Countries meet in Finland to find agreement on reforming international environmental governance
Finland will host an international meeting 21–23 November that aims to work out an agreement on how to reform international environmental governance (IEG). At present, the largely UN-based environmental governance is fragmented and needs streamlining. Some 100 delegates from around 40 countries are expected to attend the meeting.
A Consultative Group of Ministers and High-Level representatives on IEG is guiding the reform process. The co-chairs of the group are Minister Paula Lehtomäki of Finland and Minister John Njoroge Michuki of Kenya. The High-Level group was established by the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in early 2010.
The group will present the final report to UNEP's Governing Council in February 2011. The meeting in Espoo, Finland, has a decisive role to play, as the final report will be written without further negotiations. The first meeting was held in Nairobi in July this year.
The need to improve international governance has been discussed for a long time, but there has not yet been a breakthrough on how it could be reformed. With the world facing significant global environmental challenges that are best addressed through collective action, the need for effective international environmental governance has never been greater. Finland supports an extensive reform of the UN governance in order to maintain its role as an important agent in the field of international relations.
UNEP will launch Emissions Gap Report in Espoo
As part of the meeting, UNEP will launch a report which assesses contemporary climate actions in relation to the commitment of the Copenhagen Accord to keep the increase in global temperatures below 2 degrees Celsius. Is it possible to meet the target with the current emissions cuts? The assessment discusses various scenarios on estimated emissions in 2020. In addition, the report assesses the prospects and pathways for the even tougher target of keeping the increase in global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius or under by 2050. The report also assesses in an annex the individual commitments, intentions and pledges of some key countries ranging from India to Russia and the United States.
The assessment is being launched in advance of the UN climate convention meeting in Cancún, Mexico, which starts on 29 November. The assessment, entitled UNEP Emissions Gap Report: Are the Copenhagen Accord pledges sufficient to limit global warming to 2 or 1.5°C?, is the work of 27 climate modeling centres and research institutes. It will be launched by Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director.
More information:
Reform of IEG:
Tita Korvenoja, Counsellor, tel. +358 50 301 4605, [email protected]
Kerstin Stendahl, Counsellor, tel. +358 50 328 3860, [email protected]
Emissions Gap Report:
Harri Laurikka, Counsellor, tel. +358 40 719 3123, [email protected]