A green revolution in Africa would only be possible if the approach to agricultural development on the continent underwent its own revolution, the Commission on Sustainable Development was told during the first of two plenary round tables today.

Convinced of the urgent need for a “bold, determined and innovative response” to the serious parallel crises affecting the world today, the Commission on Sustainable Development concluded its seventeenth session this evening, adopting a set of policy options to speed up agricultural development, along with practical measures to address drought, desertification, land use, rural development and lasting development in Africa.

In an agreement that signals a significant convergence between developing and developed countries on key issues, countries agreed on a wide range of policy options and measures at the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development to address the food and climate crises in a manner that improves the wealth and well-being of people while protecting the environment. The Commission reached its agreement on Friday evening, as it concluded its seventeenth session.

With just over a month left before the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, countries will discuss one of the linchpin issues for a new climate deal -- the transfer of technology -- at a two-day meeting in New Delhi from 22 to 23 October.

The United Nations Forum on Forests today launched two vital initiatives: an intergovernmental expert group to conduct in-depth analysis of all aspects of forest financing over the next four years; and a “facilitative process” on forest financing, to assist countries to mobilize funding from all sources.

A one-day meeting will be held at United Nations Headquarters in New York on Monday, 1 February, to accelerate the pace by which decisions on sustainable development are turned into action.

The well-integrated system of buses, subways and trains in Seoul, capital of the Republic of Korea, will highlight the health, economic and quality-of-life benefits of a sustainable public transport system during a meeting in that city on 16‑17 March.

Experts will try to figure out how to handle growing amounts of solid waste, a problem compounded by ever-rising urbanization, population growth and global rates of consumption, at a meeting in Tokyo, Japan, on 18 and 19 March.