After my visit to India, lighting gas still gives me a luxurious feeling and I pity all women on the world still cooking on open fire. Cooking dinner in the evening provides for an excellent time slot for a reflection of my work and our climate projects.

I wonder about [...]]]> By Neera van der Geest, Director FairClimateFund

After my visit to India, lighting gas still gives me a luxurious feeling and I pity all women on the world still cooking on open fire. Cooking dinner in the evening provides for an excellent time slot for a reflection of my work and our climate projects.

I wonder about the future and what it will look like for my children. Will they still cook on gas in the future? Or have they finally shifted to biogas? Looking at our projects in India, I can’t wait to start cooking on biogas as well. Biogas is the cleanest gas one can use, produced by using cow dung and organic waste. And one thing is for sure; we have lots of cow dung in the Netherlands.

Stirring the curry, I glance at the newspaper that I’ve just picked up from the front door. “Shale gas also found in the Netherlands” it reads. So maybe my children will cook on shale gas in the future? Shale gas is booming in the United States and is changing the whole energy market. Unfortunately, shale gas is as bad for the climate as normal gas.

Reflecting on FairClimateFund’s work, I am happy to see that more and more companies start greening their gas use. How? Usually by buying fair traded carbon credits that offset their carbon emissions after scanning and reducing their company’s footprint.

But does it help combatting climate change? Yes, certainly more than without offsetting. These front runner clients invest in the reduction of carbon emissions realized elsewhere in the world, in our case at low-income families in developing countries. Our clients know this and therefore choose our fair-traded carbon credits.

As I lay the table and my oldest daughter asks me why I have left the gas on, my reflections shift from companies, countries and the world to my own household and family. Let us all do our part to contribute to a better environment and a better climate now and for our children in the future.

At this conference, the Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Lilianne Ploumen will announce her plans concerning climate in developing countries. The global state of affairs on climate change [...]]]> On Wednesday 3 April 2013, the HIER Climate Bureau in collaboration with NCDO, SNV, FairClimateFund and Partners for Resilience is organizing the 6^th Conference on Climate and Developing Countries.

At this conference, the Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Lilianne Ploumen will announce her plans concerning climate in developing countries. The global state of affairs on climate change adaptation and the role of the Netherlands in this matter will be discussed with Annemieke Nijhof (member of the United Nations Adaptation Committee) and dr. Jan Verhagen (member of the Least Developed Countries Expert Group), two experts in this field. Also, the importance of clean cookstoves for mitigation and adaptation will be a central theme of the conference. Jennifer Twedell has been asked to talk about these issues based on her experiences as a member of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves. Furthermore, two rounds of workshops will be held to highlight six contemporary topics in the field of climate and developing countries.

Tentative program:

12.00 – 13:00      Registration, lunch and opening

13.00 – 14:00      Workshop round 1:

                                1) Climate Smart Agriculture

                                2) Climate and water retention

                                3) Climate and energy: efficient cookstoves – awareness and quality issues THERE

14:00 – 15:00      Workshop round 2:

                                4) Ecosystem based adaptation

                                5) Climate services

                                6) Cookstoves – actions HERE

15:00 – 15:40      Coffee and tea break

15:40 – 17:00      Plenary session. Confirmed speakers:

·         Lilianne Ploumen, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation

·         Annemieke Nijhof, member of the United Nations Adaptation Committee

·         Dr. Jan Verhagen, researcher at Plant Research International, Wageningen University and Research Centre

·         Jennifer Tweddell, member of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves (tentative)

17:00 – 18:00      Drinks

The conference will take place at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bezuidenhoutseweg 67, The Hague.

If you have any questions, please send an email to heykoop@fairclimatefund.nl

“Hadadawa (mother)!” said Devamma, “Janara Samuha (local partner FairClimateFund) have donated eyes to me!” She continues; “I have a small house. Earlier I was cooking my food on a mudstove. The smoke from this was a big trouble for my eyes. My eyes were always burning, full of tears and making me blind. It was so difficult to cook [...]]]> Source: JSMBT CDM Cookstove Report 9

“Hadadawa (mother)!” said Devamma, “Janara Samuha (local partner FairClimateFund) have donated eyes to me!” She continues; “I have a small house. Earlier I was cooking my food on a mudstove. The smoke from this was a big trouble for my eyes. My eyes were always burning, full of tears and making me blind. It was so difficult to cook my food. Now I am using Chulika. I don’t find it hot in front of stove and no burning with tears to my eyes. Now it is very easy to cook my food, sitting there in front of stove. This is really a very good stove.”