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The World Economic Forum: Global Risks Report 2013 analyses 50 global risks in terms of impact, likelihood and interconnections, based on a survey of over 1000 experts from industry, government and academia.

This year's findings show that the world is more at risk as persistent economic weakness saps our ability to tackle environmental challenges.

The report highlights wealth gaps (severe income disparity) followed by unsustainable government debt (chronic fiscal imbalances) as the top two most prevalent global risks. Following a year scarred by extreme weather, from Hurricane Sandy to flooding in China, respondents rated rising greenhouse gas emissions as the third most likely global risk overall.

There are also two risks appearing in the top five of both impact and likelihood – chronic fiscal imbalances and water supply crisis.

The global population has now surpassed 7 Billion and is thought to be increasing by more than 200,000 each day - that's around 79 million more mouths a year to feed.

Looking forward many respected forecasters, including the United Nations, suggest by 2050 the global population will surpass 9 billion. The demand for food is rising even faster than mere population growth.

This 560 page document published by the Agricultural Development Economics Division of the FAO delivers a very comprehensive report on the Perspectives in Agriculture to 2050.

The New Harvest: Agricultural Innovation in Africa

Book, Oxford University Press - January 2011

Author: Calestous Juma, Professor of the Practice of International Development; Director, Science, Technology, and Globalization Project; Principal Investigator, Agricultural Innovation in Africa

OVERVIEW

African agriculture is currently at a crossroads, at which persistent food shortages are compounded by threats from climate change. But, as this book argues, Africa faces three major opportunities that can transform its agriculture into a force for economic growth: advances in science and technology; the creation of regional markets; and the emergence of a new crop of entrepreneurial leaders dedicated to the continent's economic improvement.

Filled with case studies from within Africa and success stories from developing nations around the world, The New Harvest outlines the policies and institutional changes necessary to promote agricultural innovation across the African continent. Incorporating research from academia, government, civil society, and private industry, the book suggests multiple ways that individual African countries can work together at the regional level to develop local knowledge and resources, harness technological innovation, encourage entrepreneurship, increase agricultural output, create markets, and improve infrastructure.

The New Harvest is a product of the Agricultural Innovation in Africa Project, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Features:

• Integrates research and policy ideas from an international panel of some of the most influential thinkers on agricultural development
• Presents enactable policy ideas for advancing agriculture throughout Africa, at the national and regional levels
• Includes a wealth of case study material from Green Revolution and educational initiatives in India, China, and throughout Latin America

Karnataka Conference on Power 2012:  Status of Renewable Energy in India

Depleting fossil fuels and the need for greener energy. India’s substantial and sustained growth has placed enormous demand on the country’s natural resources. Today, India imports substantial quantities of gas, oil and coal in order to meet its growing energy demand. The increasing dependence on imported fuels may create a serious threat to the future fuel security of the country. In addition, the country’s 136 GW of power generation capacity based on conventional sources has further strained the natural resources.

The government has realized the importance of exploring alternate sources of energy for addressing the demand-supply mismatch and fuel security concerns. Renewable energy sources are best suited for addressing issues such as bridging supply shortages, reducing carbon emissions and enhancing energy security.

The Indian government, in order to harness and promote renewable energy, has a dedicated Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). It has also established the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA), which promotes, develops and extends financial assistance for renewable energy projects.

To feed 9 billion people by 2050, the world will need to adopt new strategies aimed at sustainably increasing agricultural production. Meeting this challenge will require significant increases in investment, innovation and collaboration among all stakeholders.

The World Economic Forum's New Vision for Agriculture serves as a platform to build collaboration among stakeholders to achieve a vision of agriculture as a driver of food security, environmental sustainability and economic opportunity.

In the past three years, governments, business, farmers and civil society organizations have embraced and begun to implement this vision at global, regional and country levels. This report outlines the progress to date of partnerships catalysed by the New Vision for Agriculture, and the key challenges and next steps that must be addressed to realize the full potential of the multistakeholder partnership model.

How can climate-smart approaches help to build resilience in food security and agriculture?

UN Climate Change Conference COP18 ion Doha Qatar on 27 November 2012

Increasing extreme weather events and their devastating consequences to people's lives, the economy and to nature
Increased temperature and changing rainfall patterns will have an impact on lives, livelihoods, and production of food
Climate change will increase the burden on already vulnerable populations

Energy developments in the United States are profound and their effect will be felt well beyond North America – and the energy sector.  The recent rebound in US oil and gas production, driven by upstream technologies that are unlocking light tight oil and shale gas resources, is spurring economic activity – with less expensive gas and electricity prices giving industry a competitive edge – and steadily changing the role of North America in global energy trade. By around 2020, the United States is projected to become the largest global oil producer (overtaking Saudi Arabia until the mid-2020s) and starts to see the impact of new fuel-efficiency measures in transport. The result is a continued fall in US oil imports, to the extent that North America becomes a net oil exporter around 2030.

ExonMobil:  2012 The Outlook for Energy: A View to 2040

Global energy demand will be about 30 percent higher in 2040 compared to 2010, as economic output more than doubles and prosperity expands across a world whose population will grow to nearly 9 billion people. Energy demand growth will slow as economies mature, efficiency gains accelerate and population growth moderates.

On the Road to Zero Growth

• Increasing climate damage, reflected mainly in food prices and flood damage, is going to increase. With any luck this will not be severe before 2030 (we allow for a 0.1% setback) but it is very likely to accelerate between 2030 and 2050. A great deal will depend on our responses.
• 
  Resource costs have been rising, conservatively, at 7% a year since 2000. If this is maintained in a world growing at under 4% and a developed world at under 1.5% it is easy to see how the squeeze will intensify.
• The price rise might even accelerate as cheap resources diminish. If resources increase their costs at 9% a year, the U.S. will reach a point where all of the growth generated by the economy is used up in simply obtaining enough resources to run the system. It would take just 11 years before the economic system would be in reverse! If, on the other hand, our resource productivity increases, or demand slows, cost increases may decelerate to 5% a year, giving us 31 years to get our act together. 

Highlights

A large majority of Americans (77%) say global warming should be a “very high” (18%), “high” (25%), or “medium” priority (34%) for the president and Congress. One in four (23%) say it should be a low priority.

1. Nearly all Americans (92%) say the president and the Congress should make developing sources of clean energy a “very high” (31%), “high” (38%), or “medium” priority (23%). Very few say it should be a low priority (8%).
2. A large majority of Americans (88%) say the U.S. should make an effort to reduce global warming, even if it has economic costs. A plurality (44%) favors a medium-scale effort, even if it has moderate economic costs. One in four (24%) supports a large-scale effort even if there are large economic costs. And one in five (19%) supports a small-scale effort, even if it has small economic costs.
3. Majorities also support funding more research into renewable energy sources (73%), providing tax rebates for people who purchase energy-efficient vehicles or solar panels (73%), regulating carbon dioxide (CO2) as a pollutant (66%), eliminating all subsidies for the fossil-fuel industry (59%), and expanding offshore drilling for oil and natural gas off the U.S. coast (58%).
4. A majority of Americans say they would vote for a candidate who supports a revenue neutral carbon tax if it created more American jobs in the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries (61% would support such a candidate), decreased pollution by encouraging companies to find less polluting alternatives (58%), or was used to pay down the national debt (52%).
5. Asked who has influence on elected officials’ decisions about global warming, Americans think the big players are large campaign contributors (50% say they have “a lot” of influence) or fossil- fuel companies (42%). Fewer think renewable energy companies (23%), environmentalists (22%), or climate scientists (20%) have a lot of influence on elected officials.