- Post 2012 Climate Change Framework to be Agreed
- Consensus to be Sought on Proposals on Bio-Fuels and Forestry to be Presented to G8 Leader.
Brazil, February 19, 2008 — On February 20-21, over 100 legislators from the G8 countries and five emerging economies (Brazil, China, India, Mexico, and South Africa) will gather in Brasilia, Brazil to participate in a major international forum on climate change, the GLOBE G8+5 Legislators Forum. Participating lawmakers will discuss and potentially agree on a "Post 2012 Climate Change Framework" that will be formally presented to G8 leaders ahead of the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit in Japan on July 7-9. An additional agreement on proposals on Bio-fuels and Forestry will be sought. These initiatives have been developed by the G8+5 legislators in consultation with business leaders and international experts. Participants will also discuss papers on Adaptation, Market Mechanisms, Technology Transfer, and Energy Efficiency. The GLOBE G8+5 Climate Change Dialogue, a unique informal initiative, was launched after the G8 Gleneagles Summit in 2005. With its broad political, international institution, and private sector support, it has successfully influenced the G8+5 governments. The organizer, GLOBE International, is a global multi-party network of lawmakers created as a forum for informal discussions among legislators to tackle some of the most complex international environmental challenges. The need for such discussions is greater today than ever before, so GLOBE seeks to bring legislators together for specific policy "Dialogues" that directly shadow key international negotiations. The Brasilia forum is the latest in a series of global forums on climate change and will be co-hosted by several prominent Brazilian legislators. Brazil is increasingly seen as a key player in meeting the global climate change challenge, as well as a global development leader, especially because of the progress the country is making in addressing its own environmental challenges. "It is critical that legislators from high-energy-consuming economies get together to build mutual confidence on what a post-2012 agreement on climate change would look like," said Pamela Cox, the World Bank's Vice President for Latin America and the Caribbean. "As lawmakers they can influence the negotiations and create a positive atmosphere at the global level and in their respective countries." "We are proud that the participating 100 senior legislators will have the opportunity to address climate change issues critical to Brazil and that they will do that in Brazil," said Senator Serys Slhessarenko, head of the Environment Committee of the Brazilian Senate. A group of participating legislators visited the Amazon Basin before arriving in Brasilia in order to get a firsthand vision of the tropical forest which has been defined as the “lungs of the world.” Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda (by video link) will deliver the keynote addresses during the opening session on February 20. Other high-level participants include Pamela Cox (World Bank) and other key representatives from international organizations, business leaders from companies such as Petrobras, Vale, and Holcim, and more then 80 legislators from the G8 and emerging economies. The session led by Lord Michael Jay (UK) will address the "Final Agreement on Recommendations to be Made to the G20 Ministerial and G8 Summit." Business leaders such as Lord Ron Oxburgh (UK), Former Chairman of Shell, and Mr. Sérgio Gabrielli, CEO of Petrobras, will participate in Session Three on "Bio-fuels: Recommendations of the GLOBE Bio-fuels Policy Commission." Day Two's session on "Forestry and Ecosystems" will feature Pamela Cox, Marina Silva, Brazilian Cabinet Minister for Environment and Forestry, and leaders from forest-rich African countries. The following key documents will be discussed at the Forum: - GLOBE Post 2012 Climate Change Framework Paper
- Statement on Bio-fuels
- Illegal logging G8 Policy Recommendations
- Working Group Papers on Adaptation, Market Mechanisms, Technology Transfer, and Energy Efficiency
COM+ Contribution
COM+, the Alliance of Communicators for Sustainable Development, a partnership of international organizations and communications professionals to advance a vision of sustainable development, is a strategic partner of GLOBE. Sergio Jellinek, a founder of COM+ and World Bank Communications Manager for Latin America and the Caribbean, says that “the objective of the engagement is to generate a credible multi-stakeholder platform of rich countries and emerging economies for an enlightened debate on post-2012 scenarios (when the Kyoto Protocol expires)." He underlined that “the Brasilia Forum is a great opportunity for showcasing the experiences of Brazil in sustainable development." COM+ is sponsoring the participation of 30 journalists from China, India, different regions of Brazil, and Mexico in the Brasilia event, and is organizing together with its partner the Reuters foundation an “on-the-job training” for these professionals. |
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