Climate change challenges for Armenia addressed at OSCE Office-supported conference

YEREVAN, 15 October 2009 - 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 from 7 to 18 December in Copenhagen, in which Armenia will be taking part.