This paper looks at how climate change could affect the rate of phenological development — biological events related to climate, such as flowering — and rainfall patterns during the growing season. The authors suggest that these changes may result in mismatch between water demand by crops and water availability from rainfall.

The paper describes a project that combines a new analysis of meteorological data with previously published data on climatic changes to assess the expected consequences of this mismatch for food security.

The authors illustrate how understanding how key crops might be affected by climate change in the Asia-Pacific region can help farmers, community workers and policymakers to prepare and adapt. Strategies include timing of planting, managing rainwater resources, use of new varieties, alternate crops and shifts in geographic distribution of crops.

This report from the IPCC, provides a complete and comprehensive overview of the current knowledge and understanding of climate change. The report includes four separate documents that cover the physical science basis for climate change, projected impacts, adaptation and vulnerability of different populations, mitigation strategies, and a synthesis report for policymakers.

This report from the Chinese branch of the UN Development Programme investigates how China can reduce its heavy dependence on energy and resource consumption and move to a low-carbon economy. The authors suggest that the key lies in strengthening institutions, integrating policies, and enforcing implementation.

This report discusses opportunities for developing countries to pursue low carbon growth within four key areas: energy efficiency, agriculture, and renewable energy technologies. It presents 20 essays — written by a wide range of economic, financial, climate and food crises experts — that focus on the prospects and hurdles facing least developed countries.

This guide, published by Tebtebba (Indigenous Peoples' International Centre for Policy Research and Education), outlines the expected impacts of climate change on indigenous peoples around the world, and showcases traditional methods of climate change mitigation and adaption.

Following a basic introduction to climate change and the bodies, mechanisms and processes used for addressing it, the authors outline how climate change is impacting indigenous peoples in diverse ecosystems. For example, food and water insecurity arising from increased flooding or drought, and loss of biodiversity and traditional knowledge from rising temperatures.

The authors discuss the likely impacts of climate change mitigation measures highlighting, for example, the limitations of market-based strategies such as the Clean Development Mechanism. They discuss a range of alternative adaptation measures already being practiced by indigenous people, providing several case studies and examples of innovative strategies used in different regions. For example, African farmers using zero-tillage practices to moderate soil temperatures, Asian farmers growing varieties of crops to minimise the risk of harvest failure, and Honduran farmers using agroforestry and terracing to reduce erosion.

The authors go on to discuss measures for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) and emphasise the need for indigenous people to be fully engaged in the debate.

The role of developing countries in climate change mitigation has been and continues to be a contentious issue. Developing countries' emissions are predicted to surpass those of industrialised countries within the first half of this century, but no formal commitments to reduce emissions have been made.

This report, prepared for the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, examines six countries — Brazil, China, India, Mexico, South Africa and Turkey — in the context of climate change mitigation. Ongoing efforts in these countries have helped reduce emissions, though not necessarily in the name of mitigating climate change.

The authors find that overall, over the past three decades, these countries have reduced the growth rate of their emissions by 300 million tonnes. The motivations for such efforts include poverty alleviation, economic development, energy security and local environmental protection. This demonstrates that climate change mitigation can and does occur in the context of development that aims to be sustainable.

This report is comprehensive for the countries studied. It is very accessible and likely to be of interest to anyone engaged in the debate about mitigation in the South.

The report is available in pdf format only. An executive summary is availably online here.

China is likely to focus its efforts on reducing poverty through economic growth, which will have consequences for how the country addresses climate change. This OECD study considers the effects of a carbon tax on health and agricultural productivity.

The paper shows that there is considerable scope for slowing emissions growth without hurting economic growth. The health benefits of reducing regional pollution are significant, and the welfare gains from improved agricultural productivity are almost as great. The combined health and agricultural benefits of a carbon tax make reducing carbon dioxide emissions using such a tax a realistic goal.

While somewhat technical, this report is well researched and gives a thorough assessment of the subject. It is pertinent reading for anyone interested in climate change and human health, including health care professionals.

This document is available in pdf format only. An abstract is available online here.

What is China's potential role in greenhouse gas mitigation? "Important," says Maya Papineau, in this article, published in the online journal of the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research – Oslo (CICERO). China's industrial development, and its huge population, will contribute significantly to emissions in the future unless action is taken now.

Papineau argues that China needs to become a leading partner in making development possible without carbon emissions. Her article provides a brief yet comprehensive assessment of current and projected emissions, the role clean energy and increased efficiency could play in China, and impacts of climate change on the country.

While development goals could prohibit mitigation in industrial sectors, residential energy needs could probably be met using alternatives to carbon-intensive coal and biofuels – which would have public health benefits as well. The author also looks at the likelihood of an official Chinese contribution to greenhouse gas mitigation under the Kyoto Protocol after 2012.

In October 2004, China submitted its initial National Communication to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, providing a detailed picture of the country and its activities within the context of climate change.

This is the executive summary of the National Communication. It provides insight into the Chinese government's efforts to deal with the issue. It includes a general overview of the country, an emissions inventory (which is not currently required of China under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change), climate change impacts and adaptation, policies related to mitigation, and a capacity building assessment.

It also includes an overview of what is needed for national communication, research, systematic observation, and education. Of particular interest is section 4, which describes the country's policies and measures related to reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

This document is key reading for anyone interested in China's role for climate change.

This report, published in English and Chinese by the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), is the result of a 30-month project exploring how climate change is affecting agriculture in China.

The project involved numerous participating research institutions from China and the United Kingdom, and a steering committee including representatives from both countries' government ministries.

A regional climate model, PRECIS, was used to develop climate change scenarios for four crops in China: maize, wheat, rice and cotton. Based on these scenarios, the effects of an increase in temperature of three to four degrees Celsius can be predicted.

The results suggest that maize, rice and wheat fields that are not fertilised by spraying them with carbon dioxide could be 37 per cent less productive as a result of climate warming.

And while cotton yields are generally expected to increase in a warming environment and with higher levels of carbon dioxide_, the level of increase is uncertain and also affected by other factors, such as water and nutrient availability.

 This is an interesting and accessible example of a collaborative assessment of climatic impacts in a specific region of the world. The project also produced national scenarios of socio-economic development in relation to Chinese agriculture, which will be valuable for the sector in the long term.

The role of developing countries in climate change mitigation has been and continues to be a contentious issue. Developing countries' emissions are predicted to surpass those of industrialised countries within the first half of this century, but no formal commitments to reduce emissions have been made.

This report, prepared for the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, examines six countries — Brazil, China, India, Mexico, South Africa and Turkey — in the context of climate change mitigation. Ongoing efforts in these countries have helped reduce emissions, though not necessarily in the name of mitigating climate change.

The authors find that overall, over the past three decades, these countries have reduced the growth rate of their emissions by 300 million tonnes. The motivations for such efforts include poverty alleviation, economic development, energy security and local environmental protection. This demonstrates that climate change mitigation can and does occur in the context of development that aims to be sustainable.

This report is comprehensive for the countries studied. It is very accessible and likely to be of interest to anyone engaged in the debate about mitigation in the South.

The report is available in pdf format only. An executive summary is availably online here.

This is the full text of the Framework Convention, which was adopted at the United Nations Headquarters, New York on 9 May 1992. The convention was open for signature at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro from 4 to 14 June 1992, and thereafter at the UN Headquarters in New York, from 20 June 1992 to 19 June 1993. By that date the Convention had received 166 signatures. The Convention entered into force on 21 March 1994.