Discuss this articleShare your views with other visitors, and read what they have to say
A SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ROADMAP FOR THE WTO. By Aaron Cosbey, International Institute for Sustainable Development, November 2009. The impasse in the Doha negotiations offers both grounds for concern about the current regime’s model, and the breathing space in which to thoughtfully consider how that model might better serve today’s needs. This short book argues that the WTO has committed to sustainable development as one of its basic objectives, and asks what the organisation would look like if that objective were rigorously pursued. The answers (that range across areas as diverse as dispute settlement, accession, trade and environment, trade and development, and the negotiation process) identify what needs to be done and what role the WTO should play. The result is a timely roadmap for helping the WTO achieve its full economic, environmental and social potential. To download the publication, please visit http://www.iisd.org/publications/pub.aspx?pno=1196.
ACCESS TO CLIMATE CHANGE TECHNOLOGY BY DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: A PRACTICAL STRATEGY. By Cynthia Cannady. ICTSD Programme on IPRs and Sustainable Development, September 2009. Enhancing access to climate change technology by developing countries is a key element of any effective international response to the global climate change challenge. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiating texts contain a wide spectrum of options and proposals relating to intellectual property that reflect a diversity of views on the matter. In this context, this issue paper aims to provide a practical perspective on how these options and proposals would work “in the real world” and the extent to which they would effectively enable developing countries to gain greater access to climate change technologies. This paper is aimed specifically at contributing to effective international cooperation towards addressing climate change, by advancing analytical capacity of stakeholders and their interaction with policy-makers such that effective solutions can be built and agreed by the international community at the Copenhagen COP-15, in December 2009. The paper is available at http://iprsonline.org/ictsd/ictsdproducts.htm
A DANGEROUS OBSESSION: THE EVIDENCE AGAINST CARBON TRADING AND FOR REAL SOLUTIONS TO AVOID A CLIMATE CRUNCH. By Sarah-Jayne Clifton. Friends of the Earth International, November 2009. Tackling greenhouse gas emissions to prevent dangerous climate change is one of the most pressing challenges facing humanity. The chance of keeping global average temperature increases below the critical threshold is fast slipping away. It requires a peak and decline in global emissions by 2015. Rich developed countries are responsible for three quarters of emissions historically despite representing only 15 per cent of the world’s population. But developed countries have largely failed to take sufficient action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or provide this much-needed finance to the developing world. In this context, carbon trading is increasingly being put forward as a tool for tackling climate change. Proponents of carbon trading argue that it helps to reduce emissions, and that it does this at the lowest cost, stimulates investment in low-carbon infrastructure and can help generate finance for developing countries to tackle climate change. This Friends of the Earth report evaluates whether carbon trading can deliver the necessary emissions reductions quickly, strategically, and in a just and equitable way. It also looks at what alternative tools are available to governments. For more information on this publication, visit http://www.foei.org/en/resources/publications/climate-justice-and-energy/2009/carbon-trading-a-dangerous-obsession-executive-summary/view
PROMOTING INVESTMENT AND TRADE: PRACTICES AND ISSUES. UNCTAD, October 2009. This report focuses on institutional arrangements for investment and trade promotion. The main rationale for creating institutions that promote investment as well as trade is that both functions have certain activities in common, most importantly the marketing of a country and its key industries. However, it may be argued that investment promotion differs so much from trade promotion that it is necessary to have separate institutions for the two functions. Through a website review, this report shows that a majority of the institutions promoting foreign investment at the national level do so exclusively, while others also promote trade. The website review further indicated that combined agencies were more common in smaller economies. Integrating investment and trade promotion in a single agency could be a rational approach for smaller countries, where financial and human resources are often scarce and the need for international marketing is likely to be greater. However, there are also a number of arguments in favour of separate investment and trade promotion institutions. Whatever the circumstances, investment and trade promotion practitioners should not work in ‘separate worlds’. Some common ground is likely to exist between them, and they may find partnerships to be fruitful. Information about this report is available at http://www.unctad.org/Templates/webflyer.asp?docid=12278&intItemID=2068&lang=1
Add a comment
Enter your details and a comment below, then click Submit Comment. We’ll review and publish the best comments.