Full Coverage: Climate change

28.04.2008 Helena Norberg Hodge first visited Ladakh in northern India in 1973 to study its culture and language. Fascinated by its gentle people and their earth-based way of life, she kept returning every year since then. In a freewheeling interview, she discusses how annihilation of the local culture can be stopped.

28.04.2008 The significant shifts driven by climate change in the polar regions present new opportunities and pressures for development. These are challenges which demand holistic, integrated responses (PDF briefing).

28.04.2008 Despite being one of the most environmentally vigilant nations, Bhutan faces threat of disastrous floods owing to glacial melting. The Himalayan kingdom, where sustainable development forms the core of public policy goals, is at the receiving end due to the damage caused by countries like China and India.

28.04.2008 Why is media engagement vital for generating awareness on future challenges? UNESCOÂ’s latest training and resource kit Media as Partners in Education for Sustainable Development provides media professionals with critical information about priority issues and inspires them for investigative reporting with a view to enrich information resources of journalists.

28.04.2008 Ilmastovaikutustensa nollaamiseen tähtäävät valtiot, kaupungit ja yritykset löytävät toisensa kasvavassa Climate Neutral Network -verkostossa. Valtioista mukana ovat Costa Rica, Norja, Islanti ja Uusi-Seelanti.

28.04.2008 Both carbon dioxide and methane emissions rose sharply in 2007. The extra methane could be the first sign of the anticipated release of this gas from thawing Arctic permafrost.
From: NOAA

27.04.2008 Scientists must work harder at making the public aware of the stark difference between good science and "denialist spin" when it comes to climate change, says the Director of the Research Institute for Climate Change and Sustainability at the University of Adelaide, Australia.

26.04.2008 A World Bank-backed carbon-reduction programme in which concessional loans would be offered to developing country governments was compared to a "protection racket" by Friends of the Earth director Tony Juniper at a meeting in London at the weekend.

26.04.2008 'Turning up the HEAT' is a series of interactive and virtual debates on climate change and corporate power starting May 8th. You can turn up in person to the events in London, Cardiff and Manchester or you can watch and participate online.

25.04.2008 Certification alone cannot guarantee that agrofuels are being produced sustainably. 'Sustainability' is being used as a smokescreen, shows a new report (PDF).
From: Friends of the Earth Europe

25.04.2008 Uuden ilmastosopimuksen on oltava valmiina vuoden 2009 loppuun mennessä, jotta maat ehtisivät ratifioida sen ennen Kioton sopimuksen umpeutumista. Yksi maailmanhistorian monimutkaisimmista kansainvälisistä sopimuksista on saatava aikaan seuraavan puolentoista vuoden kuluessa.

25.04.2008 On World Malaria Day, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is due to announce a global initiative to fight against the vector-borne disease that kills a million people around the world every year. In India, malaria is spreading to newer areas owing largely to a changing climate.

25.04.2008 A full recovery of the stratospheric ozone hole could modify climate change in the Southern Hemisphere and even amplify Antarctic warming, according to a new study.
From: Science Daily

24.04.2008 A new international study says there is need for more agricultural research to be able to produce more in a sustainable manner. The study however cautions against excessive optimism about transgenic crops, as their potential environmental and health risks are yet unknown.

24.04.2008 The shrinking expanse of Arctic sea ice is increasingly vulnerable to summer sunshine, new research concludes.
From: Science Daily

24.04.2008 Ilmaston lämpeneminen vaikuttaa arktiseen alueeseen aiemmin otaksuttua nopeammin ja vakavammin, paljastaa WWF:n tuore raportti (engl., pdf). Nyt keskustellaan siitä, ovatko jäätiköt jo lähellä kriittistä pistettä, jonka ylittyessä ekosysteemit voivat muuttua äkisti ja peruuttamattomasti.

24.04.2008 New research predicts a rise in sea levels three times higher than that estimated by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change last year. These findings, based on a model following accurate reconstruction of sea levels over past two millennia, were presented at a European Geosciences Union conference in Austria recently.

24.04.2008 Dr Marcella DÂ’Souza, executive director of Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR) in western India, has been awarded the Indian Merchant Chambers' Woman Of The Year Award. During an interview to OneWorld South Asia, she talks of her dream where rural folk live in harmony, secure sustainable livelihoods and enjoy an enhanced quality of life.

24.04.2008 Small changes to the way we live our lives are not enough to tackle the environmental challenges facing the planet, argues Tom Crompton, a strategist for WWF-UK.
From: The BBC

23.04.2008 Climate change, the oil industry, and the construction of the world's largest dam in the Democratic Republic of Congo must be prioritized by African and U.S. leaders to support sustainable development on the continent, says a new report released on Earth Day.