The United Nations chief, Ban Ki-moon, held out little hope on Thursday of an historic outcome at the Rio global development summit, now less than a month away, admitting negotiations had been "painfully slow".

The warning was the latest from United Nations officials and others involved in preparations that the summit, known as Rio+20, is unlikely to replicate the breakthrough achievements of the original environmental gathering in the city in 1992.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff is likely to veto some controversial aspects of a forest bill passed by the Congress last month as pressure mounts against the text days before the country hosts a large UN conference on sustainable development.

The bill, a revision of Brazil's Forest Code, grants partial amnesty to landowners who had illegally cleared some of their forests until as recently as 2008, relaxing the legal requirements for reforestation of these areas.

The biggest environmental summit for a decade must make meaningful progress on global food security and sustainable agriculture, say researchers.

CGIAR, the world's largest publicly funded research body, has published a seven-point "call to action" plan.

Ahead of the Rio gathering, scientists are calling for an improved commitment to deliver nutrition security and lessen the need to aid.

Agriculture is estimated to provide jobs for 40% of the world's population.

President Dilma Rousseff is facing one of the defining moments of her presidency as pressure builds on her to veto a bill that would open vast protected areas of forests to ranching and farming, potentially reversing Brazil’s major gains in slowing Amazon deforestation.

Pakistan is among the most vulnerable countries facing climate-related risks revealed an Asia-Pacific Human Development report launched here on Wednesday.

The report further suggested the Asia-Pacific region must continue to grow economically to lift millions out of poverty but it must also respond to changes in climate to survive.

“Growing first and cleaning up later is no longer an option”, advised the report titled ‘One Planet to Share: Sustaining Human
Progress in a Changing Climate.’

UN report rates Mumbai, Kolkata as below average

Three big cities — Mumbai, Kolkata and Bangalore — have been rated below average compared to other mega cities in Asia-Pacific in terms of keeping pollution levels in check, said a report of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Delhi is the only Indian city featured in the average category. The Asia-Pacific Human Development Report 2012 titled One Planet to Share: Sustaining Human Progress in a Changing Climate today came out with a green ranking of 22 cities in the Asia-Pacific

In the run-up to next month’s Rio+20 sustainable development conference in Brazil, the UN Asia-Pacific Human Development Report takes a hard look at how an extremely dynamic region can build rural resilience and create cities that can adapt to climate change.

The study also determined that 'in terms of total population', the largest city by 2020 is likely to be Tokyo with 37 million people, followed by New Delhi with 26 million. The report argues that in the face of climate change, Asia-Pacific nations 'will need to move to greener, more resilient, lower-emission options that not only sustain the environment but also offer opportunities to the poor'.