July 2009

This is our third edition of the EWG newsletter in 2009.  You will find useful information and we always ask for your contributions. We would like you to take a few minutes to follow the links in order to help build WILPF’s capacity to tackle grave environmental issues. Please ask women in your Sections to equip themselves with information provided through this e-news. WILPF brings a unique perspective to discussions on environmental issues.

There is ONE ACTION associated with each item in this e-news, please try to do these and ask your Sections for help. Thank you.

Please ask your Section to send us a few notes about plans for work or campaigning on environmental issues and for input to WILPF’s environmental policy for the next International Board meeting in India in January 2010.

To view links, you may need to use the Ctrl button whilst you click

In this issue:

• Commission for Sustainable Development - CSD-17 and CSD-18 - ACTION: we want your ideas
• Climate change – UNFCCC - ACTION: Ask your Section to sign up to ‘Don’t Nuke the Climate’ campaign
• Keep Space for Peace – ACTION: Tell Carol Urner how many posters you want
• NEWS and EVENTS  - ACTION: Tell us your Sections’ news
• Resources – ACTION: circulate to help with important 2009 WILPF work

Commission for Sustainable Development, CSD-17 and CSD-18
 
The CSD -17 was held in New York in May 2009 and here is part of an analysis of the event from the Earth Negotiations Bulletin's summary of the CSD -17 Policy Session.  

Luis Alberto Ferrat, Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Guatemala, was elected as the new Chair and discussed his perspectives on each of the CSD -18 themes:

Transport - the CSD should discuss energy consumption and the addiction to fossil fuels; on chemicals, it must look at the consequences for health, particularly persistent poisons with environmental impacts; on waste, it should look at waste treatment; on mining, it should examine irresponsible mining, especially metals pollution of water; and on Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns, it will look at the draft Ten-Year Programme developed by the Marrakech Process. He promised to prepare a rich and balanced programme of activities to enhance CSD 18 dynamism. 

The 18th session of the CSD is expected to convene from 3-14 May 2010. This review year session will evaluate progress and identify constraints to implementing the issues on the thematic cluster for the CSD 18-19 cycle: transport, chemicals, waste management, mining and the Ten-Year Framework of Programs on Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns. For more information, contact: UN Division for Sustainable Development; tel: +1-212-963-8102; fax: +1-212-963-4260; e-mail: dsd@un.org; internet: www.un.org/esa/dsd/   

The Environment Working Group welcomes ideas for WILPF activities at CSD-18. Please contact us! edel@beukes.net

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Climate change – UNFCCC

In the last edition of the EWG e-Newsletter we reported from the UN climate change meeting in Poznan in December 2008 attended by Sushma Pankule and Edel Havin Beukes. They recommended that WILPF should be active in the process leading up to the Summit in Copenhagen November 30th to December 11th, 2009. http://en.cop15.dk/   You will remember WILPF has a position and background paper on climate security produced in 2008.

Members of several WILPF sections have shown interest in this, among them in the US, Danish and Norwegian sections.

WILPF –Norway hosted the annual meeting of the Nordic WILPF sections in Oslo 23-24th May 2009. They discussed the reasonable possibilities for participating at the
climate change meeting in Copenhagen.

The Danish Section spoke about possibilities for seminars, workshops and logistics but things have only just started there. Ida Harsløf will be active in the NGO-community. We started the discussion on what to do, which themes to promote, what materials to present, who to collaborate with and where to stay.

Our General Secretary, Susi Snyder, in Geneva has sent in application for WILPF to be accredited. The results will be published in August when Susi and Edel will need the names of the WILPF members that need accreditation.

We hope at least for two events, one to dismiss nuclear energy as a solution to tackle climate change and one on the effects on environment and development of the military sector especially its effect on climate change. WILPF must take this theme as no other organisations speak about this aspect of the military industrial complex. Unsustainable and meaningless military production and consumption and growing natural resource conflicts are themes WILPF campaigns on and we must ensure we have a voice about this in Copenhagen.
 
Edel Havin Beukes will attend from the International EWG and take responsibility for the content of the nuclear event meeting and hopes to get input from you, both on who could speak and what we should concentrate on. She has backing from a WILPF group in Norway that will complete a book on nuclear energy this autumn. It is written in Norwegian but chapters could be translated into English and used at Copenhagen. Another workshop is also planned under the theme ‘military, environment and development’.

Susi Snyder recently sent out information from a colleague organisation of WILPF, ”Sortir du Nucleaire”, about their ‘Don’t Nuke the Climate’ campaign. WILPF international has signed, WILPF-Norway has also and we hope other Sections will also sign.  To do this, click here: http://www.dont-nuke-the-climate.org/spip.php?lang=en

During the UN Climate Change meeting in Poznan, Poland, an active anti nuclear group
worked hard to keep nuclear energy out of the options. The members of WILPF present supported this move that was organised by, among others, Greenpeace, World Information Service on Energy (WISE), Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS) and Friends of the Earth International.  Amongst others campaigning in Poland, against nuclear energy were: Women in Europe for a Common Future, WECF - http://www.wecf.org/  and International Forum on Globalization, IFG - http://www.ifg.org/ 

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Keep Space for Peace

Carol Urner has sent a reminder that “The Keep Space for Peace” posters are ready. She would like to know, from you, “How many can you use?”

WILPF has money available for postage.  It would be good to share them with other groups as well, of course. We can also send the event registration forms. She plans to contact the Sections in English speaking countries.

You can see a copy of this poster, if you scroll down the events page on the Global Network website at: http://www.space4peace.org/actions/2009.htm   Email us if you want Carol Urner’s cell phone number.  Keep Space for Peace is October 3rd -10th 2009.

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NEWS and EVENTS

If you are campaigning about nuclear energy, this is environment work too. If you are campaigning about resource conflicts, this is environment work too. If you are campaigning about human security, this is environment work too. Make sure you tell everyone in WILPF about it – email lmirham@hotmail.com

URANIUM weapons – WILPF has benefited from research projects about uranium munitions. Eva Fidjestøl, WILPF Norway, will open the proceedings and speak at the 1st Nordic Network conference ‘Radioactive Wars Today - Uranium Weapons in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Balkans’ in Stockholm, 14-15th November 2009

 The Norwegian government has agreed to fund three ICBUW research projects in an effort to increase the international community’s understanding of the impact and proliferation of uranium weapons. 1. April 2009 - ICBUW

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs funds three projects in the most pressing areas for research:

The Basra Epidemiology Survey: a long-term study investigating the impact of uranium munitions on the civilian population of Basra, Iraq.

Uranium weapons proliferation, manufacture and trade: this three year research post based in Manchester, UK, will investigate which states have uranium weapons, the size of their stocks and assess trade and proliferation routes. Research will also be
undertaken on the environmental impact of alternatives and issues of military utility and policy.

Balkan research survey: a survey trip to the Balkans to document the legacy of NATO’s use of uranium weapons during the late 90s. This research work has been made all the more urgent by the upcoming discussions on uranium weapons at the UN General Assembly in autumn 2010. The outcome of these projects will add enormously to the debate over the use of DU, and ICBUW looks forward to a fruitful relationship with the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. www.bandepleteduranium.org

UK Prime Minister told of women’s plight in climate change
WILPF, in the UK, led women’s organisations joining a 35,000 strong march for jobs, justice and climate on the eve of the G20 Summit and told Prime Minister, Gordon Brown to attend the UN Conference, on the world economic crisis, to make rich countries aware of the disastrous effects, on developing countries, of G20 outcomes. They also told him that women carried the extra burden of climate change.

Summer School - Summer School energy and climate - Zeeland, the Netherlands, August 2-7, 2009. www.antenna.nl/wise/esp

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RESOURCES

Very good WILPF, and other, resources and sources of information exist for us to develop our policy and argument on environmental matters. Please look at some of these. Remember all of our previous e-newsletters have a resources section. Please let us know if you are missing any copies.

Useful starting point, featured this time: from ‘Sortir du Nucleaire’, as described above, their first draft of ‘Nuclear energy provides no solution to the world’s climatic and energy problems.’

“While virtually the whole world stands against the development and use of nuclear weapons, attitudes vary when it comes to the development and use of nuclear energy. Proponents of nuclear energy tout it as a form of “clean” energy since it releases fewer harmful CO2 emissions than with fossil fuels. However the construction of nuclear power plants and fuelling those plants do emit great amounts of CO2, as construction and mining instruments and processes, such as trucks, cranes, front-end loaders, etc., rely on other sources of energy - especially fossil fuels. In addition, the health and environmental costs of nuclear energy are horrific.

The possibility of accidents, such as that of Chernobyl or Three Mile Island, the threat of nuclear terrorism, the potential for nuclear weapons proliferation, the damaging effects from the entire nuclear cycle, from uranium mining to nuclear waste, all indicate that the risks of nuclear energy far outweigh the benefit. Since the end of the Second World War the nuclear energy industry has been parasitic on the rest of society – able to survive only on governmental subsidies – while lobbying for policies that stifle research into alternative, sustainable sources of energy supply.

The themes at the side event:: The connection between nuclear energy and nuclear weapons production; nuclear energy and climate change; the demand for water by nuclear reactors and associated activities; the true financial and economic costs of nuclear energy production, the consequences of accidents  and the effects of radiation; the problematic role of the IAEA.”

WATER

http://www.wilpf.org/water-about

WILPF Peace and Freedom Article on water, view it here http://www.wilpf.org/PandF2009ArticleOnWater

NUCLEAR

http://www.disarm.wilpf.org/ 

http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/

http://www.wilpf.org.au/PDFs/Nuclear_Awareness_WILPF_2007.pdf

NUCLEAR MONITOR is a publication of the World Information Service on Energy (WISE) and The Nuclear Information & Resource Service (NIRS). It publishes international information in English 20 times a year. A Spanish translation of this newspaper is available on the WISE, Amsterdam, website www.antenna.nl/wise/esp
A Russian version is published by WISE Russia www.antiatom.ru and a Ukrainian version is published by WISE Ukraine www.atominfo.org.ua

The Nuclear Monitor can be obtained both on paper and in email version (pdf format). Old issues are available after 2 months through the WISE Amsterdam homepage: www.antenna.nl/wise

For individuals and NGOs they ask for a minimum annual donation of 100 Euros (50 Euros for the email version)

CHEMICAL WEAPONS

http://www.wilpf.int.ch/disarmament/chemicalweapons.htm

PREVIOUS EWG NEWSLETTERS AND OTHER WILPF ENVIRONMENT RESOURCES

http://www.wilpf.int.ch/environment/index.htm

Remember to share your resources and reports with others in the EWG. Send links and examples to Lorraine Mirham – lmirham@hotmail.com

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IMPORTANT DATES!

Please share important dates – send to lmirham@hotmail.com for inclusion in the next e- newsletter. We hope to produce the next e-news around 10th September. Please send items by 1st September 2009.

Please send your ideas for the next EWG e-news to Lorraine Mirham or Edel Havin Beukes.  Thank you.

PLEASE JOIN to receive your EWG e- Newsletter, ESPECIALLY IF YOUR SECTION
IS NOT REPRESENTED! To email the group and/or receive the e-news, the address is: environment@wilpf.ch
REMEMBER TO SEND YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS AND IDEAS TO: Lorraine Mirham or Edel Havin Beukes
lmirham@hotmail.com  or edel@beukes.net

This E-News produced by Edel Havin Beukes and Lorraine Mirham

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