EU’s Move On Emissions Targets

“EU leaders …intend to conclude a two-day summit with a pledge to adopt binding national targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions and raising renewable energy use by March 2009. …

Leaders will pledge to reach a political deal on national targets by December, with the aim of passing the necessary EU level legislation by March 2009, according to the summit statement. They will reaffirm their willingness to raise their target for cutting carbon emissions to 30 percent by 2020, provided that the world’s largest economies reach ‘a global and comprehensive agreement ... in a balanced, transparent and equitable way’. …

The March 2009 deadline is important because that is when the European parliament will hold its final legislative session before it closes before European elections in June 2009. …Unless it passes strong ­climate change legislation by March 2009, the EU is in danger of looking weak when it starts talks with China, the US and other powers at a landmark conference on global ­emission cuts scheduled for December 2009 in Copenhagen.” [The Financial Times (UK)]

BBC writes that “…Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa, who is chairing the summit, likened the plans to move to a low carbon economy to a ‘third industrial revolution’. …” [BBC News (UK)]

Reuters notes that “The EU raised the possibility on Thursday it might reconsider strategy on biofuels over concerns the bloc's approach was pushing up food prices and doing more harm than good to the environment. ‘We're not excluding the possibility that we'll have to amend or revise our goals,’ said Jansa … ‘We have to address these concerns by relevant analysis.’ …” [Reuters/Factiva]

EU Opens Door To Croatia Membership

“Croatia’s bid for early membership of the EU received a boost on Thursday when the European Commission said it should be possible to complete accession negotiations by the end of 2009. …

Croatia has so far opened negotiations in 16 of the 35 ‘chapters’, or policy areas, that must be completed before a candidate country can join the EU. If Croatia were to close all 35 chapters by late 2009, ratification by the EU’s 27 member-states might proceed quickly enough for Croatia to have an official entry date of January 1, 2011. ...” [The Financial Times (UK)]

AP adds that “…European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said after meeting with Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader that he had ‘every confidence’ the talks would be finished by the end of next year. …

Croatia still has work to do in reforming its judiciary and public administration record to meet EU standards, Barroso said. But it has passed major hurdles in cooperating with the UN war crimes tribunal and, most recently, by suspending a fishing dispute with Slovenia and Italy. Barroso said the fishing issue was ‘now considered closed.’…” [The Associated Press/Factiva]

Freer World Trade Benefits Seen $120 Billion/Year-Study

“Freer trade could bring benefits worth up to $120 billion a year to the world economy, according to a study [commissioned by The Copenhagen Consensus] on Thursday that dismisses growing unease about globalization. …‘We think there are very large benefits to trade liberalization and a liberalization of migration,’ said L. Alan Winters, a professor at Britain's University of Sussex and co-author of the study with Kym Anderson at the University of Adelaide. …  

The 52-page study said cuts in farm subsidies, tariffs, a liberalization of services and investment could bring global annual gains of up to $120 billion by 2015, including $17 billion for the poorest countries in Africa and Asia. That would be equivalent to about 0.2 percent of world GDP. The benefits would far outweigh any costs. …  

The study also said migration from poor countries increasing the workforce of the rich 30 nations of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development by 3 percent would bring gains comparable to those from freer trade. …” [Reuters and ISI Emerging Markets Africawire and Turkish Daily News/Factiva]

World Bank, India Approve Steps To Fight Corruption.

“The World Bank and Indian government on Thursday agreed on steps to root out corruption after a World Bank probe uncovered ‘serious [indicators]” of fraud and corruption in country health projects the Bank helped finance.  

The World Bank said it would work with the Indian government to conduct independent procurement audits and performance reviews; strengthen bidding procedures and financial management in the health sector; increase community oversight, and improve supervision of equipment and pharmaceutical procurement practices.   …” [Reuters/Factiva]

Xinhua adds that “…‘Working with the Indian authorities, we will take action against those found responsible, including debarment and sanctions against firms and individuals from doing business with the Bank, and disciplinary action against Bank staff if warranted,’ World Bank President Robert Zoellick said.” [Xinhua/Factiva]

Commentary; Africa's Greatest Challenge Is To Reduce Fertility

In a commentary published in the FT, World Bank, Africa region, Senior Population Specialist, John May and Institute for Research in Development, Research Director and Demographer, Jean-Pierre Guengant wrote that

“Reducing high population growth was at the top of the international development agenda in the 1960s and 1970s. As a result, successful population programs were implemented in Asia and Latin America and population growth fell from about 2.5 percent per year in the 1960s to 1.2 percent today. By contrast, benign neglect from African leaders and elites translated into late, weak and ineffective programs and the population growth rate in sub-Saharan Africa has remained about 2.5 percent per year over the past half century, except in southern Africa. …

The large number of young Africans - 2 out of 3 people are under 25 - and persistent high fertility levels imply that population growth will continue despite the Aids epidemic. In mid-2007, sub-Saharan Africa had 788 million people - 12 percent of the world's population. This share will increase to 18 percent in 2050, or 1.8 billion people. This assumes that African women would then have 2.5 children on average, against 5.5 today, according to the UN 2006 population projections. However, these projections imply rapid declines in fertility levels that are far from guaranteed, except in southern Africa. Higher 2050 population figures, potentially reaching 2 billion or more, are plausible if fertility declines more slowly.

Even so, demographic issues are conspicuously absent from the African development debate. …Yet there is an urgent need to tackle fertility. First, slower population growth will help reduce the pressures countries face with food security, land tenure, environmental degradation and water supply. It will also ease the security problems …

Second, growth rates in the order of 6 percent per year translate into only half that level per capita because of the current pace of demographic growth. This jeopardizes poverty reduction efforts and also prevents countries from achieving their ‘education for all’ target, a prerequisite to development. …

Third, another urgent priority is to address high fertility levels from a gender and health perspective. Many African women, both urban and rural, are desperate to get contraceptives. However, they are prevented from doing so because of gender inequalities, cultural and religious traditions and inadequate family planning services. …

Slowing the pace of the demographic growth is a prerequisite to improving Africa's human capital and its economic performance. …By addressing these issues decisively, Africa's leaders will be able to embrace the continent's challenges, without the stigma of poverty, famine and civil strife that unfortunately still haunt too many sub-Saharan countries.” [The Financial Times (UK)]

Also in this Edition: Heart Disease A Ticking Time Bomb For Urban Africa and Briefly Noted

Heart Disease A Ticking Time Bomb For Urban Africa.

“Heart disease, usually seen as a quintessentially Western problem, is a growing threat in urban Africa, where healthcare systems are ill-equipped to spot danger signals, researchers said on Friday.

African women are at greater risk than men, according to a large study of heart patients at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto, South Africa. In the developed world, by contrast, men dominate the statistics. … Baragwanath …is a unique ‘barometer’ for urban Africa and Stewart and colleagues hope their research will form a baseline to track the future development of heart disease. …” [Reuters/Factiva]

AFP adds that “…The study, which appears in next Saturday's The Lancet, is ‘relevant to many areas of the world that face similar threats and the emergence of epidemics of heart disease,’ a commentary in the journal said. In some developing countries, such as India, the epidemiological transition has been more rapid and the speed of transition will vary from country to country depending on the exposure time and competing causes.” [Agence France Presse/Factiva]

Also in this Edition: Briefly Noted…

[Latvian] Finance Minister Atis Slakteris, in meeting with World Bank President Robert Zoellick Thursday in Reiykjavik, underlined Latvia's readiness to share its experience with the Bank with other countries. [Latvian News Agency/Factiva]

Nigerian President Umaru Yar’Adua wants to raise $20 billion from energy companies to invest in harnessing gas reserves to solve the country’s chronic power crisis. But a new policy calls for unequivocal action to prioritize domestic gas supplies over export. [The Financial Times (UK)]

Caribbean states will set up a joint tsunami warning center before the end of the decade, governments agreed at a meeting in Panama on Thursday. [Reuters/Factiva]

International Finance Corporation (IFC) Managing Director Lars Thunell said on Thursday IFC will provide support to an ambitious infrastructure plan launched last year by the Government of Mexico. He said he signed an agreement with the Ministry of Communications and Transport to provide recommendations on the conditions of the road projects. [Reuters/Factiva]

The International Finance Corporporation is to lend around $1 billion to industries across India in 2008, said an IFC senior official. [Indo-Asian News Service/Factiva] 

Bangladesh dwarfs Pakistan and India in many areas of women status and gender equality, though the picture of their access to reproductive health services, labor markets and decision making is still bleak, said the Whispers to voices: Gender and Social Transformation in Bangladesh World Bank report. The report said Bangladesh stands out as a shining new example in South Asia achieving impressive gains in gender equality despite being a poor country. [United News of Bangladesh Limited/Factiva] 

Dozens of mining Indonesian companies could benefit from a decision to allow firms that previously held exploration permits in forest areas to develop mines, Simon Sembiring, Director General of mineral resources at the energy and mines ministry, told Reuters. [Reuters/Factiva]

The EU's top business lobby backed the idea of a voluntary code of conduct for cash-rich state-owned wealth funds but Denmark said it should only be a first step to mandatory rules. [Reuters/Factiva]

Peter Mandelson will not seek a second term as Europe's trade commissioner, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Thursday. [Agence France Presse/Factiva]

The International Monetary Fund has warned Jordan it faced worsening fiscal vulnerability if it fails to rein in growing public spending that critics say is driven by political rather than economic concerns, officials and politicians said on Thursday. [Reuters/Factiva]

The International Monetary Fund sees Turkish growth at around 4 percent this year as a preliminary projection, well below an government target, the Fund's Turkey chief Hossein Samiei said on Thursday. [Reuters/Factiva]

Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair began a tour of China, India and Japan on Friday hoping to rally support for a new global pact on cutting greenhouse gas emissions. [The Associated Press/Factiva]

Rich nations must come up with billions in new money to help poor countries fight global warming and not just repackage development aid to score diplomatic points, environmentalists at the G20 meeting said on Friday. [Reuters/Factiva]