last
updated 24th November 05
by 4ecotips.com
Biggest UN climate change
conference
The major Climate Change Conference
in Montreal (28 November - 9 December)
will be the first United Nations climate
change conference in North America,
and the first that involves international
ministers since the Kyoto Protocol
came into force in February 2005.
It's to be held in city's grand Palais
des Congrès but will it bear
the fruits of better understanding
and worldwide co-operation?
As conference host, Canada is helping
to celebrate this important moment
by supporting a program of outreach
activities and parallel events to
help carry the climate change story
beyond the walls of the UN meeting.
The conference will bring together
experts from governments, business
environmental organizations from around
the world in order to share their
experience and solutions related to
climate change action.
There will be approximately 7,000
delegates and observers from 189 countries
to discuss how countries can better
work together to address climate change,
including the implementation of the
Kyoto Protocol and future initiatives.
INCREASE UNDERSTANDING
The conference will move forward on
the precept the even our greatest
efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
and slow the pace of global warming
in the future will not reverse the
forces of climate change that are
already in motion. So it is essential
that we increase our understanding
of the potential impacts of these
changes and develop strategies now
that will allow us to adapt to these
changes.
One of the conference's principle
targets is Understanding and Preparing
for Change, the theme of which will
highlight the latest climate change
research and projections, and offer
a global perspective on climate change
impacts and adaptation in key sectors.
In addition, parallel events within
this theme will also explore how measures
we take to adapt to a changing climate
can also support development goals.
A full day will be dedicated to the
Arctic, where climate change is already
having sometimes dramatic impacts
on peoples' lives and communities.
Canada is certainly doing its bit
to slow global warming. The government
recently took a significant step in
implementing Canada's Climate Change
Plan when it added six greenhouse
gases (GHG) to Schedule 1 of the Canadian
Environmental Protection Act 1999
(CEPA 1999). The addition allows for
the introduction later in 2006 and
implementation of regulations to ensure
large industrial emitters meet their
commitments to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions by 45 megatonnes by 2008-2012.
COMPELLING EVIDENCE
The decision to add GHGs to CEPA follows
on the worldwide scientific consensus
that there is sufficient and compelling
evidence to conclude that greenhouse
gases constitute or may constitute
a danger to the environment on which
life depends.
Also the Canadian government is investing
$2.7m in research to explore the potential
of prairie wetlands and agricultural
lands to act as carbon sinks and reduce
greenhouse gas emissions.
The research is being led by Ducks
Unlimited Canada (DUC) with support
and involvement of a number of private
and public agencies and partners throughout
Canada.
The main goal is to identify beneficial
management practices that provide
the highest potential for carbon sequestration
and greenhouse gas emission reduction
on the agricultural landscape, in
addition to providing environmental
benefits in the form of wetland and
riparian area conservation.
Photos by Marc Cramer
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