Global Humanitarian Forum - Latest News

Kofi Annan Receives 2008 Freedom Award

2008-11-12

12 November 2008 - Global Humanitarian Forum President, Kofi Annan, was awarded the International Rescue Committee's Freedom Award for individual efforts to promote greater freedom from harm.

Reflections on Humanitarian Diplomacy - Challenges and Opportunities

2008-10-16

29 August 2008 - Global Humanitarian Forum CEO, Ambassador Walter Fust, addressed the 2008 Donor Forum of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies on the topic of Humanitarian Diplomacy.

Hans Wilsdorf Foundation Contributes to Global Humanitarian Forum

2008-10-09

GENEVA, 09 October 2008 – The Global Humanitarian Forum, presided over by Kofi Annan, has the pleasure to announce the decision of the foundation board of the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation of 23 September 2008 to support the activities of the Forum with the sum of CHF 500'000.- for 2008 and the same amount for 2009.

Transforming our Response to Climate Change

2008-09-17

GENEVA, 17 September 2008 - Global Humanitarian Forum CEO Walter Fust issued ten key considerations relating to the human dimensions and impact of climate change.

The G8 Statement on Climate Change: Where is Climate Justice?

2008-07-10

GENEVA, Switzerland, 10 July – The G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit failed to put the necessary emphasis on the needs of those least responsible for climate change and most vulnerable to its adverse impacts.

Kofi Annan Launches Global Alliance for Climate Justice

2008-06-25

GENEVA, 25 June 2008 – Kofi Annan said today at the first annual meeting of the Global Humanitarian Forum, which he presides, that a global alliance for climate justice is a necessity. Annan, joined by some 300 participants agreed to support efforts to establish climate justice as the guiding principle for a post-Kyoto global climate agreement.

Energy for the Poor

2008-06-25

GENEVA, 25 June – At least 1.6 billion people in the world have no access to electricity. What can be done to make clean, efficient energy available to them? Nobel Peace Prize winner, Rajendra Pachauri, Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, says one of the keys is research and development into new technologies.

Kofi Annan reveals the way forward

2008-06-25

GENEVA, 25 June – As the main proceedings of the annual meeting drew to a close, the Forum’s President, Kofi Annan, summarised the conclusions of many of the roundtable discussions held over the past few days.

Solana versus Sachs

2008-06-25

GENEVA, 25 June – The annual meeting reached a climax with a keynote debate between Javier Solana, the European Union's head of foreign and security policy, and Jeffery Sachs, a special adviser to United Nations Secretary-General on the millennium development goals, on the best ways of tackling climate change.

New forms of urban life, new development forms

2008-06-25

GENEVA, 25 June – The Chinese have the right idea when it comes to urban planning. That was the conclusion of a roundtable discussing what contribution smart design and urban planning make towards sustainable development for vulnerable communities.

Bringing actors from different sectors to the same stage

2008-06-24

GENEVA, June 24 2008 - Climate change is very real and it is happening now. These were the words Kofi Annan, President of the Global Humanitarian Forum, used to greet participants at the organisation’s first annual meeting. Those present included heads of states, government ministers, CEOs of major corporations, international agencies, global financiers and journalists.

Climate witnesses move delegates

2008-06-24

GENEVA, June 24 - The human face of climate change was personified by five young people taking the stage at the Annual Meeting with passionate and sometimes tearful accounts of how climate change had affected their communities. The audience was so moved that they gave the speakers a standing ovation.

Life after Kyoto: An interview with Yvo de Boer

2008-06-24

GENEVA, June 24 - Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, is entrusted with helping the world’s governments move beyond the Kyoto Protocol and agree on a new action plan to fight global warming.

The Climate Security Nexus: Conflict or Cooperation?

2008-06-24

GENEVA, June 24 - A roundtable discussed the link between climate change and security and how better cooperation could be encouraged among peoples and nations to avoid conflict. The group concluded that climate change did not necessarily lead to wars but was certainly a source of tension because of competition for dwindling resources.

Prioritising Food Security in a Changing Climate

2008-06-24

GENEVA, June 24 - Drought, changing rainfall patterns, insect infestations and other climate changes occupied participants at a roundtable on food security. Five strategies were proposed to help strengthen food security in the face of worsening climate risks.

Leading the way to climate justice

2008-06-24

GENEVA, June 24 - The separate worlds of business and international organisations collided for the first time during the Annual Meeting during a debate on climate justice.

Are the right risks insured?

2008-06-24

GENEVA, 24 June – Many developing countries lack any insurance coverage for climate risks but this could soon change. Insurance and development experts at this particular roundtable agreed that risks could be insured and that for every one US dollar spent on insurance policies, four US dollars could be saved in responding to climate related disasters.

Showing the Human Face of Climate Change

2008-06-23

GENEVA, 23 June 2008 - Thirteen testimonies, five nations: videos of encounters with these individuals show that climate change is already having a profound and negative impact on people’s lives.

The Global Humanitarian Forum Mobilizes for Climate Justice

2008-06-10

GENEVA, Switzerland, 10 June – In the aftermath of Myanmar’s Cyclone Nargis and in view of the ongoing global food crisis, the Forum’s President Kofi Annan has called together more than 200
leaders from all sectors of society worldwide to urgently address what he calls “the human face of climate change”: the world’s poorest and most vulnerable populations affected by increasingly violent storms, drought and floods.

Annan demands Climate Justice – Polluters Must Pay

2008-04-22

GENEVA, Switzerland, 22 April – Kofi Annan today called for united action to support the world’s poorest in adapting to climate change. “Those who contributed least to climate change suffer most”, says Kofi Annan; “helping the poor adapt is our responsibility, and the polluter must pay.