Recognizing that the Kyoto Protocol does not offer a sustainable solution to climate change, civil society and social movements in Indonesia saw the need for the people to push forth their aspirations and demands during the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change meetings in Bali for consideration and inclusion in the upcoming post 2012 climate change road map.

Five rivers in Asia serving over 870 million people are the most threatened in the world, as dams, water extraction and climate change all take their toll, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) said.

The Arroyo govern-ment’s plan to revive the controversial P47.93-million Laiban Dam project spells serious social costs for thousands of local residents and indigenous communities, according to independent think-tank IBON Foundation.

In the wake of the reopening of the controversial Rapu-Rapu polymetallic mine in Albay last February, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources recently announced that investments in the mining sector are expected to hit $348 million this year. But whatever benefits such investments supposedly bring would be cancelled out by the severe social and environmental costs of large-scale mining, according to independent think-tank IBON Foundation.

It is often said that bankers have short memory; hence they repeat their errors. We have witnessed a financial crisis every ten years over the last three decades. In 1980’s the savings and loans debacle cost U.S. tax payers US$200 billion. In 1990’s the Asian financial crisis bankrupted many Asian banks and corporations. The clean up cost taxpayers billions of dollars. Today, another financial crisis emanating from the collapse of  U.S. subprime mortgages has generalized into a credit crunch.

A Southeast Asian regional workshop on climate change was held in Kuala Lumpur on 29-30 October to prepare countries for the meetings of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Bali in December.

Real and concrete actions are needed to provide technology and financial resources to developing countries in the negotiations for a post-2012 regime on climate change, according to a leading official in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change process.

The UN General Assembly thematic dialogue on climate change (31 July-2 August 2007) and the “Vienna Climate Talks” (27-31 August 2007) under the umbrella of the UN Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) have made gradual headway in clarifying the issues that will be crucial at the Bali meetings this December which will hopefully launch negotiations  and a roadmap for global action to combat climate change, especially in the post-2012 period.

Researchers disagree whether aid is a good lubricant for peace. Norway is currently involved in 13 different peace processes all over the world and the government will spend even more money on peace next year. Several researchers however want thorough evaluations of the peace efforts and think the accompanying aid money often can create new conflicts.

During his visit to research bases in the Antarctic Peninsula, where temperatures have warmed faster than any other place on Earth in the last half-century, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon declared that global warming is an emergency and called for urgent political action to address the problem. In this context, documentaries like The 11th Hour are of vital importance in educating people both about the extent of the problem and possible solutions to deal with it. That said, this documentary never rises above the level of a feature made for a TV magazine show, and is unlikely to inspire people to action.

A new UN report on the state of the world’s environment warns of the dangers of climate change, water scarcity, dwindling fish stocks, pressures on the land and the extinction of species.