15 May 2012
MRFCJ Mary Robinson gave a plenary address at the International Water Association (IWA) World Congress on Water, Climate and Energy in Dublin on 15 May 2012. The Congress took place from 13-18 of May in Dublin with delegates from more than 60 countries.
08 May 2012
MRFCJ Head of Research and Development, Dr Tara Shine gave a presentation to a meeting of the G20 Development Working Group on Friday 4 May 2012 in Los Cabos in Mexico. Dr Shine gave the presentation entitled ‘Access to Sustainable Energy for All – A Climate Justice Approach’ to second working session of the G20 Development Working Group which met from 3-5 May.
25 April 2012
A report on Women and Climate Change was debated and voted on in the European Parliament on Friday 20 April. The report, which had earlier been passed by the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality, was passed by 418 votes to 87.
23 April 2012
Mary Robinson, President of MRFCJ attended Women in Development today 23 April as part of the XIII Ministerial UNCTAD conference in Doha, Qatar. The purpose of the Women in Development event is to raise awareness of the gender issue and to yield new insights into the relationship between macro-economic policies, development and gender.
11 April 2012
Mary Robinson has been appointed by the United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, to the lead group of SUN, the Scaling Up Nutrition Movement.
Mrs Robinson joins 26 others, including Tom Arnold, CEO of Concern Worldwide, along with Heads of State and representatives from business, development agencies and international organisations on the influential group.
09 March 2012
Mary Robinson received the Association of American Geographers (AAG) Atlas Award on 25 February 2012 at the AAG annual meeting in New York. Mrs Robinson also delivered an address on climate justice and the international efforts to combat climate change entitled Mapping the Future of Climate Change.
Updated: 07 March 2012 | Posted: 05 March 2012
MRFCJ co-hosted an event with UN Women at the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in New York Monday 5 March 2012. The theme of this year’s CSW is the empowerment of rural women and their role in poverty and hunger eradication, development and current challenges.
05 March 2012
An historic debate on a motion of climate justice was held by the Scottish Parliament on 1 March 2012. The Scottish Government motion on climate justice was passed unanimously by the Parliament. President of MRFCJ, Mary Robinson, challenged both government and civil society in Scotland to “become champions of climate justice”.
31 January 2012
The 19th GIMAC Pre-Summit Consultation on Gender Mainstreaming in the African Union has published the recommendations agreed at the meeting which took place from 25-26 January 2012 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
30 January 2012
The UN High-Level Panel on Global Sustainability in its final report has concluded that “empowering women and ensuring a greater role for them in the economy is critical for sustainable development,” according to the Panel’s co-chair Finnish President Tarja Halonen.
25 January 2012
Mary Robinson today addressed the Gender is My Agenda Campaign (GIMAC) 19th Pre–Summit Meeting on Gender Mainstreaming in the African Union (AU) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The meeting is addressing the implementation of the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa...
18 January 2012
Mary Robinson delivered a lecture at University College Cork’s Centre for Global Development on Wednesday 18 January 2012 entitled ‘Climate Justice Post Durban’. Mrs Robinson explored the outcomes of COP17 from a climate justice perspective and the extent to which it addressed the needs of those most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
12 December 2011
MRFCJ staff attended COP17/CMP7 in Durban to advocate for a climate justice approach to the negotiations. As the COP17/CMP7 closes with the major issue of a legally binding agreement addressed, Mary Robinson issues this statement...
10 December 2011
On International Human Rights Day, Mary Robinson addressed the World Policy Conference in Vienna where she described the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a living document, as relevant today as when it was adopted 63 years ago. Mary Robinson also celebrated the three women Nobel Peace Laureates who were honoured today.
10 December 2011
Although the negotiations continue in Durban, the MRFCJ team has returned home. After two weeks of negotiations, what will be the legacy of COP 17 at Durban? asks MRFCJ colleague Mary Faherty...
09 December 2011
MRFCJ hosted a public event on 8th December at COP 17 with United States Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues , Melanne Verveer. The event was a public discourse which took place at the US centre in the International Convention Centre in Durban. It was attended by a large number of women, from both high-level and grassroots organisations.
07 December 2011
MRFCJ today, 7 December, hosted a High-Level event with Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, President of COP17/CMP7 called Forward Looking Strategies – Women and Climate Change: Durban and Beyond at COP17.
05 December 2011
Having a legal framework with clear and common rules to which all countries are committed is critically important - and the only assurance we have that action will be taken to protect the most vulnerable, Mary Robinson and Archbishop Desmond Tutu write in the Guardian.
03 December 2011
Delivering a keynote presentation on Agriculture and Rural Development Day held at Durban University of Technology today, Mary Robinson said: “While the current text is blocked due to linked agenda items on bunker fuels and issues around trade, this COP must deliver action on the links between climate change and food and nutrition security.
02 December 2011
Mary Robinson moderated a roundtable discussion Friday on REDD+ in the Africa Pavilion at COP17 which looked at the broad experience in Africa of addressing the challenges of REDD+. Entitled REDD+ in Africa: Policies and Perspectives, the discussion was organised by the Government of South Africa, African Union Commission, African Development Bank and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.
01 December 2011
Mary Robinson yesterday, Wednesday 30 November, met with members of the Trans African Caravan of Hope, including members of our Women’s Leadership on Climate Justice Network, Cecilia Kibe Coordinator the Pan Africa Climate Justice Alliance Women Caucus and Constance Okollet, Chairperson of Osukuru United Women’s Network in Uganda and member of Climate Wise Women.
30 November 2011
MRFCJ Mary Robinson and Concern CEO Tom Arnold describe in today's Irish Times how “the plight of those living in the Horn of Africa brought home the terrible vulnerability of the people living there to weather and climate shocks.” They said the situation in the Horn of Africa reinforces the imperative of sustaining efforts and attention on food and nutrition security.
30 November 2011
MRFCJ's newest colleague Mary Faherty blogs from her first COP: While some people weren’t keen to show their cards, no poker face could hide the general mood gleaned from corridor and coffee conversations - despondency and low expectations. There was no sense of urgency, which was both shocking and worrying...
28 November 2011
MRFCJ is delighted that the important role women’s leadership can play in the United Nations Climate Change negotiations was highlighted today during the Opening Ceremony of COP17/CMP7 by its new President, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, South Africa, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane and outgoing COP President, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mexico, Patricia Espinosa.
28 November 2011
The MRFCJ team arrived in Durban yesterday evening and went straight to the Kings Park Stadium to the Bishop Geoff Davies organised “We have Faith – Act Now for Climate Justice Rally”. Nobel Peace Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu supported the Rally which was organised to present a united civil society front before the UNFCCC talks officially opened this morning.
18 November 2011
MRFCJ has been following the progress of the Trans African Caravan of Hope as it makes its way to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa. The Caravan, a convoy made up of almost 300 civil society, activists, environmental scientists, farmers and journalists is travelling across Africa on a 17 day journey to bring its message to COP17.
04 November 2011
President of MRFCJ, Mary Robinson, delivered the 2011 Magnusson Lecture on 7 October at Glasgow Caledonian University entitled Climate Justice - Challenges and Opportunities. The lecture was the third in a special series in memory of the university’s late Chancellor Magnus Magnusson. Following Mrs Robinson’s lecture, there was a Q&A session hosted by television presenter Dr Sally Magnusson.
27 October 2011
MRFCJ is happy to announce the publication of The Geography of Climate Justice - a resource designed for Transition year and GCSE level students who are studying Geography, Environmental Studies or Social Studies. The resource looks through the lens of climate justice at how climate change impacts on people differently depending on their geographical location.
24 October 2011
In the last month, MRFCJ has focused its efforts on addressing and highlighting the gender dimension of climate change in the run up to negotiations at COP 17. Mary Robinson has highlighted the gender dimension of climate justice saying that women's contribution is central to tackling climate change and "requires the energy and resourcefulness of women's leadership to tackle it".
17 October 2011
The Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice (MRFCJ) has today published a report entitled: Pursuing REDD+ as a viable development option: Lessons from Guyana’s experience. The report, launched at the first Climate Change and Development in Africa Conference in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, aims to enable South-South sharing of experiences on REDD+.
13 October 2011
The adverse effects of climate change can already be felt in many areas with direct negative impact on the enjoyment of human rights, says UN Human Rights deputy chief Kyung-wha Kang, who has emphasized the need to place human rights at the centre of all policy responses to climate change.
26 September 2011
The death of Wangari Maathai, the first African woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, means we are all deprived; we have lost an extraordinary activist who showed the skills of leadership and great determination. But two words sum her up for me; passion and energy - traits she showed in all she did.
19 September 2011
The President of MRFCJ, Mary Robinson, gave the opening address at the Connecting Local to Global: Women, Climate Change and Conservation meeting in New York on September 19, 2011. The meeting, organised by the Center for Environment and Population (CEP), discussed innovative women-centred approaches to conservation, climate change and development through on-the-ground grassroots networks.
09 September 2011
MRFCJ hosted a meeting on the possible Legal Form of New Climate Agreement on September 9, 2011, with the support of the Grantham Research Institute of the London School of Economics. The meeting, held under Chathan House rules, was attended by invited participants from different regions of the world and they discussed possible options for the legal form of a future climate agreement.
07 September 2011
The Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice is pleased to announce the appointment of a Chief Operating Officer. Following a public competition Ronan Murphy has been appointed to the post and will take up the position with effect from 1st October 2011.
05 September 2011
The President of MRFCJ, Mary Robinson, spoke at the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA) in Dublin on September 5, 2011, on the mission of MRFCJ, which is to put the poor and forgotten at the heart of the climate change debate and to empower the marginalised to achieve sustainable and people-centred development.
29 August 2011
The European Forum Alpbach is an annual meeting involving, inter alia, politicians, academics and students, who come together to discuss and brainstorm new ideas and solutions to world problems The theme for 2011 is “Justice – Responsibility for the Future”.
17 July 2011
A consortium of aid organisations today announced that Mary Robinson will travel this weekend to the drought stricken region of the Horn of Africa. The consortium – including Concern Worldwide, Trocaire, Oxfam Ireland – approached Mrs Robinson to help ensure that the plight of people in the region remains firmly on global agendas.
05 July 2011
In advance of the United Nations Climate Change Summit 2011 taking place in Durban later this year, the latest round of UN climate talks took place in Bonn from 6-17 June 2011. Dr Tara Shine reports on an MRFCJ co-hosted event that took place in Bonn...
07 June 2011
"Ireland, through its greatest asset, its people, has also touched many countries in the developing world through humanitarian efforts. The Epoch Times recently had the opportunity to speak with one of Ireland’s greatest ambassadors, Mrs Mary Robinson, who spoke about her latest efforts to address the inequalities of climate change through the Mary Robinson Foundation for Climate Justice (MRFCJ)..."
03 June 2011
The 2011 TASC Annual Lecture was delivered Thursday 2nd June 2011 by Mary Robinson, President of MRFCJ. It was entitled Climate Justice (MRFCJ): Justice for All - Even in Climate?, Ms. Robinson delivered a wide-ranging lecture during which she highlighted the crucial role played by education and research in combating climate change and its effects.
25 May 2011
"Voice of the People" - MRFCJ President Mary Robinson spoke with OnEarth articles editor Jocelyn C. Zuckerman about how the Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice, based at Trinity College Dublin, hopes to address the challenge of climate change, which she calls the "biggest human rights issue of the twenty-first century."
16 May 2011
A public forum on the Geography of Climate Justice heard last week that climate change and the ability to respond to its impacts vary extensively both within and between nation states.
Organised by the Royal Irish Academy with the support of MRFCJ and Concern Worldwide, the forum brought together speakers and respondents from within the broad fields of climate change, geography and development.
April 2011
Mary Robinson spoke to Global - The International Briefing shortly after visiting communities in Bangladesh that are already experiencing the devastating effects of global warming, and explained why she believes that women need to be involved at all levels in the climate change negotiation process.
15 April 2011
Women leaders from Uganda and the Carteret Islands in the South Pacific gave first-hand accounts of their communities’ experience of climate change in Dublin this week.
Constance Okollet and Ursula Rakova of Climate Wise Women, a global initiative to promote women’s leadership on climate change, were joined by MRFCJ President, Mary Robinson and Jim Clarken, CEO of Oxfam Ireland, for a panel discussion.
15 April 2011
The Possibilities civic summit attended by 2,000 people on 13 April in Dublin aimed to inspire young people to speak out to help improve the country and was organised by three non-profit organisations — Afri, Children in Crossfire and SpunOut.ie, a youth website and forum.
Mary Robinson was among the speakers at the event, explaining she first became aware of the justice impacts of climate change.
29 March 2011
Oxfam Ireland and MRFCJ invite you to hear the voices of women leaders on climate justice at Trinity College Dublin on the evening of 12th April 2011. Climate Wise Women is a global initiative to promote women's leadership on climate change and to give a human face and voice to this complex issue. The speakers for the night are: Ursula Rakova, Constance Okollet, Jim Clarken and Mary Robinson.
23 March 2011
The Science Gallery in Trinity College Dublin was the host of a number of activities to mark UN World Water Day. MRFCJ President Mary Robinson delivered an address on Climate Justice, TCD and Harvard University announced The Future of Water project and Water for Life! Ireland hosted an Expo on water projects.
21 March 2011
The UK Climate Change & Migration Coalition (UKCCMC) which launches Wednesday 30 March, is being set up to provide civil society organizations with a platform to develop a coordinated response to the interconnected issues of migration and climate change.
Their aim is to foster dialogue and cooperation on the issues and to develop an action-orientated approach that...
16 March 2011
Scientists from six continents are to combine their expertise under a new commission to look at ways to boost food production in the face of climate change. The Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change brings together thirteen experts from natural and social sciences to develop policy recommendations on how to help global agriculture adapt to changing weather conditions.
11 March 2011
Mary Robinson highlighted on March 10 how the debate on climate change is moving from stopping it, to how best to manage its effects. In a lecture at the London School of Economics entitled Protecting the Most Vulnerable: Securing a Legally Binding Climate Agreement, Mary Robinson discussed climate justice and its links to human rights and development...
10 March 2011
To celebrate 100 years of International Women’s Day an event was hosted by WITS (Women in Technology and Science) on Science and Society on Tuesday March 8th. The discussion, which focused on how women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) can use their work for societal benefit, also marked the 21st Anniversary of WITS.
Updated: 15 February 2011 | 11 February 2011
"To come to Bangladesh is to see that climate change is most severely affecting the people who have contributed least to causing the problem", noted Mary Robinson during a visit to the South-Asian country, where she met with local farmers and fishermen and women who are
among 20 million Bangladeshis who may have to leave their homes and livelihoods if global temperature increases by more than 2° Celsius...
27 January 2011
Blog by Mary Robinson: I have just returned to Dublin from Addis Ababa where the 17th Gender is My Agenda Campaign (GIMAC) Pre-African Union Summit meeting of women leaders in Addis Ababa took place. I was invited by Bineta Diop of Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS) to take part in a session on Gender and Climate Change / Climate Justice.
23 December 2010
As the year 2010 draws to a close, Mary Robinson delivered an academy discourse at the Royal Irish Academy on Monday 20 December. The purpose of the discourse was to take stock of the meager progress we are making on one of the world’s greatest human rights challenges: climate change.
13 December 2010
The UN Climate Change Conference has ended with the adoption of a package of decisions, dubbed the Cancún Agreements, that set all governments more firmly on the path towards a low-emissions future. MRFCJ welcomes the establishment of a global Climate Fund but regrets that the reference in an earlier draft - that women's needs must be addressed - was removed in the final text.
07 December 2010
The Ministers of Denmark and Mexico agreed to attempt to form a Troika on gender leading up to COP 17 in South Africa, 2011 at the MRFCJ and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mexico hosted Women Leaders on Climate Change event, Cancún, December 6.
04 November 2010 | Updated: 26 November 2010 | Updated: 06 December 2010
From 29 November to 10 December, environment officials and ministers will meet in Cancún in Mexico for the UN climate change conference to continue efforts towards an international deal on cutting carbon emissions. MRFCJ is co-organising an official side-event: "Women’s Leadership on Climate Change Justice and the Grassroots Perspective" which will take place on Saturday 4th December.
01 December 2010
In recognition of the fact that climate change negotiations are, for the first time, chaired by a growing group of women leaders, Ambassador Patricia Espinosa, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mexico and Mary Robinson are convening a side event Women Leaders on Climate Change on 6 December in Cancún.
24 November 2010
Following on from the success of the Climate Change lecture series 2007-2009 hosted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), MRFCJ President Mary Robinson delivered a public lecture Tuesday titled: Re-shaping the debate on climate change. Approximately 800 people filled the Round Room in the Mansion House in Dublin for the session chaired by RTÉ broadcaster John Bowman.
23 November 2010
With the global market for low-carbon goods and services expected to be worth around GBP£4 trillion by 2015, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) need to act now to develop products and services, as well as taking steps to improve energy efficiency. This was the underlying message at the CBI Climate Change Summit 2010 which took place last week (18 November) in London.
11 November 2010
A joint report from the World Bank and the UN says that climate change will add greatly to annual global losses from disasters. The 250-page report, targeted directly at the world's finance ministers, stresses that "prevention pays but you do not always have to pay more for prevention". One area where the report calls for more spending is on early warning systems, particularly weather forecasting.
17 October 2010
Kumi Naidoo, Executive Director, Greenpeace International, writes in The Huffington Post how "in some circles it has become politically acceptable to state that poverty cannot be eradicated in our lifetime...however history teaches us that when decent people take risks and engage in struggle for principles...then those who occupy the instruments of power...will listen and understand."
12 October 2010
From 4 to 6 October in Geneva, the Office of the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) hosted the 2010 Social Forum on Climate Change and Human Rights, which addressed the adverse effects of climate change on the full enjoyment of human rights, including the right to life and economic, social and cultural rights.
06 October 2010
On October 10th, over 6,000 events are planned in 187 countries for the 10/10/10 Global Work Party, the largest day of carbon-cutting action in the planet's history. 10/10/10 is a day for people across the planet to get to work on climate solutions and pressure their politicians to do the same. Now is the time to recognise the extent of the impacts that climate change is having on the poorest people.
30 September 2010
Mary Robinson delivered a major speech on international development, social justice and climate change at Queen’s University Belfast. She was speaking at the Irish African Partnership for Research Capacity Building workshop which was hosted by the University. In her address, she called for political leaders around the world to insist that climate and development challenges are addressed in tandem.
29 September 2010
Convened by The Mary Robinson Foundation - Climate Justice and Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization Initiative, on Friday 17th September, Roosevelt House, Hunter College, New York City, this meeting was an important step in creating an informal network on Women’s Leadership on Climate Justice.
27 September 2010
"Part of the problem with the climate issue is that is has been led by scientists, environmentalists and economists, but what we haven’t understood is that people are suffering dramatically, in parts of the world that Irish people care a great deal about..." Mary Robinson interview by John Gibbons published in the Sunday Tribune >>
25 September 2010
Every day on fivebooks.com an eminent writer, thinker, commentator or politician chooses five books on their specialist subject. Mary Robinson says those who benefit from emissions in the form of economic development and wealth have an ethical obligation to share benefits with those who are today suffering from the effects of these emissions, mainly vulnerable people in developing countries.
20 September 2010
President of MRFCJ, Mary Robinson and Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of the Green Belt Movement, Wangari Maathai, highlight in The Huffington Post the importance of women’s leadership in achieving the MDGs and in fighting climate change...
17 September 2010
A new website, aiming to provide transparency about the origin, amount and use of funds going to developing countries to support action to fight climate change, has been launched. Visitors to www.faststartfinance.org can click on to donor and recipient countries on a map of the world and gain access to detailed information about climate projects.
08 September 2010
High-ranking representatives from 46 countries and the EU met in Geneva on 2 and 3 September 2010 for an informal exchange on the financing of climate action. The aim of the climate dialogue was to raise awareness among the invited countries of the challenges involved in the financing of measures to deal with climate change.
04 February 2010
Following on from the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December 2009, a multistakeholder event co-sponsored by Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization Initiative, the United Nations Non Governmental Liaison Service (UN-NGLS), and the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation, was held on Monday 25 January at UN Headquarters in New York.
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