Issues & Trends
| After 25 Years, Sustainability Is a Growing Science That's Here to Stay Sustainability has not only become a science in the past 25 years, but it is one that continues to be fast-growing with widespread international collaboration, broad disciplinary composition and wide geographic distribution, according to new research from Los Alamos National Laboratory and Indiana University. |
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| Human Development Index 2011: Warnings For The Future The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) published its annual Human Development Index on Wednesday, painting a grim picture of the prospects for millions of people in some of the world's poorest nations. |
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| Greenhouse gases rise by record amount The global output of heat-trapping carbon dioxide has jumped by a record amount, according to the US department of energy, a sign of how feeble the world's efforts are at slowing man-made global warming. |
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| World headed for irreversible climate change in five years, IEA warns If fossil fuel infrastructure is not rapidly changed, the world will 'lose for ever' the chance to avoid dangerous climate change |
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| Plant pests: The biggest threats to food security? The threat posed to crop production by plant pests and diseases is one the key factors that could lead to "a perfect storm" that threatens to destabilise global food security. |
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| Agriculture needs massive investment to avoid hunger, scientists warn Group of leading scientists urge investment in sustainable agriculture to solve hunger crisis and reduce global warming |
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| Climate concerns as ‘ozone-friendly’ HFCs use grows A rise in the use of "ozone-friendly" HFCs has prompted experts to voice concerns that the potent greenhouse gases could be a problem in the future. A UN report says that HFCs, many more times potent than CO2, could account for up to 20% of emissions and hamper efforts to curb climate change. |
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| CLIMATE CHANGE: How rivers will behave PRETORIA, 14 November 2011 (IRIN) - Soaring temperatures and erratic rains brought on by a changing climate may radically alter water flows in the world’s major river basins, including the Limpopo in southern Africa, forcing people to give up farming in some areas, says a new study. |
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| Urban planning failures putting lives at risk - expert Failures of urban planning are putting lives, infrastructure and businesses at risk as weather shocks – like the floods now surging through Bangkok – become more frequent as a result of climate change, urban planning and climate experts say. |
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| UN: failure to reduce environmental risks will set back human development Droughts and rising sea levels could reverse efforts to improve living conditions of world's poorest people, report warns |