G8 To 'Consider Seriously' 50% Emission Cut By '50

“The G8 leading nations agreed that the world's biggest polluters need to be involved in setting a framework to tackle greenhouse gas emissions and said it will ‘consider seriously’ the idea of a 50 percent cut in emissions by 2050.  

In a communiqué… released the G8 embraced US President George W. Bush's strategy of bringing China and India into the climate change discussion. But the group stopped short of adopting a specific target for emissions cuts. … 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, however, was much stronger in her interpretation of the agreement, telling reporters the declaration called for cutting emissions in half by 2050. … 

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair called Thursday's agreement a ‘major, major step forward.’  

French President Nicolas Sarkozy echoed the view that the inclusion of the 50 percent figure had been a major advance and indicated that the use of the word ‘seriously’ in the statement had been his idea. …” [Dow Jones/Factiva]  

AP notes that “…The goal is to agree to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2050, Merkel said, hailing the decision as a ‘huge success.’ She said it came after many rounds of talks and negotiations on climate change. … 

Details of the agreement were not immediately available, and it was unclear how much binding weight the declaration would carry since it is up to G8 leaders to keep the promises they make. A final summit communiqué was not expected until Friday. …  

All parties agreed the process should take place within the UN framework and will begin with a meeting of environment ministers at a UN climate change conference in Bali…in December. [Associated Press/Factiva]  

WSJ notes that “…Despite the pledges of co-operation, the summit appears to set the scene for a race between the US and Europe to shape global talks over the next two years. The Bush administration prefers incentives for technological development, while European officials, who favor mandatory emission caps, will seek to toughen the caps in the Kyoto protocol as part of the post-Kyoto regime after 2012. … 

The G-8 compromise left the hardest questions unanswered: Whether the US will sign up to binding emission limits as part of a post-Kyoto deal, and how to involve emerging economies such as China, where carbon emissions are soaring, in the framework. …” [The Wall Street Journal/Factiva] 

FT notes that “…The G8 also said that developing countries must make efforts to curb emissions. This has been a contentious issue. In the past, the US has cited the exclusion of leading developing states from Kyoto’s requirements on emission cuts as a reason to reject the treaty.

But developing countries such as China and India have resisted such cuts as they have much lower emissions per capita than rich nations. …” [The Financial Times (UK)]

AFP reports that “The leaders of five major developing nations on Thursday signaled they would not bow to pressure from the G8 to commit to binding targets in the fight against global warming.

Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa insisted ahead of talks with G8 leaders on Friday that their ‘different capacities and interests’ must be considered when tackling climate change. … After a meeting in Berlin to agree their position, the so-called Plus Five group of emerging nations said they needed help from more developed nations in combating the pollution caused by their rapidly expanding economies. …” [Agence France Presse/Factiva]

In an op-ed published in newspapers, Reforma and Mural, World Bank Vice-President, Sustainable Development, Kathy Sierra wrote “…In Heligendamm, the G8 leaders, together with representatives of major emerging economies … will discuss the need for a comprehensive approach encompassing a set of energy options, from energy efficiency and renewable energy, to clean coal, carbon capture and storage, and carbon sequestration. They also have a chance to advance the use of market mechanisms to do two things: mitigate climate change, and, at the same time, create incentives for expanded use of clean energy. 

An important way to achieve both objectives is by expanding carbon markets. … Mobilizing large scale financing for clean investments today and over the next 5-10 years is critical because this is when developing countries will essentially ‘lock-in’ carbon emissions for the next 50 years.

If we can help them get on a low carbon path, we will have taken a giant step forward in preserving and protecting our planet while enabling them to reduce poverty and offer their citizens a better future. …” [Reforma/Mural (Mexico)/Factiva]

G8 Pledges 60 Billion Dollars To Fight Diseases In Africa

“Leaders from the G8 leading industrialized nations on Friday agreed on an aid package of $60 billion to help fight AIDS and other diseases in Africa.  

About $30 billion from the aid package has been pledged by the US to fight AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in Africa, according to the German news agency DPA. …Leaders of the G8 nations agreed two years ago to raise development aid for Africa by $50 billion $ by 2010, but critics say those nations fall short of delivering their promises. …” [Xinhua (China)/Factiva]

AFP adds that “… A declaration released by the G8 in the presence of leaders from major developing nations included a raft of humanitarian measures, amid accusations from charity groups that the most industrialized nations were failing the world's poor. …”  [Agence France Presse/Factiva]

FT reports that “…The final communiqué will also “recommit” to the pledges made at the Gleneagles summit in 2005, where the G8 promised to increase aid by $50 billion by 2010, including $25 billion for Africa. There will be no new joint pledge on development aid in addition to the Gleneagles commitments, in a decision that will disappoint African governments and campaign groups. …

Separately, the leaders will commit to spending more than $1billion on malaria prevention and treatment. The funding for education will go to the Fast Track Initiative, a G8 program launched in 2002 to provide eventually universal primary education to the world’s poorest countries. …” [The Financial Times (UK)]

AP writes that German Ministers for Development and Cooperation“…Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul made the announcement on state ZDF television before G8 leaders sat down with African and international officials to discuss African issues. … 

Prime Minister Romano Prodi said Italy, which owes EUR 260 million ($351.34 million) and did not pay in 2006 and 2007, has pledged to pay that amount and would increase aid spending to EUR 400 million ($540.52 million) next year.  

Japan has also signaled that it would not block any language in the final communiqué on targets to increase aid, combat AIDS and provide for more education in Africa.” [Associated Press/Factiva] 

In related G8 dialogue with developing countries, FT reports that “The G8 wealthy nations on Thursday took a significant step to reform their elite club by setting up a new relationship with China, India and three other emerging economies.

Angela Merkel, German chancellor, said the summit had agreed to open two years of talks with Mexico, Brazil and South Africa, as well as China and India, ‘as an important response to globalization processes’. …Regular meetings between ministers from the 13 countries with various portfolios, including economics and energy, are expected over the next two years, the initial period of the dialogue. …The G8 will establish an ‘outreach unit’ at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development to manage the talks…

The agreement, to be launched on Friday under the ‘Heiligendamm process’, would cover issues including investment freedom, protection of intellectual property rights, energy management and social aspects of globalization, such as the implementation of international labor and environmental standards…” [The Financial Times (UK)]

Infrastructure Remains Key Obstacle To Africa's Growth: Zoellick

  “Infrastructure remains a key obstacle for some African countries to move up the growth process, said Robert Zoellick, the nominee for World Bank presidency, on Thursday.  

Though African countries are all focused on achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), each country faces unique circumstances, said Zoellick, who started his two-day visit to Ethiopia on Wednesday. At a press conference, he also listed other obstacles to Africa's growth like energy, governance and corruption. Zoellick said the objective of his visit is to hear first hand from the representatives of Africa about the challenge they see for the development of Africa. He said one of the important elements in Africa's changes is the forging of new institutions across Africa. …” [Xinhua (China)/Factiva]

AFP reports that Zoellick “… told reporters there was a lot of respect for the World Bank's work but that African states ‘would like the decision process to move more quickly, and increased support for regional organizations.’ Praising integration efforts on the continent, notably in the form of the African Union, Zoellick also underlined that ‘efforts have to be done on corruption because the donors want to know where the money is going to.’ Asked about the ongoing G8 summit of leading industrial nations in Germany, Zoellick said: ‘The most important (thing) is that Africa remains high on the agenda of the developing countries.’ …” [Agence France Presse/Factiva]  

AP notes that “… Ghana, the current head of the African Union, was Zoellick's first stop on a tour that will also include eastern and southern Africa, Europe and Latin America. Zoellick's tour has been described by some as a first step toward mending relationships strained by the Bank's outgoing president.

Zoellick said he decided to start his trip in Africa because it is a continent that struggles with poverty, inadequate health care and poor infrastructure that the World Bank can help improve. Africa will remain high on the Bank's agenda, but officials will be watchful for corruption, he said. …” [The Associated Press/Factiva] 

Letter: Who Needs World Bank? Billions Living in Poverty

In a letter published in the WSJ, World Bank Manager and Lead Author of the Bank’s Global Development Finance report, Mansoor Dailami writes: Your May 31 editorial asks ‘Who Needs the World Bank?’ The answer is the world's two billion people who live on less than $2 a day who benefited little from recent increases in private-capital flows to developing countries.  

While private-capital flows undoubtedly boost developing-country growth, 82 percent of these flows in recent years went to just 20 of the 135 countries that report their external debt positions to the World Bank. The poorest 51 countries received just 8 percent of total private capital flows - crumbs from the global table. The World Bank provides unique financial and technical assistance to these countries.  

Our Global Development Finance report highlights record private capital flows to developing countries in 2006, but at the same time we caution that we need to take on board the lessons of the financial crises of 1990s: No boom lasts forever and cycles and shocks are enduring features of global finance.  

What attracts private-capital flows? You overlook the role played by years of policy and regulatory reforms in many developing countries carried out with support from the World Bank Group and other multilaterals. This support has underpinned recent economic growth and better investment climates in these countries. Further, several low-income countries currently receive assistance - as part of the World Bank-IMF Financial Sector Assessment Program - to reform and strengthen their financial sectors.  

In addition, the IFC - the World Bank Group's private sector arm - helps develop frontier markets that are yet to benefit from the emerging market investment boom. It does this by providing loans, equity and other financial products to the private sector. Also, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), another affiliate, mitigates the risks faced by investors and lenders to encourage investment in often overlooked markets. In fact, nearly half of MIGA's guarantees portfolio in 2006 supported projects in these frontier markets.  

Finally, your editorial does not recognize the World Bank Group's role as the largest provider of development assistance to Africa. Its soft-loan arm, the International Development Association, addresses the continuing development finance needs of poor countries that cannot as yet attract private capital.” [The Wall Street Journal/Factiva]  

Corruption In Schools, Universities Cost Billions: UNESCO

 “Corruption and fraud in schools and universities worldwide is costing billions of dollars and compromising the future of youth, a report released by UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris says.  

In some countries, up to 80 percent of funds earmarked for education, excluding salaries, are funneled by corrupt officials, according to the report titled: Corrupt schools, corrupt universities: What can be done  … Corruption in higher education takes the form of bogus degrees, accreditation fraud and fake universities, according to the report that was published on Wednesday. … 

To combat corruption in education, UNESCO recommended improving the management and monitoring of education funds and cited successful drives to audit spending. Jacques Hallak and Muriel Poisson, the report's authors, argued that political will at the highest levels of government was essential to free education systems from corruption. …” [Agence France Presse/Factiva] 

Xinhua adds that “Illegal imposition of registration fees, cheating in exams, misappropriation of

funds, fraudulent tenders and various other forms of malpractices severely afflicts education systems across the entire world…

‘The loss of funds between the education ministry and learning institutions can reach up to 80 percent of the total amount of allocated funds in certain countries,’ according to the report. …The report is a result of several years of research on the themes of ethics and corruption conducted by UNESCO's International Institute for Educational Planning.” [Xinhua (China)/Factiva]   

Calgary Herald writes that “The extent of corruption in education is documented in a new multi-year study, released Wednesday, that says the problem has been ignored in recent years because educators fear a backlash. … 

The study is being distributed to governments and professionals, and will be of interest not only to the countries most affected, but also to western donor countries such as Canada, whose foreign aid budgets include cash for education. ‘This important study calls us to action,’ UNESCO Director General Koichiro Matsuura said at the report's release in Paris. …” [Calgary Herald (Canada)/Factiva]  

Also in this Edition: APEC Agree To Share Bird Flu Samples and Briefly Noted...

APEC Agree To Share Bird Flu Samples.  “APEC health ministers agreed Friday to share samples of the bird flu virus to help develop effective vaccines, setting aside disputes over who ‘owns’ the disease. The 21-nation group wrapped up a meeting in Australia by signing a declaration committing them to share samples of the H5N1 virus, which the World Health Organization says has killed 188 people worldwide since 2003. …” [Agence France Presse/Factiva]

Reuters writes that the conference also ended Friday with a commitment “… to work to encourage investor and consumer confidence to help Asia-Pacific economies recover in the event of a pandemic. ... The health ministers endorsed a plan called ‘APEC Functioning Economies in Times of Pandemic Guidelines’ which aims to assist in managing economies during a pandemic. The guidelines cover communications, essential services, financial systems and movement between and within countries. …” [Reuters/Factiva]  

Kyodo News notes that “… UN System Influenza Coordinator David Nabarro told the conference earlier in a presentation that the current pandemic plans of APEC members had ‘surprisingly little focus on the continuity of essential services.’ One-third of members had not developed their own plans for addressing essential services such as health and ambulance services, transport and food supplies, he said. …” [Kyodo News (Japan)/Factiva]  

Briefly Noted… The US Thursday announced it had cancelled Sierra Leone's outstanding $58 million debt to Washington in line with an accord reached in January. This cancelled Sierra Leone's debt to the United States 100 percent, the State Department said in a statement. [Agence France Presse/Factiva]

Donors have one last opportunity to save Guinea-Bissau from sliding into chaos by providing funds to pay its employees and combat Latin American drug cartels, the UN and International Monetary Fund said on Thursday. [Reuters/Factiva]

Democratic Republic of Congo's copper and cobalt production should rise rapidly in the coming years as it reaps the benefit of private investment in its mining sector, the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday. [Reuters/Factiva]

Nicaragua's government will continue its budget and fiscal policy and measures with or without an economic cooperation program with the International Monetary Fund, Nicaragua's Central Bank President Antenor Rosales said on Thursday. [Xinhua (China)/Factiva]

Talks to renegotiate $6.3 billion in defaulted debt with the Paris Club are not a top priority for Argentina these days, Economy Minister Felisa Miceli said on Thursday, adding that new investment was not being affected by the lack of a deal. [Reuters/Factiva]

Costa Rica aims to cut its net greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2021, President Oscar Arias said on Thursday, in a push to make the tiny Central American nation the first to offset all its carbon. [Reuters/Factiva]

Indonesiais to relaunch efforts to privatize dozens of state-owned companies, beginning with a public offering of one of the country’s largest state-owned banks, a senior government official said on Thursday. [The Financial Times (UK)/Factiva]

The EU is set to resume talks with Serbia on forging closer ties, the EU has announced. The decision to resume talks on 13 June followed Belgrade's improved co-operation with the UN war crimes tribunal. Serbia hopes the talks will eventually lead to full membership of the EU. [BBC News (UK)]

UN Office of Internal Oversight Undersecretary-General Inga-Britt Ahlenius said the world body needed a ‘major overhaul’ of how it procures $1.9 billion in goods annually and called for less secrecy about probes of staff and companies involved. [Reuters/Factiva]

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Thursday that an international conference on the Darfur conflict would take place in Paris on June 25. The meeting will bring together the countries involved in the conflict in the western Sudan as well as China to discuss a political solution and humanitarian and security issues. [Agence France Presse/Factiva]