Global momentum on climate action, action to stop the spread of harmful information and the global response to COVID-19. Here is what you missed from last week’s headlines in the international development sector:
China’s game-changing pledge could boost global momentum on climate action
Chinese President Xi Jinping used the global platform of his address to the UN General Assembly to announce China’s intention to step up climate action ahead of COP26.
China has committed to scale up its NDC through more vigorous policies and measures. President Xi said China would peak emissions before 2030 (an improvement from the previous ‘around’ 2030), and to be carbon neutral before 2060 (a new target). This could be the boost needed to get global momentum on climate action.
The affirmation of the role of the Paris Agreement in global climate action was also welcome.
“In a time when multilateralism is being challenged, it was pleasing to see President Xi urge all countries [to] take decisive steps to honour their commitments. The climate crisis knows no boundaries so only collective action will ensure we avoid the worst consequences,” he said.
Under the global climate Paris Agreement, countries are expected to submit enhanced national climate plans (or Nationally Determined Contributions – NDCs) to the UN in 2020. These NDCs should collectively be ambitious enough to keep global warming to 1.5℃.
Countries urged to take stronger action to stop spread of harmful information
The World Health Organization (WHO) together with the UN, specialised agencies, and partners called on countries to develop and implement action plans to promote the timely dissemination of science-based information and prevent the spread of false information while respecting freedom of expression.
WHO, the UN, UNICEF, UNAIDS, the UN Development Programme (UNDP), UNESCO, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the UN Global Pulse initiative, and the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), together with the governments of Indonesia, Thailand and Uruguay held a webinar on the margins of the 75th UN General Assembly to draw attention to the harm being done by the spread of misinformation and disinformation, the latter being deliberate misinformation to advance an agenda.
Boost for global response to COVID-19 as economies worldwide formally sign up to COVAX facility
64 higher-income economies have joined the COVAX Facility, a global initiative that brings together governments and manufacturers to ensure eventual COVID-19 vaccines reach those in greatest need, whoever they are and wherever they live. These 64 economies include commitments from 35 economies as well as the European Commission which will procure doses on behalf of 27 EU member states plus Norway and Iceland.
By pooling financial and scientific resources, these participating economies will be able to insure themselves against the failure of any individual vaccine candidate and secure successful vaccines in a cost-effective, targeted way.
The 64 members of the Facility will be joined by 92 low- and middle-income economies eligible for support for the procurement of vaccines through the Gavi COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC), a financing instrument aimed at supporting the procurement of vaccines for these countries. This means that 156 economies, representing roughly 64% of the global population in total, are now either committed to or eligible for the COVAX Facility, with more to follow.
DevelopmentAid Editorials
UK won’t cut foreign aid budget
According to Dominic Raab, British Minister of Foreign Affairs, spending on development assistance will remain at the level of 0.7% of Gross National Income (GNI).
The media had previously been informed that the British government had planned to cut this assistance and instead use the funds for defence and intelligence. Despite this declaration, British opposition had already raised serious concerns about the effectiveness of foreign aid, due to the government decision to combine the Foreign and Commonwealth Office with the Department for International Development (DfID) to establish the Commonwealth and Development Office.
World’s richest 1% emits twice as much CO2 as the poorest half
The richest 1% of the world’s population were responsible for more than twice as much carbon pollution as the people who made up the poorest half of humanity during a critical 25-year period of unprecedented growth in emissions. This is revealed in Oxfam’s new report, ‘Confronting Carbon Inequality’.
Unemployment rates will remain high
The unemployment rates triggered by the pandemic will be much higher than at the peak of the global financial crisis in 2008. The sharp contraction in economic activity suffered by many countries has led to a massive rise in global unemployment in the short term and a decrease in income opportunities in the long term. The recovery will take years despite the efforts of governments to develop adequate labor market policies concepts to mitigate the effects of the crisis.
Here’s what else has happened
Japan: The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes a contribution of JPY 200 million (USD 1.87 million) from the Government of Japan to provide food assistance and livelihoods support to refugees and asylum-seekers living in Maratane Refugee Camp (Nampula Province) and internally displaced people (IDPs) in Cabo Delgado province in Mozambique.
UNHCR: UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is scaling up efforts to assist displaced families in Africa’s Sahel, among more than 700,000 people affected by devastating floods in the region.
AFD: Agence Française de Développement (AFD) is mobilizing €5.3 million to help the Cuban Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) tackle the Covid-19 pandemic. In practical terms, that has helped provide 76 ventilators, 180,000 protective kits, and supplies to develop diagnosis tests.
WFP: The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is radically expanding its support to a key Lebanese social assistance programme, with the goal of helping 270,000 people get through the triple shock caused by the economic crisis, the COVID-19 lockdown, and the blasts at Beirut port.
Reports
Tax abuse, money laundering and corruption plague global finance
Governments must do more to tackle tax abuse and corruption in global finance, says a panel of former heads of state and government, past central bank governors, business and civil society leaders, and prominent academics.
The findings come in an interim report published by the High-Level Panel on International Financial Accountability, Transparency, and Integrity for Achieving the 2030 Agenda (FACTI Panel), established by the 74th President of the UN General Assembly and the 75th President of the UN Economic and Social Council.
Read the FACTI Panel Interim Report.
Global trade in food and agricultural products more than doubles in last two decades
Global agri-food trade has more than doubled since 1995, amounting to $1.5 trillion in 2018, with emerging and developing countries’ exports on the rise and accounting for over one-third of the world’s total, according to a new report issued by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
Read the report: The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets, 2020 (SOCO 2020).
Millions of people forced from their homes face dual hardship of COVID-19
Around 14.6 million new internal displacements were recorded across 127 countries and territories between January and June 2020, according to a new report by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC).
Conflict and violence triggered 4.8 million, primarily in Africa and the Middle East, a million more than in the first half of 2019. The greatest increases were in Syria, where nearly 1.5 million were recorded, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) with 1.4 million, and Burkina Faso with 419,000. The situation in Burkina Faso has deteriorated rapidly into the worst displacement crisis in West Africa as armed groups grow and expand their reach. Elsewhere in Africa, Cameroon, Mozambique, Niger, and Somalia reported more new displacements in the first half of 2020 than in the whole of 2019.
Read the report: Internal Displacement 2020: Mid-year update.
Events
Virtual | Athens Democracy Forum 2020
? 30 September – 2 October 2020
Virtual
The 2020 Athens Democracy Forum is organized for the second year by the Democracy and Culture Foundation, in association with The New York Times and under the Patronage of H.E. the President of the Hellenic Republic, Ms. Katerina Sakellaropoulou.
Virtual | How Employment and Decent Work Can Contribute to Peace and Social Cohesion in the Time of the COVID-19 Crisis
? 28 September 2020 ? 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM (CET)
Virtual
This virtual event is an initiative of the ILO in partnership with the PBSO and the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) to discuss the key contribution of employment and decent work to peacebuilding, social cohesion, and social justice, in particular in the time of the COVID-19 crisis. The event will also showcase good practices and challenges, and foster debate among participants.
Webinar | What to Expect from the Post-COVID State?
? 23 September 2020 ? 10-11:30 AM (EST)
Webinar
The social, economic, and political consequences of the COVID-19 crisis will go far beyond what we have already experienced, as many societies around the world witness a new page turn in state-society relations, as well as the changing role of technology in our lives.
