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Rousseff Ousted in Historic Impeachment Vote

Michel Temer was sworn in as the official President of Brazil on the 31st August 2016, marking a new era for Latin America’s largest economy as the country embarks on a journey of growth and prosperity that will secure its place as a model for emerging nations around the world.

After a historic and at times fierce impeachment trial, the Brazilian Senate voted 61-20 in favor of convicting Ms. Rousseff on charges that she used illegal bookkeeping maneuvers to cover government financing. By delaying repayments to state-owned banks for her world renowned social programmes, which propelled millions of people out of poverty, Rousseff’s administration was able to exceed their budget while appearing to stay within the legal bounds.…

The Dawn of Planet Earth’s New Geological Age

Over the past century the scientific community have documented dramatic shifts in global temperature, the rise of extreme weather patterns and the on-going deterioration of our ozone. The human race has become such a geophysical force that we are pushing ourselves into a new geological age – the Anthropocene.

35 of the world’s most renowned environmental scientists on the Working Group on the Anthropocene voted 30-3 in favour of formally designating the new geological age at the at the International Geological Congress this week.

Global surface temperatures have risen by almost a degree over the last century, with the rate increasing by 0.17 to 0.48 degrees per decade since 1970.…

Living on Resources Taken from Future Generations

With the European debt crisis, the United Kingdom leaving the European Union and China’s continued economic slowdown compounding fears of a global financial system teetering on the edge, there is no doubt that we are living in an age of social and economic uncertainty. One of our few certainties is mankind’s increasing rate of consumption. There are only so many natural resources the earth can supply and on 8th August 2016 we breached our annual limit.

Earth Overshoot Day, also known as Ecological Debt Day, is when the human demand for natural resources exceeds what the planet can replenish annually. is the day when resource use outstrips our capacity for production, and is the point in the year when we have used as much land, trees and food that the planet’s ecosystem can regenerate.…

Ensuring Global Prosperity on an Increasingly Crowded Planet

Whether the earth is overpopulated should be a simple calculation to make and easy to answer, yet this multifaceted question has perplexed many for generations. Does the Earth have enough resources to supply its population in the foreseeable future?

Based on a population forecast to reach 10 billion by 2050, and assuming that half of the earth’s 150 million square kilometers is habitable, then each person would have access to a plot of land slightly less than 4 acres in size. This would easily be enough for everyone to grow their own food for sustenance, especially considering that in the 50 years to 2010 agricultural productivity tripled and the proportion of land under cultivation increased by only 12 percent.…

Charting the Rise of Biopesticides in Modern Agriculture

Agriculture has reached a crossroads. In order to survive and thrive in this new millennium we need to revolutionize our production methods to ensure a secure, accessible and long-lasting food supply for everyone.

Feeding the world in a safe and sustainable manner is a considerable challenge, especially with a rising global population, significant arable land degradation and crop yields starting to show a decline. The primary obstacles to sustainable food security today are the combination of these factors combined with an economic model and thought system, nurtured throughout the industrial revolution, that views social progress as the ability to produce at maximum capacity and at any financial or environmental cost.…

Heat Waves, Ice, Storms, Floods and Algae Bloom in 2015

Last year saw several records in the Earth’s climate system broken.

The American Meteorological Society alongside the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and over 450 leading scientists from around the world all confirm that 2015 was the warmest year on record for land and sea temperatures. Last year, average temperatures rose by 1ºC higher than Preindustrial times. At the widely publicized United Nations COP21 meetings in Paris, 1.5ºC above preindustrial averages was pegged as the upper limit for climate change. We are getting so close to this limit that some scientists are already talking about a possible overshoot, which would have disastrous effects on our climate, biomes and all aspects of human activity, especially in securing the global food supply.…

An Olympic Opening Ceremony Celebrating Agriculture

At the Opening Ceremony of the Rio Olympics 2016, environmental conservatism took center stage as Brazil celebrated their incredible agricultural legacy and highlighted an ambition to become a global leader in sustainability. Currently the 4^th largest agricultural power in the world, Brazil is the foremost producer of sugar, coffee and oranges, as well as a significant producer of soybeans and corn. In the last decade alone, its agroeconomy doubled, reaching USD $476 billion in 2015. Being and agricultural success as well as a sustainability leader is a formidable feat in which this south american giant has certainly excelled.

Over the last few decades Brazil has become an innovator in environmental protection.…

Sustainability Initiatives that Drive Business and Profit

A global economic slowdown, drastic increases in terrorism, unprecedented levels of migration, corruption scandals, deepening inequality and persisting volatility in global financial markets will continue to generate global political and economic turbulence that will powerfully influence business performance and sustainable development progress in the long term.

Furhtermore, climate change, rising populations, increasing energy use, diminishing water reserves, the degradation of arable land and a myriad of other challenges are also placing further pressure on the world’s largest corporations and political institutions. Fortunately, these organizations are discovering that the most effective green initiatives are often measures that all well-run organization should embrace as standard practice, not only for the benefit of mankind but also for their own balance sheet.…

Knowledge is Power When Preventing the Spread of Zika

Almost every day seems to bring more bad news regarding the Zika Virus: babies developing malformed brains, adults suffering the progressive paralysis of Guillain-Barré syndrome and the devastating disease is spreading from the tropics to the United States.

There have already been more than 1,400 travel-related Zika cases in the United States while nearly 3,800 people have acquired the virus locally. A further 40,000 people are estimated to be carrying the virus without their own knowledge.

Health officials in Florida have been investigating several new cases of Zika in the region. The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention have now confirmed that these were the first infections originating from mosquitoes in the United States.…

The Rising Star in Emerging Markets

“Brazil is offering some of the most interesting investment opportunities across asset classes in emerging markets.”

– UBS Investment Management, 2016 –

While the first athletes arrive in Rio for the Olympic Games 2016, there is a great sense of excitement and hope for Brazil as the country demonstrates the underlying strength of their economy on the verge of a profound recovery.

Over the past several years the emerging markets that are actively pursuing a reform agenda in governance towards the center-right have seen a huge level of outperformance even in these difficult times for global financial markets. Mexico was one of the first in 2012 with the election of Enrique Pena Nieto, followed by India and Indonesia in 2014 with Modi and Jokowi, and most recently in Argentina with the election of Mauricio Macri in October 2015.…

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