GBM Blog

The Green Belt Movement acknowledges the fact that there is a serious focus on forests. Deforestation is a frequently overlooked source of carbon dioxide emissions and a significant contributor to climate change, as trees, which store carbon, instead release it when they are burned during slash-and-burn land clearing of forests. The GBMs commitment on this path is focused on the restoration of Kenya’s degraded landscapes, knowing full well that our survival depends on the integrity of these forest ecosystems.

Green Belt Movement U.S. Board Chair Mia MacDonald and Wanjira Mathai, Kenyan Board Chair and director of the wPOWER project at the Wangari Maathai Institute, co-author a piece in The Huffington Post about Wangari Maathai's "hummingbird" tale and a call for climate action around the U.N. Climate Summit.

Bringing Optimism to Build Trust and Political Momentum

Kenya played host to the first ever meeting of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA), heralding a new era of “global efforts to address environmental sustainability”.  It kicked off in Nairobi from the 23^rd-27^th of June, 2014 - a lofty affair, attracting environmental ministers from over 180 countries, plus officials from governments and public bodies, economists and others to talk about saving the planet.

Last month saw the second round of United Nations climate talks take place in Bonn, Germany, from 4-15 June, with an outlook to make progress towards a legally-binding 2015 climate change agreement.  

The conference included sessions of the UNFCCC Subsidiary Bodies , which between them look at the “what’s and whys and how’s” of climate change adaptation, mitigation, technology and finance that will eventually form the policies and practices of the climate change treaty.  As well as the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform (ADP); this focuses on enhancing the mitigation pledges and actions of Parties and ensuring agreed and effective implementation by all. It came at the same time of an announcement by US President Barak Obama of a 30% reduction in power plant emissions by 2030 and the completion of the essential elements required for full implementation of the Green Climate Fund (GCF).