All publications and documents

Drought Finance Tracker. The FAO Land and Water Division developed a new global tool to track drought finance at country level. The lack of a consistent, comprehensive, and dedicated reporting system is one of the major barriers to assessing the status of drought finance. Over the past 20 years, however, official development assistance has been monitored and registered by the…

A clean energy system will require up to twice as much land and up to 10% more water than the existing fossil fuel system – but these needs could be met multiple times over by fixing the agricultural system. That is the conclusion of a new analysis from the Energy Transitions Commission (ETC), published to debunk myths relating to the impact of a clean energy system on nature, land availability…

A Q&A on the fashion industry's toxic chemicals problem — and how we can protect ourselves.Modern clothing is a technological marvel — it’s brighter than ever, more flame-resistant, more water-repellent. It’s also often toxic. The properties we’ve come to know and expect stem from fossil fuel-derived chemicals that, according to a growing body of research, are making people sick.

A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences explores the effects of Saharan dust clouds on atmospheric methane. Its findings have potentially far-reaching implications for understanding the global methane budget and reasons behind the accelerating increase in atmospheric methane. The study, entitled "Photocatalytic Chlorine Atom Production on Mineral Dust-Sea Spray…

The last few weeks have seen large scale floodings in southwestern China and northwestern India including its capital, Delhi. The deluge in China and India is no exception to an emerging trend of recurrent monsoon anomalies. Lives are being lost and infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed. The impacts being felt in many parts of the region amount to billions of dollars. Added to this is a…

Healthy soils are essential for achieving climate neutrality, a clean and circular economy and stopping desertification and land degradation. They are also essential to reverse biodiversity loss, provide healthy food and safeguard human health. The EU soil strategy for 2030 provides the framework and concrete steps towards protecting and restoring soils, and ensuring that they are…