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351. Rising Statelessness Due to Disappearing Island States

Author:
Marija Dobric
Publication Date:
06-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Statelessness & Citizenship Review
Institution:
Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness, Melbourne Law School
Abstract:
Scientific prognoses have shown that by the year 2100, several low-lying island states such as Tuvalu and Kiribati will disappear due to rising sea levels. The submergence of whole territories will have consequences including the displacement of a huge number of islanders. In that context, the question of how to protect their human rights in their future host states is of great importance. In fact, their human rights protection will most likely prove even more difficult if disappearing island states are considered to have lost statehood. Without the nationality of any state, those displaced islanders will be stateless under international law. In this article, the author assesses whether displaced island populations are sufficiently protected by existing international law norms or whether the international community is called upon to create new rules addressing these future challenges.
Topic:
Climate Change, Environment, Maritime, and Stateless Population
Political Geography:
Global Focus

352. Central Bank Mandates, Sustainability Objectives and the Promotion of Green Finance

Author:
Simon Dikau and Ulrich Volz
Publication Date:
03-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
School of Oriental and African Studies - University of London
Abstract:
This paper examines the extent to which climate-related risks and mitigation policies fit into the current set of central bank mandates and objectives. To this end, we conduct a detailed analysis of central bank mandates and objectives, using the IMF’s Central Bank Legislation Database, and compare these to current arrangements and sustainability responsibilities that central banks have adopted in practice. To scrutinise the alignment of mandates with climate-related policies, we differentiate between the impact of environmental factors on the conventional core objectives of central banking, and a potential supportive role of central banks with regard to green finance and sustainability. Of the 133 central banks in our sample, only 12% have explicit sustainability mandates, while 29% are mandated to support the government’s policy priorities, which in most cases include sustainability goals. However, given that climate risks can directly affect traditional core responsibilities of central banks, most notably monetary and financial stability, even central banks without explicit or implicit sustainability objectives ought to incorporate climate-related physical and mitigation risks into their core policy implementation frameworks in order to efficiently and successfully safeguard macroeconomic stability.
Topic:
Climate Change, Finance, Green Technology, Sustainability, and Banking
Political Geography:
Global Focus

353. Inequality in Energy Consumption: Statistical Equilibrium or a Question of Accounting Conventions?

Author:
Gregor Semieniuk and Isabella M. Weber
Publication Date:
10-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
School of Oriental and African Studies - University of London
Abstract:
Mitigating climate change requires information about the inequality in energy consumption. Recent contributions (Banerjee and Yakovenko, 2010; Lawrence et al., 2013; Yakovenko, 2010, 2013) have studied energy inequality through the lens of maximum entropy. They claim a weighted international distribution of total primary energy demand should approach a Boltzmann-Gibbs maximum entropy equilibrium distribution in the form of an exponential distribution, implying convergence to a Gini coefficient of 0.5 from above. The present paper challenges the validity of this claim and critically discusses the applicability of statistical equilibrium reasoning to economics from the viewpoint of social accounting. It is shown that the exponential distribution is only a robust candidate for a statistical equilibrium of energy inequality when employing one particular accounting convention for energy flows, the substitution method. But this method has become problematic with a higher renewable share in the international energy mix, and no other accounting method supports the claim of a convergence to a 0.5 Gini. We conclude that the findings based on maximum entropy reasoning are sensitive to accounting conventions and critically discuss the epistemological implications of this sensitivity for the use of maximum entropy approaches in social sciences.
Topic:
Climate Change, Energy Policy, International Cooperation, and Inequality
Political Geography:
Global Focus

354. Climate Crisis: ‘Listening to the Science’ Not Enough

Author:
Sofiah Jamil
Publication Date:
11-2019
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Abstract:
Greta Thunberg has called on politicians to “listen to the science” and take climate change seriously. But climate communication strategies can be more effective when “listening to the science” is complemented with “listening to society”.
Topic:
Climate Change, Science and Technology, Conflict, and Society
Political Geography:
Global Focus

355. Climate Change: Re-assessing Current Approaches

Author:
Margareth Sembiring
Publication Date:
12-2019
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Abstract:
Proposed solutions to climate change are heavily reliant on technological advances. Considering the initial causes of current warming trends that can be traced back to the Industrial Revolution, a shift in consumerism may provide better solutions to climate woes.
Topic:
Climate Change, Science and Technology, and Renewable Energy
Political Geography:
Global Focus

356. Environmental Awareness: Alternative Strategies Beyond Symbolism

Author:
Sofiah Jamil
Publication Date:
05-2019
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Abstract:
Are existing environmental campaigns making an impact? Environmental awareness strategies should incorporate lessons from history and traditions, to bring about more effective outcomes.
Topic:
Climate Change, Environment, and Carbon Emissions
Political Geography:
Global Focus

357. Development – A Private Affair? The involvement of the Italian private sector in rural development cooperation programmes

Author:
Oxfam Publishing
Publication Date:
01-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Investment in small-scale agriculture is needed in order to meet the ambitious objective set by the United Nations and signed by the world leaders in 2015: to eradicate hunger, ensure food security, improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture by 2030 (SDG 2). However, reaching this ambitious goal with the current level of resources committed will not be possible without concerted action on global challenges such as worsening climate change, fluctuating energy prices, diversification of diets in emerging economies and a growing pressure on natural resources such as land and water for purposes other than food. In the world today, 795 million people – one in nine people – still experience limited access to healthy and nutritious food; essential for children to develop properly and for fostering good health. Most of the people affected live in developing countries – 98 percent –and in Africa, one person in four suffers from hunger.1 Paradoxically, those who suffer from hunger are mainly farmers or people who depend on agriculture as their main source of income. To end the injustice of hunger in the world, there is therefore a need for a shared effort from public and private players, geared to allocate more and better investment for the promotion of sustainable agricultural development. In this paper, Oxfam investigates the flows of official development aid (ODA) committed by Italy in the last ten years to promoting food security, sustainable agriculture and rural development in its partner countries. The analysis aims to identify the main features of Italian ODA in this sector in order to evaluate its level of transparency and accountability. It also aims to verify the coherence, in financial terms, between the real allocation of resources and the political importance that Italy has historically assigned to food security issues. In parallel, this paper examines the involvement of Italian agri-food industries in rural development programmes financed through Italian ODA. In light of the wide- ranging debate which aims to promote a greater involvement of the private sector in development, Oxfam investigated the experience gained to date by Italy in one of the priority sectors of its development cooperation policy. The paper’s analysis focuses on three case studies featuring different modalities and objectives for private sector involvement, with the aim to assessing the impacts of their contribution in terms of the reduction of poverty and food insecurity in local communities. Oxfam’s purpose is to contribute to the ongoing national debate in Italy on the eligibility criteria that would promote private sector support for co- financed cooperation initiatives in partner countries; in line with the objectives and goals of the Italian International Development Cooperation policy.
Topic:
Agriculture, Climate Change, Environment, Poverty, United Nations, Food, Hunger, and Rural
Political Geography:
Europe, Italy, and Global Focus

358. Facing Risk: Options and Challenges in Ensuring that Climate/Disaster Risk Finance and Insurance Deliver for Poor People

Author:
Debbie Hillier
Publication Date:
04-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Reducing the impacts of disasters on poor people is absolutely vital. Climate/disaster risk financing could play a useful role if it is part of an approach that includes risk reduction, if it strengthens social protection, and if it has real participation from civil society. Insurance, as one component of risk financing, could play a supportive role if carefully designed – keeping in mind the limitations, including the risk of worsening income and gender inequality. The InsuResilience Global Partnership should build more evidence of what works for poor people, invest in pro-poor business models, and ensure the insurance schemes developed are part of a broader approach to reduce risks and the inequalities that make people vulnerable to disasters.
Topic:
Civil Society, Climate Change, Disaster Relief, and Inequality
Political Geography:
Global Focus

359. Climate Finance Shadow Report 2018: Assessing Progress Towards the $100 billion Commitment

Author:
Tracy Carty and Armelle Le Comte
Publication Date:
05-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Climate finance efforts by developed countries are at a critical juncture. There are only two years before the deadline by which developed countries have committed to jointly mobilize $100bn per year to support climate action in developing countries. This $100bn commitment has a pivotal role to play in supporting developing countries to reduce their emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change. This year will also see governments at the 24th Conference of Parties (COP24) in Katowice agree new rules to govern how climate finance is accounted under the Paris Agreement – rules that will shape the quality and transparency of climate finance provision for many years to come. This briefing paper offers an assessment of progress towards the $100bn goal. The second in a series, it looks at the latest donor figures for 2015-16, with a strong focus on public finance. It considers how close we are to the $100bn goal; where the money is coming from; where it is going; what it is being spent on; and how donors are counting the money they report.
Topic:
Climate Change, Development, Environment, International Cooperation, and Paris Agreement
Political Geography:
Global Focus

360. The Impact of Laudato Si’ on the Paris Climate Agreement

Author:
Irene Burke
Publication Date:
08-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination, Princeton University
Abstract:
Pope Francis addresses the intersecting concerns of environmental responsibility and authentic human development in the June 2015 papal encyclical Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home. Pope Francis extends Catholic environmental ethics to advocate for those at the margins of social consciousness who are most vulnerable to rapid environmental changes—the global poor and future generations. Pope Francis’ active collaboration with leading experts in climate science and development economics and his perspective as the first non-European Pope strengthens his contributions to ethical discourse on inter- and intra-generational justice, the preferential option for the poor, carbon mitigation policies, and common but differentiated responsibilities in international climate negotiations. His advocacy efforts in 2015 anticipated critical convocations of world leaders, including the UN General Assembly’s ratification of the Sustainable Development Goals in September 2015 and the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris in December 2015, culminating in a unanimous decision among 195 governments to adopt the Paris Agreement. Pope Francis’ contribution to discourse on international climate policies and sustainable development objectives inspired political cooperation leading up to pivotal international agreements.
Topic:
Climate Change, Environment, Religion, and United Nations
Political Geography:
Global Focus