Climate change: What Bangladesh should do
Monday, 29 November 2010
Manzur Ahmed
The offers of funds the rich countries make to the developing countries for measures to mitigate or adapt to climate change are insufficient, according to ADB president Haruhiko Kuroda (Reuters: Sunday Dec 13, 2009). "At this stage the figures committed by the developed world are still insufficient and must be substantially increased over the years to come," Kuroda said.
"Some Asian countries are going to be disproportionately affected by climate change," he said. He mentioned Bangladesh, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Pacific islands are vulnerable to sea rises, typhoons, cyclones and other weather phenomena. Many of them are "low-income countries, and the adaptation costs are huge," he said. "So the international community must provide adequate support for those severely affected and low-income countries," he added.
Mitigation means curbing greenhouse gas emissions while adaptation comprises efforts to cope with climate change by wide-ranging means from flood defences to development of drought-resistant crops and disease control.
To settle the account in favour of the most vulnerable countries (MVCs) and least developed countries (LDCs), the first and worst victims of accelerated climate change caused by the industrialised countries, Bangladesh should strongly put forward the compensatory funding obligation as follows:
Pay-back Fund: Industrialised countries, under the polluters pay principles, shall:
1. Pay back to the respective MVCs-LDCs duties collected in last ten years against goods imported from them.
2. Disburse annually to the Climate Change Fund for MVCs-LDCs X % of trade distorting domestic subsides paid to agricultural and manufactured products and services. The amount accounted for last three years should constitute the initial fund.
3. The debt servicing obligation of MVCs-LDCs have compelled them to use limited resources to finance debt re-payments and this, in turn, prevents them from financing remedial measures against the adverse impacts of climate change, trade facilitation, production, infrastructure and capacity-building activities for development. The amount payable as debt service by MVCs-LDCs should therefore be converted into additional annual fund as grant. [Repayments are made at around 400% higher exchange rate]
Additional Funding under MDG Initiative: Disburse annually 0.7 % of GNP as committed open markets and transfer technology to help MVCs-LDCs to realise their agenda for poverty reduction and sustainable development. The amount accounted for last three years should constitute the initial fund.
United Nations Resolution 2626 (XXV) October 24, 1970: "Each economically advanced country will progressively increase overseas development assistance (ODA) to the developing countries." More specifically, the rich countries committed to making their "best efforts to reach a minimum amount of 0.7 per cent of GNP at market prices by the middle of the Decade of the 1970s" (United Nations Resolution 2626 (XXV) October 24, 1970).
But almost all rich nations have failed to honour this pledge. At the end of 2008 (38 years after the year in which fulfilment of the pledge was originally promised!) only 0.3 per cent of the rich countries gross national income (GNI), (which totalled approximately US$120 billion at 2007 prices) was actually given. This total was short by US$260 billion at 2007 prices, as the 0.7 per cent figure originally pledged would have totalled $US380 billion! In 2006 the European Union redefined its pledge at 0.56 per cent of GNI by 2015.
Separate Funding under WTO Aid for Trade Initiative: Unlock the growth potential of MVCs-LDCs hindered by insufficient capacity or specific constraints by additional funding in grant form on predictable and regular basis for the following:
l Domestic regional and global connectivity.
l Accredited product and services quality management.
l Capacity-building for sustainable trade facilitation and
l Global trade rules compliance measures.
Virtual Funding by 'Rightful Global Trade': The share of the LDCs in world trade in goods at its present level of 1.8%, is disturbingly low. LDC's share in world trade in services remains at only 0.5 %. Moreover, WTO obligations are imposing increasing costs on the least developed countries. Reduce trading barriers within regions and with global markets to stimulate the supply-side response of MVCs-LDCs with immediate opening of market as under:
1. All Doha Development Agenda (DDA) related to LDCs, including duty- and quota-free market access in goods and services (mode 1, 3and 4) under Paragraph 36 of WTO Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration and GATS modalities exclusively for LDCs, should be immediately operationalised outside the single undertaking package to facilitate LDCs to meet the twin challenges of the global financial crisis and climate change with increased, predictable and sustainable trade in goods and services. The DDA-LDC Agenda, bundled with the DDA single undertaking package, is more an implementation agenda under WTO's LDC work programme.
2. Free Transfer of Technology: Industrialised countries shall notify annually the implementation of Article 66.2 of the TRIPS (trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights) Agreement ensuring free transfer of technology, by reporting on the actual transfer of technology to LDCs. They should commit and ensure free transfer of technology, among others, in the following areas:
l Gasification of coal
l Clean and renewable energy
l Bioteachnology
l Pharmaceuticals
l Environmental protection and pollution control
Environmental technology, machinery and equipments, goods and services must be made available to MVCs-LDCs as grant to facilitate adoption and implementation of adaptation projects, purchase of goods, the implementation of projects, the acquisition and transfer of technologies, and the contracting of environmental services by the MVCs-LDCs.
Funding mechanisms or modalities should provide for simple and time-bound procedures to be followed for disbursing such fund and support to be accessed, and shall also identify the financial and technical assistance resources that they are going to make available and notify annually. Donors should report and notify annually on funds dedicated respectively under Climate Change, MDG and WTO Aid for Trade schemes, how they intend to meet the recipient country's need-based projects, and their progress in mainstreaming trade into their aid programming.
The writer is Chairman, Fair Trade Advocacy Centre. e-mail: mahmed019@hotmail.com, a.manzur@yahoo.com
The offers of funds the rich countries make to the developing countries for measures to mitigate or adapt to climate change are insufficient, according to ADB president Haruhiko Kuroda (Reuters: Sunday Dec 13, 2009). "At this stage the figures committed by the developed world are still insufficient and must be substantially increased over the years to come," Kuroda said.
"Some Asian countries are going to be disproportionately affected by climate change," he said. He mentioned Bangladesh, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Pacific islands are vulnerable to sea rises, typhoons, cyclones and other weather phenomena. Many of them are "low-income countries, and the adaptation costs are huge," he said. "So the international community must provide adequate support for those severely affected and low-income countries," he added.
Mitigation means curbing greenhouse gas emissions while adaptation comprises efforts to cope with climate change by wide-ranging means from flood defences to development of drought-resistant crops and disease control.
To settle the account in favour of the most vulnerable countries (MVCs) and least developed countries (LDCs), the first and worst victims of accelerated climate change caused by the industrialised countries, Bangladesh should strongly put forward the compensatory funding obligation as follows:
Pay-back Fund: Industrialised countries, under the polluters pay principles, shall:
1. Pay back to the respective MVCs-LDCs duties collected in last ten years against goods imported from them.
2. Disburse annually to the Climate Change Fund for MVCs-LDCs X % of trade distorting domestic subsides paid to agricultural and manufactured products and services. The amount accounted for last three years should constitute the initial fund.
3. The debt servicing obligation of MVCs-LDCs have compelled them to use limited resources to finance debt re-payments and this, in turn, prevents them from financing remedial measures against the adverse impacts of climate change, trade facilitation, production, infrastructure and capacity-building activities for development. The amount payable as debt service by MVCs-LDCs should therefore be converted into additional annual fund as grant. [Repayments are made at around 400% higher exchange rate]
Additional Funding under MDG Initiative: Disburse annually 0.7 % of GNP as committed open markets and transfer technology to help MVCs-LDCs to realise their agenda for poverty reduction and sustainable development. The amount accounted for last three years should constitute the initial fund.
United Nations Resolution 2626 (XXV) October 24, 1970: "Each economically advanced country will progressively increase overseas development assistance (ODA) to the developing countries." More specifically, the rich countries committed to making their "best efforts to reach a minimum amount of 0.7 per cent of GNP at market prices by the middle of the Decade of the 1970s" (United Nations Resolution 2626 (XXV) October 24, 1970).
But almost all rich nations have failed to honour this pledge. At the end of 2008 (38 years after the year in which fulfilment of the pledge was originally promised!) only 0.3 per cent of the rich countries gross national income (GNI), (which totalled approximately US$120 billion at 2007 prices) was actually given. This total was short by US$260 billion at 2007 prices, as the 0.7 per cent figure originally pledged would have totalled $US380 billion! In 2006 the European Union redefined its pledge at 0.56 per cent of GNI by 2015.
Separate Funding under WTO Aid for Trade Initiative: Unlock the growth potential of MVCs-LDCs hindered by insufficient capacity or specific constraints by additional funding in grant form on predictable and regular basis for the following:
l Domestic regional and global connectivity.
l Accredited product and services quality management.
l Capacity-building for sustainable trade facilitation and
l Global trade rules compliance measures.
Virtual Funding by 'Rightful Global Trade': The share of the LDCs in world trade in goods at its present level of 1.8%, is disturbingly low. LDC's share in world trade in services remains at only 0.5 %. Moreover, WTO obligations are imposing increasing costs on the least developed countries. Reduce trading barriers within regions and with global markets to stimulate the supply-side response of MVCs-LDCs with immediate opening of market as under:
1. All Doha Development Agenda (DDA) related to LDCs, including duty- and quota-free market access in goods and services (mode 1, 3and 4) under Paragraph 36 of WTO Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration and GATS modalities exclusively for LDCs, should be immediately operationalised outside the single undertaking package to facilitate LDCs to meet the twin challenges of the global financial crisis and climate change with increased, predictable and sustainable trade in goods and services. The DDA-LDC Agenda, bundled with the DDA single undertaking package, is more an implementation agenda under WTO's LDC work programme.
2. Free Transfer of Technology: Industrialised countries shall notify annually the implementation of Article 66.2 of the TRIPS (trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights) Agreement ensuring free transfer of technology, by reporting on the actual transfer of technology to LDCs. They should commit and ensure free transfer of technology, among others, in the following areas:
l Gasification of coal
l Clean and renewable energy
l Bioteachnology
l Pharmaceuticals
l Environmental protection and pollution control
Environmental technology, machinery and equipments, goods and services must be made available to MVCs-LDCs as grant to facilitate adoption and implementation of adaptation projects, purchase of goods, the implementation of projects, the acquisition and transfer of technologies, and the contracting of environmental services by the MVCs-LDCs.
Funding mechanisms or modalities should provide for simple and time-bound procedures to be followed for disbursing such fund and support to be accessed, and shall also identify the financial and technical assistance resources that they are going to make available and notify annually. Donors should report and notify annually on funds dedicated respectively under Climate Change, MDG and WTO Aid for Trade schemes, how they intend to meet the recipient country's need-based projects, and their progress in mainstreaming trade into their aid programming.
The writer is Chairman, Fair Trade Advocacy Centre. e-mail: mahmed019@hotmail.com, a.manzur@yahoo.com