How the UK took $200m away from the most marginalised
5/10/2021: The reality of what happens when funding for neglected tropical diseases, such as trachoma and river blindness, is suddenly turned off, as told through a programme leader’s diary entries.
Source: African Arguments
World leaders hail agreement on global corporate tax rate
8/10/2021: Most countries have signed up to a historic deal on corporate taxation that will now be put to G20 leaders for approval. It will ensure a minimum 15% corporate rate and that multinational companies will be taxed in the countries where they generate their revenue.
Source: DW
What will replace coal finance for poor countries?
5/10/2021: China has withdrawn finance for new coal-fired power plants overseas but Africa still needs to triple its electricity capacity to end energy poverty. The successful diplomacy that has eliminated public funding for overseas coal projects needs to be matched by funding clean power plants.
Source: Inter Press Service
Poor countries advised to restructure external debts
5/10/2021: The World Bank has urged low and middle income countries to consider restructuring their debts when the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) expires at the end of this year. The DSSI was established to help countries concentrate their resources on fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.
Source: The East African
Billions pledged, but UN food summit fails to heal divisions
28/9/2021: The UN Food Systems Summit has encouraged countries to implement their declared “national pathways” to food security, supported by a new coordination hub led by the three Rome-based UN food agencies and the International Fund for Agricultural Development. But fundamental disagreements about global food strategies remain.
Source: The New Humanitarian
Food Systems Summit urges swift action by 2030
24/9/2021: The troubled UN Food Systems Summit has been held on the sidelines of the General Assembly. The US government has committed $5 billion over 5 years for USAID’S Feed the Future program. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation also announced a $922 million, five-year commitment.
Source: Devex
The biodiversity crisis is a global security crisis
23/9/2021: Environmental degradation is a key driver of insecurity. To achieve peace, we must protect the planet and finance these efforts accordingly. It is no coincidence that 6 of the 10 largest UN-led peacekeeping operations currently exist in areas highly exposed to the impact of climate change.
Source: African Arguments
UN chief appeals for countries to sign nuclear test-ban treaty
23/9/2021: UN Secretary-General António Guterres has urged eight key countries which have not yet signed or ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, to do so without delay. He stated that a prohibition on nuclear testing is an essential element of a nuclear weapons-free world.
Source: UN News
Is China's pledge to cut overseas coal funding a game-changer?
22/9/2021: China's pledge to stop funding overseas coal has been welcomed - but the world's top polluter has not set out a timetable. Other questions remain, not least why private banks and institutional investors from Japan, the US and the UK bankroll so many coal projects in the developing world.
Source: CNA
UN report calls for repurposing of agricultural subsidies
14/9/2021: A new UN report finds that 87% of annual government farm subsidies totalling $540 billion includes measures that are both price distorting and harmful to nature and health. Reform of support for the agricultural sector will benefit our planet.
Source: UN Environment Programme