'Global food prices are up 83 per cent compared with three years ago. The resulting food price crisis constitutes an unprecedented threat to the livelihoods and well-being of millions of rural and urban households who are net food buyers.

This briefing note sets out a series of steps, both short- and medium-term, to deal with the current food crisis, and to put in place the reforms required to prevent future repetitions.'

'New research from nef and WWF reveals the paradox of the UK Treasury hooked on income from the oil and gas sector, yet missing a never-to-be-repeated opportunity to invest in the transition to a sustainable energy system by failing to tax surplus profits from oil. 
The research calls on the government to follow the broad example set by Norway, which established in-effect, an oil ‘Legacy Fund.’'
This is a New Economics Foundation's (nef's) paper, published in October 2006. PDF format, 47 more...

It is dedicated to disseminating the knowledge of how businesses can become sustainable while making higher profits.

'Trends in Sustainable Development, is a colorful compilation of maps and graphs devoted to the discussion of interrelated challenges being addressed at the 14th session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (May 1-12, 2006). The four areas are: energy for sustainable development, industrial development, atmosphere and air pollution, and climate change.'

To celebrate World Town Planning Day, the Ontario Planners Institute called on planners, towns and cities to "start planning ahead for a future where the car is a thing of the past". The rising cost of oil and the environmental and human cost of congestion and air pollution is turning the logic of car-dominated cities on its head. As we explore options for a post-car future, it is instructive to turn to the developing world, where cars still haven't flooded the streets, and examine one of the mo more...

In the province of Almeria in southeast Spain, on the edge of Tabernas Desert, lies the Plataforma Solar de Almeria (PSA). On this over-250-acre site, the full force of the Andalusian sun has been exploited since 1980 for the testing and optimisation of a variety of high-temperature solar technologies under nearly practicable conditions. More than 20,000 square metres of mirrors of various shapes in different test facilities concentrate the direct solar radiation to generate high and extremely h more...

Martin Vosseler wakes each morning and walks towards the rising sun.
For seven months and counting, the retired Swiss doctor has crossed the United States to discuss the merits of solar power and other forms of renewable energy with whomever he meets. He has refused to accept car rides or travel via public transportation. Instead he chooses to walk all the way from Los Angeles to Boston.

'When people see me on the highway, sometimes on the freeway, thousands and thousands of people see thi more...

“Like earlier civilizations that got into environmental trouble, we have to make a choice. We can stay with business as usual and watch our economy decline and our civilization unravel, or we can adopt Plan B and be the generation that mobilizes to save civilization. Our generation will make the decision, but it will affect life on earth for all generations to come.”(Lester Brown)

As competition between food and fuel threatens to become a pressing constraint on the current biofuel industry, the biofuels world is starting the transition to next generation biofuels. Emerging powerful market drivers and strong political influences are moving ethanol to the next stage and there is huge interest in the next generation of biofuels from the oil majors. Could this be the beginning of a new branch of industry that could grow bigger than the existing 1st generation fuel ethanol i more...

Climate change worries coupled with high oil prices and increasing government support top a set of drivers fueling soaring rates of investment in the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries, according to a trend analysis from the UN Environment Programme. A new report, "Global Trends in Sustainable Energy Investments, 2007" says investment capital flowing into renewable energy climbed from $80 billion in 2005 to a record $100 billion in 2006. The report represents “a strategic tool more...