Cement Energy and Environment

r role in the development of a global solution. Britain and India, together, can play that part, as much as China and India can play it. Our job is to be supportive. Courlesy: TERRAGREEN, June 2011, Pp22- 24. IS AGREEMENT AT CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE AT DURBAN DOABLE? Pradeep Chatwvedi Chairman, Indian Association for the Advancement of Science Introduction Global Environment Facility, GEF, celebrates 20th anniversary of its foundation this year. GEF has delivered resources to protect and enhance the world 's environment. The 40th meeting of the GEF Council was convened in Washington during 24 - 26 May 2011 . Council Members applauded their "historic" decision on broadening the GEF Partnership. Related to this deci sion, the Council agreed on "Provisional" policies on "environment and social safeguards and a policy on gender mainstreaming. All development projects are now subject to "sustainability assessment" process wherein these two policy issues have become important. GEF was created in 1991 as a result of mounting concern in the preceding decade over global environmental problems and efforts to formulate financing responses to address these problems. The GEF operated in a pilot phase until mid-1994. Negotiations to restructure the organization were concluded at a GEF participants' meeting in Geneva in March 1994, where representatives of 73 states agreed to adopt the GEF lnstrumenc Ever since GEF has been serving as a financial mechanism for the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. It is significant to bring GEF upfront in this Paper as aligning the GEF climate change focal area to the priorities that are emerging in the negotiations will be crucial for implementing the Cancun Agreements. The emerging priorities for climate change discussion include: technology development and transfer; the preparation and implementation of nationally appropriate mitigation actions by developing countries; the preparation of enhanced national communications by developing countries; the implementation of projects ident.ified in the national ad~ptation programmes of action and other elements of the LDC work programme; and financing of all activities. GEF has a crucial and catalytic role at that. Over the last 20 years, global awareness of the threats of climate change and the need to act has tremendously increased. This has partly been brought about the support that many developing countries received from the GEF to implement various mitigation and adaptation projects, to prepare national reports and assessments and to respond to technology transfer and capacity-building needs. Sustainable development: Where have we reached in 25 years When humankind discovered fire, we had discovered the energy source that would lift us onto an altogether new level of development. When humankind discovered the use of fossil fuels, for better or for worse, we reached another new level of development. And we all know that humankind stands on the brink of reaching another. higher and sustainable level of development, if only we fully seize the opportunity that alternative fuels, mainly renewable energy, offer. I am a firm believer that the human ingenuity will respond to the emerging need through innovative solutions. In 1987, together with the release of her famous report on "Our Common Future", Gro Harlem Brundtland called for a green growth agenda. Almost 25 years later, not withstanding progress made towards that, the green growth agenda has not progressed beyond the status of "secondary agenda", in other worlds, a somewhat less important agenda. However, following observations are made: • Yes, many countries have focussed on green energy and integrated green growth concerns into their economic growth strategies. • Yes, many countries have energy efficiency and renewable energy targets. • Yes, the private sector is showing a growing interest in sustainability and climate. But the fact of the matter is that green, sustainable growth has not yet become the global norm. Sustainability and climate are not factored into measurements of how much economies have grown or how healthy they are. And the price of oil still has far too great an impact on the well-being of economies. 27