Image Resources Our extensive research library contains thousands of summaries of journal articles, reports and news stories that can be searched by keyword and category RESOURCES CATEGORYBooksBriefing paperEvent recordingFeatured articlesFeatured reportGameJournal articlesNews and resourcesReportsThink pieceVideoWorking paperWorkshop summary YEAR201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026 Resource Climate Change, Agricultural Adaptation and Fairtrade: Identifying the Challenges and Opportunities In 2011 the Natural Resources Initiative (NRI) completed a study on the implications of climate change for Fairtrade in agricultural products. The study was commissioned by the Fairtrade Foundation. The study indicates that climate change is projected, with high degrees of certainty, to have mainly negative impacts upon agricultural production, food security and economic development, especially in developing countries. It thus poses significant challenges for the Fairtrade movement. Read Resource The Root of the Problem – Drivers of Deforestation This report, published by the Union of Concerned Scientists, looks at the multitude of drivers which cause deforestation, and as such it includes chapters on soy, palm oil and cattle ranching. Read Resource Soya and the Cerrado, Brazil's forgotten jewel This report, published by WWF in 2011, recognises that demand for soya beans and soya products has risen dramatically in recent decades. In just 15 years, production of the crop has doubled, and the land used to grow soya worldwide now covers an area almost the size of Egypt. Read Resource Peruvian dairy paper This is an interesting paper comparing different smallholder dairy systems in Peru. (Bartl K, Gómez C A and Nemecek T (2011). Life cycle assessment of milk produced in two smallholder dairy systems in the highlands and the coast of Peru, Journal of Cleaner Production, in press.) Abstract Read Resource Decoupling natural resource use and environmental impacts from economic growth, UNEP, 2010 By 2050, humanity could devour an estimated 140 billion tons of minerals, ores, fossil fuels and biomass per year - three times its current appetite - unless the economic growth rate is "decoupled" from the rate of natural resource consumption, says a new report from UNEP’s International Resource Panel. Developed countries citizens consume an average of 16 tons of those four key resources per capita (up to 40 or more tons per person in some developed countries). By comparison, the average person in India today consumes four tons per year. Read Resource Carbon Trust study on international carbon flows The Carbon Trust has conducted a fascinating analysis of how world-wide trade and consumption is driving international carbon flows. The findings are given in a series of linked reports, one focusing on international carbon flows overall, and the others focusing on key sectors: automotive, steel, aluminium, cotton, clothing. Note that the studies look at CO2 only and not the other GHGs (eg. methane and nitrous oxide), so a discussion of agriculture does not feature (cotton is looked at in terms of energy use from nitrogen manufacture and other associated fossil fuel use). Read Resource Global food losses and food waste: Extent, causes and prevention This report (Gustavsson J, Cederberg C, Sonesson U, van Otterdijk R and Meybeck A (2011) FAO, Rome) examines food waste in the industrialised world and the developing world. It finds that: Per capita, much more food is wasted in the industrialised world than in developing countries. Per capita food waste in Europe and North-America is 95-115 kg/year, while this figure in Sub-Saharan Africa and South/Southeast Asia is only 6-11 kg/year. Read Resource Missing carbon reductions? Exploring rebound and backfire effects in UK households, This paper (Druckman A, Chitnis M, Sorrell S and Jackson T (2011). Missing carbon reductions? Exploring rebound and backfire effects in UK households, Energy Policy Volume 39, Issue 6, Pages 3572-3581) examines the rebound effect. Households are expected to play a pivotal role in reducing the UK's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and the UK Government is encouraging specific household actions to help meet its targets. However, due to the rebound effect, only a portion of the GHG emission reductions estimated by simple engineering calculations are generally achieved in practice. Read Resource Drought. Past Problems and Future Scenarios Drought. Past Problems and Future Scenarios by Sheffield and Wood E F (2011, Earthscan), examines how UK Drought is one of the likely consequences of climate change in many regions of the world. Together with an increased demand for water resources to supply the world's growing population, it represents a potentially disastrous threat to water supplies, agriculture and food production, leading to famine and environmental degradation. Yet predicting drought is fraught with difficulty. Read VIEW MORE
Resource Climate Change, Agricultural Adaptation and Fairtrade: Identifying the Challenges and Opportunities In 2011 the Natural Resources Initiative (NRI) completed a study on the implications of climate change for Fairtrade in agricultural products. The study was commissioned by the Fairtrade Foundation. The study indicates that climate change is projected, with high degrees of certainty, to have mainly negative impacts upon agricultural production, food security and economic development, especially in developing countries. It thus poses significant challenges for the Fairtrade movement. Read
Resource The Root of the Problem – Drivers of Deforestation This report, published by the Union of Concerned Scientists, looks at the multitude of drivers which cause deforestation, and as such it includes chapters on soy, palm oil and cattle ranching. Read
Resource Soya and the Cerrado, Brazil's forgotten jewel This report, published by WWF in 2011, recognises that demand for soya beans and soya products has risen dramatically in recent decades. In just 15 years, production of the crop has doubled, and the land used to grow soya worldwide now covers an area almost the size of Egypt. Read
Resource Peruvian dairy paper This is an interesting paper comparing different smallholder dairy systems in Peru. (Bartl K, Gómez C A and Nemecek T (2011). Life cycle assessment of milk produced in two smallholder dairy systems in the highlands and the coast of Peru, Journal of Cleaner Production, in press.) Abstract Read
Resource Decoupling natural resource use and environmental impacts from economic growth, UNEP, 2010 By 2050, humanity could devour an estimated 140 billion tons of minerals, ores, fossil fuels and biomass per year - three times its current appetite - unless the economic growth rate is "decoupled" from the rate of natural resource consumption, says a new report from UNEP’s International Resource Panel. Developed countries citizens consume an average of 16 tons of those four key resources per capita (up to 40 or more tons per person in some developed countries). By comparison, the average person in India today consumes four tons per year. Read
Resource Carbon Trust study on international carbon flows The Carbon Trust has conducted a fascinating analysis of how world-wide trade and consumption is driving international carbon flows. The findings are given in a series of linked reports, one focusing on international carbon flows overall, and the others focusing on key sectors: automotive, steel, aluminium, cotton, clothing. Note that the studies look at CO2 only and not the other GHGs (eg. methane and nitrous oxide), so a discussion of agriculture does not feature (cotton is looked at in terms of energy use from nitrogen manufacture and other associated fossil fuel use). Read
Resource Global food losses and food waste: Extent, causes and prevention This report (Gustavsson J, Cederberg C, Sonesson U, van Otterdijk R and Meybeck A (2011) FAO, Rome) examines food waste in the industrialised world and the developing world. It finds that: Per capita, much more food is wasted in the industrialised world than in developing countries. Per capita food waste in Europe and North-America is 95-115 kg/year, while this figure in Sub-Saharan Africa and South/Southeast Asia is only 6-11 kg/year. Read
Resource Missing carbon reductions? Exploring rebound and backfire effects in UK households, This paper (Druckman A, Chitnis M, Sorrell S and Jackson T (2011). Missing carbon reductions? Exploring rebound and backfire effects in UK households, Energy Policy Volume 39, Issue 6, Pages 3572-3581) examines the rebound effect. Households are expected to play a pivotal role in reducing the UK's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and the UK Government is encouraging specific household actions to help meet its targets. However, due to the rebound effect, only a portion of the GHG emission reductions estimated by simple engineering calculations are generally achieved in practice. Read
Resource Drought. Past Problems and Future Scenarios Drought. Past Problems and Future Scenarios by Sheffield and Wood E F (2011, Earthscan), examines how UK Drought is one of the likely consequences of climate change in many regions of the world. Together with an increased demand for water resources to supply the world's growing population, it represents a potentially disastrous threat to water supplies, agriculture and food production, leading to famine and environmental degradation. Yet predicting drought is fraught with difficulty. Read