Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Introduction
I
In an age of climate change, policies for the
secure supply of food to the world have to
be a major priority for national govern-
ments and the international community.
Security and sustainability of food supply
and floods attributed to changing climatic
conditions have been getting more
pronounced. In the coming decades, rising
temperatures are expected to bring crop-
shrinking heat waves, melting glaciers and
is of the utmost importance for the well- ice sheets, and rising sea levels, with major
being of an ever increasing world population, consequences for global food security.
and for future generations.
There is no doubt that the modern food
But climate change is a major concern in system is a major part of the global climate
this context: If current greenhouse gas and environment problems we face. It is
(GHG) emissions trends continue, the well known that it now takes 10 calories of
Earth’s mean temperatures could increase fossil-fuel energy to produce one calorie of
by anything up to 6° C by 2100. Whilst modern supermarket food. Meanwhile fuel
crop yields in many developed countries is getting ever more expensive. The
may benefit from global warming, most progressive industrialization of the food
developing countries will face worsening system is depleting fossil fuel resources,
conditions. According to the UN Food and and it negatively affects the climate,
Agriculture Organization (FAO), the biodiversity, soil conditions, water supply
Amazon, the Sahel, large parts of India and and -quality as well as human health
northern China will be particularly badly through emissions and hazardous sub-
hit. Climate change has already started to stances. The FAO estimates that agriculture
significantly affect agriculture and rural and forestry account for a third of all GHG
landscapes: In recent years both droughts emissions.1
1
Meanwhile the need to assure that all the 6.4 Gt CO2 eq per year.6 Our research
world’s people are adequately fed is indicates that no country has, so far,
becoming ever more urgent. The FAO developed and implemented specific
estimates that even today 1.02 billion policies to reduce greenhouse gas
people still suffer from hunger2 – probably emissions from its food system, or indeed
the worst disgrace of world politics.3 In the to ‘climate-proof’ its food policies, though
richer countries, a billion people are obese, in some countries government policies
whilst between 30 to 50 percent of food in have indirectly had this effect. Consequent-
the rich countries is wasted. These numbers ly, in this booklet we present three policy
make clear that hunger is not the result of concepts which effectively combine food
insufficient harvest4, but a problem of security and climate protection … and we
allocation. It is important to make a also introduce two theoretical policy
connection between these issues, and to proposals:
develop policies for access to sufficient
food for all people. But meanwhile Organic agriculture: The IPCC found
developing countries have been getting that a large share of agriculture’s tech-
little support for optimizing their farming nical mitigation potential lies in
practices: during the last 30 years, enhancing soil carbon sinks through
agriculture’s share of foreign aid has dropped increase of organic matter in degraded
from 17 to 3 percent of total spending. soils. To this end governments should
provide a policy framework in which an
Now climate change is making it even organic agriculture sector can prosper.
more imperative to rethink the world’s Recommended measure include abolition
agriculture and food system. As claimed of detrimental subsidies, support for
during the 2009 FAO World Summit on recycling organic waste, certification and
Food Security, governments must “take labelling schemes, and education and
necessary steps to enable all farmers … information about organic farming and
to adapt to, and mitigate the impact of, food for both farmers and the general
climate change through appropriate tech- public.
nologies and practices that improve the Biochar cooking: When biochar –
resilience of farming systems, thus produced by low-oxygen combustion of
enhancing their food security.”5 Today biomass – is added to soils, its structure
policy makers cannot afford to neglect the can be enhanced by the biochar carbon
role that the food system plays in the content that can be stored in the soil.
climate agenda. The Intergovernmental Whilst large scale biochar production
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has from forest plantations is unacceptable
calculated a climate change mitigation for many reasons, alternative, sustainable
potential in the agriculture sector of up to sources of biochar are available. The
2
major role in shaping the food system,
and they must be given better informa-
tion on the climate impacts of their food
consumption habits. This implies much
more comprehensive consumer informa-
tion, including explicit food labelling
Farmers’ markets are making a come-back policies, particularly in the developed
in Europe. In the US there are now over countries. Labelling schemes can be
4000 across the country.
voluntary or mandatory. Further, endorse-
ment and comparative labels should be
distinguished.
In the UK a new private ‘food carbon
distribution and use of small scale bio- label’ has been set up recently under
char cooking stoves in rural areas can www.climatefriendlyfood.org.uk.
contribute to sustainable farming as well Carbon tariff: The IPCC has calculated
as carbon-negative cooking without the that the climate mitigation potential in
release of dangerous fumes. the agriculture sector would be greatly
Urban agriculture: Producing food increased if a price was put on carbon
locally, in urban or peri-urban locations, emissions. To this end, emission trading
means short transport routes. Less food schemes and carbon taxes might be most
must be processed or deep frozen, and suitable. An alternative policy instrument
packaging can also be reduced. Limiting could be a flexible trade tariff which
these activities can substantially reduce internalises external environmental costs.
the carbon footprint of each meal. To
install a successful urban agriculture The differences in climate, wealth and
sector, governments should enable a infrastructure between regions make it
large part of the population to gain impossible to propose one-size-fits-all
access and usufruct ownership of solutions. It is important to assess the
small lots of land. Further, cooperative particular situation at stake, and to develop
initiatives should be supported and seed an appropriate policy framework on this
centers set up. Cuba’s urban agriculture basis. This booklet and its policy concepts
policy has proved that these measures are intended as food-for-thought – as a
can be very effective. collection of facts, ideas and proposals that
Carbon labelling: The carbon footprint can be discussed by the stakeholder
of food products varies considerably. community, with the potential to being
Across the world, consumers play a adopted nationally and internationally.
3
Climate change and
its impact on farming
Projected changes in per cent in agricultural productivity by 2080 due to climate change
Source: WTO, adapted from Cline, 2007.
Note that the effects of carbon fertilization are incorporated.
The above map, published by UNEP in people suffer from hunger, are – in general
February 2009, is a product of many years – those which are most affected by the
of research by hundreds of climatologists negative impacts of climate change on
and agricultural scientists. It clearly shows agricultural productivity.
that the areas of our world in which most
4
S
Scientists have alerted global policy makers
to the perils of climate change over the
coming decades and it remains to be seen
whether major international agreements can
be reached to avert some of these.
5
The climate impacts of
the global food system
M
Modern agriculture is not only a victim of Lal (Ohio State University) has been
climate change, it is also a major contributor, researching the connections between land
led by countries with highly mechanised use changes and the transfer of carbon into
food supplies. Agriculture is directly the atmosphere for many years. He
responsible for almost 14 percent of total estimates that since the beginnings of
greenhouse gas emissions, and broader rural agriculture up to 250 billion tonnes of
land use decisions have an even larger carbon have been released by land use
impact. Deforestation currently accounts changes,12 an amount similar to the
for an additional 18 percent of emissions.10 quantities of carbon discharged by the
Even worse, the global trend is still for ever burning of fossil fuels over the last 200
greater use of fossil fuels, fertilizers and years. These huge reductions of carbon held
pesticides in agriculture and for long-distance in soils and vegetation have resulted from
food trade, increasingly using air freight. deforestation,
loss of soil organic matter and
Some people worry about peak oil, but we biodiversity and
may need to worry even more about peak accelerated soil erosion.
soil. Globally, some 24 billion tonnes of
soil erode every year, some 3.5 tonnes per Soil erosion by water, wind and tillage
person. Worldwide soil erosion was estimated affects both agricultural potential and the
in 1997 to cost in the order of $ 400 billion wider natural environment. It is probably
a year, or half the world’s military budget at the least well-known of today’s major
that time.11 Soil erosion is contributing to environmental problems and the resulting
increases in GHG concentrations and reduction of soil carbon storage needs to be
reduced soil carbon storage. reversed by appropriate national and inter-
national policies. Regarding GHG emissions,
In this context, a historical perspective the discharge of methane by the world’s
needs to be considered: Professor Rattan farm animals is also very significant:
Methane emissions
per animal per year
6
The global food system as a whole is Energy and food production in the US:
estimated to produce nearly 40 percent of
total carbon emissions – encompassing Use Percent total energy use
GHG release from the conversion of forest
to farmland, all aspects of food production, Food Retail 4%
as well as the transportation and processing Packaging 7%
of food. This huge climate impact obvious-
Restaurants / Caterers 7%
ly has major implications for food policy
and consumption habits. An increasingly Transport 14 %
important component is the connection Processing 16 %
between rising affluence and meat con-
Agricultural Production 21 %
sumption. Methane discharges from animal
husbandry have been increased significantly Home Refrigeration / Preparation 32 %
because of the trend for every greater use of
grains as fodder, particularly for cattle. The
traditional practice of relying on grass as
the main source of cattle fodder had far
less climate impact. Livestock farming now Reducing the impacts of farming on the
generates 18 percent of the planet’s green- global climate is one of the greatest policy
house gas emissions. By comparison, all challenges facing humanity. So far the
the world’s cars, trains, planes and boats global trend is for ever more mechanised
accounted for a combined 13 percent of farming, greater distance between food
greenhouse gas emissions.13 producer and consumer, ever more
packaging and greater meat consumption.
Another major concern is the vast amount There is no question that these inter-
of fossil fuel energy that goes into produ- connected trends must be addressed in
cing, packaging, transporting, storing and a world threatened by climate chaos.
cooking food. For example, in the UK, half
the vegetables and 95 percent of all fruits
are imported.14 Buying from local farmers,
vegetables only have to travel about 100
kms or less. Many organisations emphasise
buying organic and purchasing produce at
the local farmers market to save on trans-
portation and packaging, but this graph
shows that the largest energy expense
occurs after food arrives in the home.15
7
The climate mitigation
potential of agriculture
A
Agriculture now extends to about half the
world’s land surface. With the right policy
measures, farmland can play a crucial role
as a carbon sink. Until now, the main thrust
of trying to manage greenhouse gases by
land use has been to increase CO2
sequestration by trees and plants through
carbon storage in biomass. But the
agriculture need to be adopted. In the
following, we present and discuss different
policy approaches to sequester greenhouse
gases by better agricultural practices.
8
SEKEM – An Egyptian
pioneer in organic farming
addition, organic management also changes In 1977, Dr. Abouleish, a member of the
the structure of the soil, improving its World Future Council, initiated
ability to store water and deliver nutrients SEKEM, cultivating desert areas near
to plants over time as soil carbon levels Cairo using sustainable agricultural
continue to increase. Rodale research shows practices. By 2009 SEKEM’s work
that no-till organic farming can reduce the extended to 4500 hectares and directly
energy input into farming by about 70 involves 2000 people. Moreover circa
percent. Further, organic food offers health 30,000 people from the surrounding
advantages and has become a lifestyle community make use of the cultural and
choice in many societies. For these inter- social services offered by the SEKEM
connected reasons, much more policy Development Foundation and other
assistance for the organic sector is needed. related NGOs.
9
Still, governments should play an impor- Thailand and Malaysia, government
tant role in providing a supportive frame- certification is for free for farmers, and in
work for organic farming. Policy strategies Tunisia the government covers up to 70
should consist of a combination of market percent of certification costs.24 Producer
supply and demand measures.21 Since organizations can be supported to organize
appropriate measures depend on the state efficient distribution of processed bio-
of the organic agriculture market in the wastes.
respective country, an in-depth integrated
assessment of existing agriculture policies On the demand side, government can
should be the first step.22 Based on this support the development of a domestic
initial assessment a selection of policies organic standard. More than 70 countries
should be considered: have enacted such standards. Governments
must carefully assess how appropriate
On the supply side, a policy priority must standards can be initiated and harmonized
be the critical stocktaking of all agriculture with international reference standards,
subsidies (e. g. for chemical fertilizer) based on the recommendations of the
looking at overproduction, health and International Task Force on Harmonization
environment hazards and climate impli- and Equivalence in Organic Agriculture.
cations. If socially feasible, and without
risking the food security of a given country, Government can also play a strong role
detrimental subsidies must be abolished regarding consumer education by drawing
and partially transferred into the organic attention to the health and environmental
agriculture sector. benefits of organic products. To this end,
organic agriculture can be introduced to the
An area particularly worthy of state support mandatory curriculums in schools and
is the recycling of urban bio-waste into universities in agricultural regions25. Local
organic fertilizers23. This contributes to governments can also promote organic
sanitation and environmental protection, foods by allocating space in open markets
and it provides carbon storing materials for and in trade fairs. Integrating organics into
farms. To trigger this process, governments public procurement (e. g. for schools and
could give financial incentives (e. g. low- hospitals) stimulates market demand and
interest loans) to recycling plant operators, improves public information and consumer
or to erect recycling plants under state exposure. Finally, if not already existent, a
supervision. A way to directly support common label for organic products should
organic food producers is to compensate be established and promoted.
them for certification costs. In Denmark,
10
Seed sovereignty – Navdanya
11
Sustainable biochar When biochar is added to soils, its structure
can be enhanced, contributing to agricultural
productivity. A further benefit arises because
Biochar can be produced by pyrolysis (low- biochar, which contains 70–80 percent
oxygen combustion) of a great variety of carbon, remains in soils for long periods of
organic materials. The potential benefit of time, storing potentially large amounts of
biochar as a carbon storage medium in carbon.28
agricultural land is now widely recognised.
Its production from monoculture tree plan- Although the production costs of pyrolysis
tations is vigorously opposed by an inter- cooking stoves are only between h 10 and
national coalition of environment groups. h 20, this still makes them unaffordable for
However, biochar produced from forest most of the targeted market. National and
thinnings, sawdust, agricultural wastes, regional governments could, therefore,
urban organic wastes or sewage solids is support the local production, distribution
widely regarded as a sustainable carbon and installation of biochar cooking stoves
storage medium and soil conditioner. in people’s homes. Both NGOs and
government agencies can be important
On the farm, simple, innovative cook agents in distributing stoves. In addition,
stoves that employ pyrolysis, can enable there needs to be adequate instruction on
rural families to cook their food and to the correct methods of using the stoves and
produce biochar at the same time. These the resulting biochar.29 Changing habits that
cooking stoves can burn crop residues and have developed over generations is not an
other biomass fuels without releasing CO2 easy task. Therefore, it is of paramount
and other dangerous emissions. importance that substantial efforts be
directed to the training of promoters and to
making the technology as user-friendly as
possible.
12
Terra Preta
Biochar stoves
13
From globavores
to locavores? –
Local policy solutions
L
‘Locavores’ is a term for those who subsist nutritious food, provide food security and
on produce from their local area. The sovereignty. Members of the community
‘locavore’ movement encourages consumers can be become involved. Jobs and occupa-
to buy from farmers’ markets or even to tion, and income opportunities are created.
grow or pick their own food, arguing that Local agriculture projects create solidarity
fresh, local produce is more nutritious and and purpose among the communities,
also taste better. sustaining morale and help building
community pride.
The issue of local food is one of the most
commonly and enthusiastically embraced To set up an urban agriculture programme,
of all the issues around localisation. A a framework of policies is needed. First,
particular challenge is the issue of food people should be enabled to gain access
sovereignty for urban areas, given that by and usufruct ownership of land to be used
2030 an estimated 60 percent of all people
will live in cities (FAO, 2009).30 From
British allotment gardening, to community
supported agriculture, to Cuban urban
agriculture, to Japanese rooftop gardens –
there are more and more examples of intra-
urban and peri-urban areas being trans-
formed into productive food-growing land.
Producing food locally, even in an urban
environment, means short transport routes,
less processing and packaging. In the US,
these parts of the value chain consume
more than a third of all energy used for
food production. Limiting these activities
can substantially reduce the carbon foot-
print of each meal. In addition, urban food In Shanghai, and in other Chinese cities,
policies encourage consumption of local vegetable production is still the norm.
14
Urban agriculture in Havana
15
Carbon labelling policies
I
It has been shown that the carbon footprint An evaluation of the specific circumstances
of food products (‘foodprint’) can vary of the political and regulatory environment
substantially. Depending on its production will determine the best choice in each case.
method (organic versus chemical), its Whereas a mandatory label ensures a broad
content (meat versus vegetarian or vegan), participation, voluntary schemes might
transport routes (air freight, sea freight or have a better acceptance in the industry.
local), processing method (fresh versus A food label should be based on total life-
deep-frozen) and disposal of residues (use cycle emissions, as opposed to considering
as organic fertilizer versus waste), each food only the use-phase. First examples such as
item is responsible for a certain amount of the ‘Carbon Label’ of the UK Carbon
GHG emissions during its life-cycle. Making Trust35 show that this is possible. Possible
this information available to the consumer are both comparative labels which provide
increases transparency in the food market, consumers with product information
raises awareness of the consumer, creates through use of a specific number (e. g.
incentives for the industry to lower its carbon ‘1 kg CO2’) or rating (e. g. A–F or 1–5 stars),
footprint, and rewards climate friendly or endorsement labels which prove that the
products. Consumers should know whether product meets certain criteria (e. g. below
the organic kiwi from New Zealand or the average carbon footprint).
home grown chemically fertilized apple
does more harm to the climate. Implementing new labelling schemes
necessitates conformity assessment proce-
In general, environmental labelling has dures involving testing, inspection, certifi-
been a success story since the 1980s. cation, accreditation and metrology.36
Labels, such as the Energy Star, energy These processes are essential for the
efficiency ratings or the Nordic Swan label effective implementation and acceptance
have changed the behaviour of consumers of the scheme.
and manufacturers.33 An Eurobarometer
survey showed that for an overwhelming
majority of Europeans (83 percent) the
impact of a product on the environment
plays an important aspect in their
purchasing decisions.34
16
The Carbon Label Company
17
International policies –
the need for a price on CO2
T
The proposals presented here have to be farmland and emission of greenhouse gases
supported by progressive international from food production and distribution.
climate policy. The Fourth Assessment Countries that introduced appropriate
Report of Working Group III of the IPCC national food policies would benefit from
made it very clear that agriculture is the reduced trade tariffs. Such a policy would
sector most sensitive to carbon pricing be a significant step towards preventing
policies.41 Whereas the CO2 eq mitigation environmentally unsustainable patterns of
potential with a carbon price of below food trade. Gottwald and Fischer acknow-
20 US $/t is calculated at around one ledge that such an international food trade
GtCO2eq/year, this potential would policy would be difficult to implement in
increase three- to fourfold at carbon prices the short term, but that such proposals
of < 50 US $/t and < 100 US $/t respectively. would be a useful stimulus for national and
Consequently, an agreement to globally tax international policy debates.42
GHG, or to establish a global carbon
emission trading scheme, would be the best Moreover, under the policies of the Kyoto
way to support local and organic agri- Protocol, developed ‘high emission’
culture solutions. Such a clear price signal countries agreed to reduce their total GHG
would – in conjunction with the support emissions but they could also choose to
policies presented above – transform fund climate-friendly projects in developing
markets and mean a breakthrough for countries. The ‘Clean Development
sustainable agriculture. Mechanism’ enabled developing countries
to participate in global agreements and to
An innovative way to price the costs of access funds to help them introduce
GHG emissions in the food sector was sustainable technologies into their econo-
proposed by Franz-Theo Gottwald and mic development. The successor agreement
Franz Fischler in their book “Ernährung to the Kyoto Protocol should extend such
sichern weltweit – Ökosoziale Gestaltungs- arrangements to bio-sequestration projects –
prinzipien”: the introduction of trade tariffs with the explicit exception of ‘Round Up
for agricultural produce equivalent to the Ready’ GMO crops – for both local and
external costs of transport, conversion into global benefit.
18
Conclusion: global policies
on food and climate
T
The development of climate-resilient substitute renewable fuels for gasoline,
farming systems is a major challenge for diesel fuel and natural gas used on the
policy makers. Around the world, extreme farm,
weather conditions are forcing a rethink on increase the generation of electricity
land use strategies. It is clear that we need from wind, solar and small-scale hydro,
to develop appropriate policies for a food expand the use of practices like hedges,
system designed to feed the world without shelterbelts and forested riparian zones,
contributing to the deterioration to the expand local food supply for local
health of soils, the contamination of water consumption,
courses and detrimental impacts on the support the use of sustainable biochar
global climate. derived from farm and urban organic
wastes.
In this brochure we have emphasised, above
all else, that farmers can be encouraged and To this end, this booklet has tried to
even funded to become global carbon compile a first collection of appropriate
stewards, for the benefit for their local policies in this area. All in all, there is still
communities as well as for the benefit of much to do to conceptualise policies that
the global environment and climate. With fully respond to the new challenges of
all that is now known about the challenges creating a sustainable global food system in
of climate change for the global food system, an age of climate change. The climate
a major paradigm shift in policy incentives negotiations of the coming years will need
needs to be implemented across the world. to recognise the crucial role of agricultural
We need policies for a global food system soils and forests in absorbing greenhouse
based on biology, not chemistry, one that gases and assuring global food security.
will feed us indefinitely if we treat the soil There is little doubt that policy makers
right. Governments are now obliged to create across the world are beginning to recognise
policy incentives for lowering agricultural the need for climate-proof food policies for
greenhouse gas emissions and expanding an ever more environmentally challenged
carbon sinks by supporting farmers to: and crowded world. The challenge is to
truly ‘cultivate the future’: to assure
sequester carbon in agricultural soils by sustainable food supplies from healthy
organic farming and reduced tillage, rural communities and soils, and within a
reduce nitrous oxide emissions through stable climate for the benefit of present and
minimal use of nitrogen fertilizer, future generations, but we have barely begun
capture methane emissions from to understand what this actually means.
anaerobic manure handling facilities,
19
Sources 18 UNCTAD/UNEP Capacity Building Task
force on Trade, Environment and Develop-
1 FAO, Climate Change and Food Security, at 1 ment, Best Practices for Organic Policy,
(available at www.fao.org/climatechange/ 2008, p. 16.
16606-1-0.pdf). 19 Källander, I. and Rundgren, G., Building
2 FAO, The State of Food Insecurity in the Sustainable Organic Sectors, IFOAM 2008,
World, Rome 2009, p. 11. pp. 20–21.
3 Franz-Theo Gottwald, Schweisfurth 20 Sekem Group, www.sekem.com
Foundation, Munich, private communication 21 Hamm, Groenfeld and Halpin 2002.
4 FAO, www.fao.org/hunger/en/ 22 UNCTAD/UNEP, p. 13.
5 World Summit on Food Security, November 23 UNCTAD/UNEP, p. 33.
16–18, 2009, Declaration, at 2 (available at 24 Belkheria and Kheder, 2006.
www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/wsfs/
25 Källander and Rundgren, p. 102.
Summit/Docs/Final_Declaration/
WSFS09_Declaration.pdf), p. 5. 26 Vandana Shiva, Soil Not Oil, Environmental
Justice in an Age of Climate Crisis, Southend
6 IPCC, 2007: Summary for Policymakers,
Press, 2008
in Climate Change 2007: Mitigation.
Contribution of Working Group III to the 27 Navdanya, www.navdanya.org
Fourth Assessment Report, of the IPCC, 28 James Bruges, The Biochar Debate,
p. 11. Schumacher Briefing 16, Green Books, 2009
7 Declaration of the World Summit on Food 29 WFC, Carbon negative cooking, available at
Security, Rome, 2009, www.fao.org/ http://onlinepact.org/?id=1494
fileadmin/…/Summit/…Declaration/ 30 FAO, Food for the Cities, 2009, at 2;
WSFS09_Declaration.pdf available at ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/012/
8 WTO/UNEP, Trade and Climate Change, ak824e/ak824e00.pdf
Geneva 2009, p. 19. 31 Ibid.
9 Government of South Australia, Drought in 32 Reuters, Cuba exports city farming
the Murray-Darling basin, ‘revolution’ to Venezuela, 22-4-2003,
www.waterforgood.sa.gov.au/…/ www.globalexchange.org/countries/cuba/
drought-in-the-murray-darling-basin/ sustainable/651.html
10 FAO, Climate Change and Food Security, at 1 33 WTO/UNEP, p. 124.
(available at www.fao.org/climatechange/ 34 http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.
16606-1-0.pdf). do?reference=IP/09/1201&format=HTML&
11 Norman Myers, Environmental services of aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
biodiversity, Proceedings of the National 35 www.carbon-label.com/index.htm
Academy of Science, VOL Vol 93, 1995
36 WTO/UNEP, p. 122.
12 Rattan Lal, Soil Conservation for Carbon
37 http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.
Sequestration, www.tucson.ars.ag.gov/isco/
do?reference=IP/09/1201&format=HTML&
isco10/…/K010-R%20Lal.pdf
aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
13 www.bbc.co.uk/news/1/hi/magazine/
38 www.climatefriendlyfarming.org, and
8329612.stm
www.climatefriendlyfood.org.uk
14 Caroline Stacey for BBC, Food Miles,
39 www.carbon-label.com/business/about.htm
available at http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/
food_matters/foodmiles.shtml 40 www.carbon-label.com/business/
international.htm
15 www.swivel.com/graphs/show/21368509
41 IPCC, 2007: Summary for Policymakers,
16 The WFC supports the wider deployment of
in Climate Change 2007: Mitigation.
renewable energies through feed-in tariffs,
Contribution of Working Group III to the
www.onlinepact.org and Mendonça et al,
Fourth Assessment Report, of the IPCC,
Powering the Green Economy, London 2009.
p. 11.
17 www.rodaleinstitute.org/
42 Franz-Theo Gottwald and Franz Fischler, eds.,
Ernährung sichern weltweit – Ökosoziale
Gestaltungsprinzipen, Murmann Verlag, 2007
20
The World Future Council
“
Here’s the book we’ve been
waiting for, a thorough, up-to-date, and
above all proportionate response to
our climatic predicament. When I say
proportionate, I mean: it tells us how
to solve the problem we really have,
not the one we wish we had.
”
It’s truly important!
Bill McKibben, Founder, 350.org
This book shows how the quadruple crisis facing humanity – of climate, energy,
finance and poverty – can be regarded as a unique opportunity for building a new,
global green economy. It is a book for those who want to influence the decision on
how we can turn visions into practicality.
The authors:
Herbert Girardet is an author and consultant focusing on sustainable development.
He is a co-founder and Director of Programmes of the World Future Council.
Miguel Mendonça is a writer and sustainability advocate. He is Research Manger
of the World Future Council.
Green Books 2009 | 256 pages | Paperback | ISBN 978-1-900322-49-2
Distributed in the USA by Chelsea Green.