In a debate between George Monbiot and L hunter Lovins in The Guardian, the issue of impacts and evidence of livestock grazing is discussed. Monbiots article “Eat more meat and save the world: the latest implausible farming miracle” can be found here while L. Hunter Lovins’ article “Why George Monbiot is wrong: grazing livestock can save the world” can be read here.

Ten years after the first Year Book in this series appeared, a special e-book anniversary edition – UNEP Year Book 2014 – presents a fresh look at ten issues highlighted over the past decade.

This issue of "Green Growth the Nordic Way”, a web magazine from the Nordic Council of Ministers, discusses the topic of circular economy and the work of the Council within the areas of waste management and sustainable building. 

A top China  government advisor said at a recent Beijing conference that China, the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitter will limit its total emissions for the first time by the end of this decade. The Chair of China's Advisory Committee on Climate Change said that an absolute cap on emissions will be introduced sometime within the next five years. Although the advisor later stated that these were only his own opinions, commentators expressed a cautious optimism about the statement.

The CCAFS (CGIAR research program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security) newsletter Agriculture-Climate Letters - A Science-Policy Bulletin, is a valuable resource for those interested in receiving further updates on the links between food and climate –with a particular focus on developing countries. In their latest issue Sonja Vermeulen, CCAFS head of research, highlights the special issue of Environmental Research Letters on mitigation in the agriculture and land use sectors in developing countries.  See more information about the CCAFS newsletter and how to sign up here and read the full Environmental Letter series here.

New official data from the European Union shows a 19.2 % reduction on GHG emissions on 1990 levels, suggesting that the union is within reach of its target to reduce emissions by 20% until 2020. Emissions fell by 1.3 % between 2011 and 2012, largely due to reductions in transport and industry and a growing proportion of energy from renewable sources. Italy alone accounted for 45 % of the total EU net reduction in emissions in 2012, largely due to lower emissions from transport and industry.

We include this initiative because it addresses the challenges of of ‘closing the food loop’. This innovative solar-thermal toilet was developed by a team led by CU-Boulder Professor Karl Linden to improve sanitation and hygiene in developing countries.