Higher temperatures and changing rainfall patterns resulting from global climate change will threaten food production in many parts of the world – especially regions in the tropics already struggling with food security, according to a new report, disclosed by Voice of America.

How climate change affects you depends on more than just how it affects your local weather. It also depends on how much the weather matters to your livelihood, and how well you can cope with the changes.

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The World Bank today officially urged the Philippines to show more urgency in dealing with climate change, reiterating its offer of $250 million to help the country develop clean energy sources and better handle extreme weather conditions.

Andrew Steer, special envoy for climate change for Washington-based lender, said he has been pushing Manila to finalise a plan to cope with the potential impact of stronger typhoons, rising sea levels and an increase in global temperature, particularly on agriculture.

“The real challenge of the Philippines, and it’s important that citizens are aware… that over the coming decades, unless the world takes tougher action, there are certain things that are going to happen that are not good,” Steer, in Mania to meet officials and lawmakers, told a news conference.

“One and most immediately, extreme weather events, especially typhoons will become more serious, and it has huge impact on the Philippines.”

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Developing countries have submitted their plans for tackling greenhouse-gas emissions under the UN flag, completing a double inventory decided in Mexico during COP16, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change said on Monday.

The listing of voluntary, “nationally appropriate” actions follows an inventory of emissions reduction targets by developed countries, the Bonn-based secretariat said.

The documents form the basis of a system of “mutual accountability“, a planned confidence-building mechanism to let countries know what counterparts are doing in the fight against climate change.

The 194 UNFCCC parties also agreed in Cancun to establish a Green Climate Fund (GCF) with the potential to channel hundreds of billions of dollars in aid from rich economies to poor, vulnerable nations.

They rallied around a call to cap warming to two degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) and on ways to fight deforestation, a leading cause of climate change.

The two-week meeting was blighted over the fate of the Kyoto Protocol, the landmark treaty whose obligations on wealthy countries to cut emissions expires in late 2012.

The forum next meets in Bangkok at the level of senior officials from April 3 to April 8; in Bonn from June 6-17; and in Durban, South Africa, from November 28-December 9, ending at ministerial level.

The Artists Project Earth Youth Visions Award winner Wafalme has a history of producing inspiring videos on the topic of eco-activism. Besides their award-winning film, ‘Me and My Bike’, here the team (with the assistance of Malkia) makes a call-to-action to cut pollution in the undoubtedly catchy hip-hop tune, ‘Trash is Cash’:

“Get On Your Bike and Save The World!” This is the message from Wafalme, a group of young Kenyans who wowed judges to win the Artists Project Earth Youth Vision Award – part of the One Minute to Save the World international film competition for 2010. The youngsters, from impoverished shanty towns across Nairobi came together to highlight the planet’s environmental problems.

Their winning hip hop video “Me and My Bike” calls on Kenyans to preserve the natural environment by “going green and keeping it clean”.

15 year old singer, Mary Ndunge, says “Nairobi’s ghettos are badly polluted so it’s an honour to win the award and to be recognised for something so environmentally important”.

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1 Minute to Save the World, an online international film competition, is proving that young people can have a huge impact on raising environmental awareness: from across the globe they have submitted one-minute films on the subject of climate change, making sure that their voices are heard by the world leaders and advisers who determine policy.  They are the next generation of environmental activists using the internet and film to get their messages and ideas seen and heard by mass audiences online.

The competition, in its second year, has received films from young filmmakers around the world; from Mexico to Thailand, India to Vietnam. People of all ages took the opportunity to broadcast their messages to a global audience, with some films shown at the COP16 Climate Change conference in Cancun in December 2010. Judges included actor/director Frank Oz, documentary filmmaker Bruce Parry, director and climate change activist Shekhar Kapur, the UNICEF UK Climate Youth Ambassadors, and Google Green Business Operations’ Ben Kotts.

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The Best Youth Film Award, sponsored by Unicef and SONY Open Planet, was won by the children and staff at Wilbury Primary School, Class 4B, in the UK for their film, “Give the Colours Back to the Earth”.

“The children are thrilled to have won first prize “ said Headteacher Sandra Heaviside. “It is a tremendous achievement as it was our first attempt at this kind of competition. The children are very concerned about the effects of climate change, and were very enthusiastic to present their ideas in the form of an animation”.

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Kenya will host the world’s first Climate Innovation Centre, the World Bank had stated.

Business Daily Africa reports that the centre is set to open investment opportunities for local companies, creating thousands of green jobs.

Andrew Steers, the Bank’s special envoy for climate change said the centre to be established with the support of the Danish Embassy will boost the private sector’s competitiveness and help the country to better respond to the challenges of climate change.

Mr Steers made the announcement in Nairobi on Monday, during a Danish-sponsored conference, Green Growth in Kenya.

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Climate change could cause food prices to rise by 20 per cent by the end of the decade, and even lead to some popular items disappearing from grocery store shelves, says a new report to be released on Wednesday.

The study, released by the U.S.-based Universal Ecological Fund and covered by the Edmonton Journal, predicts that — if nothing is done to arrest or adapt to climate change — global shifts in agriculture and demand will result in an increase of up to 10 per cent in Canadian production of wheat, corn and soybean. But the report also predicts climate change will have more negative than positive impacts overall.

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The team at 1minutetosavetheworld has seen fantastic films submitted over the last few months; our filmmakers have raised the creative ingenuity bar and as our campaign winds down today, we’d like to thank all those who took the time to address our social media rallying cry and have their voices heard through 1Minute Films.

There is still time to submit your films, even at the very last minute! Our judges, partners and sponsors collectively look forward to the reviewing process and we look forward to showcasing our shortlists – in the interim, be sure to vote at 1minutetosavetheworld.com for your favorite films!

A recent US study predicted that if society continues burning fossil fuels at the current rate, atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide could rise from the current level of 390 parts per million (ppm) to 1,000 by the end of this century.

The last time the world had such high levels of carbon dioxide temperatures were on average 29F(16C) above pre-industrial levels. Evidence has been found of crocodiles and palm trees at the Poles and only small mammals were able to survive.

Jeffrey Kiehl, of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), who carried out the study, said the Earth could return to such temperatures over hundreds or even thousands of years.

But unlike last time, when it happened over millions of years, temperatures will rise too fast for species to adapt and change.
In the short term he said temperatures could rise by more than 10.8F (6C) by the end of the century, which will also wipe out species.

“This is happening at such a rate how will species, including humans, respond? The implications for the biosphere is of great concern.”

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