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This weblog shares information on key ACP-EU programmes and events
from Brussels relevant to agriculture and rural development in ACP countries.
Date : [22/04/2013]
CTA Brussels Newsletter
Main events in the week
- Main Events for the Week 22/04/2013 – 28/04/2013
- Next Brussels Briefing: Linking food, geography and people
- Video Guest: Christian Borgermeister, ICIPE
- UK threatens firms with gender quotas
- Harnessing Standby Facility for EPA Implementation
- EU urges investment drive in African farm sector
- EU: New Director-General for Agriculture and Rural Development
- Reactions to post-2015 MDGs European discussions
- EU-ACP APEs: Analytical Note on Current State of Play
- Madagascar: EU activates Civil Protection Mechanism
- Security in maritime domain: Building European Union-Wide cooperation
- EU increased controls on Kenyan peas and beans leads to 25% decrease in sales
- Newsletter SOS Faim – April 2013
- EU’s fight against money laundering in West Africa
- EU: New report on Post-2015 Development priorities
- Cut to EU funding for climate change adaptation
- Wanted: Your thoughts on the 2015 climate change agreement
- Samoa : ACP-EU looks at Virgin Oil
- EU beef, soy demand adds to Amazon destruction, says study
- European development aid drops 4.3% in 2012
- EU must stand up for gender rights in development policy
- Main Events for the Week 22/04/2013 – 28/04/2013
2013-04-22
European Parliament:
April 22-23: European Parliament Committee on Fisheries
European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs
April 23: European Parliament Committee on Development
April 24-25: European Parliament Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development
European Parliament Committee on International Trade
Council of the EU:
April 22: Foreign Affairs Council
April 22-23: Agriculture and Fisheries Council
April 22-24: Informal meetings of environment and energy ministers
April 23: General Affairs Council
ACP:
April 22: S/C on Sustainable Development
April 23-24: Joint ACP-EC Trade Cooperation Subcommittee
April 24: S/C on Investment and Private Sector
April 25-26: Committee of Ambassadors
You can also follow our new Facebook group CTABrussels and our Twitter account CTABrussels to receive up-to-date information on EU-ACP events.
- Next Brussels Briefing: Linking food, geography and people
2013-04-22
NEWSLETTER_CATEGORIES : ACP-EU Trade, Rural development, Agriculture,
The next Brussels Development Briefing will tackle the topic of ‘Food, geography, traditions: Protecting agricultural traditional products’, by looking at the challenges and opportunities for protecting traditional knowledge and registered agricultural products in a sustainable way.
The first session will look at ways of preserving traditional knowledge: frameworks, processes and tools, and will discuss the various frameworks, uses and tools to protect and preserve traditional agricultural and food products, and their added value in terms of quality, reputation, competitiveness, profitability and support to biodiversity.
The second panel will review the potential of origin-linked tools for ACP producers based on successes, by looking especially at sustainability factors.
Confirmed speakers include: Bernard O’Connor, from O'Connor European Lawyers, European Commission and ACP experts, representatives from World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Réseau Echanges Développement Durable (REDD), and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
The event will take place on Wednesday, 15th May 2013, starting at 8.45 am.
Kindly register at: http://brusselsbriefings.net/
 Read more
More on the Brussels Briefings
Consult the material from the last Brussels Briefing
- Video Guest: Christian Borgermeister, ICIPE
2013-04-19
NEWSLETTER_CATEGORIES : Rural development, Food Security, Agriculture, Archive
Watch the interview with Christian Borgermeister, Director General of ICIPE - a pan-African research organisation focused on tropical insect science – to find out more about the way the two technologies that they have developed with support from the EU could dramatically improve the livelihoods of resource-poor farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as the standard of living of East-Africa pastoralists.
Topics:
- The new tsetse repellent technology, using odors of waterbuck to keep at bay the tsetse flies.
- The 'Push-Pull' method: a conservation agricultural approach that exploits natural insect-plant and insect-insect relationships can be used to control pests as stemborers and striga weed in maize fields.
Watch the Video
EU-ICIPE project: Tsetse repellent technology
Push-Pull: model for Africa’s green revolution
- UK threatens firms with gender quotas
2013-04-19
NEWSLETTER_CATEGORIES : Archive
The British government, which has staunchly opposed EU efforts to set gender quotas for corporate management, has warned it could introduce quotas if British companies fail to appoint more women to their boards.
The move could give renewed impetus to the gender quota proposal launched last November by EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding, which was heavy criticised by Britain. “Companies should be under no illusion that [the UK] government will adopt tougher measures if necessary,” UK Business Secretary Vince Cable told the daily Standard on 10 April.“Quotas are still a real possibility if we do not meet the 25% [UK] target,” Cable added.
The warning came in the wake of a report also published last week indicating that the pace of women’s appointments to UK boards is slowing.
Published by the Cranfield School of Management, the report found that during the second half of last year the number of women appointed to boards of the 100 largest listed UK companies fell from 44% to 26%, whilst female appointments to the boards of the next 250 largest UK listed companies also fell from 36% to 29%.
In November 2012, the EU proposed a legislative action which set the objective of achieving 40% women in non-executive board-member positions in publicly listed companies, with the exception of small and medium enterprises, by 2020 for private companies, whilst public undertakings would be expected to reach the target more quickly, by 2018.
On 13 March the European Parliament backed the Commission’s pledge to create binding rules to increase the number of women in top jobs, if member states have not voluntarily taken action to redress gender imbalance in the workplace.
In June 2013, the EU Commission is to assess results of the consultation on the matter and come up with appropriate measures.
Source: Euractiv
Read more
Reding pushes 40% female quota on corporate boards
EU commissioner up for 'fight' on gender quotas
- Harnessing Standby Facility for EPA Implementation
2013-04-19
NEWSLETTER_CATEGORIES : ACP-EU Trade
Members of the Caribbean Forum of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (CARIFORUM) should make full use of the standby Facility, made available for capacity building under the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union (EU), Clairvair Squires, Chief of the Technical Cooperation Division within the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) said.
Squires made this statement on the occasion of the CDB-organized Technical Briefing Meeting on the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) Standby Facility for Capacity Building, which took place in Barbados on 11 April 2013.
The Standby Facility is a €3.5m fund administered by the CDB, with support from National Authoring Officers in respective States. It is managed by a Steering Committee, comprising representatives of the European Commission and the CARICOM Secretariat
It started December 2012 and it will last three years until December 2015. The facility is funded by the EU, as part of the previous 10th European Development Fund (EDF). It is be used by the beneficiary countries for national EPA implementation units; for administrative, technical and other support for national focal points and for technical assistance assignments to advise on or to assist in taking advantage of opportunities under EPA.
The expectation is that plans will be made to better position States to tap designated resources. The Plans draw on the high level Draft EPA Regional Implementation Road Map, a document that identifies the broad actions to be taken in respect of implementation at the national and regional levels.
The fifteen signatory Caribbean Forum of African, Caribbean and Pacific (CARIFORUM) States to the EPA are the independent CARICOM Member States and the Dominican Republic.
The EPA was signed in 2008. Some states (11 from the CARIFORUM) still have to ratify it (four have already done so).
Source: CARICOM
Read more
Standby Facility to help with EPA implementation in the Caribbean
CARICOM : EPA implementation gets a boost
- EU urges investment drive in African farm sector
2013-04-19
NEWSLETTER_CATEGORIES : Agriculture
European companies must invest more in Africa's agricultural sector to keep pace with growing interest from countries such as China and Brazil, EU farm commissioner Dacian Ciolos said at the Agribusiness Forum, hold in Brussels on 10th of April.
Home to a quarter of the world's fertile land but only 10 percent of global agricultural output, the potential for growth in Africa's farming sector is clear, Ciolos considers. However, poor transport and storage infrastructure are among the factors holding back growth in the sector, which not only threatens the continent's food security, but also presents an opportunity for private investment from Europe and elsewhere: "This shows the importance for the European Union to be present in the food security debate and not turn its back on Africa, just as other parts of the world become more and more interested".
Greater private investment in African agriculture would also help fill the gap created by declining European public support for the sector, which has fallen by half since the 1980s, Ciolos said."Agriculture has been side-lined in favour of other political and economic priorities, despite the challenge of global hunger," he said.
Rising global food demand in recent years has driven an increase in large-scale land investments in sub-Saharan Africa by foreign companies, which have been accused of "land-grabbing" with the help of compliant African officials. Ciolos said governments and companies had a shared responsibility to ensure that any investment respected the rights of local communities to access land, and urged a focus on investing in small farmers which account for 70 percent of total output.
Source: Reuters
Read more
Read the speech
More about the Commissioner
- EU: New Director-General for Agriculture and Rural Development
2013-04-19
NEWSLETTER_CATEGORIES : Rural development, Agriculture
Mr Jerzy Bogdan PLEWA is the new Director General of the Agriculture and Rural Development Directorate-General (DG AGRI) of the European commission. The appointment took effect on 16 April 2013.
Mr Plewa, 58 and Polish national, was previously Deputy Director-General in DG AGRI, responsible for Rural Development and Sustainability Policy. Before that he was Deputy Director-General in charge of international affairs in DG AGRI.
From 1997 until July 2004, Mr Plewa was Under-Secretary of State at the Polish Ministry of Agriculture and Regional Development, where he was responsible for negotiations on agriculture issues with the EU, other countries and international organisations. During that time, Mr Plewa was also chief negotiator on agricultural affairs in the team negotiating Poland’s accession to the European Union. From 1995 until 1997, he was a Director in the Polish Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development.
Source: European Commission
Read more
More on DG Agriculture
- Reactions to post-2015 MDGs European discussions
2013-04-18
NEWSLETTER_CATEGORIES : Development Policy
As European Commission leaders make calls for EU countries to raise their spending on development aid for the world’s poor, groups working in underdeveloped states have warned that without more effective aid policies and networks, extra financing may be wasted. Moreover, an architect of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) has warned that the European Union runs the risk of overreach as it tries to shape the future international anti-poverty agenda.
Assembled at the launch of the European Report on Development (ERD) at the beginning of April in Brussels, speakers pointed out that rich nations must look very carefully at the wider development agenda if they are to get “value for money” from their aid contributions. NGOs complain that there is a lack of understanding about the development needs of individual countries and that setting arbitrary targets or goals internationally is not always useful at a local level; there is a feeling among some groups that richer countries, including those in the EU, do not listen carefully enough to the voices of those in poorer nations about aid. “Just giving money to poorer countries and telling them to meet some arbitrary targets is a ‘lose-lose’ situation for all involved. The donor states’ taxpayers do not get value for money if nothing is changed and it is no good for the developing countries if they get money but can’t use it to their own requirements”, Dr Debapriya Battacharya, Chair of Southern Voice on Post-MDG International Development Goals – a network of more than 40 think tanks from South Asia, Africa and Latin America said. She considers that the ‘post-2015’ debate is a “balance of power”, with a strong asymmetry in the North, in terms of knowledge especially. This is why, experience from the south should be taken more into account in the discussion.
Additionally, simply increasing aid financing would not be enough, NGOs believe. Gerard Vives, European coordinator for the European NGO CONCORD’s ‘Beyond2015’ campaign, told Inter Press Service (IPS): “The European Union must champion a global framework that places people at its centre. This means focusing on human rights and accountability”.
Jan Vandemoortele, a co-architect of the MDGs and now an independent author and lecturer is not confident that a new global framework for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) will be actually found. “Now, everyone around the table wants their issue included in the new replacement for the MDGs. That cannot work. Someone has to make a decision to leave something out. You have to ask is the new framework about a means to a development end or about the ultimate end itself? I think it has to be about the ultimate end itself and issues like trade and finance are a means, not an end, and they should be left out”, he said. Creating targets that are too specific “will always clash with national priorities,” Vandemoortele told EurActiv.
He also assessed that the proposals from the European Commission and independent panel of experts risked “overload, prescription and donorship” that could set advanced nations on a collision course with emerging economic powers. “The whole debate is an effort to keep the old script going, the old script of the ‘90s,” Vandemoortele said.
Since the MDGs were created, stagnation in advanced countries and the emergence of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – the so-called BRICS - as economic powers have meant a shift in global dynamics. The BRICs, along with many of the Group of 77 developing nations, resisted EU efforts at the 2009 Copenhagen climate conference and the 2012 Rio summit on sustainable development to agree binding international climate and environmental targets. That could happen again in the post-MDG discussions, Vandemoortele said, adding that the BRICS and G77 “will likely take a different view of the post-2015 agenda”.
“I don’t know how to do it this time,” he added. “The more I listen and the more I read, that may be the fate of this process, that it may not yield a result at all.”
The MDGs, which call for reducing poverty and hunger, achieving universal education and other targets, are due to expire in 2015. Discussions are now under way to develop a successor.
Source: IPS, Euractiv
Read more
EU pushing ‘old 90s script’ on next UN aid agenda
EU: New report on Post-2015 Development priorities
- EU-ACP APEs: Analytical Note on Current State of Play
2013-04-18
NEWSLETTER_CATEGORIES : ACP-EU Trade
African and Pacific countries must negotiate the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with the EU keeping as their primary focus the policy flexibilities they need for their development and the building of production capacities, states an analytical note on the current State of Play of the agreements, drafted by The South Centre (the Centre) - an intergovernmental organization of developing countries - last month.
The document highlights the concerns of the highest political authorities of ACP States regarding the EPAs and the inherent dangers for regional integration, industrialization, and the development of ACP States. It also suggests that activity is likely to increase further given the high probability that Europe will remove countries from being recipients of EU preferences provided under the EC market access regulation 1528/2007 if they have not signed or ratified their EPA by 1 October 2014.
It recommends however, that EPAs should not be completed out of fear or pressure of time geared towards averting the risk of trade disruption for non-LDCs. The losses of signing an EPA (tariff revenue foregone) also outweigh the gains (the duties avoided if the EPAs are signed). Thus far, attempts at inserting ACP countries’ concerns into the negotiations have been difficult due to the largely inflexible positions of the EU. In this regard, the organization believes that the African Union’s proposal for a common and enhanced trade preference system for least developed countries (LDCs) and low income countries (LICs) should be seriously considered. Also, ACP states should also focus on other alternatives to EPAs and policies to boost South-South trade.
The South Centre (the Centre) is an intergovernmental organization of developing countries established by an Intergovernmental Agreement (Treaty) which came into force on 31 July 1995 with its headquarters in Geneva.
Source: The South Centre
Read more
More on the 'South Center'
EU imposes deadline for signing EPAs
- Madagascar: EU activates Civil Protection Mechanism
2013-04-18
NEWSLETTER_CATEGORIES : Archive
The passage of the tropical cyclone Haruna in February 2013, which affected over 40,000 people in Madagascar, has again highlighted the dangers of chemical and industrial accidents and spills following natural disasters.
On 27 March, the European Commission Monitoring and Information Centre received an official request for assistance from the joint UNEP/OCHA Environmental Emergencies Section (a collaborative arrangement between the United Nations Environment Programme and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) working with the Government of Madagascar and immediately activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.
In response to the request for additional expertise to join a scoping mission to the cyclone-hit country, three experts were nominated by the Participating States. The selected French EU civil protection expert joined the UNEP/OCHA mission that departed 6 April and spent five days in the field.
The team has assessed the overall situation including environmental, institutional, legal and capacity implications and will be helping the government of Madagascar to develop a prevention programme and response plan for chemical and industrial accidents.
The European Commission Monitoring and Information Centre has also activated the Copernicus/GMES Emergency Mapping Service to support this mission with satellite images.
This active assistance will contribute to avoiding major chemical and industrial disasters in the future.
Madagascar, the world’s fourth biggest island, is prone to cyclones and tropical storms, particularly during the rainy season between January and April. This year saw the strongest tropical cyclone so far, Haruna, hit the south-west coast of the island in February.
The European Commission allocated €200 000 on Humanitarian Aid to provide the most vulnerable with life-saving assistance such as water, hygiene and sanitation facilities, and shelter working through its humanitarian partners on the ground.
On 20 February 2013, the government of Madagascar issued a request for assistance to the UN for a scoping mission to assess the imminent threats, possible responses, preparedness and prevention measures, focusing on possible secondary hazards and impacts of natural disasters on its industry.
The European Civil Protection Mechanism facilitates cooperation in disaster response among 32 European states (EU-27 plus Croatia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Norway). The participating countries pool the resources that can be made available to disaster-stricken countries all over the world. When activated, the Mechanism coordinates the provision of assistance inside and outside the European Union. The European Commission manages the Mechanism through the Monitoring and Information Centre (MIC).
Source: European Commission
Read more
Blog: Red Cross Responds to Cyclone Damage in Madagascar
More on the Community Mechanism for Civil Protection
- Security in maritime domain: Building European Union-Wide cooperation
2013-04-18
NEWSLETTER_CATEGORIES : Regional Fisheries
The Irish Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence, Mr. Alan Shatter, T.D., outlined on April, 8 the importance of building an EU-wide consensus to deliver effective security in the maritime domain, addressing thus one of Ireland’s EU Presidency priorities- the collaboration in the field of maritime safety, security and surveillance in the EU.
The remark was made in the opening the high level seminar on Challenges and Opportunities in Maritime Security and Surveillance for Effective Governance and Innovation in the EU’s Maritime Domain.
However threats, such as, illegal and uncontrolled migration, illegal fishing, terrorism, piracy, and people and drug trafficking cannot be addressed by individual Member States acting in isolation. “We need to focus on how we can improve cooperation between all the various actors, whether that be naval forces, coastguards, customs, police or other member State security actors engaged in delivering maritime security, safety and surveillance within the Union”, the Minister said.
Source: Irish Presidency of the EU
Read more
EU : strategy against maritime piracy
Rise of Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea
- EU increased controls on Kenyan peas and beans leads to 25% decrease in sales
2013-04-18
NEWSLETTER_CATEGORIES : ACP-EU Trade
A 25% decrease in Kenyan beans sales was registered in January 2013, compared to January 2012, after the European Commission decided in December 2012 to increase to 10% the frequency of pesticide residues border controls on French beans and peas imported from the country, the Fresh Produce Association of Kenya (FPEAK) claims.
In Kenya green beans are grown mainly by smallholder farmers under irrigation. According to a recent study (August 2012) an estimated 50,000 growers may be involved, mainly households with less than 2 acres of land.The fresh bean industry also employs 45,000 to 60,000 people, of whom an estimated 60 per cent are women, in commercial farms, processing, and logistical operations.
In January 2013 about 4,200MT of beans and peas in pods were exported to the EU, comprising 3,200 consignments. Out of these, about 250 laboratory tests were done; however, over 99.9% of the samples were negative, “meaning that the vast majority of Kenyan beans are compliant with the EU rules on pesticides”, FPEAK says.
Through the national food safety coordinating committee (NFSCC), Kenyan stakeholders have organized themselves to address the situation and develop long and short-terms solutions. The group is meeting regularly in Kenya and liaising with key stakeholders (including DG SANCO and donors) as they put together an action plan. Among a range of actions, this plan recognizes the need to improve and coordinate training on pesticide use throughout the sector as well as, crucially, to strengthen the national programme of residue monitoring and surveillance.
PIP is a European cooperation programme managed by COLEACP- the Europe-Africa-Caribbean-Pacific Liaison Committee, an interprofessional network promoting sustainable horticultural trade, gathering together ACP producers/exporters and EU importers of fruit and vegetables, flowers and ornamental plants, and other companies and partners operating in the ACP/EU horticultural industry. The programme is financed by the European Development Fund and implemented at the request of the ACP (Africa, Caribbean and Pacific) Group of States. In accordance with the Millennium Development Goals, the global objective is to: “Maintain and, if possible, increase the contribution made by export horticulture to the reduction of poverty in ACP countries”.
Source: PIP - COLEACP
Read more
Kenya in talks with EU over export restrictions
Tougher rules for vegetable exporters to the EU
- Newsletter SOS Faim – April 2013
2013-04-18
NEWSLETTER_CATEGORIES : Development Policy, Rural development
The newsletter from SOS Faim for the month of April 2013 is out. The newsletter includes among others articles on the 20 anniversary of SOS Faim Luxembourg, an analysis on the vote of the EU CAP (Common Agricultural Policy), as well as a piece on the importance of local partners in the food supply chain in developing countries.
SOS Faim is a development NGO striving against hunger and rural poverty, based in Belgium and Luxembourg. It was established in 1964 following an appeal from FAO (The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations).
Source: SOS Faim
Read more [FR]
More on SOS Faim
Newsletter SOS Faim - December 2012
- EU’s fight against money laundering in West Africa
2013-04-17
NEWSLETTER_CATEGORIES : Development Policy
The European Union launched on March, 18 a new project which will contribute to the fight against money laundering in Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal and Cape Verde. The project will help law enforcement agencies to better investigate money laundering, and thereby fight organized crime. At the same time, it is expected to increase regional cooperation among these countries which are part of the "Cocaine route", i.e. the route used by South American drug cartels to ship drugs into Europe.
Andris Piebalgs, Commissioner for Development believes that drug trafficking needs to be addressed globally, as in West African countries, the money laundering, generated by illegal profits, “destabilizes whole economies, threatening both their development and their stability."
The Anti-money laundering project is worth €1.8 million and is funded under the Instrument for Stability (IfS), as part of the "Cocaine Route Programme", which has as aim to enhance the effectiveness of law enforcement and judicial services of the EU partner countries in the fight against international criminal networks, while fully respecting human rights. The Cocaine Route Programme started in 2009 and is trans-regional, with activities covering 36 countries, of which half are in Africa (mainly West-Africa), five are in the Caribbean and the rest are in Latin and Central America. The programme seeks to establish gradual stronger links with West Africa.
At present, the West Africa suffers from a lack of regulation of the non-financial sector, which plays an important role in the laundering of funds in cash based economies. There is also currently insufficient cooperation between the countries in the region, which is crucial to counter cross-border threats such as organised crime. In addition the law enforcement agencies often lack capacity and access to information.
The Instrument for Stability (IfS) is a tool that links security and development, as it fills gaps where or other instruments cannot be used.The Instrument can be used to address trans-regional threats to security.
Source: European Commission
Read more
More on the Instrument for Stability (IfS)
More on the Cocaine Route Programme
- EU: New report on Post-2015 Development priorities
2013-04-17
NEWSLETTER_CATEGORIES : Development Policy
A new European Report on Development (ERD) on how global action can best support the efforts of the poorest countries in achieving development was published on 9th of April in Brussels.
The ERD 2013, entitled 'Post 2015: Global Action for an Inclusive and Sustainable Future', comes just over a month after the publication of EU's proposal for the development framework once the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) come to an end in 2015 (explained in the policy document 'A Decent Life for All: Ending Poverty and Giving the World a Sustainable Future').
Supported by the European Commission and seven Member States (Finland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom), the European Report on Development (ERD) is the main output of the "Mobilising European Research for Development Policies" initiative. This flagship report is published since 2009, with the aim of stimulating debate and research on topics of major relevance for development, as well as to enhance the European perspective in the international development arena.
The ERD 2013 was prepared by an independent team of researchers from three research institutes: Overseas Development Institute (ODI), German Development Institute/Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) and European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM). The analysis is also enriched by four case studies prepared by local research institutes in Côte d’Ivoire (CIRES), Nepal (SAWTEE and Social Science Baha), Peru (IEP and Rimisp) and Rwanda (IPAR).
The document recommends that the post-2015 agenda should build on the MDGs, but strive to deliver on the wider vision of the Millennium Declaration (this would require going both “Beyond MDGs” and “Beyond Aid”).
It outlines “main messages” that the EU should present in the post-2015 discussions:
• A strong international collective action
• Emphasising structural economic and social transformations - creating employment, addressing inequality and finding sustainable solutions
• National ownership is crucial (the new framework should pay more attention to how global goals relate to national needs and targets
• Instruments to be used and their targets should be clearly highlighted
Source: European Commission
Read more
Consult the report
EU: linking poverty eradication to sustainable development
- Cut to EU funding for climate change adaptation
2013-04-17
NEWSLETTER_CATEGORIES : Environment
Global funding for programs mainly focused on helping developing countries adapt to the effects of climate change fell from $3.1 billion in 2010 to $1.8 billion in 2011, the latest report on global spending levels on development aid of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) - published on 3rd of April - shows.
Although the OECD has not yet released climate finance figures for 2012, research by Oxfam suggests that levels of public climate finance did not improve last year.
European governments funding fell from €1.4 billion in 2010 to €619 million in 2011 (a 55% drop).
At the 2009 Copenhagen talks, developed countries committed to provide climate finance balanced between adaption and emissions-mitigation programs. However, Oxfam analysis has shown that just 21% of the global available funds have gone to adaptation.
At the EU level, the Fast Start Finance (the collective pledge for funds, started after the Copenhagen conference) has performed slightly better with a 30% destined for adaptation between 2010 and 2012 but is still far off a balanced 50% mark. OECD figures show that European targeted funding principally for mitigation purposes also declined by more than half in 2011.
Oxfam believes that the period between 2013 and 2015 will be crucial to deliver concrete results on climate finance, as a failure to do so may put at risk a global climate deal in 2015. Thus, the NGO suggest that at the UN talks (COP19) this December in Poland there should be three main objectives, namely: to set out a target for the public climate over the period 2013-2015, and towards 2020; to pledge funds to the Green Climate Fund at the latest by the end of COP19, and to agree for a minimum of 50% of all public climate finance between now and 2020 to be spent on adaptation.
Source: oxfameu.blogactiv.eu
Read more
European development aid drops 4.3% in 2012
More on the Fast Start Finance initiative
- Wanted: Your thoughts on the 2015 climate change agreement
2013-04-17
NEWSLETTER_CATEGORIES : Environment
The European Commission has put out a call for the opinions of stakeholders and the public alike on what needs to feature in the next global agreement on climate change, with the launch on March 26 of a consultative paper containing questions aimed at shaping the debate.
The paper (Consultative Communication), titled ”The 2015 International Climate Change Agreement: Shaping international climate policy beyond 2020,” was launched ahead of a stakeholder conference being organized by the commission on April 17. It invites a debate with Member States, EU institutions and stakeholders on how best to shape the international climate regime between 2020 and 2030. It sets out a context and poses a set of questions to frame this debate.
Responses will feed into the European Union’s position on a new international agreement aimed at tackling climate change, which is expected to be adopted by 2015 and implemented in 2020. The EU had pushed for a new global climate deal at COP 17 — the 2011 United Nations Climate Change Conference held in Durban, South Africa — that would also involve emerging economies such as China.
“An ambitious international agreement in which all major economies commit to take action according to their current and future capabilities is vital if we are to succeed. This paper is an invitation to help shape the EU’s position and contribute to getting the strongest possible deal in 2015,” European Commissioner for Climate Action Connie Hedegaard said.
The consultation will run through June 26. Some of the questions raised in the paper include the following:
• How can the 2015 agreement most effectively encourage the mainstreaming of climate change in all relevant policy areas?
• What should be the future role of the convention and specifically the 2015 agreement in the decade up to 2030 with respect to finance, market-based mechanisms and technology?
• How should countries be held accountable when they fail to meet their commitments?
• How could the U.N. climate negotiating process be improved to better support reaching an inclusive, ambitious, effective and fair 2015 agreement and ensure its implementation?
• How can the EU best invest in and support processes and initiatives outside the convention to pave the way for an ambitious and effective 2015 agreement?
Source: Devex
Read more
Consult the paper
The 2015 International Climate Change Agreement
- Samoa : ACP-EU looks at Virgin Oil
2013-04-15
NEWSLETTER_CATEGORIES : ACP-EU Trade
Discussing organic virgin coconut oil as an export commodity was the focus of an official's visit to a production site in Samoa on April 3. Fatumanava Dr Pa’o Luteru, Samoas Ambassador to Brussels, and Bobby Byll, from the Secretariat of the African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States were in Samoa for meetings with relevant stakeholders potentially involved on the Pacific Regional Coconut Developpement Dossier project, in order to gather information on feasible coconut-related projects.
Samoa has recently been included in this pilot project. The Pacific Regional Coconut Developpement Dossier also includes Fiji, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu.
The idea is to finance the pilot programmes through regional allocations at ACP and then to use the pilots to help develop capacity. The projects will include major developments in the form of integrated coconut processing in at least two countries with a medium one in another and two smaller ones as well as use of shells for biogas to produce electricity.
Pilot projects should be implemented in Vanuatu (Santo) and Samoa. Other countries may come on board later on.
Source: The Savali Newspaper
Read more
More on the Pacific Regional Coconut Development Dossier
EU : New energy funding in the Pacific
- EU beef, soy demand adds to Amazon destruction, says study
2013-04-15
NEWSLETTER_CATEGORIES : Environment
EU demand for Brazilian beef and soy is contributing to deforestation of the Amazon and rising CO2 emissions, says a report by the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research (CICERO) - an independent Oslo-based think tank- published on 4th of April.
The authors estimated the CO2 emissions caused by deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon from 1990 to 2010 and correlated that with deforestation driven by demand for land for cattle and soybeans. A total of 2.7 billion tonnes of CO2, or 30% of the carbon emissions associated with deforestation in the last decade, was exported from Brazil. Of this, 29% were due to soybean production and 71% due to cattle ranching, said the study, which was funded by the Norwegian Research Council.
Over recent years, researchers have begun to reevaluate CO2 emissions, allocating them to countries where the products are consumed rather than produced. “With a consumption perspective, the share of responsibility for deforestation is divided among the global consumers. What, in one perspective is Brazil’s problem, is now a global problem”, Jonas Karstensen, the study's main author said.
The EU is aware of the issue, but does not consider trade restrictions as a viable solution for it. However, it mentions the possibility of working with the private sector in order to develop labeling schemes for sustainable ("deforestation free") agricultural production.
Over the past two decades, the share of emissions linked to beef and soybeans that was exported to Europe has fallen slightly: European consumption has gone from 7% to under 6% of Brazil's exported emissions from beef.
Also, emissions from European consumption of soybeans rose markedly between 1998 and 2004, coinciding with increased trade between the two regions, but has returned in recent years to its 1990 level of some 20%.
Source: Euractiv
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CICERO : Trade a driver of Brazilian deforestation
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- European development aid drops 4.3% in 2012
2013-04-15
NEWSLETTER_CATEGORIES : Development Policy
EU member states of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) - a group of 25 wealthy OECD countries - contribution to international development funds fell by €2.3 billion in 2012 (representing a drop of 4,3% compared to 2011), according to an Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) report published on 3rd of April.
Thus, in 2012, EU DAC countries - Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Germany, France, Belgium, Ireland, Finland, UK, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Luxemburg- donated €50.5 billion in official development assistance (ODA), compared to €52.8bn in 2011.
In terms of rate of the gross national income (GNI), EU DAC countries donated 0.39% of GNI to overseas aid, down from 0.42% in 2011. The EU as a collective donated 0.43% of the GNI in 2012, down from 0.45% the year before (€55.1bn in 2012, a fall of €1.1bn in 2011).
This was the second consecutive yearly drop in overseas aid, sparking fears that the EU may fail to meet its 2015 United Nations commitment of allocating 0.7% gross national income (GNI) to aid.
All but two EU countries - Austria (+6.1%) and Luxembourg (+9.8%) - made cuts to their aid budget. Austerity-hit Spain (-49.7%), Italy (-34.7%), Greece (-17%), Portugal (-13.1%) reduced their development aid by more than any other DAC members. Larger European aid donors Germany (-0.7%), France (-1.0%), and the United Kingdom -2.2%) also made small overall reductions to overseas aid.
The OECD and the European Commission blamed the financial crisis and eurozone turmoil for the reduction, as many countries struggled to balance their national budgets.
Out of the 27 EU countries, only Denmark, Luxembourg, Sweden, and the Netherlands had already met the 0.7% GNI target.
DAC countries outside of the EU fared better, with Korea (+17.6%), Australia (+9.1%), and Canada (+4.1%) increasing their aid sizably, due to a scaling up of their aid programmes and an increase in bilaterals grants, in Canada's case.
In total the 25 DAC members donated €97.8 billion in net official development assistance (ODA), a 4% reduction compared to 2011, when it dropped by 2%. This amounted to 0.29% of their combined gross national income.
The EU remained the world’s largest aid donor, providing more than half of the OECD's ODA.
Earlier this year, European ministers have agreed to pledge €58.7 billion for external aid from the EU budget over the 2014-2020 period, compared to the €70 billion initially proposed by the Commission.
In 2005, EU member states pledged to increase Official Development Assistance (ODA) to 0.7% of Gross National Income (GNI) by 2015 and included an interim target of 0.56% ODA/GNI by 2010.These were based on individual targets of 0.7% ODA/GNI for the EU 15 and 0.33% GNI for the 12 Member States which joined the EU in 2004 and 2007, according to the European Commission.
Source: Euractiv
Read more
OECD : Aid to poor countries slips further
Parliament regrets development aid cuts
- EU must stand up for gender rights in development policy
2013-04-15
NEWSLETTER_CATEGORIES : Archive
"Public awareness of the potential to drive development by advancing gender equality is gaining momentum […]The biggest battle for the future of international development is the ideological one: deciding whether to make women and men, and their sexual and reproductive health and rights, equal”, writes Neil Datta, secretary of the European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development.
In the report on “Women’s rights and the right to food” of Olivier De Schutter, UN’s special rapporteur clear causal links between improving gender equality and improving food security are found.
Since 2000 the international community has agreed that gender equality is one of the biggest challenges that must be achieved in order to reduce global poverty. So important, in fact, that it deserves its own Millennium Development Goal. But the danger of it being dealt with in exclusion is that the complexity, and its interwoven connections with other areas of development, will be neglected, as the battle for gender equality is categorised alongside the battle for the poor to become rich or the sick to become healthy.
Unlike most other development challenges, gender equality requires ideological social change to take place. Social change that has often taken decades, generations or even centuries to come about in places where it has already started to occur. The argument to provide money, medicine, education, clean water, housing, bed nets, infrastructure or working toilets is a simple one that requires little ideological debate to agree with. And these are ideas for which quantifiable indicators can be found to placate cash-strapped donors in search of value for money.
Source: Euractiv
Read more
EU to promote women's education in Africa
EU citizens : more women in power in developing countries
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