World Environment Day (WED) is celebrated on the 5th of June every year in more that 100 countries around the world. The city of San Francisco, California, hosted this year’s international event. It was the first time the event takes place in the United States. The programming for “Green Cities” spanned the first five days in June. Each day focused on a specific theme: Urban Power, Cities on the Move, Redesigning Metropolis, Pure Elements, and Flower Power.

The event was hosted by San Francisco Mayor, Gavin Newsom and the San Francisco Department of the Environment. Participants included California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Al Gore, and UNEP Executive Director, Klaus Toepfer, heading the UNEP delegation.

Opening Ceremony at City Hall

The Opening Ceremony for World Environment Day took place in front of City Hall in Civic Center Plaza. It included a California Tomorrow Festival that showcased renewable energy technology products and services, while highlighting the companies that are leading the way in developing innovative solutions to global environmental challenges. The Festival showcased cutting edge photovoltaic systems, fuel cell and hybrid vehicles and a major installation from the Climate Group displayed global devastation resulting from climate change.

Time for Action

California Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, stole the show at the Opening by unveiling a plan to combat global warming by setting goals for reducing California’s emissions of Greenhouse gases. Schwarzenegger’s executive order calls for reducing the state’s emissions of such gases to 2000 levels by 2010, 1990 levels by 2020 and 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.

Schwarzenegger told an international audience of mayors and environmentalists at San Francisco City Hall. “I say the debate is over. We know the science, we see the threat and we know the time for action is now.”

Children’s Painting Competition Exhibit at Zeum

The global winners of UNEP’s Children’s Painting Competition were announced at a special ceremony on 3 June. An exhibition of the global winning entries was held at Zeum, the innovative arts and technology museum where youth and families bring the power of their imaginations to create stories, music, videos and art that reflect their world in relevant ways.

Atlas of our Changing Environment

Produced by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), One Planet Many People: Atlas of our Changing Environment was launched in San Francesco on WED. It sets out to compare and contrast spectacular satellite images of the past few decades with contemporary ones, some of which have never been seen before. The publication proved to be one of UNEP’s most successful ever, with spectacular sales record and unrivalled public demand for online and hard copies.

TUNZA Youth Workshop � Pledge for Greener Cities

Participants of the Pledge Workshop-San Francisco Bay Area (youth aged 13-17) identified actions they can commit to in order to create more sustainable lifestyles that will positively impact our communities and environment in the future. Each youth representative took the Youth Eco Pledge document back to their schools and communities and work on putting these ideas into action.

Environmental Expos

Two Expos, the Green Cities Expo and the Art Into Action Expo, were held jointly at the Fort Mason Festival Pavilion in San Francisco. They highlighted present and future possibilities for green living. Art Into Action, sponsored by the Natural World Museum, featured monumental exhibits from National Geographic, Conservation International,

California Academy of Sciences, Canon, and over 30 local and global environmental artists, featuring original works from the private family collections of Ansel Adams and Robert Bateman.

The Green Cities Expo featured more than 100 green businesses committed to environmental sustainability and social responsibility. Exhibitor categories included: organic foods, innovation and technology, renewable energy, recycling, sustainable agriculture, green building, natural health & body, and transportation.

Since its inception in 1972, World Environment Day has given a human face to environmental issues, and promoted an understanding that communities are pivotal to changing attitudes about the environment. UNEP provides leadership and encourages partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.

Original press release: A Memorable Even: WED 2005, San Francisco (UNEP)

The scientific evidence on climate change is now clear enough for the leaders of G8 to commit to take prompt action to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, according to an unprecedented statement published today (see below) by the science academies of the G8 nations.

The statement is published by the Royal Society the UK national academy of science and the other G8 science academies of France, Russia, Germany, US, Japan, Italy and Canada, along with those of Brazil, China and India. It has been issued ahead of the G8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland.

The statement calls on the G8 nations to: “Identify cost-effective steps that can be taken now to contribute to substantial and long-term reductions in net global greenhouse gas emissions.” And to, “recognise that delayed action will increase the risk of adverse environmental effects and will likely incur a greater cost.”

Lord May of Oxford, President of the Royal Society said: “It is clear that world leaders, including the G8, can no longer use uncertainty about aspects of climate change as an excuse for not taking urgent action to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

“Significantly, along with the science academies of the G8 nations, this statement’s signatories include Brazil, China and India who are among the largest emitters of greenhouse gases in the developing world. It is clear that developed countries must lead the way in cutting emissions, but developing countries must also contribute to the global effort to achieve overall cuts in emissions. The scientific evidence forcefully points to a need for a truly international effort. Make no mistake we have to act now. And the longer we procrastinate, the more difficult the task of tackling climate change becomes.

Lord May continued: “The current US policy on climate change is misguided. The Bush administration has consistently refused to accept the advice of the US National Academy of Sciences (NAS). The NAS concluded in 1992 that, ‘Despite the great uncertainties, greenhouse warming is a potential threat sufficient to justify action now’, by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. Getting the US onboard is critical because of the sheer amount of greenhouse gas emissions they are responsible for. For example, the Royal Society calculated that the 13 per cent rise in greenhouse gas emissions from the US between 1990 and 2002 is already bigger than the overall cut achieved if all the other parties to the Kyoto Protocol reach their targets. President Bush has an opportunity at Gleneagles to signal that his administration will no longer ignore the scientific evidence and act to cut emissions.

On the UK’s efforts on climate change, Lord May said: “We welcome the fact that Tony Blair has made climate change a focus for its presidency of the G8 this year. But the UK government must do much more in terms of its own domestic policy if it is to turn its ambitions to be a world leader on climate change into a reality. While the UK has managed to reduce its emissions of carbon dioxide, most of the cuts have been almost accidental rather than the result of climate change policies. Indeed, its emissions actually increased by over 2 per cent in 2002 - 2003. Clearly the UK must take some tough political decisions about how it manages our ever-growing demand for energy at a time when its vital that we cut our emissions of greenhouse gases.

“The G8 summit is an unprecedented moment in human history. Our leaders face a stark choice act now to tackle climate change or let future generations face the price of their inaction. Never before have we faced such a global threat. And if we do not begin effective action now it will be much harder to stop the runaway train as it continues to gather momentum.

The statement also warns that changes in climate are happening now, that further changes are unavoidable and that, “nations must prepare for them.” In particular it calls for the G8 countries to work with developing nations to enable them to develop their own innovative solutions to lessen and adapt to the adverse effects of climate change.

Lord May said: “We, the industrialised nations, have an obligation to help developing nations to develop their own solutions to the threats they face from climate change.”

Joint science academies� statement: Global response to climate change

The national science academies of the G8 nations and Brazil, China and India, three of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases in the developing world, have signed a statement on the global response to climate change.

The statement stresses that the scientific understanding of climate change is now sufficiently clear to justify nations taking prompt action and calls on world leaders, including those meeting at the G8 summit at Gleneagles in July 2005, to do the following.

• Acknowledge that the threat of climate change is clear and increasing
• Launch an international study to explore scientifically-informed targets for atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations, and their associated emissions scenarios, that will enable nations to avoid impacts deemed unacceptable.
• Identify cost-effective steps that can be taken now to contribute to substantial and long-term reduction in net global greenhouse gas emissions. Recognise that delayed action will increase the risk of adverse environmental effects and will likely incur a greater cost.
• Work with developing nations to build a scientific and technological capacity best suited to their circumstances, enabling them to develop innovative solutions to mitigate and adapt to the adverse effects of climate change, while explicitly recognising their legitimate development rights.
• Show leadership in developing and deploying clean energy technologies and approaches to energy efficiency, and share this knowledge with all other nations.
• Mobilise the science and technology community to enhance research and development efforts, which can better inform climate change decisions.

Original press release: Clear science demands prompt action on climate change say G8 science academies (Royal Society)

URL of Science Academies statement: Joint science academies� statement: Global response to climate change (Royal Society)

Relevant BBC News story: World scientists urge CO2 action (BBC News)

The Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences and MIT today announced the creation of a research-and-education center devoted to progress on key environmental, hydrologic and energy resource goals. The foundation will fund the center at the level of $11 million over 10 years.

The Kuwait-MIT Center for Natural Resources and the Environment will be based at the Institute. The organization, whose core staff is MIT faculty in the sciences, engineering and policy studies, will promote interdisciplinary work by those investigators, by MIT students, and by Kuwaiti investigators and students.

The center will seek solutions for a range of challenges, including several that affect many countries besides Kuwait. Examples include:

• finding and accessing groundwater resources using technologically innovative and environmentally sustainable methods;
• gauging the risks of earthquakes related to the extraction of large amounts of water and petroleum from under ground, and developing techniques to minimize such risks; and
• analyzing difficult policy issues that involve natural resources like water and petroleum.

“Natural resources such as water and petroleum are critical to the world’s prosperity,” said Dr. Ali Abdullah Al-Shamlan, director general of the foundation. “By entering into this agreement, the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences and MIT have reached a new milestone in ensuring excellence in research focused on these resources.”

The center’s membership will include an initial group of five MIT faculty representing three departments. The center will also draw on the expertise of interdisciplinary MIT entities like its Earth Resources Laboratory and Ralph M. Parsons Laboratory for Water Resources and Hydrodynamics. Dale Morgan, professor of geophysics in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, will direct the center. Elfatih Eltahir, professor of civil and environmental engineering, will be associate director.

“We are delighted to be entering into this partnership with our good colleagues from Kuwait,” said Morgan. “We are also grateful for their investment and personal involvement in developing means for addressing problems associated with two of society’s most crucial resources, petroleum and water.” He added that the new enterprise is highly relevant to an Institute-wide initiative focused on addressing the world’s energy concerns that MIT President Susan Hockfield announced last week.

The partnership between MIT and the foundation will put a heavy emphasis on collaboration. At least two investigators from Kuwaiti institutions will be in residence at MIT at any given time, and MIT investigators will make periodic visits to Kuwait to further joint research projects.

A range of advances in technologies like remote sensing, along with new developments in related policy-making activity, have opened the way for major progress on dealing with natural resource issues. The combination of MIT’s interdisciplinary tradition and expertise, along with Kuwait’s deep commitment to careful stewardship of its resources, offers the prospect of rapid progress toward more sustainable and environmentally benign methods of resource management.

The Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences was established by His Highness the Amir of Kuwait in 1976, with the understanding that the foundation would be supported by the private sector, meaning that Kuwaiti shareholding companies each contribute shares of their annual profits. The foundation supports efforts related to modernization and scientific progress in Kuwait. To that end, it sponsors basic and applied research in such areas as natural science, engineering, economics and health; recognizes achievements that enhance the development of Kuwait and other Arab nations; grants scholarships and fellowships, and otherwise supports Kuwaiti scholars and students; and forms partnerships focused on scientific research and programs on an international basis.

The foundation also awards the Kuwait Prize, an important honor that recognizes outstanding achievement in the sciences and related realms by individuals of Arab extraction. MIT’s Eltahir is among past recipients of this distinguished prize.

Original press release: MIT, Kuwait Foundation Announce Partnership to Advance Management of Water, Energy Resources (MIT)

Institutional investors managing USD 3.22 trillion back new call for action at 2005 Investor Summit on Climate Risk

An unprecedented grouping of pension funds, foundations, European investors and US state treasurers have joined today with the United Nations to back a new call for urgent action by the global investment community to tackle the threat of climate change.

Faced with growing evidence of the negative economic consequences of climate change this powerful alliance of institutional investors managing USD 3.22 trillion (see below) are pressing for capital market regulators to demand more rigorous corporate disclosure of climate risks.

Amongst other commitments, they are also seeking to unlock USD 1 billion in capital in the next year for investment in clean technology. The 2005 Call for Action was made at a summit at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), told participants at the summit, “The local and global challenges created by climate change - environmental, economic and social - are manifold and will both multiply and accelerate in our lifetimes. For the world’s financiers, investors and capital markets the time to act is now.”

Toepfer continued, “If our money markets are to manage climate risk more effectively then we must have greater corporate disclosure of how companies are dealing with the economic threats posed by global warming.”

The United Nations’ environmental head welcomed the 2005 Summit “Call for Action” - signed by 20 major investors - and said, “Investors backing these practical and pragmatic steps send a strong signal to the markets that climate risk is real and needs to be managed aggressively.”

The 2005 “Call for Action” came as more than 400 financiers, government and civil society experts met at UN headquarters in New York for a summit to explore risks to the investment world resulting from global warming. The summit, which follows on from the first such gathering in November 2003, is co-hosted by UNEP, the United Nations Foundation, the United Nations Fund for International Partnerships and the Boston-based US non government organization CERES.

The four co-hosts are backing three post summit initiatives to support the call for action by the investors. The initiatives are:

A New Climate Risk Disclosure Initiative (CRDI). This will be aimed at enhancing corporations’ climate risk disclosure. The effort will focus on disclosure of corporate emissions, climate actions, scenario analysis, strategic analysis, and plans to address climate risks and opportunities.

UNEP and the UN Global Compact, working with leaders in the institutional investment community, are developing Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI).

A New Forum for International Investor Cooperation in Addressing Climate Risk. This forum will promote collaboration and information sharing among investors internationally about actions to address the financial risks and investment opportunities posed by climate change.

The New York summit comes shortly after the world’s biggest reinsurance companies confirmed that 2004 saw the largest ever insured losses from natural catastrophes.

According to Munich Re, economic losses totalled US$145bn in 2004. This included insured losses of US$ 44bn from natural catastrophes, the highest ever recorded. While Swiss Reinsurance has published statistics that show 2004 was a record year in terms of claims, mainly dues to hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons.

“On the one hand, the negative economic consequences of climate change are clear,” said Toepfer. “Yet for the financial and business communities our efforts to adapt to and mitigate climate change and its impacts present emerging opportunities for those with the vision, entrepreneurial flair and commitment to embrace new business challenges,” he said.

As well as seeking to understand the economic and financial risks associated with climate change the business world is also awakening to a range of emerging opportunities associated with efforts to tackle global warming.

It is estimated that greenhouse gas emissions trading markets could be worth $2 trillion by 2012 and it is further estimated that the market for clean technologies could be worth $1.9 trillion by 2020.

Original press release: Global Finance Community Joins UN to Tackle Climate Change (UNEP)

A Brazilian mayor whose city has been called the ‘cleanest in the world’, a mayor from England where a fee to ease traffic congestion is being successfully pioneered, and a mayor from China who is grappling with one of the world’s fastest growing urban areas will be converging on San Francisco on 1 - 5 June for World Environment Day (WED).

Exactly four weeks from today, the three mayors - Carlos Alberto Richa from Curitiba, Ken Livingstone from London and Han Zheng from Shanghai - will be joined by more than 60 others, representing cities from across the globe. They plan to exchange ideas and sign a set of ground-breaking environmental actions for cities.

These actions,  collectively referred to as the Urban Environmental Accords - Green Cities Declaration,  cover seven environmental categories that cities can address to enable sustainable urban living and improve the quality of life for urban dwellers: energy, waste reduction, urban design, urban nature, transportation, environmental health, and water. They reflect this year’s World Environment Day theme “Green Cities - Plan for the Planet!”

The Accords lay out 21 practical actions cities can take to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, or the health of the planet.

Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), said: ” It is up to cities in the developed world to set an example in areas such as the efficient use of energy and water. And it is incumbent upon them to partner developing world cities so they do not take a short-term ‘dirty’ development path, but a long-term sustainable one.”

“If this can be done, we can help realize the UN Millennium Development Goals by 2015, and in doing so rid the world of poverty � the most toxic element of all”.

Just over half of the world�s people now live in cities. Urban populations consume 75 per cent of the world�s natural resources and produce 75 per cent of its waste.

“The Urban Environmental Accords represent an innovative response to the fact that we now live on an urban planet,”  said San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, the host of the celebrations. “We need to develop real solutions to urban environmental challenges,” he added.

Attending the celebrations will be the UNEP Executive Director Klaus Toepfer, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, former US Vice President Al Gore and mayors from around 60 cities including Kabul, Buenos Aires, Moscow, Dublin, Phnom Penh, Caracas, Jakarta, and Istanbul (see list below).

UNEP’s World Environment Day celebrations have been hosted by a different city since 1987. This is the first time the event takes place in the United States and it is most fitting that San Francisco - the birth place of the United Nations 60 years ago - should be this year’s venue.

“Municipal governments have the power to shape the future of the world’s environment,” said Jared Blumenfeld, director of San Francisco’s Environment Department. “With the majority of the earth’s population living in cities, decisions made at World Environment Day will have far-reaching effect.”

In addition to the signing of the Urban Environmental Accords on 5 June, the official celebrations also include a walk entitled “Peace and the Environment at Muir Woods - the UN at 60″. Furthermore, over 200 community activities are planned around WED in the Bay Area. They range from special organic menu selections at local restaurants to a display of artwork made from recycled material. There will be a Green Cities Expo with booths and exhibits at Fort Mason during June 3 -5, where this year’s winners of the UNEP photo competition “Focus on Your World” will also be on display.

The draft text of the Accords can be viewed on the World Environment Day website, www.wed2005.org as well as at www.urbanaccords.org

Original press release: A Green Deal for Cities (UNEP)

For the first time ever a UN program, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), has won the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) Stratospheric Ozone Protection Award.

The prestigious prize, presented today here in Washington DC, has been awarded to the Paris-based OzonAction Branch of UNEP’s Division of Technology, Industry and Economics.

Announcing the Award, the US EPA praised the “leadership and innovation of the OzonAction Programme” and said it has benefited well over 140 countries through its unique regional networks of National Ozone Units and global information clearinghouse.

“The appreciation of the award panel highlighting UNEP’s leadership and innovation is not only rewarding but also encouraging for our further work,” said Klaus Toepfer, UNEP Executive Director. “The Montreal Protocol is succeeding in its objective of phasing out the global production and consumption of ozone depleting substances, but there is still much work left to be done, particularly in developing countries,” he said.

“A key factor in the success to date has been financial resources provided to help implement the Protocol,” said Toepfer. “In this regard, it is important that one of the key mechanisms underpinning the treaty, the Global Environmental Facility (GEF), is adequately replenished this year. This will help ensure that we finish the job, not only for ozone, but also for other global environmental treaties,” he said.

Accepting the award on behalf of UNEP, Rajendra Shende, head of the OzonAction branch said, “The award reminds us of what can be achieved when the commitment of the poorest nations to protect the Earth for future generations is combined with the resolve of the richest countries to do their part for peace, prosperity and environmental health.”

“What you get are amazing global success stories that go beyond conventional thoughts and immensely benefit humanity,” he said.

Global efforts to protect the stratospheric ozone layer were formalised through an international treaty agreed in 1987 called the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone layer.

The ozone layer, which absorbs ultraviolet radiation harmful to living organisms and human health, is in danger from several chemicals currently used in industry and agriculture such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), halons, carbon tetrachloride, methyl chloroform and methyl bromide.

“The treaty is bearing fruits,” said Shende. “According to the best scientific knowledge the chemicals that have been destroying the ozone layer are now ‘at or near peak,’ and could begin to dissipate slowly — if nations stay the course.”

The participation in the effort is almost universal with 189 countries having ratified the Protocol. And the international agreement is increasingly being recognised as a rare and important multi-lateral success story. In his recent report entitled, ‘In Larger Freedom: Towards Development, Security and Human Rights for All,’ UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, described the Montreal Protocol as an “encouraging example showing how global solutions can be found.”

Since 1991, the OzonAction Programme has provided services that assist developing countries and Countries with Economies in Transition to achieve and sustain compliance with the Montreal Protocol.

OzonAction empowers the focal point for this multilateral environmental agreement (known as National Ozone Units) through an information clearinghouse, training and regional networking. The programme simplified the messages from the Protocol�s Technology and Economic Assessment Panel to help countries to make informed decisions about alternative technologies and ozone-friendly policies.

UNEP is one of the four implementing agencies of the Multilateral Fund that was set-up to assist developing country parties to the Protocol. Over 12 years, nearly US$2 billion has been disbursed to 145 developing countries to enable them to comply with it.

Original press release: UNEP Wins 2005 Stratospheric Ozone Protection Award (UNEP)