The 2020 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). The Norwegian Nobel Committee said the WFP was declared winner of the prestigious award “for its efforts to combat hunger, for its contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas and for acting as a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict”.
As revealed by a recent analysis conducted by insurance company Swiss Re. The report shows how more than half of global GDP depends on ecosystem services, because, for example, they provide clean air and water, food and natural protection against floods. Countries including Australia, Israel and South Africa rank near the top of the index of risk. India, Spain and Belgium are under observation, as are countries with fragile ecosystems and larger farming sectors, such as Pakistan and Nigeria.
Researcher He Jiankun, who chairs the academic committee of the Institute for Climate Change and Sustainable Development at Tsinghua University, explains that China's goal of reducing emissions to zero by 2060 involves all greenhouse gases, not only CO2. In pursuing this goal, the country is expected to announce a reduction in carbon intensity of more than 65% from 2005 levels and an increase in the share of renewable sources by 2030.
According to a WWF report, the loss of biodiversity caused by the food industry could be reduced by half if the citizens of the United Kingdom became vegan. The research suggests that anyone switching to a diet free of animal products can reduce species loss from 0.029 species per year to 0.016. Greenhouse gas emissions would also be reduced by nearly two thirds, from 170 tons to 62 tons per year.
According to German researchers, rapeseed could be a valid alternative to soy in a strictly vegetarian diet. This would avoid dependence on a single source of plant protein, which could encourage intensive monoculture, already present in many countries: 80 percent of soy is produced in Brazil, the United States and Argentina.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has welcomed a $3 million contribution from Germany and Sweden to help farmers in the world's most vulnerable countries fight the impact of climate change and to build sustainability. The countries' contribution was finalized through the Technical Assistance Fund (TAF), a global coalition of countries and institutions committed to supporting climate action and sustainable development.