The global recession, the energy crisis, food insecurity, climate change -- all these have made development more difficult, yet more urgent.

UN: Secretary-General

More than 350 leading college entrepreneurs and 150 world leaders gathered at the Kairos Global Summit in New York City earlier this year to collaborate and create innovations and business models that address key global issues, including clean water, the global financial crisis, energy consumption, natural disasters, healthcare and more.

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The EU package, which is under pressure because of fears of the cost of green energy in the middle of a global economic crisis, focuses on three areas: emission cuts, renewable energy sources and energy efficiencies.

BBC: No deal amid EU climate deadlock

The energy crisis is a global problem, so it makes sense for us to seek a global solution.

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But the global financial crisis was constricting capital for these expensive projects, so energy companies began looking for new sources of funding.

WSJ: China Foothold in U.S. Energy

He called for a "new partnership" between oil producing and consuming nations, saying the "visionary internationalism" that had been displayed in dealing with the global banking crisis must be applied to the world's future energy challenges.

BBC: Brown warns on volatile oil price