Sustainable Development & the Environment

What are the evolving geopolitical risks to the security of oil and gas supply? How should countries attempt to balance resilience and competitiveness in their gas and electricity markets? Which model of market organisation - liberalised, semi liberalised, or concentrated - appears most capable of achieving a sound balance between resilience and competitiveness? Do different market conditions affect the ability of these models to balance resilience and competitiveness? Which model of market organisation appears most likely to facilitate needed investment in energy technology and infrastructure? How can different national approaches to market organisation most efficiently co-exist within a more integrated European market?
Location: Wilton Park

What are the future trends in global agricultural production and demand? How to ensure a better balance between supply and demand? How can production be increased in developed and developing countries? What role for GM crops? How should the global community balance the competing demands of land for food production and for production of biofuels? What impact will increased energy prices have on future production? How can trade and distribution be better balanced? Who should pay for long-term investment in agricultural production and strategic food reserves? What policy instruments are appropriate at national and international level for countries exporting and importing food?

Across the globe, nearly 10 million children die before the age of five each year - that is one child every three seconds. Nearly four million die within their first 28 days (newborn deaths). Three million babies die within one week of birth, including up to 2 million who die on their first day of life. An estimated 500,000 women also die each year as a result of complications during pregnancy and childbirth. Child and maternal mortality are inextricably linked (which is why we propose to address these issues together). Many of the factors that increase a woman’s risk of death during or immediately after birth – inadequate nutrition and care throughout the pregnancy, and limited access to health services before, during and after birth - also make it more likely that her child will be stillborn or will die within the first few days or weeks of life......

How well prepared are developing and developed countries to respond to the predicted increase in wind, storm and flood as a result of climate change? What lessons can be learnt from recent best practice to provide an improved immediate response through preparedness, rescue and rehabilitation? What can and should the international community do to better to prepare for and respond to floods in developing countries? What role for the insurance industry? Are governments responsible for those with little or no insurance? This Wilton Park conference continues the series of conferences focusing on the response to natural disasters and the preparedness for them. A conference specifically focused on Prevention for and Recovery from flooding will be the next conference in this series, currently planned for January 2010.