Blog

SBSTA

Slow progress for agriculture in Bonn climate talks, but high hopes for Rio +20

Submitted by Cecilia on 31st May 2012
Tags:
Little progress for agriculture during climate talks in Bonn

By Cecilia Schubert

The United Nations climate meetings in Bonn have now come to an end. On agriculture, there was much fruitful discussion and trust-building among parties. A contact group on agriculture met several times to share views informally. However, no formal decision on what the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) should recommend to the Conference of Parties (COP) on agriculture was made. Delegates chose to continue to exchange views on issues relating to agriculture (PDF) during COP18 in Qatar later this year. Read more »

Current constraints in providing climate services to the most vulnerable

Submitted by Cecilia on 21st May 2012
Tags:
Investment in climate service extensions is important for adaptation

By Cecilia Schubert

Provision of climate services and weather data to small-holder farmers is important in order to adapt to an unpredictable climate. Without any knowledge of future conditions, there is no possibility to plan, which in turn might hinder investment and innovation among small-holder farmers in developing countries. The problem with today’s climate services is that they’re not reaching the end users and the most vulnerable, due to lack of understanding in how they can be reached effectively and timely. The importance of extension services for climate adaptation and the progress with the implementation of the Global Framework on Climate Services was discussed during a side event convened by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) at the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological (SBSTA) meetings in Bonn, Germany.

Progress with the global climate extension service framework Read more »

Agriculture's role in both adaptation and mitigation discussed during climate talks

Submitted by Cecilia on 19th May 2012
Tags:
Agriculture could contribute to both adaptation and mitigation

by Cecilia Schubert

“Small-holder farmers in developing countries are expecting urgent, decisive action coming out of the ongoing climate conference in Bonn”, said Manyewu Mutamba (SACAU) yesterday to a full packed audience at the Ministry of Transport in Germany. Mr Mutamba spoke as an official panelist at the United Nations intersession side event “The status of knowledge on how agriculture can contribute to adaptation and mitigation”, co-convened by the CGIAR Research CCAFS side event was held in front of a fullpacked audience. Photo: C. Schubert (CCAFS)Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) and the Southern African Confederation of Agricultural Unions (SACAU) at the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA).

With the inclusion of agriculture as a topic for discussion on the climate agenda, CCAFS took this window of opportunity to map out the importance of including agriculture in the future negotiations, not only for ensuring global food security but also because of its mitigation potential. Mr. Mutamba, together with moderator James Kinyangi, East Africa Regional Program Leader (CCAFS), and panelists Sonja Vermeulen, Head of Research (CCAFS), Henry Neufeldt from World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) and Mohammed Asaduzzaman, Vice-Chair of the Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change therefore showcased interlinked perspectives on how agriculture can contribute to adaptation and mitigation. The panel also discussed the prospects for a work program as a likely outcome from the SBSTA high level meetings. 

Read more »

Looking into the past to learn how farmers can adapt today

Submitted by Cecilia on 16th May 2012
Tags:
Farmers need diverse technologies and support to adapt to climate change

by Cecilia Schubert

What do farmers need in order to adapt to climate change and build resilience? This topic was discussed vividly during  the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) side event “Building resilience in the agricultural sectors for adaptation to climate change” held at the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) meetings. The ambition of the side event was to offer different perspectives and approaches for building resilience in agriculture for adaptation to climate change and pin down what we need to do in order to build resilience among farmers.

The side event took place on 15 May starting off with an introduction presentation by Alexandre Meybeck (FAO), signaling that now is really the time to showcase agriculture, to make sure it is discussed during the SBSTA meetings currently ongoing in Bonn, Germany. Read more »

Climate change negotiations to find agriculture part of the solution

Submitted by Cecilia on 15th May 2012
Tags:
Negotiations at SBSTA to discuss agriculture for the first time

By Cecilia Schubert

Dr Mohammed Asaduzzaman, Vice-Chair of the Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change, writes in a newly published article about the importance of viewing agriculture as part of the climate change solution in the ongoing negotiations. At the moment, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change  Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (UNFCCC-SBSTA) meetings are taking place in Bonn, Germany, which is an opportunity for negotiators to address this one area that has received very little attention and its potantial role in both climate change adaptation and mitigation. Read more »

A post-Durban dialogue on climate change and agriculture in Eastern and Southern Africa

Submitted by Cecilia on 2nd March 2012
Tags:
Moving forward on a single agricultural position in Africa

Co-written by: James Kinyangi and Maren Radeny

Following the conclusion of the COP17 Durban talks on Climate Change in December 2011, Parties agreed to mandate the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technical Advice (SBSTA) to consider issues related to agriculture and to prepare a decision to be adopted at COP18 later this year in Qatar. Consequently, Parties and Observer Organizations are expected to make submissions to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat on issues relating to agriculture as well as on agricultural elements of a Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action (NAMA) by 5 March 2012. Read more »

Syndicate content