This report evaluates the requirements for an assessment of climate change impacts on agriculture to guide policy makers on investment priorities and phasing. Because agriculture is vital for national food security and is a strong contributor to Brazil's GDP growth, there is growing concern that Brazilian agriculture is increasingly vulnerable to climate variability and change. To meet national development, food security, climate adaptation and mitigation, and trade goals over the next several decades, Brazil will need to significantly increase per area productivity of food and pasture systems while simultaneously reducing deforestation, rehabilitating millions of hectares of degraded land, and adapting to climate change. There is inadequate data to accurately model projected climate challenges facing Brazil. The report concludes that key integrated and linked interventions are needed in the short term to significantly improve currently available assessments of climate change impact on Brazilian agriculture and to guide policy makers with the priorities and phasing of needed investments.
The 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD), or “Rio+20 Summit”, confirmed that if countries, communities and businesses are seriously committed to moving towards a green economy to achieve sustainable development and poverty eradication, then they should consider establishing new measures and metrics that not only reflect these goals, but also inspire action.
Green economy indicators are useful tools for informing policy decisions. They also provide a mirror on the journey to an environmentally stable, economically sound and equitable society. That said, there is no single destination on this journey. There are many pathways depending on a country’s endowments, priorities and policies. This publication intends to foster a better understanding and utilisation of green economy indicators. “Measuring Progress Towards a Green Economy” is a practical guidebook that looks at how indicators can be used in a way that specifically supports and tracks green economy policies.
Enhancing energy efficiency and increasing the use of renewable energy constitute essential components of global policies to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. UNIDO recognises sustainable energy as both a precondition and catalyst for economic and social development. This has been a priority in UNIDO’s work for many years. UNIDO’s ultimate aim is to strengthen opportunities for reliable, efficient and affordable energy services, both to urban and rural populations. The organisation takes a holistic approach to energy issues by addressing both supply and demand sides, and by advocating policies aimed at implementing green energy strategies.
This new report reveals, for the first time, data on resource use and resource efficiency for all countries of the world over three decades, from 1980 – 2008. The data covers the global, continental and country level, featuring illustrative case studies. The report evaluates the performances of different countries, highlighting the critical issues of current trends in resource use.
The report addresses three main issues:
1. Patterns of material extraction, trade, consumption and resource productivity in different world regions and countries;
2. Connections between material use and indicators of economic and social development;
3. Links between material use and selected major environmental problems, such as carbon emissions, land use change and water use.