Planet under pressure

February 7th, 2012

The forthcoming Planet under Pressure conference is a major international event focusing on responses to global sustainability challenges.

Some 2,500+ leading thinkers in a wide range of global change research areas will present new findings in climate change, environmental geo-engineering, international governance, the future of the oceans and biodiversity, global trade, development, poverty alleviation, food security and more. Authoritative perspectives on today's State of the Planet and recommendations will form a contribution to the UN Conference on Sustainable Development ("Rio+20"), in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 20-22.

Planet under Pressure will convene specialists in physical, natural and health sciences; economics, the humanities and other social sciences; technology and engineering; international policy making, NGOs, industry and development. It offers an important forum to consolidate these relationships and discuss the future.

Among topics to be highlighted in news releases and media briefings:

• The world's cities and global environmental change
• New strategies for defining planetary boundaries
• State of the coastal zone
• Prospects of information and communications technologies for sustainability in developing countries
• Securing global biodiversity: a human imperative for a sustainable planet
• Responses of small island developing states to impacts of global environmental change
• Life in extreme environments: from knowledge to sustainable exploitation of new resources under growing pressures
• Essential psychological and social concepts for collective response
• Nitrogen: too much of a good thing

All 160+ breakout sessions: planetunderpressure2012.net/sessions.asp

Full conference programme: planetunderpressure2012.net/programme.asp

Day 1: Planetary crisis

Day 2: Innovative solutions

Day 3: Barriers to progress

Day 4: The way forward

Participatory programming: World Café, Pro-Action Café, and "the Unconference"

Venue: London's new east end International Convention Centre (ICC) at Excel

Media accreditation: planetunderpressure2012.net/press_registration.asp

Follow events online at planetunderpressure2012.net:

• Live streaming of each day's plenaries and news conferences;
• A daily 60-minute broadcast of highlights, including interviews with high-level plenary speakers, topic features and more, anchored by Julian Rush, former Science & Environment Correspondent, UK Channel 4 News.

Follow the conference also via

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Planet-Under-Pressure-2012/169242609767836

Twitter: Username: planetconf2012 / Hashtag: #planet2012

Blog: planetunderpressure2012.net/blog.asp

E-mail: Please email raab@ihdp.unu.edu to join the mailing list for news releases, to be issued at 08:00 GMT each day of the conference. To subscribe to conference programme updates: planetunderpressure2012.net/mailinglist.asp

Also available

• Media kit: Including news releases, policy briefs, background information and more: planetunderpressure2012.net/press_room.asp
• Op-Eds on a range of key conference topics such as international governance, urbanization, population pressures or green economy in the context of sustainable development.

Conference Hosts:

• The Royal Society, UK
• Living with Environmental Change (LWEC) programme
• Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)

Conference Sponsor:

The International Council for Science

Conference Coordinators:

ICSU's four global environmental change research programmes (and their Earth System Science Partnership, www.essp.org):

Provided by Earth System Science Partnership