Tiempo Climate Newswatch

Forty per cent of Swaziland's one million people face food and water shortages, according to the United Nations (UN). The international donor community has been asked to mount an urgent response to avert a full-scale humanitarian crisis. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) reports that "new data emphasize the high background vulnerability of children in Swaziland, which will only be exacerbated by the current drought emergency." It is estimated that one third of the adult population of Swaziland is HIV positive.

John Holmes, UN emergency relief coordinator, warned of "severe malnutrition [in Swaziland] if we don't act now," as he launched a US$15.6 million appeal. Elsewhere in southern Africa, he noted the drop in Zimbabwe's cereals harvest last year, which will result in one third of the population needing food assistance by early next year. Another immediate concern is the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which, Holmes said, faces a "long-running humanitarian crisis" due to food insecurity, limited basic services and problems brought about by conflict, communicable diseases and natural disasters.

The Business Roundtable, a group of 160 executives representing American companies, has released a policy statement on climate change, acknowledging that global warming is a "potentially serious and far-reaching" issue and that human activity is partly to blame for the problem. The statement stresses the need to improve production efficiency and supports a 25 per cent reduction in energy intensity. Policy tools, such as carbon taxes and cap-and-trade (emissions trading) programmes, are cited as possible solutions. "Some of our members like the idea of a cap-and-trade," said John Castellani, president of the Roundtable. "Some members like a tax approach. We don't know which works best, so at this point we're calling for flexibility."

"The thinking of US CEOs on climate change is evolving significantly," commented Charles Holliday, chairman and chief executive of DuPont and member of the Business Roundtable. "A growing number of CEOs view it as a major issue for their companies." The Sierra Club, though, dismissed the statement as little more than an attempt to appear environmentally sensitive. "Businesses understand that any regulation that is going to pass this Congress and get signed by this president is going to be something very weak," said Sierra Club spokesman Josh Dorner. "It's no coincidence that a lot of huge emitters are tripping over themselves to call for some action on climate change."

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has announced that India is to re-plant 15 million acres of deforested land to combat global warming. He has set a November deadline for the creation of a comprehensive roadmap for energy efficiency and sustainable development. Speaking at the first meeting of India's Council on Climate Change, he said that the programme would formally launch on India's 60th Independence Day, August 15th.

Reforestation is on track to increase forest cover to 20 per cent of the Chinese land mass by 2010, according to the latest government estimates. Jia Zhibang, head of the State Forestry Administration, reports that forested land is increasing by 1.2 per cent a year, absorbing eight per cent of the carbon dioxide emitted nationally. Responsibility for caring for new plantations has shifted from the government to local communities. The government plans to expand bio-energy production, with trees and crops planted to produce biodiesel, ethanol and other biomass fuels.