"The struggle to save the global environment is … war ….with ourselves" - Al Gore, former Vice President of the United States
The Commonwealth Climate Change Action Plan responds to global concerns regarding the environmental and economic impacts of climate change, especially the potential damage to small island states.
Since climate change is not only an environmental problem, but affects food security and sustainable development, especially in smaller member countries, Commonwealth bodies are contributing heavily to global efforts by:
- maintaining and expanding multi-stakeholder networks and promoting sustainable urbanisation
- helping Commonwealth countries be more effective in preparing for and responding to natural disasters
- supporting the Iwokrama International Centre for Rainforest Conservation and Development
- providing advice on natural resources management to help achieve environmentally sustainable development
- ensuring a greater appreciation of the different impacts of climate change on specific groups, particularly women
Latest News
Wasted milk is equal to gas emissions from 20,000 cars
May 18, 2012Waste milk creates a carbon footprint equivalent to thousands of car exhausts, according to a study that highlights the environmental costs of inefficient farming and the aggressive marketing of supermarket food. Scientists have calculated that the 360,000 tonnes of waste milk that is poured down British drains each year creates greenhouse gases equivalent to 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide...
Africa Progress Panel calls on African governments to drive towards Millennium Development Goals
May 14, 2012African leaders urged to launch 'big push' as inequality, marginalisation and disenfranchisement threaten MDG progress. The Africa Progress Panel, chaired by Kofi Annan, the former UN secretary general, said while the continent had made notable gains in the past decade, its record on poverty does not match its overall economic growth.
Study in UK with a Jubilee scholarship
May 10, 2012The good news is that the British Council and the UK Government have launched Jubilee Scholarships 2012, 60 new awards to study a Masters in the UK, to commemorate Her Majesty the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the London Olympics 2012.
Groundwater in Africa: Harnessing the hidden sea for climate adaptation
May 07, 2012A DFID-funded study provides new information on the extent and potential of groundwater as a way to support development and help buffer the impact of climate change. The aim of the study was to improve our understanding of the twin impacts of climate change and increasing demand on groundwater resources on the continent.
The Pacific Islands Forum Ministerial Contact Group in Fiji for democracy meeting
May 03, 2012Pacific Islands Forum Ministerial Contact Group (MCG) said the ministers gained a sense that Fiji was a country in transition, moving to put in place processes required for elections, which would take place by September 2014.
Commonwealth and UNCTAD explore new trade opportunities for less developed countries
Apr 27, 2012Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General Ransford Smith has described the rise of the world’s Dynamic Developing Economies (DDE) as a ‘defining period’, which could benefit both emerging economies and the world’s poorest and most vulnerable countries.
