9 December 2008: The High-level Regional Policy Dialogue on “The Food-Fuel Crisis and Climate Change – Reshaping the Development Agenda,” organized by the Government of Indonesia and the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), is convening in Denpasar, Indonesia, from 9-10 December 2008. The dialogue aims to identify strategies to address the impact of the food, energy and financial crises on Asia and the Pacific in the context of climate change, and prevent the triple crises from becoming a development emergency.

This meeting will provide the first opportunity for the region to
address the issues of the food, energy and financial crises, and
climate change, in a comprehensive and integrated manner. Noeleen
Heyzer, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ESCAP,
said the current crises threaten to unravel much of the progress
achieved by the Asia-Pacific region in areas including economic growth,
employment, food and energy security, as well as many other development
gains. According to Heyzer, the convergence of crises provides
opportunities to reshape the development agenda.
The High-level
Regional Policy Dialogue is expected to result in an outcome document
that will include regional recommendations and actionable initiatives
for addressing food, energy and financial security in the context of
climate change. The outcome document is also expected to inform various
intergovernmental regional processes, including the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations UN Summit in March 2009, and the ministerial
discussions scheduled to be held during ESCAP’s 65th Commission Session
in April 2009. [UN Press Release]