8 May 2013: The SEED Initiative has launched its 2013 SEED Awards, calling for entries from start-up entrepreneurs that aim to generate environmental, social and economic benefits at the local level, including climate change mitigation and adaptation, in developing countries, least developed countries (LDCs), or emerging economies.
7 May 2013: The UNFCCC Secretariat has released a miscellaneous document containing the views of parties in ten submissions on matters referred to in paragraphs 44-47 of decision 1/CP.18, including information, experience and good practice relevant to the design and operation of various approaches on market and non-market mechanisms(FCCC/SBSTA/2013/MISC.11).
6 May 2013: “Countries discussed concrete solutions to speed up and scale up action and they are committed to sticking to their own timetable,” said Christiana Figueres, UNFCCC Executive Secretary, reporting on discussions held during the second session of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP 2).
The 2013 AMR section of the annual Substantive Session of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) will consider the theme "Science, technology and innovation (STI) and culture for sustainable development and the MDGs". This event will seek to highlight the role of science, technology and innovation, and the potential of culture – and related national and international policies – in promoting sustainable development and achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Regional preparatory meetings are being organized to prepare for the session.
19 April 2013: The Program for Scaling Up Renewable Energy in Low Income Countries (SREP) of the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) is calling for proposals from Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) and pilot countries to initiate the development of concept proposals for programmes and projects to engage the private sector in the expansion of renewable energy and energy access.
17 April 2013: The UN Development Programme (UNDP) has released a framework designed to help policy-makers select public instruments to promote investment in renewable energy in developing countries. The goal of the framework, presented in a report on “Derisking Renewable Energy Investment,” is to support transparent policy-making with quantitative comparisons of different public instruments and portfolios for derisking investments in renewable energy.
15 April 2013: The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) approved US$50 million for the launch of the Energy Efficiency Finance Facility, which aims to finance companies investing in energy efficiency and self-supply renewable energy projects in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), by helping them to overcome financial barriers with small-scale loans to curb emissions.
8 April 2013: The Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar Convention) has released the first issue for 2013 of the newsletter of its Scientific and Technical Review Panel (STRP), which features articles on the 17th meeting of the STRP, which was held in February 2013, Ramsar's engagement in the post-2015 development agenda consultation on water, and a key biodiversity area criteria and delineation workshop, which was held in March in Front Royal, Virginia, US.
April 2013: In the context of reduced agriculture yields from deforested and increasingly eroded hillsides in Haiti, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is supporting a project to rehabilitate hillside rainfed agriculture and irrigated valley systems.
The fifth meeting of pilot countries participating in the Program for Scaling-up Renewable Energy in Low Income Countries (SREP) will provide a platform for pilot and reserve countries to share updates on the status of their projects, last assessed in October 2012. Sessions will focus on the areas of monitoring and reporting on energy access results, project delivery, and private sector engagement. A full day will be devoted to renewable energy progress in SREP countries and participants will take part in a field visit to Villingili Island. The countries participating in SREP are: Ethiopia, Honduras, Kenya, Maldives, Mali, Liberia, Nepal and Tanzania.
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