South Centre-TWN Side Event at the UN Climate Conference in Lima: Perspectives on the 2015 Paris deal: Options on the road from Lima to Paris
Speakers from developing countries will give insights on the critical markers from Lima to Paris in order to secure an equitable and just climate agreement at the South Centre-TWN side event in Lima, Peru.
Climate Change, Technology and Intellectual Property Rights: Context and Recent Negotiations
I. Technology Transfer, Sustainable Development and Climate Change
In order to meet their objectives for mitigation and adaptation in climate change, and move more towards a sustainable development pathway, developing countries need access to environmentally-sound technology at affordable prices. (more…)
South Centre Statement at 2nd UN Conference on LLDCs
The attached is a Statement by the South Centre at Second UN Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries. (more…)
Comment on IPCC’s Final Climate Report
By Martin Khor
The IPCC’s final report, known as the Synthesis Report, indicates the world is doomed if present climate and emission trends continue, but the key solutions are as elusive as before. Imagine our world getting more and more polluted, and little space left for the Earth to absorb more pollutants before all kinds of disasters take place. And imagine that we have not yet found the solutions to really slow down the emissions or to prevent the catastrophe that lies ahead. This look into our scary future was evident at the recent meeting in Copenhagen to finalise the last climate change report of the IPCC (inter-governmental panel on climate change). (more…)
A Preview of the UN Climate Summit
By Meena Raman
As the United Nations hosts a Climate Summit Sep. 23, the lingering question is whether the meeting of world leaders will wind up as another talk fest. It is most likely that it could go that way. The problem is that developed countries are pressuring developing countries to indicate their pledges for emissions reductions post-2020 under the Paris deal which is currently under negotiation, without any indication of whether they will provide any finance or enable technology transfer – which are current commitments under the Convention. (more…)
Loss and Damage Mechanism Set Up for Climate Change
The UN Climate Conference held in Warsaw has set up a new international mechanism to help developing countries affected by loss and damage from climate change, such as the Philippines typhoon. (more…)
Developing the loss and damage mechanism in climate change: The tasks ahead
The establishment of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage associated with climate change impacts (the Mechanism) stands out as one of the key outcomes and milestones of the 19th Conference of the Parties (COP19) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) held in Warsaw in November 2013. This brief offers our views, as negotiators from developing countries, who have worked on this issue in the past few years. (more…)
SDGs: Economic Issues at National and Global Levels
The economic pillar of sustainable development is crucial, yet relatively neglected. It should get its proper place in the Sustainable Development Goals. This paper deals with economic issues at national level (as Sustainable Development Goals) and at international level (as part of the new Global Partnership for Development). It is part of the South Centre’s contribution to the United Nations process of establishing Sustainable Development Goals.
SDGs: Technology and Finance—The Means of Implementation
The following is a statement by Executive Director of the South Centre, Martin Khor, to the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals held at the United Nations in New York on 9 December 2013. (more…)
Obstacles to Development in the Global Economic System
I. Obstacles to Development Arising from the International System
As the international community wades into the political discussions regarding the alternatives to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) after 2015 and the design of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as mandated by the Rio+20 conference, it is timely to consider the question of whether development is a matter mostly of individual effort on the part of nation-states or whether there are elements in the international economic system that could serve as significant obstacles to national development efforts. (more…)
Post-2015 Development Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals: Perspectives of the South Centre
The United Nations’ Post-2015 Development Agenda should not simply extend MDGs, or reformulate the goals, but focus instead on global systemic reforms to remove main impediments to development and secure an accommodating international environment for sustainable development. (more…)
Integrating a Gender Perspective in Climate Change, Development Policy and the UNFCCC
This policy brief discusses the opportunities, challenges and constraints for integrating a gender perspective into global climate change policy as well as the current effort of gender mainstreaming in the UNFCCC. The brief is a companion piece to a previous note that explored the nature, content and implications of the Gender Decision made at COP 18, Doha, 2012. (more…)
