Training Opportunities for SIDS

Scholarships Available in September 2013:

(1) MSc “Sustainability” – University of Leeds

(2) MSc “Climate Change and Development” – University of Sussex

The University of Leeds would like to invite applications for the MSc in ‘Sustainability’ programme for entry in September 2013. Scholarship information is provided below.

This suite of courses provides state-of-the art training for the expanding market for sustainability professionals with specialisation in 7 different areas of sustainability:

• Climate Change
• Business and Corporate Responsibility
• Ecological Economics
• Environmental Politics and Policy
• Environment and Development
• Environmental Consultancy and Project Management
• Transport

Our graduates find successful employment in professional and management positions in the private sector, environmental and engineering consultancies, government agencies, NGOs, and international organizations.

This well-established programme is taught by world leading experts at the Sustainability Research Institute (SRI) at the School of Earth and Environment. With over 30 staff, SRI is one of the largest sustainability research groups in Europe. The staff has a strong reputation for interdisciplinary research-led teaching in environmental sustainability and contributes to policy agenda setting in national and international arenas. Students are exposed to cutting-edge research in the field and have the opportunity to tap into staffs’ extensive professional networks.

Scholarships

Further information on the programme:
www.see.leeds.ac.uk/study/masters

On-line applications:
www.see.leeds.ac.uk/admissions-and-study/masters-degrees/admissions-and-study/how-to-apply
Applications for scholarships:
www.see.leeds.ac.uk/mastersscholarships

Further information about Sustainability at the University of Leeds:
http://www.see.leeds.ac.uk/research/sri/
Tel: 0113 343 8109/4307
Email: apply-masters@see.leeds.ac.uk

The University of Sussex would like to invite applications for the MSc in ‘Climate Change and Development‘ for entry in September 2013. Scholarship information is provided below.

This is a unique course that aims to provide state-of-the-art training for the rapidly expanding market for development professionals with specialisation in climate change. Our graduates have been very successful in finding employment in international organisations and agencies, NGOs, national government and other agencies, the private sector and consultancies. The course offers the opportunity to undertake a dissertation with placement with a relevant organisation.

The MSc is a well-established programme taught by world-leading experts at the Institute for Development Studies (IDS), the School of Global Studies and the Science and Technology Policy Research Unit (SPRU). All have a global reputation for agenda-setting, interdisciplinary teaching and research in science, development, and policy studies. As such, students are taught by researchers who have played key roles advising governmental / intergovernmental bodies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), on climate change mitigation and adaptation. The multi-disciplinary programmes draws upon their expertise on international development, climate change science, climate change adaptation policy and practice, low carbon energy, the politics and economics of climate change.

Scholarships

Further information on the programme and the on-line application process:
http://www.sussex.ac.uk/study/pg/2012/taught/3931/25103

Applications for scholarships should be made on the Climate Change application form:
http://www.sussex.ac.uk/study/funding/pgt2013

Further information about the climate change network at Sussex see:
http://www.sussex.ac.uk/climatechange

Tel: +44 (0)1273 877686

Email: pg.enquiries@sussex.ac.uk

Anna Haworth | Risk Advisor |Acclimatise

Pascoe House | 54 Bute Street | Cardiff | CF10 5AF | UK

+44 (0)7968 109252 | +44 (0)2920 450688 | Skype anna_haworth

Acclimatise is the trading name of Climate Risk Management Limited. Registered in England and Wales at Companies House as Climate Risk Management Limited 5290210. Registered office: 14 London Road, Newark, Nottinghamshire

SIDS DOCK Pacific Regional Meeting

The purpose of the SIDS DOCK Pacific Regional Meeting is to review the work of the first phase of the SIDS DOCK Support Programme funded by the Government of Denmark and to plan the next phase. The goal is to get consensus on the SIDS DOCK Platform design in a timely manner. The objectives of the regional meetings are to:

• Agree and finalize the following: (a) National Financing Mechanism (NFM) (b) Virtual Knowledge Network (VKN) (c) Revolving Fund (RF) (d) Innovation Fund (IF) (e) Capacity Building Programme (CBP) (f) Feasibility Assessment on the long-term sustainability of SIDS DOCK (g) Country pre-feasibility studies;
• SIDS DOCK Denmark Support Programme Project Review and review of the SIDS DOCK Project Pipeline;
• Develop a 2013-2015 Workplan to inform the SIDS DOCK Secretariat’s support to the National and Regional Coordinators.
• Drafting of the follow-up proposal to the Government of Denmark.

Development of the SIDS DOCK Platform, as outlined in the Support Programme Proposal to the Government of Denmark, consists of two (2) components/outcomes consisting of six (6) activities to be implemented and completed by the SIDS DOCK Partners: the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre {CCCCC} on behalf of the SIDS DOCK Secretariat, the UNDP, and the World Bank.

Outcome 1:

Creation of the enabling environment to remove barriers and implement RE and EE measures, thus creating fiscal space for development and climate-resilient actions

Activity 1: Upstream Country Projects
Activity 2: SIDS DOCK Platform Building
Activity 3: Virtual Knowledge Center

Outcome 2:

Implementation of projects that demonstrate, develop, and deploy RE and EE initiatives within a sustainable
development context

Activity 4: Downstream Country Projects
Activity 5: Innovation Seed Fund
Activity 6: Options Paper for Revolving Fund

News from the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)

Waste Management training opportunities for the Pacific

Applications are being invited by SPREP for two Train-the-Trainers waste management courses (in March and April 2013) targeting Pacific islanders. Both courses focus on developing the skills of Pacific islanders in environmentally sound and practical waste management techniques with an emphasis on training the participants to become trainers for each module and to deliver the training on returning to their own countries.

Empowering Fijian women on proper waste management practices

The Clean Pacific 2012 Campaign – a regional campaign implemented by SPREP with an objective to promote better waste management and pollution control in the Pacific region through actions at the grassroots and government levels – has made it possible to educate women in Fiji on simple, proper waste management practices. The campaign provided funding assistance to the Lami branch of the Catholic Women’s League (CWL), which was nominated to implement the grassroots project in Fiji.

SPREP and Westpac Banking Corporation actively campaign for a Clean Pacific

The Clean Pacific 2012 Campaign has delivered additional results thanks to a unique partnership agreement between SPREP and Westpac Banking Corporation (Westpac) established in June 2012. As a result of this partnership, there are now more awareness resources available to Pacific Islanders in the form of 350 Waste Education Handbook for schools, over 2,500 posters, and 3,000 copies of each factsheet on topics such as Actions for a Clean Pacific, Lead Acid Battery Management and Waste Management in the Tourism sector. There are also more avenues for Pacific Islanders to learn how to bring about a Clean Pacific, through Westpac’s Pacific network in the Cook Islands, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu.

For further details, please visit SPREP website: http://www.sprep.org/

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If you wish to share your comments with everyone in the mailing list, please reply to eforum_ipla@uncrd.or.jp

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You are welcome to visit the IPLA Portal: www.iplaportal.org

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IPLA, launched at CSD-19 in May 2011, aims to foster partnerships among local authorities, private and industry sector, international organizations, donor agencies, scientific and research institutions, and NGOs in achieving sustainable waste management. IPLA membership is open to all interested entities that are aligned with its mission. To register with IPLA, please visit the website, click here.

Pacific islands drop diesel for 100 percent solar power

Source: Alertnet // Peter Madden

Solar panels have replaced diesel generators on Tokelau, an island grouping in the South Pacific. Photo: PowerSmart Solar

by Peter Madden

The island nation of Tokelau switched on the third and final installment of its new solar energy grid last week, earning praise around the world as the first country to become entirely solar-powered—except it’s not a country.

Made up of three tiny tropical atolls – a few specks in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean – Tokelau is a dependent territory of New Zealand, whose government’s international aid and development programme advanced the $7 million to fund the project, aimed at replacing Tokelau’s diesel-powered energy grid.

“Electricity expenses make up a huge portion of their budget in Tokelau, which makes it hard for them to invest and look toward the future, so there’s a very clear financial argument for this system,” said Michael Bassett-Smith, managing director of Powersmart Solar, New Zealand’s largest solar power company, which directed the project.

Now, as a result of the project, “not only does the New Zealand aid programme save money from not having to import diesel, but Tokelau has a very clear sense of the price of their energy.”

Though its economy runs almost entirely on the sale of fishing licenses and Internet domain names and the atolls boast “at most” five motor vehicles, Tokelau still imported over 2,000 barrels of diesel per year at a cost of $1 million New Zealand dollars ($825,000)  to provide electricity to its approximately 1,400 people.

According to Mika Perez, Tokelau’s director of economic development, natural resources and the environment, the jump to solar power is both a cost-saving measure and a commitment to environmental sustainability on the frontier of climate change.

“The industrial nations are contributing to climate change through emissions of fossil fuels into the atmosphere, affecting Tokelau, indirectly, quite a bit,” said Perez. Now, “Tokelau will take the lead in harnessing the sun to provide renewable energy, and other countries will look at us and know that we are doing something about it, and they should do their part.”

RISK FROM SEA LEVEL RISE

At no more than two meters (6 feet) above sea level, Tokelau is particularly vulnerable to climate change and will be among the first to feel its effects. According to Perez, the islands have already experienced significant coastal erosion.

Perhaps the good news, not only for Pacific islanders but for the industrialized world as well, is that the challenges overcome to install 4,032 solar panels on islands 500 kilometers (300 miles) from their nearest neighbors were logistical rather than technical.

How do you transport a heavy piece of equipment from a ship to a skiff to a coral atoll? How do you correct mistakes from nearly 4,000 kilometers (2,500 miles) away? How do you convince the locals that coconut trees have to be cut down to clear land for the construction of a cement foundation? These questions — and countless others — had to be answered to make the project work.

“We want to do more in the Pacific,” said Bassett-Smith of PowerSmart Solar, “and we have a fine delivery system now. …. The cost of electricity is going up. Momentum is on our side.”

Peter Madden is a US-based writer who formerly lived in New Zealand and Australia.

Low Carbon Economy in Small Islands

Low carbon economy in small islands “…not just an option…it is the only way…” Staggering 90 per cent of primary energy comes from fossil fuels

Honourable Henry Puna, Prime Minister and Minister of Energy and Renewable Energy of the Cook Islands

May 18, 2012, Belmopan, Belize: For the Cook Islands, located in the South Pacific, transformation of the energy sector through the development and deployment of renewable energy resources and technologies is not, “just an option.”  According to The Honourable Henry Puna, Prime Minister and Minister of Energy and Renewable Energy of the Cook Islands, “it is the only way.”  The Prime Minister was addressing delegates attending the recently concluded High-Level Conference on Achieving Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Rio+20 Informal Ministerial Meeting, in Barbados, from May 7-9, 2012, co-hosted by the Government of Barbados and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

In his presentation, the Prime Minister said that in 2011, the Cook Islands spent USD 15 million or 15 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP) on energy imports with electricity costing USD 2.50 per unit, one of the highest costs per unit in the world. In Barbados, with the best case scenario of the application of solar water heater usage and over 90 per cent penetration, Prime Minister The Honourable Freundel Stewart noted that Barbados’ tourism sector accounts for almost 10 per cent of fossil fueled electric consumption, and that his country is hoping to reduce the cumulative cost of fossil fuel from USD 2.6 billion to USD 1.9 billion, per annum.

Honourable Freundel Stewart, Prime Minister of Barbados

SIDS DOCK, a SIDS-SIDS Sustainable Energy Initiative developed in 2009, and established in July 2011, has similar goals to the SE4All, which were articulated in the Secretary-General’s Conference Opening Address, read by Mrs. Michelle Gyles-

McDonnough, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative; “Small Island Developing States need to free themselves from dependence on fossil fuel imports and transform their energy sectors to encompass modern, efficient, clean and renewable sources of energy.” This was the overriding theme of the conference – the need for transformation, as delegation after delegation spoke of worsening energy situations – amidst crippling debt – ranging from high and volatile prices, lack of access, unaffordability, and inadequate technical capacity, while at the same time speaking of progress made in developing energy policies and programmes put in place as they try to decrease the amount of scarce foreign exchange used to purchase petroleum fuel for the provision of more than 90 percent of primary energy.

Many small islands have made genuine ambitious commitments and have independently developed energy policies and strategies geared toward transformation to a low carbon economy; the challenge is to mobilize the resources – human, financial, material, media and other resources – to help those countries meet the ultimate goal of the SIDS DOCK: to increase energy efficiency by 25 percent (2005 baseline) and to generate a minimum of 50 percent of electric power from renewable sources and a 20-30 percent decrease in conventional transportation fuel use by 2033.

The 30 small islands that are members of SIDS DOCK joined other members of the United Nations (UN) in declaring their support for the UN Secretary-General’s SE4All Initiative and recognized the important opportunities that exist within the Initiative for the advancement of the purposes of SIDS DOCK. Support for SE4All is reflected in the Decisions of the SIDS DOCK National Coordinators Meeting, held during the conference.

SIDS DOCK, with support from its dynamic Partnership with the Governments of Denmark and Japan, the UNDP, the World Bank and the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), and with potential opportunities afforded through the SEF4All, is committed to helping SIDS achieve not just a sustainable energy sector but sustainable development for all.