The 60th Annual DPI/NGO Conference, in addition to reviewing the scientific evidence that has been gathered documenting the changes that are taking place in the earth's weather patterns, is being structured to produce a plan of action to counter the catastrophic impacts that Climate Change poses. Climate Change threatens not only every aspect of life on earth but the very viability of the planet earth itself. We now know with 90% certainty, attested to by the most informed and respected scientists, that the environmental degradation causing the climate warming phenomenon is primarily caused by human activities.

The scientific knowledge provided by the conference will help NGOs better understand the myriad causes of Climate Change. UN, governmental, NGO and other community experts will lead a series of roundtable discussions with conference attendees on the diverse approaches that have been put in place to counter Climate Change and analyze their effectiveness. There are several important goals that we can achieve by working together to counter and control Climate Change:

(1) Identify defensive measures capable of minimizing damage from climate change events that it is too late to prevent.

(2) Slow down and eventually eliminate any further climate warming by reducing and eliminating human actions that scientists have now identified as causative.

(3) Change our lifestyles to accommodate these facts.

After exchanging information on best practices and recommended standards with the experts and each other at the roundtables and workshop and network sessions, NGOs will have the tools they need to create effective action plans and form partnerships to counter Climate Change. In addition to reducing harmful emissions by conserving energy and supporting the use of environmentally friendly alternatives themselves, they will have the knowledge they need to educate their friends and neighbors to the cataclysmic dangers posed by Climate Change and the urgent need for them to help protect themselves, their families and all the world's people, as well as every other species, by taking appropriate action now.

The most recent IPCC report (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) projects a future world of extreme temperatures, intensified storms and unusual weather changes affecting all life on our planet. Global warming over the coming decades will have serious implications for
our economy, water supplies, agriculture, biological diversity and even for geopolitics.

This roundtable will explore the scientific evidence for global warming and how human activities are causing climate change. The IPCC report indicates that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from human activities can be substantially reduced by immediate action. The role of governments, NGOs and civil society in addressing the scientific evidence for global warming is critical and urgent.

The United Nations recognizes that Indigenous Peoples possess a unique body of cultural and environmental knowledge. Indigenous peoples' knowledge - incorporating historic and contemporary observations ­ complements science-based observations on global climate change. For many Indigenous Peoples, global climate change is an already-experienced reality that threatens continued widespread negative impact on their diverse cultures and ways of life. In many parts of the world they are among the first victims of these changes.

UNESCO, in its universal declaration on cultural diversity (November 2001), states that intercultural dialogue is the best guarantee of peace. It raises cultural diversity to the level of 'the common heritage of humanity', 'as necessary for humankind as biodiversity is for nature'. It is therefore imperative that indigenous peoples are part of the ongoing conversation that aims to address and reverse the detrimental effects of global climate change.

This panel will focus on the impacts of global climate change on Indigenous Peoples. It will provide examples of local initiatives that demonstrate their commitment to defend their cultures by actively participating in concerted efforts to reduce human-induced causes of climate change. The discussion will also highlight the vital role of international instruments.

Throughout history, water has posed one of the greatest challenges to humanity. Because it is a source of life, it is also a source of conflict. More than one billion people do not have access to safe water, and some 2.6 billion lack adequate sanitation. However, the lack of access to water is not only due to its scarcity. Rather, the lack of access is due to unequal command of the resource, as well.

Climate change affects water security in many ways. As dry areas get drier and wet areas get wetter, the poor will become more vulnerable to hunger, poverty and environmental degradation. Changing patterns of irrigation and agricultural production will also affect national economies and regional politics. Climate change, in short, will do no less than exacerbate the strains that already exist between access to water and poverty, inequality, and power. In the face of these impacts, this roundtable will discuss how the international community can address changing flows of trans-boundary waters, irrigation and hydrological interdependence. They will discuss the types of water management strategies that will be necessary if we are to both meet the needs of the poor, while also setting water use levels within the limits of ecological sustainability.

This panel will focus on innovative ways to minimize and cope with negative impacts of climate change such as erratic weather patterns that cause famine and mass migrations in tropical and subtropical regions. They will discuss local initiatives that have been effective in combating desertification; planning and zoning techniques that can stem the rapid loss of agricultural lands to urbanization; and the vital role that the preservation of biodiversity and forests, and the implementation of reforestation policies, can play in reducing the amount of carbon dioxide that gets into the atmosphere.

Many of these policies have already been formulated through the work of the Commission on Sustainable Development and UNDP, or codified in UN drafted treaties and conventions. However, their implementation often encounters roadblocks. How can these be overcome without sacrificing issues of equity? What can NGOs, national governments and UN agencies do to encourage compliance? These are some of the questions that those participating in this roundtable will attempt to answer.

The production and consumption of both non-renewable and renewable energy resources, which include oil, coal, gas, and nuclear, as well as solar, wind, water, geothermal and biomass, have a profound impact upon the economic and political development of nations and their relationships to each other. To reduce greenhouse gases, the United Nations advocates ratification of legal agreements that would significantly curb the consumption of fossil fuels. Others advocate on behalf of voluntary measures aided by technological advances that would reduce CO2 emissions, promote alternative forms of energy, and modify the earth's climate system by large-scale manipulation of the global energy balance through geoengineering projects.

This roundtable will address the inter-relationship among economies, energy policy and climate change at the local, national and international levels for all stakeholders involved, and its impact upon economic growth, trade, technological development, foreign policy and human rights. Panelists will also explore the types of partnerships that have or can be formed between the United Nations, Member States, business and civil society to effectively address the science and consequent policy implications of climate change as it relates to energy needs, consumption and equity issues.

There is a vast array of conventions, treaties, agencies and agreements within the United Nations system that are often overlapping and even contradictory in their goals. Both the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document and the High-Level Panel on United Nations System-wide Coherence called for a more unified institutional environmental framework. This panel will outline pending proposals and discuss their advantages and disadvantages.

Efforts to control climate change and ameliorate its impacts are also hampered by the failure of countries to sign on to treaties and conventions, or to fully implement their provisions. This roundtable will also consider equity adjustments that can be made to accommodate these concerns and discuss the likely effectiveness of enforcement measures being developed under the Kyoto Protocol. Participants attending the roundtable will be given a chance to offer suggestions on the role NGOs and civil society can play to help reduce greenhouse emissions and encourage strong governmental action.

One of the outstanding achievements of the 2005 World Summit was the adoption of the emerging norm of an international "responsibility to protect" populations from various threats including genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. Previously, Member States had also committed themselves to the norm of sustainable development, which, as defined by the Brundtland Commission (1987), is "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations
to meet their own needs."

The international community now recognizes that climate change, like the commission of atrocity crimes, represents a dire threat to human survival. Moreover, experts also recognize that environmental degradation and desertification caused by climate change, imprudent land and water use or environmental warfare have exacerbated political tensions in conflict zones as diverse as Sub-Sahara Africa, the Caucuses and the Middle East.

Norms such as the responsibility to protect and sustainable development define ethical standards that are intended to change human behaviors that are otherwise injurious to the common good. This roundtable will examine the evolving norms agreed to by Member States at the United Nations to protect individuals as well as the planet from harm and to evaluate the diverse tools that have been developed thus far to implement them.