Humans are an integral part of biodiversity, just like any other of the planet’s species; we are closely tied to the biodiversity we spurn. It is up to us to manage biodiversity, our mother, and the other resources she affects.

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We have finally arrived in Copenhagen – final stop after a long series of preparatory meetings. With the Kyoto Protocol expiring in 2012, delegates are tasked with drawing the lines of a new international agreement on climate. With these negotiations, our nations are engaging in one of the most complex and determinant exercises in collective action they have had to manage in the history of international relations.

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As I was jogging today, the image of Jacques Diouf fasting at the opening of the Rome Food Summit came to mind. I could not help but think about the thousands who die of hunger every day. The fresh air of the early morning acutely brought to my mind the huge number of global challenges facing us.

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Earlier this year I visited Nepal and Malawi, two of the poorest countries in the world. Both are already feeling the effects of climate change, with erratic weather patterns causing flooding and drought, making it harder to grow crops and access clean, safe water. The effects of climate change risk undoing the work that we have been doing for many years to try to improve the lives of the poorest people. Copenhagen is not a window of opportunity, it is a window of necessity to act on climate change. We must not waste it.

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Margot Wallström, Vice President of the European Commission in charge of Institutional Relations and Communication

With one eye on the UN Climate summit in Copenhagen in December, the European Development Days 2009 are a chance for us to demonstrate commitment to the challenges ahead: we have the common responsibility to prepare the global response to the economic crisis and climate change, as well as to lay the foundations for democracy and development. That's why I believe that we also have to use this forum to draw attention to a dimension of climate change which is often overlooked in the discussions on how to deal fairly with the effects of climate change: the fact that climate change increases social inequalities.

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The recent economic downturn has led to several voices round the world questioning the merits and effectiveness of capitalism as an economic system to promote the general welfare of human society.

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I wanted to react to several very powerful pieces - each accompanied by concrete proposals - which we have just read on our blog about how to manage the present crisis. Achim Steiner demonstrated that a Green New Deal was not an additional response to the crisis but that it should lie at the heart of whatever strategies are selected to combat it. Kemal Dervis also appealed for us not to relax our efforts in fighting climate change but, on the contrary, to seize the opportunity of the stimulus packages to strengthen our actions in that field. Moreover, Minouche Shafik reminded us that the dramatic impact the present economic downturn will undoubtedly have on the very poor required enhanced social protection measures. By the way, may I take this opportunity to welcome Minouche to our small community of bloggers! Finally, using the WFP as an example, Josette Sheeran has targeted a fundamental issue: that of the demand for the goods of developing countries. 

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The link between human activity and climate change is established. There is uncertainty as to how exactly the physical processes that mediate between greenhouse gases emissions and changes to our planet's climate will unfold, but these processes are not easy to reverse, and may even be irreversible. Catastrophic effects are possible in the long-run and the more we wait the greater the risks.

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During the past two months we have seen Governments commit more than USD 3000 billion towards stabilizing financial markets. A further USD 2000 billion have already been announced for economic stimulus packages. Never in the history of humankind has so much money been allocated with so little preparation and strategic analyses

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Demographic growth, industrialisation and the increase of demand resulting from higher living standards is exerting growing pressure on the world's natural resources. The effects of climate change are also showing their first impacts on some of the regions of the world that are least equipped to manage them. How can these pressures be handled on the long run? What role can public policies play to tackle this rising challenge?

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