Sustainable Development

Side Event, 1 December 2014

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.

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Research Paper 51, July 2014

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…)

Perspectives on Post-2015 Development Agenda and Sustainable Development, January 2014

Post-2015 Development Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals: Perspectives of the South Centre

  • Post-2015 Development Agenda and Sustainable Development

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…)

SouthViews No. 70, 19 July 2013

G77: Each SDG Must Include International Dimension

Below is the statement on behalf of the Group of 77 and China by its Chairman, Ambassador Peter Thomson of Fiji, at the second session of the General Assembly Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (New York, 17 April 2013).

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SouthViews No. 67, 15 July 2013

SDGs: Overall Conceptual FrameworkDevelopment

This paper of the South Centre on the overall concept of the SDGs was presented by its Executive Director Martin Khor during the expert panel at the opening day of the first session of the UN’s open working group on SDGs held in the General Assembly hall on 14 March 2013. It had also been presented to a meeting of the G77 and China in New York as part of its preparation for the meetings of the UN working group on SDGs.

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SouthViews No. 44, 26 November 2012

Climate Change UNFCCC Talks: The Interests of Developing Countries at COP18

This article is adapted from a presentation made by Vicente Paolo Yu III, Programme Coordinator, South Centre, to the first Ministerial Conference on Climate Change of the African, Caribbean, and Pacific Group of States (ACP) at the ACP House in Brussels on 7 November 2012.

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Climate Policy Brief 8, November 2012

Identifying Outcomes that Promote the Interests of Developing Countries at COP 18.

Developing countries have long been at the frontlines of climate change and bearing the brunt of its impacts on sustainable development prospects and even, in many cases, physical survival and territorial integrity. These underscore the need for global cooperation and action on climate change. (more…)

Policy Brief 11, October 2012

Financial Instability as a Threat to Sustainable Development.

As seen over and again during recurrent financial crises in both developing and advanced economies (DEs and AEs), including the recent global crisis originating in the US and Europe, financial instability and boom-bust cycles undermine all three ingredients of sustainable development – economic development, social development and environmental protection. (more…)

SouthViews No. 21, 19 July 2012

Food Issues in the Rio+20 Spotlight

By Martin Khor

Among the issues that caught the public imagination at the recent Rio+20 summit was the right of all people to good, nutritious food, and the need to support small farmers and promote ecologically sound agricultural methods. Martin Khor reports on the Sustainable Development Dialogue on Food Security.

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SouthViews No. 20, 18 July 2012

Sustainable Development as an Answer to Economic and Financial Crises

Below is the speech delivered by Dr Yilmaz Akyüz, Chief Economist of the South Centre on the Sustainable Development Dialogue Roundtable on the Global Financial Crisis, UN Conference on Sustainable Development 2012, in Rio de Janeiro on 16 June 2012. (more…)

SouthViews No. 19, 17 July 2012

The Rio+20 Summit and its Follow Up

By Martin Khor

The Rio+20 summit from 13 to 22 June was disappointing to many, but it could still succeed through the mandated follow-up actions. The South Centre’s Executive Director gives an in-depth assessment.

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Research Paper 45, April 2012

Climate Change, Technology And Intellectual Property Rights: Context And Recent Negotiations.

This Research Paper discusses on contexts and recent negotiations in Technology Transfer, Sustainable Development and Climate Change. In terms of proprietary rights, the author categories technologies and related products into three domains: the Public Technologies; Patented Technologies and Future Technologies. (more…)