World faces ‘climate apartheid’ risk, Bonn Conference ends with UN call to fully deliver on Paris Agreement mandates and three million civilians in danger from escalating violence in Idlib Governorate. Here is what you missed from last week’s headlines in the international development sector:
UN expert: World faces ‘climate apartheid’ risk
Climate change “threatens to undo the last 50 years” of development, global health and poverty reduction, a United Nations expert said citing the risk of a new era of “climate apartheid” where the rich buy their way out of rising heat and hunger.
“Even if current targets are met, tens of millions will be impoverished, leading to widespread displacement and hunger,” said the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Philip Alston.
Underscoring that climate change will have the greatest impact on the most vulnerable, he added that it could push more than 120 million more people into poverty by 2030 and will have the most severe impact in poor countries, regions, and the places poor people live and work.
Even in the best-case scenario of a 1.5°C temperature increase by 2100, extreme temperatures in many regions will leave disadvantaged populations food insecure, with less incomes and worsening health.
“We risk a ‘climate apartheid’ scenario where the wealthy pay to escape overheating, hunger and conflict while the rest of the world is left to suffer.”
Bonn Climate Conference ends with UN call to fully deliver on Paris Agreement mandates
The 2019 UN Bonn Climate Change Conference (SB50) wrapped up after having considered a large number of decisions for adoption at the UN Climate Change Conference in Santiago, Chile at the end of the year (COP25).
Governments showcased climate action and discussed Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which would support countries to meet a part of their domestic goals to cut greenhouse gas emissions through the use of so-called “market mechanisms”. Article 6 is one of the few issues left unresolved following that adoption last year of the bulk of the guidelines to make the Paris Agreement operational.
“I urge governments to use the rest of this year to find solutions, allowing solid rules for carbon markets to finally take shape. Businesses want this and they are looking for positive signals from governments that they will do this. They know it’s a good way to reduce emissions globally,” said UN Climate Change Executive Secretary, Patricia Espinosa.
Highlighting the importance of markets for effective climate action, the Executive Secretary noted that this week, investors managing more than USD 34 trillion in assets made a strong call to governments to design and implement policies in line with the Paris Agreement goals.
The UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn is part of a series of meetings this year to drive forward climate action at all levels and work towards reaching the goals of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development.
Three million civilians in imminent danger from the escalating violence in Idlib governorate
Three million civilians, among them one million children, are in imminent and mortal danger from the escalating violence in Idlib governorate and surrounding areas, says UNOCHA.
In a direct video address, eleven chiefs of global humanitarian organizations have warned that “Idlib is on the brink of a humanitarian nightmare unlike anything we have seen this century.”
A huge influx of displaced people from other parts of Syria since 2015 has doubled the size of the population in Idlib. At least 330,000 people have been displaced internally in the region during the last two month’s surge of violence and they have nowhere left to flee to. The UN Secretary-General has warned about the violence for months, but it hasn’t stopped or even slowed.
Here’s what else has happened
Mali: Recent heavy rains in the Mopti region of Mali have caused floods, aggravating the already precarious situation of the more than 50,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the region. In a region where more than 210,000 persons are considered as facing food insecurity and only 2 percent of the communities have access to safe drinking water, the increasing presence of IDPs may undermine the existing resources.
Gender equality: UN Women launched a Call to Action to parliamentarians to build on the experiences and best practices from the Member States on how to achieve a gender equal world via legislation and parliamentary work. The call was made by UN Women Executive Director, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, at the Annual Summit of the Women Political Leaders taking place in Tokyo, Japan.
AIDS: UNAIDS and the Global Fund have signed a strategic framework for cooperation and collaboration to strengthen and accelerate support to countries’ efforts to end AIDS. Under the new framework, the two organizations will advocate for a more robust response to HIV, support each other’s activities and processes, and continue to provide strategic information, technical support and capacity building to countries.
Cameroon: Over 80 percent of schools in Cameroon are closed as a result of the crisis, according to the latest information from UNICEF. The ban on education by non-state armed groups and attacks has affected more than 600,000 children, with students, teachers and school personnel being exposed to violence, abduction and intimidation.
Refugees: The EU adopted a €100 million new assistance package to support the resilience of refugees, internally displaced person (IDP) host communities in Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq. The new aid package will contribute to the strengthening of public service delivery systems, improve access to higher education, and improve child protection services.
Reports
High-Performance Health Financing for Universal Health Coverage
People in developing countries spend half a trillion dollars annually — over $80 per person — out of their own pockets to access health services, and such expenses hit the poor the hardest, according to a new report by the World Bank Group. It says that lack of universal access to quality, affordable health services threatens decades-long progress on health, endangers countries’ long-term economic prospects, and makes them more vulnerable to pandemic risks.
The report, titled High-Performance Health Financing for Universal Health Coverage, projects that by the year 2030, the target date of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), there will be a $176 billion gap in the 54 poorest countries between the financing needed to provide their populations with quality, affordable health services and funding that is actually available.
Without urgent action, developing countries faced with aging populations and growing burdens of non-communicable diseases will find themselves increasingly challenged to close the gap between the demand for health spending and available public resources and will prolong the reliance on out-of-pocket spending by patients and their families.
Even in the best-case scenario with greater, more efficient and more equitable country and international investments, the report projects that the 2030 UHC financing gap will not be closed.
Mini-Grids for Half a Billion People
Mini-grids, previously viewed as a niche solution, can provide electricity to as many as 500 million people by 2030, helping close the energy access gap, according to a new World Bank report.
The combination of falling costs, dramatic increase in quality of service, and enabling policies has made mini-grids a scalable option to complement grid extension and solar home systems.
Compared with main grid and solar home systems, mini-grids are a more viable solution for areas with high population density and medium electricity demand. The report says that globally, at least 19,000 mini-grids are already installed in 134 countries, representing a total investment of $28 billion and providing electricity to around 47 million people. Most are deployed in Asia, while Africa has the largest share of planned mini-grids.
“Mini grids are now one of the core solutions for closing the energy access gap. We see great potential for mini-grid development at scale and are working with countries to actively mobilize public and private investment,” said Riccardo Puliti, Senior Director of Energy and Extractives at the World Bank.
Events
Asian Infrastructure Forum
Luxembourg
13 July 2019
The AIF will offer interactive workshops on private equity investments, as well as on financing for energy projects and AIIB procurement practices. AIIB member representatives will also share investment opportunities in Bangladesh, the Philippines and Uzbekistan.
Participants will be able to attend the Infrastructure Fund Showcase where selected infrastructure fund projects will be evaluated by AIIB experts.
2nd Symposium on Climate Change Adaptation in the Pacific Region
Lautoka, Fiji
21-22 August 2019
The event will focus on “fostering resilience and the regional capacity to adapt”, meaning that it will serve the purpose of showcasing experiences from research, field projects and best practice in climate change adaptation among countries in the region, which may be useful or implemented elsewhere.
ITU Telecom World 2019
Budapest, Hungary
9-12 September 2019
Forum sessions will provide international perspectives and expert opinions on topics spanning from digital integrity to 5G testbeds, mitigating gender bias in AI and spectrum challenges ahead of WRC-19, amongst a host of others.
Global Refugee Forum
17-18 December 2019
Geneva, Switzerland
The first Global Refugee Forum comes one year after the historic affirmation of the Global Compact on Refugees. The forum will focus on the following areas: arrangements for burden and responsibility-sharing, education, jobs and livelihoods, energy and infrastructure, solutions, and protection capacity.
