DiploNews – Issue 132 – 15 January 2009
Last Call for Applications: February 2009 Courses
Diplo invites you to apply for the following courses, beginning the week of 23 February 2009:
- Diplomatic Theory and Practice
- Cyber Diplomacy
- Public Diplomacy
These courses are available as Diplo Certificate Courses (application deadline 19 January 2009). For further information or to apply, click on the titles of the courses above, or visit our courses website.
Persuasion, the Essence of Diplomacy – Farewell Symposium for Prof. Kappeler
On 12 February, 2009, Diplo and the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies will hold a farewell symposium in Malta marking the conclusion of Professor Dietrich Kappeler’s 50-year career as a practitioner and teacher of diplomacy. Discussion at the symposium will address the theme “Persuasion – The Essence of Diplomacy.” As well, we are offering a farewell discussion online. You can contribute to this discussion with reflections on the theme “Persuasion: The Essence of Diplomacy.” Please send us your contribution of up to five pages. Contributions will appear online, while selected contributions may be published in 2009.
World Bank Report Highlights Low-Carbon Energy Projects in Sub-Saharan Africa
The World Bank has recently issued the report, Low-carbon Energy Projects for Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: Unveiling the Potential, Addressing the Barriers, to show the potential of clean energy projects that could benefit from the Clean Development Mechanism under the Kyoto Protocol. It is the first report to analyze clean energy projects in forty-four countries of sub-Saharan Africa. The report has estimated a technical potential of more than 3,200 low carbon energy projects that, if fully implemented, could significantly increase the region’s power-generation capacity. The authors also identified challenges for implementation. Appropriate infrastructure policies are needed to grant clean energy projects easy access to energy markets. In addition, skills to run clean technologies must be imported. Finally, climate investment funds are essential to promote development. Considering the current huge energy deficit in sub-Saharan Africa, these clean technologies will be worth exploring to keep up with the region’s economic growth. For further information, see Climate.org.
–brought to our attention by JingJing Xia
African Countries Launch African Climate Solution
According to the website for the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, twenty-six African countries from the area initiated on 10 December 2008 the “African Climate Solution” at the UN climate change talks in Poznan, Poland, to address issues relating to climate change. The group envisions the reduction of green house gas emissions by forest resources and carbon sequestration through agriculture, forestry, and land use in Africa and elsewhere. The African Climate Solution calls for the further reduction of green house gas emissions beyond those produced by forest resources to include the full range of bio-carbon in the climate change negotiations. Africa is leading a high-level delegation to the UN climate change conference in Poznan, consisting of representatives from organisations representing farmers, the private sector, the research community, civil society development, and banks.
–brought to our attention by JingJing Xia.
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