Climate change is more firmly on the global agenda now more than ever, not just because the final round of the UN Climate Change Conference is taking place this December in Copenhagen, but because we are increasingly seeing the effects of climate change. ONE is also calling for the G20 to address climate change this weekend at the Pittsburgh G20 summit, but we’re keeping with our theme looking at it from the perspective that ‘Africa can be a part of the solution.’

Despite contributing only 3.6% of total global carbon emissions, sub-Saharan Africa will feel these effects—through droughts, floods, erratic rains that disrupt growing seasons—both first and worst. Any deal brokered in Copenhagen later this year must include the impact that climate change will have on the world’s poorest—and take into account the potential that developing countries hold to address climate change. The G20 meeting in Pittsburgh is the perfect place to get ahead start by working to do the following:

• Ensure that any global climate deal mobilizes funding to support the response to climate change in developing countries. In the short-term, agree on a down-payment to help developing countries deal immediately with the impact of climate change and build trust in international negotiations;
• Agree on principles to ensure that climate financing is spent predictably, effectively and through transparent governance structures;
• Ensure that a global climate deal considers Africa’s potential contribution toward reducing global carbon emissions, particularly in regard to carbon markets.

Not only will Africa bear the brunt of the climate change impact, but sub-Saharan African countries have the potential to help reduce global carbon emissions. The development of robust carbon markets, the adoption of low-carbon and leap-frog technologies, and the institution of carbon-offsetting programs like re-forestation projects can all flourish in the developing world—without sacrificing development, and maybe even encourage it.

ONE’s message at Pittsburgh is that no global recovery can be constructed in a stable manner if it excludes Africa, and the same goes for any discussion on climate change. We’ll be bringing you the latest from Pittsburgh as the week progresses, so keep an eye out here on the blog.

-Beth Adler

This morning, President Obama addressed the UN General Assembly in New York, saying that it was time to “embrace a new era of engagement based on mutual interests and mutual respect.”

He noted that over the past nine months, the US has tried to lead by example on issues of national security, climate change and food security. But he said that this was just the beginning—and the U.S. couldn’t go it alone. He said that it was time for leaders from across the globe to “take their share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges.” He noted that the UN was founded on the belief that nations could work together to solve global issues, but that too often, it became a place to play politics and air grievances. Leaders gathered there today could either be remembered as the generation that put off hard choices and defined themselves by their differences, or the generation that worked together to build on common interests.

President Obama then laid out four pillars to achieving this future. The first was non-proliferation and disarmament. The second was the pursuit of peace and security, both by targeting violent extremists and strengthening peacekeeping efforts. He noted in particular the importance of securing peace in Darfur. The third pillar was the preservation of the planet. He noted that the dangers of climate change could no longer be ignored—land will disappear, wars will erupt over resources and “development will be devastated by drought and famine.” President Obama said the U.S. would press ahead with deep emission cuts and would share new technologies with countries around the world. And while the wealthy nations must take the lead, he noted that “any effort that fails to help the poorest nations both adapt to the problems that climate change has already wrought–and travel a path of clean development—will not work.

The final pillar was a global economy that promotes opportunities for everyone. As President Obama noted:

At a time of such interdependence, we have a moral and pragmatic interest in broader questions of development. And so we will continue our historic effort to help people feed themselves. We have set aside $63 billion to carry forward the fight against HIV/AIDS; to end deaths from tuberculosis and malaria; to eradicate polio; and to strengthen public health systems. We are joining with other countries to contribute H1N1 vaccines to the World Health Organization. We will integrate more economies into a system of global trade. We will support the Millennium Development Goals, and approach next year’s Summit with a global plan to make them a reality. And we will set our sights on the eradication of extreme poverty in our time.

-Kara Arsenault

This past week, Australian’s Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, along with Leader of the Opposition Malcolm Turnbull, lifted up the role that citizens, people of faith, and governments have in the fight against global poverty at the launch of the new Poverty and Justice Bible, at the Parliament House in Canberra.

Joined by Tim Costello of World Vision Australia as well as representatives of Micah Challenge, Prime Minister Rudd highlighted Australians collective commitment to increased international development assistance, and the role faith groups have in advocating for more and better aid:

Of course, for those of us engaged in national political life, our work on policy is incomplete unless we are working arm-in-arm with the great organisations of the Church and charitable sector.

All of you in this room know full well that there is a limit to what Government can do. All of you know full well that, when it comes to dealing with poverty, at home and abroad, this is often done best when you have a creative and effective partnership between the resources of Government and the compassion of Church and charitable organisations.

…In Australia, what we have sought to do in recent times is to put our shoulder to the wheel by lifting Australia’s contribution to ODA around the developing world…

Problems abroad however, cannot be ignored. Remember, it was [John] Wesley who said ‘the world is my parish’. And so it is for us as well.

Therefore, by lifting what we seek to do around the world, and by also putting our shoulder to the wheels of other countries in pursuit of the Millennium Development Goals, our objective is to make a real and quantifiable difference.

Video of the speech can be found here.

-Adam Phillips

On Tuesday, the UN General Assembly began its 64th session in New York City. But what does this group really do—and why should we pay attention?

Founded in 1945, the General Assembly is (among other things) the chief policymaking arm of the United Nations (the UN consists of five main bodies: General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council, Trusteeship Council and International Court of Justice). Made up of all 192 members of the UN, the Assembly provides a unique opportunity to discuss a range of issues affecting countries across the globe. It also gives each member state—regardless of size or stature—one equal vote. That means that developing countries can often help determine the agenda of the Assembly and the character of its debates.

While the Assembly issues only non-binding recommendations for member nations, many of these proposals have affected the lives of millions across the globe. In 2000, for example, the Assembly adopted the Millennium Declaration, a landmark agreement highlighting eight goals to reduce global poverty and disease by 2015, now commonly referred to as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGS). Since 2000, substantial progress has been made toward some of the MDGS. For example, an estimated 3.2 million HIV-positive Africans are currently on antiretroviral treatment and 88 million bed nets have been delivered by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, substantially reducing malaria deaths in Ethiopia, Rwanda and Kenya.

The General Assembly is one of the few world bodies that has representation from every country—and while it’s voice may not be binding, it is representative and resounding. And this year, there is much that needs to be done in the fight against extreme poverty and disease—including accelerating progress toward the MDGs—particularly in light of the food, financial and climate crises. Next week as the General Assembly meets, and the G20 gather in Pittsburgh, let’s hope for some important life-saving action.

The UN General Assembly’s yearly regular session runs from September to December. We’ll keep you posted on any news during this year’s session.

-Kara Arsenault

It’s hard to keep track of our calendars here at ONE these days, as the next two weeks are jam-packed with important development events. Over the coming days, folks at ONE will be attending the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh (September 24-25), the UN General Assembly (the 64th session opened yesterday), a UN Summit on Climate Change (September 22), the Clinton Global Initiative (September 22-25) and a special seminar organized by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in New York.

It’s an important two weeks for the development community, as critical issues—innovative financing for global health, climate change funding, women’s empowerment, global economic recovery—will all be put on the table. Make sure to stay tuned to ONE’s blog, as we’ll provide updates on our travels throughout the coming weeks.

-Kara Arsenault

With six years to go until the 2015 deadline to achieve most of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), not enough progress has been made toward reaching them, says the UN’s 2009 Millennium Development Goals Report. The global economic and food crises, as well as the growing effects of climate change have not only exacerbated the slow progress, but also threaten to reverse previously-gained successes.

Last week, the United Nations Foundation and the United Nations Millennium Campaign jointly hosted a discussion centered on the recently-released report. The discussion featured Anita Sharma, the North American Coordinator for the United Nations Millennium Campaign, Francesca Perucci from the United Nations Statistics Division, and Dan Carucci from the United Nations Foundation International Health Programs.

The panelists touched on both the successes and failures seen in the past few years. Much of the discussion focused on the consequences of the economic downturn on the MDGs. Before the crisis, explained Perucci, the main author of the report, the number of people living in poverty fell from 1.8 billion in 1990 to 1.4 billion in 2005. In 2009, however, approximately 55 million to 90 million additional people will be living in extreme poverty than was estimated prior to the financial crisis. Perucci also spoke of the “scant progress” on child nutrition that has been further eroded by high food prices and the state of the global economy. South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, said Perruci, have the highest percentages of the population that is undernourished. Perhaps most severe, the MDG concentrating on combating maternal mortality has seen the least progress and is the least likely to be achieved.

The panelists asserted, there have also been successes. There has been dramatic improvement in the protection of children under five explained Curucci. Perucci added that we “are edging towards universal primary education.” Additionally, the dramatic surge in the use of bed-nets has also significantly helped to combat malaria. We have seen “progress in pockets,” explained Curucci, and although this progress still puts us far from the MDGs, it can be built upon to achieve greater success. The report advocates a strong and sustained call to action for international donors, governments, and the international community if the MDGs are to be reached by 2015.

Read the full report here.

-Pooja Gupta

The global economic crisis has brought both an opportunity and a necessity for change in least developed countries (LDCs), says the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in their 2009 LDC report. The report released last week says that developing countries have been hardest hit by the crisis and radical changes in their development approach are necessary. Especially important to these changes must be increased focus on agriculture, more effective industrial policy, as well as a bigger role for a more-involved, well-run state.

Currently, the U.N. classifies 49 countries as least developed. Of those, 33 are in Africa. In these countries, argues UNCTAD, current free-market approaches, exacerbated by policy failures have not resulted inclusive growth. Now it is time to create a new “development state,” after the model of the past few decades has failed to produce sustainable poverty-reduction.

The poverty-reduction strategies of the past few decades have de-emphasized the role of the state. The focus on institutional reform, as part of the “old development state,” must be significantly changed, argues the report, asserting, “this is not a matter of going back to old-style development planning, but rather a question of finding new forms of development governance that are appropriate for the twenty-first century.

Coping with this crisis will require dedicated action and resource flows, as well as heavy participation from the international community and developed world. However, in addition to this support, new policy actions will have to be implemented in order to ensure that development will continue in an inclusive and resilient manner even after the crisis is resolved. These policy actions should concentrate on public investment in infrastructure, such as roads, electricity systems, and bridges and on strengthening domestic financial institutions.

LDCs are now caught in a vicious circle of deficient food production, low overall productivity, declining public investment, and scarcity of water and land. To combat these declines, UNCTAD advocates an effective industrial policy, including public investment and strategic coordination of private actors. These industrial policies should aim to raise investment levels in primarily agriculture and infrastructure, build new economic links, upgrade technological capacity, and support agricultural development. Ultimately, these measures should diversify and strengthen LDC economies, says the report.

UNCTAD insists that the “pathway to prosperity,” is to boost agricultural productivity and strengthen a well-governed state. In addition, the report suggests using industrial policy to build up manufacturing by focusing on technology and knowledge to develop sectors with high returns. Charles Gore, a senior UNCTAD economist and one of the authors of the report told a news conference, “The crisis has exposed more than ever the shortcomings of the current development paradigm. LDCs should seize the crisis as an opportunity for a change.”

-Pooja Gupta

The General Convention of the Episcopal Church, meeting in Anaheim, California last week, overwhelmingly adopted a budget for the next three years that allots 0.7 percent of the Church’s non-government revenue to international-development programs that support the Millennium Development Goals.

This 0.7 percent line item, which originated in the last three-year budget adopted at the 2006 General Convention, was created both to bolster the Church’s own overseas development work and to serve as a model of best practice that Episcopalians can cite in their advocacy for similar commitments from the United States government.

Due to the difficult economic crisis, the draft budget received by bishops and deputies prior to the Convention had recommended the elimination of the 0.7 percent line item amidst sweeping across-the-board cuts. Both the House of Deputies and the House of Bishops overwhelmingly passed resolutions asking that the line item be restored in response to an outpouring of support for it in open budget hearings held last week.

Bishop Robert O’Neill of Colorado, who serves as Chairman of Episcopal Relief and Development and led the supporters of the resolution in the House of Bishops, said the 0.7 percent commitment “has been the proverbial mustard seed planted in a way that has challenged individual parishes and dioceses across our church to think and act globally. It’s become a way of framing our mission collectively in a way that makes sense to and captured the hearts of our young people across the church.

“That $3 million raised out of $1 million [committed in the past triennium] has tangibly revealed our explicit and sacrificial commitment to the global healing and reconciliation and restoration that is the essence of our participation in God’s mission.”

Bishop James Mathes of San Diego said the increase “is really about leadership. What we’re trying to do here as The Episcopal Church is to say that the Millennium Development Goals is a way that we lead as a church.”

-Alex Baumgarten, International Policy Analyst, Office of Government Relations, Episcopal Church

I wanted to report back on another interesting session that I attended during last week’s UN Conference.  It was titled “Recovering from Global Crisis: Towards an Action plan for Africa and the Least Developed Countries” and included Dr Dipu Moni, the Foreign Minister of Bangladesh; Dr Asha-Rose Migiro, UN Deputy Secretary-General; and Mr Cheick Sidi Diarra, UN Under-Secretary-General, Special Adviser for Africa and High Representative for the Least Developed Countries (as represented left-to-right in the photo).

At the start of the session, Mr Cheick Sidi Diarra stated that Africa and the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) will likely be hit hardest by the global financial crisis.  Many of these countries lack the “fiscal space” to pursue countercyclical measures to protect their industries (think “bail outs”) and to fund social safety net programs (think healthcare, education and social services).  He warned that a reduction in Official Development Assistance (ODA) would make the prospect of meeting the MDGs even more remote and urged donor governments to: 1) deliver on the commitments they made at Gleneagles in 2005 as well as the recent G20 meeting; 2) resist protectionist trade policies; 3) finalize the Doha trade agreements; and 4) pursue reforming the global financial system, as to protect against instabilities and guard against future collapses.  As he said, these steps are critical “to laying the foundation for future growth and sustainable development.”

Dr Asha-Rose Migiro echoed the call for G8 countries to meet their 2005 Gleneagles commitments, mentioning that aid to Africa is about $20 billion short of the 2010 target of $50 billion per year.  As she stated, “there is abundant evidence that aid can help transform lives and must remain a central part of the global development agenda.”  She outlined what the UN considers their highest funding priorities, which are: 1) to close the funding gap for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations; 2) to provide agricultural development, including that for subsistence farmers; 3) to improve health systems and infrastructure for the world’s poor; 4) to ensure universal access to education, in support of the Education for All’s Fast Track Initiative; 5) to improve water and sanitation systems; and 6) to meet the gap for clean energy development.  That being said, she said that we all must recognize that aid works best in conjunction with market forces.

Dr Dipu Moni picked up on this statement, arguing that trade ¬can be the engine for growth and calling for the conclusion of the Doha Development Round, which could boost the global economy by at least $150 billion and would help fulfill its development mandate.  She pointed out that even though the G20 countries pledged not to turn inward, at least 17 of them have already broken their promises and have instituted protectionist and nationalistic trade policies, such as tariffs, trade-distorting subsidies and buy national requirements that favor domestic goods.  She said that the current crisis will have a serious impact on trade and that the outlook for 2009 is pessimistic, with the World Trade Organization (WTO) estimating that global trade volumes will fall by 9% in 2009, the largest decline since World War II.

Dr Asha-Rose Migiro ended the session by calling Member States to build upon the Conference to forge a new multilateralism and stronger global collaboration so that we can enter 2010 and the decade beyond with the global financial crisis behind us, a climate change plan in hand and working towards the achievement of the MDGs.

-Margaret McDonnell

Yesterday afternoon, I attended a side event during the UN Conference to launch the Joint Publication by the five UN Regional Commissions on “The Global Economic and Financial Crisis: Regional Impacts, Responses and Solutions.” <!– /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:”Cambria Math”; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:1; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:0 0 0 0 0 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Verdana; panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:536871559 0 0 0 415 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:”"; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} –> Asha-Rose Migiro, the UN Deputy Secretary-General, spoke to the fact that no region in the world has been spared by the financial crisis as all are facing a decline in trade, remittances and capital flows and in turn, rising unemployment and poverty. As stated by Noeleen Heyzer, the Current Coordinator of the Regional Commissions, while the financial crisis is global in nature, enhanced cooperation and collaboration on the regional level will be vital towards addressing the challenges and developing innovative solutions towards recovery. The floor was then handed over for each of the Executive Secretaries of the Regional Commissions to speak about the effect that the crisis has had in their regions.

Mr Abdoulie Janneh, the Executive Secretary for the UN Economic Commission of Africa, argued that while Africa might have been expected to be less affected by the global financial crisis (as it has been less integrated in the global economy and has smaller financial markets), the crisis has already reached most African countries, reducing growth and threatening hard-won achievements in human development. He said that their biggest concern is that donors may reduce Official Development Assistance (ODA) flows to the region, which would reduce the ability of African countries to boost growth and to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). As reflected in the report, “Donors will therefore need to honour their existing commitments to enable governments in the region to protect the vulnerable and prevent more people from falling into poverty.” In closing, he pleaded that that Africa’s challenges are too great to face alone and will require international involvement in aid, climate change, investment and trade.

The findings and recommendations for each region can be found in the publication.

Meanwhile, Miki attended the side event called the “People’s Right Before Corporate Profits.” The key guest speaker of the event was Mr. Raphael Correa, President of Ecuador. President Evo Morales of Bolivia was also scheduled to attend the event, but he was apparently unable to come to NY due to technical problems with his official plane. President Correa, an economist by training, expressed strong criticism to capitalism, the structure of the current global financial and trading system for its role in the global economic and financial crisis. He told the mainly civil society audience that the policies of liberalism, that is, free movements of capital, only benefit the multinationals and those at the top. As a consequence, the world is experiencing a “dictatorship of capital” – and ultimately, lower income workers are those who lose out in such a system. He went as far as to say that if he had his way, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, two bodies within the group of so-called Bretton Woods institutions, would be dismantled. Failing such drastic measures, these institutions, which were set up in the aftermath of World War II, should at least hold less power over the world’s poor countries. His powerful words were welcomed by a standing ovation.

-Margaret McDonnell and Miki Imai