Climate change challenges for Armenia addressed at OSCE Office-supported
conference
OSCE Press Release
October 15, 2009
YEREVAN–A two-day conference supported by the OSCE Office on addressing
environmental challenges including climate change started in Yerevan today.
The event, organized by the non-governmental organization Khazer with the
support of the OSCE Office in Yerevan, UNDP Armenia and the World Wide Fund for
Nature-Armenia, brings together representatives from state institutions,
international organizations, civil society, including participants from the
regional Aarhus environmental centres, and the business community with
international and local experts.
"The need to address the influence of global climate change on the environment
is becoming more and more pressing, and it is essential to join efforts towards
comprehensive policies in order to achieve sustainable development," said
Ambassador Sergey Kapinos, the Head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan, in his
address on the security implications of environmental challenges and climate
change for Armenia.
Participants at the conference will discuss Armenia’s environmental challenges,
global warming and greenhouse gas emissions in the context of the UN Framework
Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol and the challenges for the
developing and developed countries.
"This is a complex procedure and all the developing and developed countries
should be committed to finding common solutions, in particular through
promoting innovative technologies. Armenia is eager to use clean development
mechanisms and the support in that direction would be indispensable," said
Simon Papyan, Armenian Deputy Minister for Nature Protection.
Amalya Hambardzumyan, the head of Khazer, added: "The event aims to facilitate
discussion in the field and sustain work in combating global warming."
The conference is being held in preparation for the 15th session of UN Framework
Convention on Climate Change on 17 and 18 December in Copenhagen, in which
Armenia will be taking part.
L-R: Simon Papyan, Armenian Deputy Minister of Nature Protection, Amb. Sergey
Kapinos, Head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan, and Gohar Ghazinyan, Environmental
Programmes Officer at the OSCE Office in Yerevan, at a conference on global
climate challenges. (OSCE/Gayane Ter-Stepanyan)
l
From: Baghdasarian