Improving access to information technology can help communities assess their own vulnerability and boost local planning, says John Waugh.

South-East Asia has suffered from neglecting planning for disasters. Governments must heed the warnings and act now, argues Crispin Maslog.

Business models that pair up cheap solar technologies with cell-phone services can provide the poor with renewable energy, says Carl Pope.

Africa must make sure its grassroots innovations can benefit from a new global green technology support mechanism, argues Linda Nordling.

The proposed UN World Environment Organisation is badly needed to give poor countries a strong voice in green policy, says Zakri Abdul Hamid.

Agro-ecology offers simple solutions and can align climate change with food security agendas, says UN adviser Olivier De Schutter.

Chuluun Togtokh calls for a change to the UN's current human development index, which "celebrates gas-guzzling developed nations".

Analysing vulnerability to climate change must go beyond stating obvious problems to become truly useful, argues Marcus Moench.

Cities face many social, economic and environmental challenges, and must facilitate innovation to cope with them, says an editorial in Nature Geoscience.

Desertec, an ambitious solar power project in the Middle East and Africa, should be more transparent and participatory, argues Athar Osama.

The East Africa famine calls into question the wisdom of investing in early warning systems without improving take-up, writes Linda Nordling.

Success stories show that food crises can be controlled with the right tools and agricultural policies, says Sam Dryden.

Nuclear power is no magic solution, argues Pervez Hoodbhoy — it's not safe, or cheap, and it leads to weapons programmes.

Rising costs and re-evaluated risks make nuclear power a poor choice, even for developing nations that can afford it, says José Goldemberg.

Nuclear power can benefit developing countries but requires long-term planning and an educated workforce, says Michael J. Mangala.

The two regions have much to gain from coordinating research and enhancing scientific cooperation on solar energy, says Frank Lehner.

The current drought in northern Kenya has deep roots in the current practices of pastoralists that need to be addressed, says conservationist David Western.

A new southern African climate plan is impressive, but needs more funding if it is to plug the continent's data gap, writes Linda Nordling.

Assessments of bioenergy must consider the potential benefits for rural development and food security, say Lee R. Lynd and Jeremy Woods.

Environmental engineers Tasneem Abbasi and S. A. Abbasi warn that widespread adoption of small hydro could repeat a history of environmental damage.