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92. Indigenous Peoples and Climate Justice in the Arctic
- Author:
- Shaugn Coggins and James D. Ford
- Publication Date:
- 02-2021
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- Arctic regions are experiencing transformative climate change impacts. This article examines the justice implications of these changes for Indigenous Peoples, arguing that it is the intersection of climate change with pronounced inequalities, land dispossession, and colonization that creates climate injustice in many instances.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Energy Policy, Environment, Poverty, Culture, Income Inequality, Justice, Indigenous, and Sustainability
- Political Geography:
- Arctic
93. Recovery and reform in the EU’s most vulnerable regions
- Author:
- Alison Hunter and Marta Pilati
- Publication Date:
- 06-2021
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- European Policy Centre (EPC)
- Abstract:
- Europe’s most vulnerable regions, characterised by persistent low growth and poverty, face a systemic lack of specific EU support. These regions display particularly high levels of vulnerability to the social, economic and territorial impacts of COVID-19, which will affect their recovery trajectories. They risk being left further behind in the EU’s complex pathway towards ‘a green and digital recovery’. The Union’s lack of focus and action for investing in these most vulnerable regions must be addressed. First and foremost, EU institutions and member states should recognise that some territories will struggle much more than others in their recovery trajectories. Ignoring their plight would have potentially far-reaching consequences. The EU’s ‘convergence machine’ could be damaged irreparably, with long-term – and potentially political – consequences. Alison Hunter and Marta Pilati continue their extensive research on the Union’s low-growth, poor regions, calling for the founding of a specific EU initiative to support them as well as further targeting by the existing policy architecture. In particular, they recommend: creating an EU policy space for regions experiencing long-term low growth and poverty, to promote the value and visibility of place-based support; aligning Cohesion Policy and the Recovery and Resilience Facility for improved policy coherence and greater investment impact; and tailoring support for growth-enhancing reforms in the EU’s most vulnerable regions. The EU’s green and digital recovery strategy fails to account for the specific needs of its poor and low-growth regions. Existing disparities and fragmentation challenges across the Union could widen or even become entrenched, casting new doubts on the EU’s ability and commitment to strengthen its convergence agenda and execute a just transition. The fallout could lead to a rise in territorial and political tensions while leaving many vulnerable places behind. Hunter and Pilati outline an agenda for a new EU initiative that champions reform support for these vulnerable territories and improves their prospects for a digital and green recovery.
- Topic:
- Political Economy, Poverty, Reform, European Union, Digital Economy, Economic Growth, Green Technology, Recovery, COVID-19, and Economic Recovery
- Political Geography:
- Europe
94. Oil or Nothing: Dealing with South Sudan’s Bleeding Finances
- Author:
- International Crisis Group
- Publication Date:
- 10-2021
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- Upon South Sudan’s independence in 2011, many hoped the country’s oil wealth would help build the state and lift citizens out of poverty. Instead, politicians have shunted these revenues toward patronage and personal enrichment, feeding internal conflict. Transparency and accountability are badly needed.
- Topic:
- Oil, Poverty, Natural Resources, Accountability, and Transparency
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Sudan
95. Rethinking EU economic governance: Social investment
- Author:
- Laura Rayner
- Publication Date:
- 12-2021
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- European Policy Centre (EPC)
- Abstract:
- COVID-19 has led to more inequality and poverty in Europe. Together with the accelerating climate crisis and ageing population, massive additional investments in education, healthcare and social infrastructure will be needed to maintain Europe's social protection systems, ease the negative impact of the digital and green transitions, and protect the Union's future prosperity. Unfortunately, the EU's current economic governance model does not leave much room for member states to make these kinds of investments in human capital - also called 'social investment'. This third Policy Brief in a series on reforming EU economic governance sets out five proposals to promote the role of social investment: Alter the pace of fiscal consolidation to be in line with economic growth; Reassess the accounting procedure for public investments, which can, in the long run, split up government investment from government spending and improve the quality of public finances overall; Establish a Future Investment Fund, whereby public investment would be excluded from the calculations of both headline and structural deficits; Reform the European Semester in a way that incorporates the lessons of austerity and prioritises social outcomes alongside fiscal and public administration reforms; Prioritise what matters to citizens - even if it challenges the existing economic orthodoxy.
- Topic:
- Poverty, Governance, European Union, COVID-19, and Social Investment
- Political Geography:
- Europe
96. Responsible Coffee Sourcing: Towards a Living Income for Producers
- Author:
- Kaitlin Y. Cordes, Margaret Sagan, and Solina Kennedy
- Publication Date:
- 07-2021
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- Coffee company sourcing practices are a key tool for improving coffee producer and farmworker well-being. Companies are not the only actor responsible for addressing living income and living wages, and sourcing practices are not the only relevant tool. Governments and other stakeholders must use policies, programs, and other levers to address the structural factors that contribute to producers’ and farmworkers’ impoverishment. Yet the role of other actors and interventions should not be an excuse for company practices that contribute to producer and worker poverty. Credible options exist for roasters and retailers to improve producer and farmworker well-being through sourcing practices.
- Topic:
- Agriculture, Environment, Poverty, and Coffee
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
97. Fixing the Business of Food: Aligning Food Company Practices with the SDGs
- Author:
- Columbia Centre on Sustainable Investment
- Publication Date:
- 09-2021
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- The world food system is in crisis, which is why UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres convened a UN World Food System Summit at UN Headquarters on September 23, 2021. The crisis is really a complex set of crises,
- Topic:
- Poverty, Food, Food Security, Sustainability, and Dietary Habits
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
98. Climate Change and the Global South: The Case of Africa
- Author:
- Agnes Babugura
- Publication Date:
- 10-2021
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Cairo Review of Global Affairs
- Institution:
- School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, American University in Cairo
- Abstract:
- Should climate change continue unaddressed, it is estimated that of the additional 30–170 million people who are likely to suffer from malnutrition or under-nutrition globally in the coming years, three-quarters will be in Africa.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Environment, Poverty, Inequality, and Nutrition
- Political Geography:
- Africa
99. Poverty in Latin America
- Author:
- Leonardo Gasparini, María Emma Santos, and Leopoldo Tornarolli
- Publication Date:
- 06-2021
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Distributive, Labor and Social Studies (CEDLAS)
- Abstract:
- Despite some progress in recent decades, poverty remains a top social concern in Latin America. A large proportion of Latin Americans live with very low incomes and are deprived in other fundamental welfare dimensions such as education, health, housing and sanitation. The measurement of income and multidimensional poverty in the region has advanced significantly in recent decades. In particular, there has been a remarkable increase in the availability of microdata from national household surveys and of poverty statistics published by governments and other institutions. Yet, the measurement of poverty in Latin America still has some limitations that should be addressed in the years to come. This chapter discusses the measurement of monetary and multidimensional poverty in Latin America, and documents the main patterns and trends. By providing an updated assessment of the level, changes and characteristics of poverty in the region we expect to contribute to the more ambitious debate on its determinants and policy implications. The rest of the chapter is organized as follows. In Section 2 we describe the data sources and main methodological issues regarding the measurement of income poverty, while in Section 3 we document the main patterns and trends over the recent decades. We repeat the sequence for the measurement of multidimensional poverty: Section 4 for methodological issues and Section 5 for evidence. The paper concludes in Section 6 with some brief concluding remarks.
- Topic:
- Poverty, Income Inequality, Economy, and Sanitation
- Political Geography:
- Latin America
100. Strengthening Regional Energy Governance in the Mekong Subregion
- Author:
- Chen-Sheng Hong
- Publication Date:
- 07-2021
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Pacific Forum
- Abstract:
- This paper explores the energy trilemma problems in the Mekong subregion and explains the necessity for regional energy governance. The current governmental cooperative mechanisms are an ineffective approach to regional energy governance in the Mekong subregion and should thus be strengthened. Countries of the Mekong subregion are facing the following energy trilemma: energy security, energy poverty, and environmental sustainability problems. This paper argues that regional energy governance is needed in the Mekong subregion because the energy trilemma has transboundary externalities on the Mekong ecosystem and requires regional cooperation to be managed effectively. Effective regional energy governance is based on three components: coordination,general norms, and consideration of the regional context. The existing mechanisms for governance in the subregion are lacking these elements. This paper concludes with three policy recommendations. First, it is necessary to enhance coordination among the subregional mechanisms. By exploring mutual benefits to raise incentives for cooperation and by seeking third-party engagement, more effective coordination may be realized. Also, information sharing may be a way to enhance the mechanisms’ transparency and improve coordination. Strengthened information sharing will enable other subregional mechanisms to understand the scale of the mechanisms’ proposed investments and their impact on the whole subregion, as well as provide potential opportunities for cooperation. Second, it is essential to develop norms and standards for the optimal management of natural resources for energy-related activities. Developing norms and standards may keep nations from choosing norms that benefit themselves but not the whole subregion. Finally, considering the context of the region is important, especially whether the actors share a largely homogeneous ecosystem. If actors in a geographical space share a largely homogeneous ecosystem, considering the negative impacts of transboundary externalities, they will be more willing to make compromises and cooperate to manage the energy trilemma. This paper assesses the engagement of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and indicates that the lack of sharing a largely homogeneous ecosystem between mainland Southeast Asia and maritime Southeast Asia has weakened ASEAN engagement in solving the energy trilemma in the Mekong subregion. However, ASEAN should still increase its participation in the Mekong subregion’s energy sector. This would complement its efforts to push forward regional power integration plans such as the “ASEAN Power Grid,” “ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint,” and “ASEAN Master Plan 2025.”
- Topic:
- Security, Poverty, Governance, Sustainability, and Energy
- Political Geography:
- China and Asia