Tiempo Climate Newswatch

The United Nations has declared a famine in two regions of southern Somalia and appealed for urgent resources to assist millions of drought-affected people. "Every day of delay in assistance is literally a matter of life or death for children and their families in the famine-affected areas," said Mark Bowden, the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia. He reported that malnutrition rates in Somalia are currently the highest in the world. In the two regions of southern Bakool and Lower Shabelle, deaths among children under the age of five are exceeding six per 10,000 per day in some areas.

Successive droughts have hit the nation in recent years and ongoing conflict has made it extremely difficult for agencies to operate. Head of the World Food Programme (WFP), Josette Sheeran, said: "Operations in Somalia are among the highest risk in the world, and WFP has lost 14 relief workers there since 2008. We will aggressively pursue efforts to mitigate against risk, through robust assessments and monitoring, but I am calling on all sides to stand together in recognizing the inevitable risks that will be present in southern Somalia." The Food and Agriculture Organization is convening an emergency meeting in Rome to address the escalating crisis in the Horn of Africa and mobilize international support.

Global agreement has been reached through the International Maritime Organization to limit greenhouse gas emissions from shipping by tightening the energy efficiency design index (EEDI). Ships over 400 tonnes built after 2013 must improve their efficiency by 10 per cent. The efficiency target rises progressively to 30 per cent for ships delivered after 2024. Greenhouse gas emissions should be reduced by 45-50m tonnes a year by 2020. Efficiency improvements could be achieved through better engine design, more efficient hull shapes, improved waste heat recovery systems and coatings that make hulls more slippery.

Concern has been expressed that the agreement does not go far enough. "There will be no change to existing ships which are currently pumping out a billion tones of carbon dioxide each year, and for new ships it will take another dozen years until the EEDI is really delivering benefits. Operational changes could be delivering major benefits today," said Jacqueline Savitz from Oceana. Moreover, China, Brazil, Saudi Arabia and South Africa have secured a six and a half year delay for new ships registered in developing countries. Despite the new agreement, the European Commission may proceed with plans to bring shipping into its emissions trading scheme.

A special meeting of the United Nations Security Council has considered how to respond to conflicts generated by climate change. There are divergent views regarding whether or not the Security Council's brief should cover climate change. Ambassador Susan Rice said that the United States strongly believed the council "has an essential responsibility to address the clear-cut peace and security implications of a changing climate," and should "start now." China has historically been in opposition and, at the recent meeting, Russia forced a weakening of the final statement.

Small island states have long argued that the Security Council should tackle the climate issue. "The security council should join the general assembly in recognizing climate change as a threat to international peace and security," wrote Marcus Stephen, the president of Nauru, in the New York Times. "It is a threat as great as nuclear proliferation or global terrorism," he continued. Stephen is calling for a special representative on climate and security to be appointed. The final statement from the special meeting expresses "concern that possible adverse effects of climate change may, in the long run, aggravate certain existing threats to international peace and security." Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is requested to include information on possible climate impacts in his regular reports on global trouble-spots.