2 December 2008: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has called for increased investment in a plant breeding technique that uses radiation to produce improved high-yielding plants that adapt to harsh climate conditions and that could therefore contribute to the fight against hunger.
28 November 2008: The International Energy Agency (IEA) has released a report entitled “From 1st- to 2nd-Generation Biofuel Technologies: An overview of current industry and RD&D activities,” which outlines the technical challenges facing second generation biofuels, evaluates their costs and examines related current policies to support their development and deployment. 
26 November 2008: Speaking at the International Conference on Biofuels, which took place in São Paulo, Brazil, from 17-21 November 2008, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Deputy Director-General Marcio Barbosa indicated the Organization’s readiness to facilitate dialogue among governments on biofuel technology. 
25 November 2008: According to research conducted by CarboAfrica, an international research consortium of 15 institutions from Africa and Europe that includes the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Africa could be absorbing more carbon from the atmosphere than it emits. 
24 November 2008: In an editorial published in the Japan Times, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon underscores that the financial crisis is unique and potentially overwhelming, and warns against the risk of it evolving into “tomorrow’s human crisis.”
22 November 2008: The 35th Special Session of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Conference, which convened from 18-22 November 2008, in Rome, Italy, has adopted a three-year Immediate Plan of Action (IPA), which will implement an agenda for “reform with growth” as recommended by an independent external evaluation completed last year. 
21 November 2008: Speaking at the closing of the International Conference on Biofuels, which convened from 17-21 November 2008, in São Paolo, Brazil, Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva called on industrialized countries to invest in the production of biofuels in impoverished countries that have available land, such as African countries. 
21 November 2008: UN Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro, in an address to the Sixth African Development Forum, emphasized that, while many African countries have experienced economic growth in recent years, glaring gender disparities remain. 
20 November 2008: In a message marking Africa Industrialization
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