Articles
Foreign Investor Protection and Climate Action: A New Price Tag for Urgent Policies
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From a climate perspective, not all investment is equal. Desirable investment in clean energy needs encouragement and protection, while undesirable investment in fossil fuels needs clear policy signals to avoid further investment in destructive activities and stranding more assets. In this paper, evidence is presented on how foreign investor protection provisions in trade and investment agreements tilt the playing field in favor of entrenched incumbents and against urgent action on climate; on the potential for a massive expansion of investor-state litigation and risks to climate policy in proposed trade deals; and on key flaws in recent European Commission proposals to reform investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS).
Military budgets unexplored source for development funds
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As the United Nations continues its intense search for trillions of dollars needed to finance 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by world leaders last September, there is one rich source that remains unexplored: world military budgets.
Addressing the SDG summit, President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan was one of the few – or perhaps the only – head of state who urged every UN member state to contribute 1.0 per cent of its military budget towards the funding of SDGs.
But there has been little or no response to the appeal – particularly at a time when rising terrorist attacks in Europe and the Middle East are likely to force countries to increase– not decrease– their arms spending.
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If climate justice is social justice, then social justice is climate justice
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We know that most of our governments are not particularly keen on reaching an ambitious climate goal at the COPS 21 conference starting in Paris to-day. It looks as if once again the conference will fail to save humanity from the hardships of climate change. As they have also failed at the Copenhagen Conference in 2009. As they have failed with their ‘war on terrorism’. As they have failed with the ‘the war on poverty’. As they have failed with the financial crisis of 2008 …
It is true that all these different and fragmented goals are not easy to reach, particularly if climate and economic interests have to balanced, and if in the end financial interests are dominant …
Why do we accept this fragmented way of looking at things? We know that everything is linked to everything else, and if it is true that it can hinder to look at particularly urgent matters if we only adopt a birds’ eye view on problems, it can also help to get priorities right.
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The rich world must take greater responsibility for climate change
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In the next few days in Paris, the world will decide the fate of our planet. I hope the climate conference that begins there today will produce an agreement that restores the balance between ecology and economy — between our inheritance and our obligation to the future.
The conference will also, I hope, reflect a collective global commitment balancing responsibilities and capabilities on one hand with aspirations and needs on the other. It should recognise that, while some face a choice between lifestyles and technologies, others stand between deprivation and hope.
Democratic India is among the world’s fastest-growing economies. We are striving to meet the aspirations of 1.25bn people, 300m more of whom will soon have access to modern sources of energy while 90m gain running water.
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UNCTAD: Least Developed Countries Report 2015
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The migration of poor people from the countryside into cities fuels excessive rates of urbanization in many of the 48 LDCs, while many international migrants come from rural areas.
More than two thirds of the population of LDCs live in rural areas, and 60 per cent work in agriculture, highlighting the need for structural changes focused on the fight against poverty. This means developing the synergies between agricultural modernization and diversification of the rural economy.
UNCTAD recommends placing more importance on non-farm rural activities instead of primarily focusing on increasing agricultural productivity, as well as increasing the production of higher-value agricultural products.
