Water For Life™ Concerts

With the UN Millennium Development Goals set to be reviewed this year, the European Commission is stressing the need for an increased focus on access to water, as the achievement of other UN development goals depends on it.

In a deal that is certain to have ramifications for the rapidly consolidating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investment research industry, MSCI, a provider of stock market indexes and risk and performance analytics, has agreed to acquire RiskMetrics Group, a provider of risk management and corporate governance products and services.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc Chief Executive Peter Voser defended the oil giant's retreat from some green technologies to concentrate on oil and gas production in an interview with the German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

International companies investing in developing countries need to purposely plan for social equity and community participation in their commercial operations, right from the start - in addition to the usual profitability and environmental impact considerations. This is the main conclusion from the recent review of The Forests Dialogue's Forests & Poverty Reduction Initiative.

Ailing carmaker Opel is considering launching an electric car for inner-city use to tap what it sees as a high-potential market, the firm's boss said in an interview Sunday.

26 February -- On 25 February, WHO was saddened by the death of Professor Ihsan Dogramaci, who will be remembered for his tireless efforts and accomplishments in public health care. He was the last living signatory of the WHO Constitution, signed in New York in July 1946.

NPC-Cimpor's Simuma landholding falls within the northern limit of the Pondoland Centre of Endemism, stretching from Port St Johns to the Oribi Gorge itself. This is a relatively small but extremely important area for bio-diversity conservation, termed the Centre of Endemism: it contains species that originate from and exist only within a particular, limited geographical area.

Emerging markets demand clean energy technologies but are also concerned about flexibility and costs. Vestas manages these needs with an ambitious localization strategy in China and other emerging markets.

26 February 2010 -- The fifth anniversary of the entry into force of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control was held today in the Geneva headquarters of the World Health Organization.

The United Nations said Friday it would conduct an independent review of its Nobel prize-winning climate panel, whose credibility has been hit by errors in a key report on global warming.

Google Inc has developed a prototype for a new mirror technology that could cut by half the cost of building a solar thermal plant, the company's green energy czar said on Friday.

A "World Environmental Organization," akin to the World Trade Organization, could bolster efforts to bring about environmental governance reform, a meeting of environment ministers said today.

Measuring and driving the sustainability of the information and communication technology (ICT) industry has been a key focus in recent months: Environmental efforts from the industry will not only help reduce waste and energy use from electronics themselves, but can also drive solutions to lower the carbon footprint of the larger society.

The European Commission yesterday (25 February) ruled out binding EU-wide sustainability criteria for biomass, offering member states recommendations for national action instead.

NUSA DUA Thursday, February 25, 2010 (IRIN) - The use of pesticides in Asian countries has exposed communities across the region to unacceptably high health risks, according to a study conducted by the international Pesticide Action Network

NAIROBI Tuesday, February 23, 2010 (IRIN) - Four years after an innovative slum-upgrading project was launched in Huruma, to the northeast of the Kenyan capital, at least 200 households are now living in improved homes, complete with infrastructure such as running water, sewage connection, electricity, drainage, paving and renovated toilet blocks.

JOHANNESBURG Wednesday, February 24, 2010 (IRIN) - Temperatures seem set to soar to perilously high levels because of climate change. In another 40 years, would maize still be the staple food in Kenya, already hit by five failed rainy seasons? If not, what could people grow and eat? And if you could grow maize, how much water and fertilizer would it need?

NUSA DUA Thursday, February 25, 2010 (IRIN) - The use of hazardous pesticides in Asian countries has exposed communities across the region to unacceptably high health risks, according to a study conducted by the international Pesticide Action Network

A speech by President Obama to top CEOs yesterday left some climate experts and energy industry lobbyists searching for stronger clues about White House policy preferences as members of the Senate struggle to come up with a fresh proposal for cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc plans to massively cut greenhouse gas emissions from its global supply chain within five years -- an effort the retailer said is equivalent to taking more than 3.8 million cars off the road for a year.