News on Climate Change from Switzerland

Switzerland is facing a record-low potato harvest after the hot summer reduced production to 20 percent below the six-year average. Domestic potatoes now cover only 70 to 75 percent of demand, increasing the need for imports.

El Niño conditions have developed in the tropical Pacific for the first time in seven years, setting the stage for a likely surge in global temperatures and disruptive weather and climate patterns.

Researchers at ETH Zurich and the Carnegie Institution for Science have shown how nitrogen fertilizer could be produced more sustainably. This is necessary not only to protect the climate, but also to reduce dependence on imported natural gas and to increase food security.

The abundance of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere once again reached a new record last year, with the annual rate of increase above the 2011-2020 average.

Scientists are observing changes in the Earth’s climate in every region and across the whole climate system, according to the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report, released today.

Bill Gates, who is a major backer of food biotechnology, has spoken passionately how food biotechnology can help the people of Africa fight the numerous challenges they face.