Climate Change

IP Negotiations Monitor 24, April 2018

The IP Negotiations Monitor summarizes the latest developments in multilateral and regional fora where intellectual property negotiations are taking place, and informs on upcoming meetings and events.

(Covering period: January – March 2018)

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Climate Policy Brief 20, February 2018

Overview of outcomes of the November  2017 UNFCCC climate talks

The annual climate change talks under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Kyoto Protocol (KP) and the Paris Agreement (PA) took place in Bonn, Germany, on 6-18 November 2017, ending a day later than scheduled due to last-minute wrangling among Parties, mainly over issues related to finance.

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SouthViews No. 161, 2 February 2018

Create “sponge cities” to tackle worsening floods

By Martin Khor

With floods now causing more damage more frequently around the world, it is time to counter their effects by turning our towns into “Sponge Cities”, a recent trend popularised by China to absorb rainwater through permeable roads and pavements, parks, rooftop gardens and other green spaces. (more…)

Climate Partnerships for a Sustainable Future, November 2017

Climate Partnerships for a Sustainable Future: An initial overview of South-South cooperation on climate change in the context of sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty

At COP23, the United Nations Southern Climate Partnership Incubator (SCPI) released a report entitled “Climate Partnerships for a Sustainable Future: An initial overview of South-South cooperation on Climate Change in the context of sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty”. This report was jointly produced by the South Centre and the UN Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC).

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SC Side Event to COP23, 6 November 2017

Title:                What to expect from COP23

Date:                 Monday, 6  November 2017, 11h30-13h00

Venue:             Room 7 (Bonn Zone), Bonn, Germany

Organizers:    The South Centre, The Third World Network

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Research Paper 81, November 2017

Promoting Sustainable Development by Addressing the Impacts of Climate Change Response Measures on Developing Countries

Response measures arise in the context of developed and developing countries taking actions to combat climate change at global, national and regional levels, such as for the protection and stabilization of the climate, emissions leakages and/or the costs of environmental compliance. They may have unintended and adverse economic and social consequences for developing countries’ economies, most often on the poorest and most vulnerable sectors of those economies.

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Policy Brief 44, August 2017

Industrialization, inequality and sustainability: What kind of industry policy do we need?

The 2030 Agenda includes as Sustainable Development Goal 9 (SDG 9) the commitment to “build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation”. The entry of this goal into the 2030 Agenda is an achievement for developing countries who have a very diverse situation in terms of population sizes, per capita incomes, economic sizes and structures, political systems, cultures but share the common feature of an underdeveloped industrial sector.Therefore, in order to implement SDG 9 pro-active industry policies are needed that take into account aspects of inequality and sustainability.

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SouthViews No. 150, 6 June 2017

US pull-out from Paris deal: What it means

By Martin Khor

By withdrawing the United States from the Paris Agreement, President Donald Trump abdicated not only leadership but membership of the community of nations cooperating to tackle climate change, the most serious crisis facing humanity. (more…)

SouthViews No. 149, 8 May 2017

Global climate policy in an uncertain state of flux

By Martin Khor

Global climate change policy is in a state of flux, with all other countries waiting for the United States to decide whether to leave or remain in the Paris Agreement. That treaty, adopted by 195 countries with great fanfare in December 2015 and came into force in November 2016, symbolizes the efforts of governments to cooperate to avert disastrous global warming that threatens human survival. (more…)

Climate Policy Brief 19, March 2017

Highlights of COP 22 in Marrakech 2016, including interpreting the Paris Agreement

A year after the historic Paris Agreement was adopted, the UN Climate Change Convention held its 22nd Conference of Parties in Marrakech in November 2016.   The Paris Agreement has come into force, in record time, but as the COP22 showed, there are big differences on what Parties understand the Agreement to mean.  (more…)