What We’re Reading 9/21/09

Sep 21st, 2009 12:19 PM UTC
By Robyn Mitchell

The Washington Post: Why the U.S. Needs Africa (op-ed by Paul Kagame)
Rwandan President Paul Kagame writes that Africa and the United States may be on the verge of a new partnership, “not one of dependency and aid but one of shared ideas, vision and investments that increase our mutual prosperities.” But in order to begin this improved relationship, President Kagame writes that both countries must accept urgent and substantial changes in the nature of the bond.

Financial Times: G20 should address global challenges
Leaders of the Group of 20 nations meeting in Pittsburgh this week should set an ambitious agenda for “responsible globalisation” that links efforts to promote more balanced growth with financial stability, development and climate change, according to Robert Zoellick, World Bank president. Says Zoellick, “The challenge for the G20 is how do you sustain the momentum and cooperation they were able to achieve when staring into the abyss at the time of the London summit as the crisis wanes?”

The Guardian: IMF approves $13bn gold sale to aid poor states
The International Monetary Fund has approved a sale of 403 metric tons of gold reserves, roughly an eighth of the institution’s stockpile of the precious metal, in a move likely to raise $13bn of cash to replenish its coffers for lending to low-income countries hit by the global economic downturn. Among those pushing for the IMF to raise funds was Gordon Brown, who urged his counterparts to agree a sale at a meeting of G20 countries in London in April.

The Washington Post: Familiar Issues Vex Climate Pact
The meeting of the “Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate” – which includes the world’s 17 biggest emitters of greenhouse gases – convened in Washington this week, marking the start of three weeks of negotiations that could help determine whether the international community can reach a meaningful agreement by the end of the year to curb climate change. The key issue that has dominated the talks but have yet to be resolved is determining an appropriate level of emissions cuts that both industrialized and major developing countries are willing to embrace.

The New York Times: So Much Food. So Much Hunger.
Despite the accomplishments of Norman Borlaug, the leader of the “green revolution” who died early last week, the total number of people who are hungry should exceed one billion this year for the first time, according to the United Nations. The reasons for this burgeoning problem are complex and “involve everything from American farm politics and African corruption to war, poverty, climate change and drought, which is now the single most common cause of food shortages on the planet.” But according to David Beckmann, president of the antihunger group Bread for the World, “political neglect,” is the primary cause of rising hunger in the world today.

-Robyn Mitchell

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