Warsaw, Poland—At the opening of the latest round of United Nations climate change talks here, where the negotiations open against the backdrop of yet another tragic climatic event, the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), a coalition of island and low-lying coastal nations that are among the most highly vulnerable to climate change impacts, called on the international community to act urgently to… Continue reading For Immediate Release: Small Islands Call For Urgency in Warsaw in Wake of Deadly Typhoon
Author: MCrocker
‘The Stars Are Aligned for Small Island Developing States’
In what has become a tradition for AOSIS, it’s Leaders and Heads of Delegation met on the sidelines of the 68th United nations General Assembly this year to discuss the year ahead and reaffirm the bonds of an alliance that now spans over two decades. Meeting at a luncheon in Midtown Manhattan, the group held… Continue reading ‘The Stars Are Aligned for Small Island Developing States’
IPCC Report Underscores Need For Practical Solutions
The latest IPCC report released today confirms with nearly the highest possible level of confidence that can be found in a scientific enterprise what island nations have been saying for over two decades: humans are the “dominant cause” of global warming and the impacts are causing life-altering changes to their environment and communities. The report… Continue reading IPCC Report Underscores Need For Practical Solutions
Island Nations Take Center Stage at UNGA
Island Nations took center stage at the 68th United Nations General Assembly this year, from Ambassador John Ashe., Antigua and Barbuda’s Permanent Representative to the UN serving as the body’s president to facilitating numerous SIDS hosting a number of high-level events on the meeting’s formal agenda and on the sidelines. “This island is sinking,” Secretary… Continue reading Island Nations Take Center Stage at UNGA
AOSIS Submits Proposal For Workstream 2 Under ADP
Following the first draft plan AOSIS made for work on raising short-term mitigation ambition, the proposal benefitted from the input of a wide variety of stakeholders. The latest version was officially submitted to the UNFCCC. In short, the thrust of the proposal is to engage the best and brightest minds working on climate and energy… Continue reading AOSIS Submits Proposal For Workstream 2 Under ADP
Intercessional Recap
The June UNFCCC intercessional meeting in Bonn was the scene of another drawn out agenda fight that had repercussions for the entire negotiations. The debate played out in the line of talks under the Subsidiary Bodies for Implementation (SBI), which addresses several key priorities for AOSIS, including loss and damage. Russia, joined in its objections… Continue reading Intercessional Recap
New Research on Sea Level Rise
A study by the Potsdam Institute published last month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that greenhouse gases emitted today will cause sea levels to rise for centuries to come, an impact with potentially catastrophic implications for AOSIS members. It found that each degree of global warming is likely to lead to… Continue reading New Research on Sea Level Rise
“It’s a big year for small islands”
By Ambassador Marlene Moses It’s a big year for small islands. As we work to conclude our regional preparations for the Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States in 2014, which also happens to be the International Year of SIDS, we have an unprecedented opportunity to shape the global sustainable development agenda for years… Continue reading “It’s a big year for small islands”
Record Tides Swamp Marshall Islands Airport
Tides Swamp Marshall Islands – RTCC
RTCC picked up on an underreported story from the Marshall Islands. Record tides tied to climate chan The tiny Pacific Marshall Islands are being inundated by record tides that have engulfed the capital Majuro leading the government to welcome a US emergency response team with the words “welcome to climate change”. The combination of storm surges and… Continue reading Tides Swamp Marshall Islands – RTCC