Andrew Steer, the World Bank's Special Envoy on Climate Change and Juergen Voegele, World Bank Sector Director for Agriculture and Rural Development, participated in the Global Conference on Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change held in The Hague, Oct. 31- Nov. 5, 2010. The conference, organized by the government of the Netherlands in close cooperation with the governments of Ethiopia, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, and Vietnam, and the World Bank and the FAO, was the first global conference of its kind to bring together the agendas of agriculture, food security and climate change. Participants hailed from 80 countries including 60 government ministers, as well as representatives of international and regional organizations, civil society, the private sector, farmers organizations and the scientific community. The conference was chaired by Mr. Henk Bleker, Dutch Minister for Agriculture and Foreign Trade and concluded with a commitment for specific actions as outlined in the Roadmap for Action. The conference also provided the occasion for the signing of the first African Emission Reductions Purchase Agreement for soil carbon.