The global economy started recovering in 2010, but along with that carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions saw an unprecedented rise.

They rose by 5.8 per cent, says a new report by the Washington-based research organisation, Worldwatch Institute.

Interestingly, although China was the world's largest overall emitter in 2010 (followed by the US, India, and Russia), its per capita emission ranked only 61. In India, too, emissions' per capita ranked far below the world average.
US ranks second

In fact, the US ranked second overall and 10th in per capita emissions.

The world's water supply is being strained by climate change and the growing food, energy and sanitary needs of a fast-growing population, according to a United Nations study that calls for a radical rethink of policies to manage competing claims.

"Freshwater is not being used sustainably," UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova said in a statement. "Accurate information remains disparate, and management is fragmented ... the future is increasingly uncertain and risks are set to deepen."

Demand for transport fuel is expected to grow massively in developing countries such as India and China over the next 40 years, outpacing the requirement of developed countries by 2025, a report by the World Energy Council has said.

The World Energy Council (WEC) expects that transport fuel demand in the next 40 years will come mainly from developing countries such as China and India, where demand will grow by 200 per cent to 300 per cent.

Rising global energy demand and the need to drastically cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions require a transformation in the way nations produce, deliver and consume energy, according to a new joint report from the OECD (Organization for Economic and Cooperation Development) and IEA (International Energy Agency). The Green Growth Studies: Energy report says governments need to increase energy efficiency and lower the carbon-intensity of the sector.

The weather may not always have been kind to cocoa farmers in West Africa, but until recently it was at least broadly predictable.
Temperature always hovered between 22 and 29 degrees Celsius, rains fell between April and July -- plus another short period between October and mid-November -- and the sun shone the rest of the time, fattening up cocoa beans and enabling drying.
Scientists say climate change may be altering these once reliable weather patterns in West Africa, which is the source of some two thirds of the world's cocoa.

The government wants a new globally binding climate deal to be "operational" by 2020 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions enough to keep world temperature rises to a limit of 2 degrees Celsius, the UK's minister for energy and climate change said.

"The key thing is to have a deal to reduce emissions by 2020. As long as it is operating by then, that's fine," Chris Huhne told reporters on Thursday.

Negotiators from around the world will meet in Durban, South Africa, next Monday for two weeks to work on a new globally binding United Nations deal towards cutting emissions.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the International Energy Agency Tuesday urged governments world-wide to cut billions of dollars in fossil-fuel subsidies, arguing the rollbacks would bolster sagging government budgets while cutting wasteful energy use and carbon emissions.