Event: Seventh “Environment for Europe” Ministerial Conference [viewed]
The Seventh “Environment for Europe” Ministerial Conference, convened by the UN Economic Commission for Europe (ECE, or UNECE) Committee on Environmental Policy, is being prepared in accordance with the provisions of Reform Plan of the “Environment for Europe” process. This Conference will consider two main themes: “the sustainable management of water and water-related ecosystems” and “greening the economy: mainstreaming the environment into economic development.” Under the second theme, discussions will focus on the reduction of carbon emissions, energy efficiency, sustainable consumption and production, and the reconfiguration of financing and infrastructure to better accommodate environmental considerations. While the Astana Ministerial Conference is expected to address identified environmental issues of common concern in the UNECE region, the Conference provides an opportunity to address priority environmental issues in the Central Asian sub-region.
4 November 2009: The World Bank has released a study on 100 countries' energy use, authored by Masami Kojima and Robert Bacon, which shows that growth of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and in population contributes the most to the net increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and that reducing energy intensity contributes the most to their net decrease.
2 November 2009: In a speech delivered on 2 November 2009, at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, the Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Pascal Lamy, stated that the climate crisis is “urgent, and is a top priority on the international agenda.”
30 October 2009: The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) will execute a UN-backed project aimed at reversing coastal erosion in five West African countries. 
28 October 2009: In his monthly press conference, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stated that, although much work remains to be done, he is optimistic that world leaders will reach an ambitious agreement in Copenhagen. 
27 October 2009: The Fifth GEF Biennial International Waters Conference, co-hosted by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Government of Australia, gathered over 300 of the world's leading water specialists to identify practical measures for coping with climatic variability. The Conference convened from 24-29 October 2009, at the Australian Great Barrier Reef, and featured new research on protecting coral reefs, adapting to the accelerated warming of coastal oceans, and adjusting to the movement of fisheries away from warming, polluted waters. 
19 October 2009: The World Bank launched the MultiCat Program – a catastrophe bond issuance platform that gives governments and other public entities access to international capital markets to insure themselves against the risk of natural disasters. The types of events that may be insured are earthquakes, floods, hurricanes and other wind storms. 
August 2009: The World Bank published a report that identifies and summarizes potential climate change impacts on agriculture in the developing world, examines causes of vulnerability, and suggests where investments are needed to better climate-proof agriculture. 
27 October 2009: The Seventh “Environment for Europe” Ministerial Conference, to be held in autumn 2011 in Astana, Kazakhstan, will have two themes: “the sustainable management of water and water-related ecosystems” and “greening the economy: mainstreaming the environment into economic development.”
