Energy Efficiency Obligation Scheme offers cost-neutrality for participants by allowing them to pass costs on to end users and flexibility to trade credits received

UN–World Bank Sustainable Energy for All – its Global Energy Efficiency Accelerator Platform could double the rate of energy efficiency improvement by 2030 by driving action and commitments by national and subnational leaders at all levels, using integrated policy and investment road maps to guide project implementation

Transport

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) estimates reductions of emissions from land transport, aviation and shipping of 1.7–2.5 Gt CO2 equivalent - from one quarter to more than one third of current emissions from the sector - are possible by 2020.

Mexico – Mexico City has consistently expanded its bus rapid transport system since 2005. One tenth of its users have shifted from private cars

The SLoCaT Partnership on Sustainable Transport – brings together over 90 organizations working on freight and passenger land transport to mobilize global support to promote sustainable low-carbon transport in developing countries and maximize the role of transport in poverty eradication and sustainable development.

Carbon Capture, Use and Storage

Globally, there are 12 operational carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) projects, with a further 10 under construction. The IEA estimates that if sufficient support is provided and financing is secured, CCS projects could capture 50 Mt CO2/year by 2020.

Within the power sector, it is estimated the emission reduction potential for CCS is 0.2–0.4 Gt CO2 equivalent in 2020.

Norway – A carbon tax, established in 1991, has increased over time, creating an incentive to store CO2 and resulting in sequestration of 0.9 Mt of CO2 each year.

Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum – a ministerial-level initiative to facilitate development and deployment of cost-effective CCS technologies. Membership is open to national government entities that are significant producers or users of fossil fuels and committed to investing in CCS research, development and demonstration.

Non-CO2 Greenhouse Gases

The US Environmental Protection Agency estimates 2.7 Gt CO2 equivalent of global non-CO2 GHG emissions could be mitigated by 2020 at a cost below $50/t CO2 equivalent.

Almost one-quarter of these reductions could be made at or below a breakeven cost with a substantial portion generating an immediate financial return.

European Union - The EU Emissions Trading System helped reduce N2O emissions from nitric acid plants. N2O emissions in 2013 were 85 per cent lower than in 1990.

Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer- an international treaty to phase out the production of numerous substances responsible for ozone depletion. Over 98 per cent of consumption of all ozone-depleting substances has now been phased out since its entry into force in 1989.

Meeting in Dubai in early November this year, nations agreed on a pathway to control the growth of hydroflurocarbons (HFCs) – chemicals that are harmless to the ozone layer but which have significant climate impacts.

Land Use

The UN estimates that at marginal costs of less than $50–100 per tonne of CO2 equivalent, the direct emission reduction potential of agriculture lies in the range of 1.1–4.3 Gt CO2 equivalent and of forestry in the range of 1.3–4.2 Gt CO2 equivalent in 2020, or as much as two thirds of current emissions from these sectors.

China – In order to increase net forest area by 40 million hectares by the end of 2020 compared with 2005, China is combining afforestation, forest protection and sustainable forest management policies and practices and is also integrating forest carbon into its national carbon emissions trading system pilot programme.

The Tropical Forest Alliance 2020 - a public-private partnership to create zero deforestation supply chain models in South-East Asia, Central and West Africa and regions of South America.

It engages with governments, civil society groups active in both producer and consumer nations, smallholder farmers and indigenous representatives and multinational corporations.