TASK 10 Public awareness The role of the NGOs

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TASK 10Public awarenessThe role of the NGOs

• DAC PROJECT
• CAPACITY BUILDING IN BALKAN COUNTRIES IN ORDER TO
  DEAL WITH CLIMATE CHANGE
• Prepared by Stelios Psomas

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TASK 10 Public awareness

• Key targets
• Dissemination of the projects outcomes to the
  administration, as well as to the public
  (including actions such as workshops,
  publications into regular technical reviews,
  publicity via press and media leaflets etc.)
• Actions for strengthening collaboration between
  local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) being
  active in climate change mitigation and research.
  Apart from promoting awareness, this action will
  allow for an information flow from NGOs to the
  project team and vice-versa and thus will provide
  the project team with useful insights in some
  policy areas and will maximize the impact of the
  project on target countries.

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Why a particular role for NGOs?

• All Parties facilitate at the national level
  public awareness and public access to information
  on climate change. Suitable modalities should be
  developed to implement these activities through
  the relevant bodies of the Convention.
• Article 10 of the KYOTO PROTOCOL

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Why a particular role for NGOs?

• Freedom of access to information and public
  participation has become a cornerstone of EU
  policies in recent years.
• The public should have access to information
  concerning the results of the monitoring,
  reporting and verification obligations in
  accordance with Directive 90/313/EEC on the
  freedom of access to information on the
  environment Member States publish their national
  plan, provide for comments to be made on it by
  the public and submit it to the Commission before
  taking any final decision, which must take due
  account of public comments The proposed
  provisions are consistent with the Aarhus
  Convention.
• European Commission, 23-10-2001

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Why a particular role for NGOs?

• "Although regional in scope, the significance of
  the Aarhus Convention is global. It is by far the
  most impressive elaboration of principle 10 of
  the Rio Declaration, which stresses the need for
  citizen's participation in environmental issues
  and for access to information on the environment
  held by public authorities. As such it is the
  most ambitious venture in the area of
  'environmental democracy' so far undertaken under
  the auspices of the United Nations". 
• Kofi A. Annan  Secretary-General of
  the United Nations