UN General Assembly
2011

Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases. Supported by more than 30 countries, the Alliance seeks to ensure that reducing agricultural emissions does not compromise global food security. Increased agricultural productivity — the ability of many countries to feed themselves — is one of the great achievements of recent decades. Constraining agricultural production would put much of the world’s population at risk, and no country will do that. We must therefore maintain investment in agricultural research, so that productivity and efficiency gains can continue, but with fewer greenhouse-gas emissions. That is what the Global Alliance is all about. New Zealand takes pride in its diversity. We are indigenous Maori; we are European; and we are the many peoples from the Asia-Pacific region and elsewhere who now call New Zealand home. We are also proud to be part of the Pacific Islands Forum, the foremost regional body. For 40 years, it has been central to the region’s efforts to address its own problems, be they the special development challenges of small, isolated, vulnerable island States, or halting