36 European, Asian Nations Pledge To Fight Climate Change

“European and Asian environment leaders pledged Wednesday to strengthen cooperation to fight climate change, but stopped short of committing to a deadline for a new global treaty limiting greenhouse emissions.  

Denmark, which hosted a 36-nation environmental conference, had hoped that delegates would back its commitment to achieve a new treaty by 2009. The deal would replace the Kyoto protocol on climate change, which expires in 2012. …European countries want a new climate treaty to include the US, which rejected Kyoto, and large developing countries such as India and China, which are exempt from emissions cuts under Kyoto. …” [Associated Press/Factiva] 

AFP writes that “…Danish Environment Minister Connie Hedegaard said negotiations should take place at a December UN conference on climate issues in Bali, Indonesia, and an agreement should be reached at the 2009 EU summit in Copenhagen. … 

Meeting participants said it was important to decouple economic growth from energy consumption, as Denmark has been able to do. …” [Agence France Presse/Factiva]

The Strait Times adds that “…With the clock ticking away, Denmark has sought Asia's support for a pact with Europe…A shared vision on climate change by the two could influence others to lend support, Hedegaard said …’It is a European priority to get as many countries and contributors on board as possible,’ she said. …” [The Strait Times (Singapore)/Factiva]  

In a separate piece AFP reports that “… In a report on China's energy future published Wednesday, Greenpeace estimated that ‘China can achieve rapid economic growth without jeopardizing the climate, through the use of renewable energy, combined with energy efficiency.’

‘The average Chinese consumes one third of the energy of an average European and one seventh of an American, but that number is set to increase. Our report shows that China can maintain economic growth and at the same time stabilize its CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions at the current level by 2050,’ energy expert Liu Shuang said. …” [Agence France Presse/Factiva]

In related climate change news, the FT writes that “…The shape of a successor treaty is still in doubt, but one aspect seems certain: carbon trading will play a major role. A Financial Times investigation today reveals that carbon markets leave much room for unverifiable manipulation. … To equate the private cost to the higher social cost, governments can create markets for carbon, by using tradable permits, or impose a tax. …

While short-term politics favor markets, taxes would be better in the long term, because industry needs certainty for investments years hence. A government committing to painful taxes signals the seriousness of its intentions. …Both carbon taxes and markets put undue burden on the poor. …Markets for carbon are potentially good. But taxes would be better.” [The Financial Times (UK)/Factiva]

Six Developing Countries Get Finance To Produce Flu Vaccine

“The World Health Organization (WHO) said Wednesday that six developing countries would receive financial grants to produce flu vaccine locally and bolster global protection against a threatened pandemic. They include three of the countries that have suffered the most from outbreaks of the virulent H5N1 strain of bird flu - Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam - as well as Brazil, India and Mexico.  

Each will receive $2.5 million immediately to begin the process of buying the necessary technology, the WHO said in a statement. The funding is being provided by Japan and the United States. … The announcement came as the WHO began a two-day meeting of experts to discuss vaccine supplies and manufacturing capacity in poor countries, which are regarded as potentially weak links in preparations against a pandemic. … The meeting in Geneva - the second of its kind since one in Indonesia last month - brings together representatives of countries with H5N1 infections, donor nations, vaccine makers and WHO experts. …” [Agence France Presse/Factiva]

On the sidelines of the meeting, the assistant WHO director general for communicable diseases, David Heymann told Reuters that “The WHO is considering building a stockpile of up to 60 million vaccine doses to be used by developing nations to counter any influenza pandemic. The stockpile would address demands from countries led by Indonesia and Thailand who want benefits for sharing samples of the deadly H5N1 virus which are then used to develop commercial vaccines, Heymann said.

Developing countries have suggested that a WHO stockpile should cover roughly 1 percent of their populations, often ‘essential workers’ such as hospital staff and police, he said. ‘The ballpark figure for a global stockpile, to be administered by WHO, is 40 to 60 million doses [which, Heymann told Reuters is very feasible]. … The one-day WHO meeting is expected to recommend that the WHO's annual World Health Assembly of all 193 member states endorse the stockpile idea next month. But questions remain, including how it would be funded and the criteria for its use. …” [Reuters/Factiva]  

Elsewhere, AP reports that “Indonesia has gone back on its pledge to resume sending bird flu samples to the WHO, while upping the rhetoric in a standoff that has pitted poor countries against the rich. Health officials from the nation hardest hit by bird flu say it's unfair for WHO to simply hand over their H5N1 viruses to drug companies, arguing any vaccine produced from their specimens would likely be out of reach for many cash-strapped countries. …  

[O]ne month ago, Health Minister Siti Fadiliah Supari surprised all by announcing at a high-level meeting with WHO in Jakarta that she was ready to end the standoff [and send samples]. The WHO, in turn, promised not to share virus samples with vaccine companies without Indonesia's permission. … But four weeks later no samples have been sent, Health Ministry spokeswoman Lily Sulistyowati told AP on Wednesday, and Supari's criticism of WHO's virus sharing system remains as harsh as ever. … It's not clear what triggered the reversal. …” [The Associated Press/Factiva]  

Meanwhile, Dow Jones notes that “Pharmaceutical company Roche Holding AG Thursday said it will lower the output of its influenza drug Tamiflu because capacity now exceeds demand, adding it could crank up production should the threat from an avian flu pandemic increase. … Roche said production would increase again should the WHO declare that an avian flu pandemic has entered the next phase of human-to-human transmission or should its stock of Tamiflu or key intermediates drop below target levels. …” [Dow Jones/Factiva]

Donors Term Poverty, High Inflation As Major Threats

“The World Bank and other international donors on Wednesday termed poverty, high inflation, widening trade and current account deficit as Pakistan's major challenges, and suggested policy-makers they should adopt a pro-poor approach to ensure that all segments of the society equally benefit from the economic prosperity. … 

World Bank Vice President, South Asia region, Praful Patel … claimed in his address at Pakistan Development Forum inauguration session that rural poor in Pakistan were facing worst kind of poverty and the government should take them on board by passing on the benefits of economic development. …

He said the government of Pakistan should … address the issue of hard core poverty by providing education, health and other basic facilities to the rural poor. [Patel] said Pakistan was reaping reforms reward. Its cost of doing business is decreasing, and international investors are coming to Pakistan for investment. But the lack of world class infrastructure in some sectors remains a concern. …” [Business Recorder (Pakistan)/Factiva]

In a separate piece the Business Recorder adds that “to review the progress of development work being undertaken by Aga Khan Planning and Building Service, Pakistan (AKPBS,P), with the support of Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF), Patel, accompanied by other senior dignitaries of the Bank, on Tuesday visited Keti Bunder, Thatta. 

Not only infrastructure is being provided for water… but government is also being supported in their efforts to improve education and health facilities and operations. ...PPAF, with World Bank contribution, provides the rest of the fund and AKPBS,P supervises the project and provides technical assistance to the communities. 

Patel noted that even though the project is still under implementation, there is visible change in both the physical condition of the town as well as… in the attitude and motivation of the people. He was informed that the people, who used to move away from the town in the past, are now returning; health condition in the town is beginning to improve and the environment, which used to be polluted with stagnant sewerage water, is now clean and healthy. …” [Business Recorder (Pakistan)/Factiva]

G8 Industry Warns Leaders Over Protectionism, Trade

“Industry heads from the G8 nations urged political leaders in a novel joint declaration on Wednesday to push ahead with the Doha trade round and warned them against trying to create national champions.

Industry lobby groups from the eight leading economies…have for the first time drawn up a list of issues they want addressed by G8 leaders at their June summit. The six-point declaration, presented to the German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday, included a plea to governments not to stand in the way of cross-border mergers. … [and is] largely in line with the agenda set by this year's G8 host Germany.   They also include calls to improve intellectual property rights, increase financial market transparency, boost energy efficiency and support Africa. …” [Reuters/Factiva]  

Dow Jones writes that “… During her speech, Merkel also reaffirmed that she opposes suggestions to enlarge the G8, stressing that issues with other countries can be discussed in the group's outreach talks with emerging economies.

Turning to calls by the G8 business lobby groups earlier Wednesday for governments to provide freedom of investment including cross-border investment, Merkel stressed that ‘foreign direct investments must be welcomed.’ … ‘We have our experience with this in Europe. It seems every country has grown accustomed to its own national champions,’ Merkel said, pointing to fears by some countries over losing out in cross-border mergers. …” [Dow Jones/Factiva]

Never Say Financial Crisis Not Coming - World Bank

“Emerging economies are now less vulnerable to financial crisis, but one should not minimize risks stemming from fast-growing, hard-to-monitor local and derivative markets, a World Bank senior official said on Wednesday.  

Global financial conditions are expected to become less favorable in coming years as the world's economy slows down and interest rates rise, increasing concerns about the health of the weakest market players, said Uri Dadush, Director of the World Bank's International Trade Department. ‘So where are the weak players?’ he asked, adding that domestic debt markets and recently created derivatives instruments carry potential risks due to the lack of reliable data to gauge investors' exposure to them. ‘We do not have reliable statistics because it's a relative new phenomenon that foreign investors go and buy domestic debt in very poor countries,’ he told a New York conference about BRIC countries: Brazil, Russia, India and China. …

According to the director, the new risks combine with the ‘traditional vulnerability’ of emerging markets. ‘There are many reasons to say that emerging markets are in a better shape now than five, 10 years ago,’ Dadush said. ‘But these remain relatively less developed, less diversified economies, and many of them are commodity dependents,’ he warned, adding that, from his experience with the Asian crisis in 1997, he learned ‘never to stand up to say that a financial crisis is not coming.’” [Reuters/Factiva]

Also In This Edition: Briefly Noted...

The National Environment Management Authority has cleared the proposed construction of Bujagali hydro-electric power dam. The World Bank, the main financier of the dam, is expected to announce its final decision on Thursday on the project. [The New Vision (Uganda)/Factiva] 

Bernard Harborne, a British national, has been appointed as the new World Bank Country Director for Cote d'Ivoire, in replacement of Peter Ngomba from Cameroon, according to a statement issued by the Bank on Wednesday. [Xinhua (China)/Factiva] 

Panama's government approved a hike in tolls for its interoceanic canal on Wednesday, as the waterway seeks to raise new revenues to help fund a $5.2 billion expansion project. The tolls, which will be levied gradually over the next three years, will generate more than $500 million for the canal, which carries about 4 percent of world trade, government official told a news conference. [Reuters/Factiva] 

Southern Africa energy ministers attending - the three-days South African Development Community (SADC) energy Ministers conference in Harare - have expressed concern over the overall per capita energy consumption in the region despite the vast energy resources it is endowed with, the official New Ziana reported on Wednesday. [Xinhua (China)/Factiva]

Ecuadorhas asked the Latin American Reserve Fund to defer $132 million in debt payments from 2008 to 2009, a senior official at the Economy Ministry said Wednesday.  

The government is waiting for a response no later than September, when the Economy Ministry must send Congress its budget proposal for the 2008 fiscal year. [Dow Jones/Factiva] 

The Asian Development Bank approved a total $7.4 billion in loans in 2006, 28 percent more than that of the previous year, the bank said in its annual report on Wednesday. [Xinhua (China)/Factiva] 

South Koreaaims to raise about 1 trillion won ($1.08 billion) in a fund this year to buy ailing companies and bad loans, and invest in economic development projects across Asia, the Finance Ministry said on Wednesday. [Reuters/Factiva]

Bulgaria is preparing new legislation to lure private investors in key water and sewerage projects, hoping to attract up to EUR 2 billion investments under private-public partnerships until 2020, a government official said on Wednesday. [SeeNews (Bulgaria)/Factiva]  

The World Bank and the Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation have given grants of $431,000 to civil society organizations of Armenia. In total, 80 project proposals had been received from NGOs from all over Armenia. [ARMINFO News (Armenia)/Factiva]

Moroccohas joined the category of low-risk countries in the management of public finances, according to the latest World Bank Morocco Country Financial Accountability Assessment. [Xinhua (China)/Factiva] 

Differences emerged between developing countries on Wednesday over a key issue in World Trade Organization farm talks, a crucial part of struggling global free trade negotiations. At stake is the degree to which poorer food importing countries can protect their farmers in any eventual tariff-cutting WTO deal by designating certain products as special. [Reuters/Factiva] 

The European Commission will unveil changes to its sugar restructuring program next week aimed at encouraging more producers to exit the industry, a spokesman for the commission said Wednesday. [Dow Jones/Factiva]

The White House on Wednesday said it continued to support World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz, despite calls for his resignation from the European Parliament. [Reuters/Factiva]