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35371. Game-Changers in the Paris Climate Deal: What is needed to ensure a new agreement helps those on the front lines of climate change

Author:
Tracy Carty
Publication Date:
11-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Abstract:
There is likely to be a climate deal in Paris. The emission pledges that more than 150 governments have put on the table this year show that global climate ambition is increasing. But much more is needed, as it’s a deal that could still lead to around 3°C of warming. New Oxfam-commissioned research estimates that compared with 2°C, developing countries could be faced with an additional $600bn per year in economic losses by 2050, and see their adaptation finance needs raised by almost $300bn per year by the same date. But there is still scope for a stronger deal. In this media briefing Oxfam looks at potential game-changers on finance and mitigation ambition that could avert these costs for the world’s poorest people. These are the issues that will determine whether the Paris deal reflects the power of the biggest fossil fuel emitters and elites, or is a turning point which starts to address the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable.
Topic:
Climate Change, Energy Policy, Politics, Reform, Inequality, and Finance
Political Geography:
Global Focus

35372. El Niño Key Messages: Urgent action now can prevent major suffering and loss

Author:
Debbie Hillier and John Magrath
Publication Date:
11-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Abstract:
Millions of poor and vulnerable people face hunger and poverty this year and next because of record global temperatures, droughts and erratic rains in 2014 and 2015, followed by the development of possibly the most powerful El Niño on record. This briefing makes the case to urgently scale up humanitarian response in countries already in crisis. It also draws on the experience of the super El Nino in 1997–98, and the inadequate response to the Horn of Africa drought of 2011, to push for early action to save livelihoods elsewhere. Long-term approaches to reduce food insecurity must be found, and climate change, which is super-charging the effects of El Niño, must be tackled at the UN climate conference in Paris and beyond.
Topic:
Climate Change, Human Welfare, Natural Disasters, Labor Issues, and Food Security

35373. ECOWAP: A Fragmented Policy. Development partners and regional institutions should address leadership and coordination issues in order to build a common agricultural policy for West Africa

Author:
Tracy Carty
Publication Date:
11-2015
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Abstract:
There is likely to be a climate deal in Paris. The emission pledges that more than 150 governments have put on the table this year show that global climate ambition is increasing. But much more is needed, as it’s a deal that could still lead to around 3°C of warming. New Oxfam-commissioned research estimates that compared with 2°C, developing countries could be faced with an additional $600bn per year in economic losses by 2050, and see their adaptation finance needs raised by almost $300bn per year by the same date. But there is still scope for a stronger deal. In this media briefing Oxfam looks at potential game-changers on finance and mitigation ambition that could avert these costs for the world’s poorest people. These are the issues that will determine whether the Paris deal reflects the power of the biggest fossil fuel emitters and elites, or is a turning point which starts to address the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable.
Topic:
Climate Change, Economics, Energy Policy, Inequality, and Finance
Political Geography:
Global Focus

35374. A Different Route: Reimagining the idea of prosperity in Asia

Author:
Maria Dolores Bernabe and Erinch Sahan
Publication Date:
11-2015
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Abstract:
Asia is home to some of the world’s fastest growing economies. Yet millions of people remain poor, while a handful gets richer and richer. Asia needs a development model that leaves no one behind: not the workers and farmers, who act as the driving force behind Asia’s growth – and certainly not the women, who take on the lowest paying jobs in the region. This model must also consider constraints, particularly the earth’s finite natural resources which future generations need to survive. It must move away from carbon dependence and must anticipate and plan for the impacts of climate change. These principles together inform inclusive and sustainable development, which Asian governments can use as a roadmap to transform their societies in an era of vanishing resources and staggering inequalities.
Topic:
Development, Energy Policy, Poverty, Natural Resources, and Inequality
Political Geography:
Asia

35375. Still Broken: Governments must do more to fix the international corporate tax system

Author:
Francis Weyzig
Publication Date:
11-2015
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Abstract:
The gap between where companies pay tax and where they really do their business is huge, as shown by new research described in this briefing. In 2012, US multinationals alone shifted $500–700bn, mostly to countries where these profits are not taxed, or taxed at very low rates. G20 countries themselves are among the biggest losers. The measures recently announced by the OECD leave the fundamentals of a broken tax system intact and do not stop the race to the bottom in corporate taxation. G20 governments must do more and should strongly support further reforms.
Topic:
International Trade and Finance, Labor Issues, Governance, Budget, G20, and Income Inequality
Political Geography:
United States

35376. Right to a Future: Empowering refugees from Syria and host governments to face a long-term crisis

Author:
David Andres-Vinas, Daniel Gorevan, Martin Hartberg, Melissa Phillips, and Alexandra Saieh
Publication Date:
11-2015
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Abstract:
With no end to the conflict in Syria in sight, the four million people forced to flee the country have no foreseeable prospect of safe return. And as the impact of the crisis on neighbouring countries grows and aid dries up, the situation for these refugees is becoming increasingly dire. This briefing calls for a new approach by the international community, including Syria’s neighbours; one which offers hope, safety and dignity to the millions of refugees, and gives them a chance to contribute to the societies and economies of their hosts.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Civil War, Economics, Humanitarian Aid, and Refugees
Political Geography:
Syria

35377. Climate Change Spending in Ethiopia: Recommendations to bridge the funding gap for climate financing

Author:
Neil Bird and Eshetu Zedwu
Publication Date:
11-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Abstract:
The Government of Ethiopia considers climate change to be one of its priorities in responding to the country’s long-term development needs. The nation’s widely acclaimed Climate Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) strategy has called for annual spending of $7.5bn. With federal budgetary resources for climate change relevant actions estimated to be in the order of $440m per year, and international sources adding an uncertain amount that may be in the tens of millions (USD) per year, there appears to be a major financing gap. Therefore, if the CRGE strategy is to be delivered, and the lives of the country’s most vulnerable people made more resilient, much more effort needs to be exerted to mobilize additional resources both domestically and externally. In particular, international commitments on climate finance need to be realized. This is now a matter of urgency for Ethiopia, as it is for many other African States. Drawing on research by the Climate Science Centre of Addis University and the Overseas Development Institute, this policy brief, supported by the ACCRA programme, sets out recommendations to bridge the funding gap for climate financing in Ethiopia.
Topic:
Climate Change, Politics, Natural Resources, Budget, and Finance
Political Geography:
Ethiopia

35378. Rebuilding a More Resilient Nepal: Key recommendations for reconstruction and recover

Author:
Ruth Jackson
Publication Date:
10-2015
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Abstract:
The April 2015 earthquake devastated Nepal, affecting more than eight million people. Nepalis have shown remarkable resilience in the face of the disaster, and six months on people are rebuilding their homes, their lives and their country. Reconstruction provides an opportunity to build back better and create a stronger, more equal country that is more able to cope with crises. However, this opportunity is being missed, leaving Nepal vulnerable to future shocks and disasters. This briefing paper considers the successes and challenges of the response so far, and looks at what must be done to ensure that Nepal recovers in a way which makes it more resilient and more equitable.
Topic:
Development, Disaster Relief, Humanitarian Aid, Natural Disasters, and Reconstruction
Political Geography:
Nepal

35379. Reviewing the Euro-Mediterranean Relations

Publication Date:
10-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Abstract:
Ambassadors Florensa (IEMed) and Aragona (ISPI) introduced the annual conference, highlighting the important role of EuroMeSCo at a critical juncture for the Mediterranean and for Euro-Mediterranean relations. Ambassador Florensa stressed that the commitment and the dynamism of EuroMeSCo were greater than ever. The Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hon. Gentiloni gave an official address to the participants of the EuroMeSCo annual conference, describing the Mediterranean space as the epicentre of global disorder and enumerating the various challenges it posed for the European Union in particular, in terms of security but also in terms of identity and values.
Topic:
Security and Globalization

35380. Greece and the European Project: Canary in the Coal Mine?

Author:
Daniel V. Speckhard
Publication Date:
09-2015
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
After serving for two challenging years in the chaos of a war zone as the Deputy Chief of Mission in Iraq, I received word that I would become the next Ambassador to Greece. To be quite honest, I had mixed feelings. I looked forward to the challenge, but I imagined the post would be too sedate compared with the adrenalin-charged days and world-shaping events in Iraq. It was anything but. Within a year of my arrival, the streets were aflame with violent protests over a police shooting of a teenager. A year later, snap elections brought a socialist government to power. And soon thereafter, the onion was further peeled to expose a financial crisis and a crumbling economic foundation built on a corrupt, oligarchic, and debt-addicted system fed by billions of dollars of public and private EU loans and grants.
Topic:
Corruption, Economics, Politics, Financial Crisis, and European Union
Political Geography:
Europe and Greece