This week, representatives from over 150 countries around the world are meeting in Montreal, Canada to discuss the United Nations' Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Following Russia's ratification of the treaty late last year, the Kyoto Protocol entered into force in February 2005 and is now binding for those countries that have signed and ratified it. Most developed nations are parties to the Kyoto Protocol; the United States and Australia are notable exceptions.

Our world is dependent on oil. At present, crude oil accounts for more than one-third of global energy consumption [see EarthTrends' Energy Consumption Table], and demand for oil and other petroleum products is predicted to increase by 40% over the next two decades. The vulnerability of our current system was exposed last month when two major hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico hampered oil production and drove prices to an all-time high worldwide. Governments, businesses, and citizens of many countries have been affected and are searching for answers about the decidedly uncertain future of oil.

"The 2005 World Summit is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for the world to come together and take action on grave global threats that reuqiare bold global solutions. It is also a chance to revitalize the United Nations itsef. It is, in short, an opportunity for all humankind"
---Secretary-General Kofi Annan

EarthTrends is proud to announce the release of World Resources 2005: The Wealth of the Poor: Managing Ecosystems to Fight Poverty. This edition of World Resources, WRI's flagship publication, takes an in-depth look at how ecosystem management and sound governance matter greatly to the livelihoods of the poor. The report posits that while traditional models of poverty reduction often include the environment as an afterthought, the goods and services provided by ecosystems are, in fact, key to alleviating rural poverty.

In July, the 'Group of 8' nations met in Scotland for the 31st G8 Summit. This year's summit focused on economic development in Africa and global climate change. Both issues require international concern. Sub-Saharan Africa has lost half of its share in world trade between 1980 and 2002. Africa's economy is further strained by a rampant AIDS epidemic. The average life expectancy in Sub-Saharan Africa has decreased since 1990 to less than 47 years (see Demographics: Life Expectancy on EarthTrends). Climate change has affected agriculture, fisheries, and numerous other industries on a global scale (see the UN's Millennium Assessment report). The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that most of the global warming from the past half century is a direct cause of human activity. The IPCC promotes decreasing emissions through clean energy technology to curb the advance of further climate change (see WRI's feature article Climate Protection in a Disparate World).

We are excited to announce the recent release of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA). This landmark study is an extensive, in-depth look at the earth's ecosystems and the goods and services they provide to people. The MA reveals that approximately 60 percent of the ecosystem services that support life on Earth - including fresh water; capture fisheries; air and water regulation; and the regulation of regional climate, natural hazards and pests - are being degraded or used unsustainably. Scientists warn that the harmful consequences of this degradation could grow significantly worse in the next 50 years. The study also examines the potential for coordinated action to halt or reverse this degradation and explores a number of strategies by which this could be accomplished.