The leaders of the United States and United Kingdom issued a joint release on Higher Education, Science, and Innovation Collaboration between their two countries following their meeting on 25 May 2011. In a paragraph highlighting the importance of continued collaboration and concerted international effort in clean energy and climate science, the Global Research Alliance receives an explicit mention:
Clean Energy and Climate Science: The two leaders agreed on the importance of continued collaboration and concerted international effort in clean energy and climate science. They expressed their strong support for the next Clean Energy Ministerial, which will take place in London in 2012. They endorsed the announcement of UK co-funding of the National Science Foundation’s Partnerships for International Research and Education program in the area of Sustainable Materials for Energy, agreeing that sustainability should be a key consideration when making choices among competing energy technology options. The U.S., through its Department of Agriculture (USDA), will continue working with the UK as a part of the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases to address mitigation of greenhouse gases from croplands, livestock production systems, and paddy rice, while enhancing food security. In addition, the UK and U.S. entities are engaging African and Asian developing countries in the Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project to better understand the implications of climate change on food production and food security around the world and to develop adaption strategies. They emphasized the importance of data sharing and open science data policies that support climate research and modelling.
Read the full statement: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/05/25/joint-fact-sheet-us-uk-higher-education-science-and-innovation-collabora
The Global Research Alliance is pleased to welcome South Africa and Italy as its newest member countries. For more information on Italy’s membership follow this link to the article in the Italian Ministry of Agricultural Food and Forestry Policies online magazine.
There are now 33 Member countries participating in the activities of the Global Research Alliance: Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Italy, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Vietnam.
For more information on Italy and South Africa’s participation in the Alliance or how to become a member country please contact the Alliance Secretariat.
The New Zealand Agriculture Minister David Carter and the Minister for International Climate Change Negotiations Tim Groser have announced a fellowship programme as part of New Zealand’s efforts on the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases.
The Global Research Alliance Senior Scientist (GRASS) Award will support scientists from New Zealand and from other Alliance countries to undertake exchanges on research projects into agricultural GHG mitigation, for up to six months.
“We know that the world faces a major challenge in producing more food at the same as tackling climate change,” says Mr Carter. “Science plays a crucial role in finding solutions, and these will come with greater collaboration between research communities across the globe.”
“It is what the Global Research Alliance was designed to do, and the GRASS awards will be an important link in our agricultural GHG mitigation efforts.”
Mr Groser says the new awards will provide further opportunities for capacity building within the New Zealand science sector and will strengthen the relationship between scientists across Alliance countries.
The GRASS Award complements the existing LEARN Fellowships programme sponsored by New Zealand since 2007 which supports developing country scientists undertaking research in New Zealand.
Guidelines for the GRASS Award scheme can be downloaded here [PDF]. For more information and to access the application forms, please contact the GRASS Award administrators at the New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre.