28. November-  9. December 2011

COP17/CMP7

17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 7th Session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the parties (CMP7) to the Kyoto Protocol.
Durban, South Africa.
Visit the COP17/CMP7 website.

12. November, 2011

Climate Justice Conference

Climate change and weather-related disasters. Presentation by: Dr Stuart Parkinson of the INES member organisation SGR UK

Visit the website of the Campaign against Climate Change.

10.-11. November 2011

Geoengineering the Climate: an Issue for Peace & Security Studies?

International Workshop,  University of Hamburg, Germany

It is supported by KlimaCampus Hamburg and organized in cooperation by the Research Group Climate Change and Security (CLISEC), the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy (IFSH) at the University of Hamburg, the Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker Centre for Science and Peace Research (ZNF), and adelphi Research, Berlin.
For further information please visit: clisec.zmaw.de/CLISEC-Conferences.872.0.html

30. September 2011

Climate Change in Latin America: Addressing Risks for Food and Water Security
Third Climate Security Dialogue, Berlin, Germany

The Climate Security Dialogue series is initiated and organized by adelphi Research in Berlin, together with the KlimaCampus' Research Group Climate Change and Security (CLISEC) and the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy (IFSH) of the University of Hamburg. This dialogue series is generously supported by the German Federal Foreign Office at whose premises the workshops are held.

11.-12. August 2011

Severe Atmospheric Aerosol Events 

Conference on pathways, impacts and policies on large aerosol injections into the atmosphere. Hamburg, Germany
Panels on:
Life-cycle of large aerosol injections
Environmental consequences
Socio-economic consequences
Policy implications

A major focus will be the ecological consequences of a nuclear war.
Visit website.

1. June, 2011

Climate Change, Nuclear Risks and Nuclear Disarmament

From Security Threats to Sustainable Peace

The report examines the convergence of nuclear and climate change threats and its implications for global security. It is based on groundbreaking research by WFC Peace and Disarmament Working Group member and Vice Chair of the INES Executive Committee Prof. Dr. Jürgen Scheffran of the University of Hamburg.
To read the press relase of WFC click here.
To download the 24-pages report click here.

9. 5. 2011

Renewable energy can power the world, says landmark IPCC study

UN's climate change science body says renewables supply, particularly solar power, can meet global demand.
By Fiona Harvey (The Guardian)

Renewable energy could account for almost 80% of the world's energy supply within four decades - but only if governments pursue the policies needed to promote green power, according to a landmark report published on Monday.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the body of the world's leading climate scientists convened by the United Nations, said that if the full range of renewable technologies were deployed, the world could keep greenhouse gas concentrations to less than 450 parts per million, the level scientists have predicted will be the limit of safety beyond which climate change becomes catastrophic and irreversible.

Read on
Visit the website of the Guardian to comment the article.
Read the Summary for Policymakers here:

25. November 2010

Changing the Climate of Complacency

Special edition of the INES Global Responsibility Newsletter for the Klimaforum10, Cancún / Mexico, 26. 11. - 11. 12. 2010

Contents:

• Changing the Climate of Complacency. By David Krieger
• Interview with IPCC member Hartmut Graßl, Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Hamburg/Germany
• Statement of INES and La Unión de Científicos Comprometidos con la Sociedad (UCCS) Mexico
• INES at the Klimaforum10 in collaboration with UCCS

Read on

December 13, 2009

Successful INES workshop "Climate Change and Conflicts - the danger of future wars".

Climate change will increase the appearance of floods and draughts and will force millions of people to flee from their homes. We will experience more conflicts about farmland, water and food. According to the UN 20 million people were made homeless because of climate related disasters in 2008. We need to find social, just and responsible solutions. The money used for weapons of mass destruction and warfare need to be rededicated to social and sustainable development.

250 people in the biggest hall were attending the meeting.

Please find below the presentations and speeches with the analytic and strategic arguments of the three INES speakers.

The alternative to war are climate protection, disarmament and peaceful conflict solution strategies. War is never a solution. Military activities aggravate the problems of climate change. We need disarmament for development.

Recording of Prof. Jürgen Scheffran, Hamburg, Germany. (23:46).
Source: www.arnehansen.net

Recording of Prof. Claus Montonen, Finland. (23:46).
Source: www.arnehansen.net

Trine Pertou Mach, Head of Actionaid Denmark and TFF Associate - Transnational Foundation for Peace and Future Research

Facilitators: Reiner Braun, INES, Germany & Lene Junker, No to war, Denmark

For details on the program visit: www.klimaforum09.org/Programme

Klimaforum09

7.-18. 12. 2009 at the DGI-Byen, Copenhagen, Denmark

Klimaforum09 is your climate summit, the global civil society counterpart of the official UN conference in the Bella Center.
While the UN conference will be a platform for political decision making, Klimaforum09 gathers citizens from all corners of the world to create a socially just and sustainable future.
Read on

United Nations Climate Change Conference COP15

December 7. - 18, 2009 Copenhagen, Denmark
http://en.cop15.dk

Statement form the Climate Justice Now! alliance on the Poznan climate talks

Poznan statement from the Climate Justice Now! alliance
12 December 2008

Members of Climate Justice Now! ? a worldwide alliance of more than 160 organisations - have been in Poznan for the past two weeks closely following developments in the UN climate negotiations.

This statement is our assessment of the Conference of Parties (COP) 14, and articulates our principles for achieving climate justice.

THE URGENCY OF CLIMATE JUSTICE
We will not be able to stop climate change if we don't change theneo-liberal and corporate-based economy which stops us from achieving sustainable societies. Corporate globalisation must be stopped.
read on

For further information please visit
http://clisec.zmaw.de/Climate-Change-Social-Stress-and-Violent-Conflict.873.0.htmll
or contact contact Prof. Dr. Jürgen Scheffran, Research Group Climate Change and Security, KlimaCampus, University of Hamburg, juergenscheffranzmawde

Climate Change Seen as Threat to U.S. Security

Article in the New York Times, 9. August 2009

The changing global climate will pose profound strategic challenges to the United States in coming decades, raising the prospect of military intervention to deal with the effects of violent storms, drought, mass migration and pandemics, military and intelligence analysts say.

read the whole article

Mohan Munasinghe
Vice Chair, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC); Chairman, Munasinghe Institute for Development (MIND)

Wednesday, September 10, 2008 at 13.15 hours

Venue: Auditorium 3, H.C. Ørsted Institute, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 5, DK-2100 Copenhagen.

Abstract:
The lecture will begin with a review of the main findings from the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) relating to climate change science, impacts and adaptation, and mitigation. Their importance and relevance for policy and implementation will be explored. Climate change response policies (adaptation and mitigation) need to be fully integrated into sustainable development strategy. A practical framework called Sustainomics, based on making development more sustainable (MDMS), permits us to address traditional development issues like poverty, food security, health, employment, etc, while simultaneously taking steps to deal with longer term problems such as climate change. CC will undermine SD prospects, and future development paths will affect climate change, in a circular fashion. Synergies between CC and SD may be exploited, while trade-offs need to be resolved. The importance of trans-disciplinary analysis will explained, including the role of scientists and engineers in developing practical solutions. Case studies will be briefly summarized, which illustrate the approach at global/transnational, national/macroeconomic, sectoral/ecosystem, and local/project.

The lecture is based on a recent book Making Development More Sustainable: Sustainomics Framework and Practical Applications? by Mohan Munasinghe. Copies (personally autographed) will be available for sale after the lecture.

More info on the INESPE Lecture Series on the Social Responsibility of Engineers and Scientists at http://inespe.org/lectures. The Lecture Series is organized in collaboration with Center for the Philosophy of Nature and Science Studies at the University of Copenhagen.

30.10.2007

INES Council member Prof. Mohan Munasinghe shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize,

as Vice Chairman of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Media Briefing note
Sri Lankan Prof . Mohan Mungashinghe shares Nobel Peace Prize for 2007

As Vice Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Prof. Mohan Munasinghe shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with other IPCC colleagues and Al Gore, for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change. Prof. Munasinghe is the first Sri Lankan to receive this coveted award.
 The IPCC is a UN "Think Tank" consisting of the world's leading experts on climate change. It was created by the World Metorological Organisation (WMO) and United NationsUnited Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) over 20 years ago. Prof. Munasinghe has contributed to all four of the authoritative assessments on climate change produced by the IPCC in 1990, 1995, 2001 and 2007.

read on

15.10.2007
International Peace Bureau (IPB) Says:

No Solution to Climate Change without Reclaiming Resources spent on the Military

Geneva, 13 Oct. 2007. The International Peace Bureau congratulates the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and Al Gore on the award of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.

The work they have done in waking up the world has been decisive said IPB President Tomas Magnusson, especially over the last 12 months - although the scientific work underpinning the case for radical steps to save the planet from climate disaster goes back several decades.

Worldwide climate change is not only a peace question because of the risk of new conflicts that may follow, as stated by the Nobel Committee, but also on account of the enormous negative impact the military itself has on the environment through pollution, use of scarce resources, and diversion of colossal sums of money away from sustainable development.

For Al Gore, under pressure to enter the US Presidential race, the challenge will be to live up to the widespread expectations generated by the new way of thinking, not only on climate issues, but also, for example, in withdrawing the American troops from Iraq.

The IPB is pleased to announce today the publication of a new IPB paper 'A Climate of War' which addresses these issues*. In essence, the argument made in the paper is that there is a real danger that the growing competition for resources (resulting in part from climate change) may cause the leadership of the big powers to claim greater legitimacy for inflated military budgets - and even more dangerous weapons systems. This is absolutely not the way to go. The message of today's Prize is surely that we are all in the same boat and we had better develop peaceful ways of sharing our resources before the boat capsizes.

www.ipb.or

INES is a member organisation of the IPB