With the publication of its Synthesis Report in March 2023, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has completed its work programme for the sixth assessment cycle. The IPCC reports, and in particular the respective Summary for Policy Makers (SPM), provide a scientific basis for negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). They are a key reference in the global climate debate. The most recent Synthesis Report (SYR) is considered one of the most important sources of information for the first Global Stocktake under the Paris Agreement, which is to be concluded at the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP28) in Dubai in December 2023. The knowledge politics surfacing in controversies that were visible during the report’s adoption reflect the conflicting interests that will shape the upcoming round of new emission reduction and financing pledges.
Die Klimapolitik in der Europäischen Union und in Deutschland hat sich mit der Verabschiedung von Netto-Null-Zielen deutlich verändert. Eine neue Entwicklung ist die Bedeutung von Carbon Management. Der Sammelbegriff umfasst neben der Abscheidung und Speicherung von CO2 (Carbon Capture and Storage, CCS) auch die CO2‑Abscheidung und Nutzung (Carbon Capture and Utilization, CCU) sowie die Entnahme von CO2 aus der Atmosphäre (Carbon Dioxide Removal, CDR). Es ist wichtig, Klarheit in Bezug auf die Abgrenzung dieser einzelnen Ansätze zu schaffen und ihr Verhältnis zu den sogenannten Restemissionen und schwer vermeidbaren Emissionen zu identifizieren. Dies ist insbesondere deshalb ratsam, weil davon das generelle Ambitionsniveau der Klimapolitik, die zukünftige Ausgestaltung der Politikdesigns sowie deren Verteilungswirkungen abhängen. Aktuelle Politik- und Gesetzgebungsprozesse sollten genutzt werden, um darauf hinzuwirken, dass Carbon Management den Ausstieg aus fossilen Energieträgern nicht verlangsamt. Die neuen Initiativen bieten die Gelegenheit, die Schnittstelle zwischen ambitioniertem Klimaschutz und Industriepolitik aktiv zu gestalten.
Das Soziale Europa ist zurück auf der politischen Agenda – als Folge schwerer Wirtschaftskrisen, der einstigen Austeritätspolitik und eines Wandels im europäischen Diskursrahmen. Fünf Jahre nach ihrer Proklamation ist die Europäische Säule sozialer Rechte – obwohl rechtlich unverbindlich – zum zentralen Bezugspunkt sozialpolitischer Vorhaben auf EU-Ebene geworden. Langsam, aber stetig verbessert sich die soziale Situation der EU, wobei es weiterhin große Divergenzen gibt. In den Mitgliedstaaten werden die Säule und das sie begleitende Social Scoreboard nur erratisch genutzt. Sozialinvestitionen und ‑reformen, die mithilfe der Aufbau- und Resilienzfazilität finanziert werden, orientieren sich nur in Teilen an sozialen Defiziten. Zugleich hat das europäische Krisenmanagement in der Pandemie dazu beigetragen, die Säule sozialer Rechte umzusetzen. Mit ermöglicht haben diesen Erfolg finanzunterlegte Instrumente wie das Kurzarbeitergeld SURE. Durch eine Reihe von Maßnahmen ließe sich die Umsetzung der Säule stabilisieren. Zu empfehlen wäre, die Indikatoren des Scoreboards gezielter auch auf nationaler Ebene zu nutzen, SURE zu einer Europäischen Arbeitslosenversicherung weiterzuentwickeln, ein Verfahren zu sozialen Ungleichgewichten einzurichten sowie Freiräume für Sozialinvestitionen im Stabilitäts- und Wachstumspakt zu schaffen.
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For more than three decades, radio stations have been an integral part of several UN peace operations, with UN radio stations currently active in the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali, and South Sudan. These radio stations enable the UN to share reliable information with people in contexts where trustworthy information is often in short supply. Together with Fondation Hirondelle and UNESCO, IPI cohosted a policy forum on May 4th to discuss the role of UN radio and other media platforms in fostering a healthy information environment and supporting a robust local media landscape.
As information spreads faster than ever through digital channels, radio stations are being forced to evolve into multimedia platforms. “Radio is not typically the first platform that comes to mind when thinking about the ways we access information today, but in many countries, it remains a powerful tool” asserted IPI’s Editor and Research Fellow Albert Trithart.
UN radio stations have and continue to face an array of challenges. They need to strike a delicate balance between their role in serving the UN mission as a source of public information and strategic communications, on the one hand, and in serving the public as a source of impartial news, on the other. They also need to balance their role as a major media outlet with their responsibility to foster a broader network of independent local journalists that will outlast the presence of the UN mission. On top of this, UN radio stations face broader political challenges, including some missions’ deteriorating relationships with host states, shrinking civic space, threats to journalists, and disinformation campaigns.
The framework of the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity aims to create free and safe environments for journalists and media workers worldwide. Within this framework, local and community radio stations often play a critical role in ensuring access to conflict-sensitive humanitarian and other public interest content. Andrea Cairola of UNESCO’s Freedom of Expression and Safety of Journalists Section provided insight on how geopolitical and technological changes have impacted UN Peacekeeping radio over the past three decades, specifically in relation to radio equipment and media liberalization since the late 1990s.
Chief of Communications and Public Information for UNMISS Ben Dotsei Malor raised the following critical question: “What do we do when missions leave?”
When the United Nations Operation in Cote d’Ivoire (ONUCI) closed, Radio de la Paix, formerly ONUCI FM, was born out of a memorandum of understanding between the national government and the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Foundation for Peace. Building an audience and gaining the trust of the population takes time. If a media landscape is left abruptly, people are deprived of a basic human right, the right to information, which is accompanied by many consequences. Transition strategies need to be built from day one insisted Caroline Vuillemin, Executive Director of Fondation Hirondelle.
This side event took place one day after World Press Freedom Day on May 3rd and comes as the UN assesses its approach to strategic communications in peacekeeping missions. The 2023 World Press Freedom Day marked the thirtieth anniversary of the proclamation of an international day to advocate for press freedom and took place under the theme “Shaping a Future of Rights: Freedom of Expression as a Driver for All Other Human Rights.” IPI’s event served as an occasion to reflect on the critical role that access to information, including through UN radio, plays in ensuring the enjoyment of all other human rights.
Speakers:
Caroline Vuillemin, Executive Director, Fondation Hirondelle
Ben Dotsei Malor, Director, Strategic Communications and Public Information, UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS)
Abdoulaye Sangaré, Director and Manager, Radio de la paix (Côte d’Ivoire)
Andrea Cairola, Senior Program Specialist, Freedom of Expression and Safety of Journalists Section, UNESCO
Moderator:
Albert Trithart, Editor and Research Fellow, International Peace Institute
Der Rat der Europäischen Zentralbank (EZB) hat heute beschlossen, den Leitzins um 0,25 Prozentpunkte zu erhöhen. Dazu ein Statement von Marcel Fratzscher, Präsident des Deutschen Instituts für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW Berlin):
Die Entscheidung der EZB das Tempo der Zinserhöhungen zu reduzieren ist gut und richtig. Die EZB signalisiert damit, dass weitere Zinserhöhungen nicht garantiert sind und sie im Sommer zum Halt kommen könnten. Die meisten Indikatoren deuten darauf hin, dass die Inflation auf einem nachhaltigen Weg in Richtung Preisstabilität ist. Ich erwarte daher lediglich zwei weitere Erhöhungen um 25 Basispunkte bis Juli.No other bilateral relationship has comparable significance for the future of the international order as that between the United States and the People’s Republic of China. Domestic political and social structural factors have a significant influence on the conflict behaviour of the two states. These factors are contributing towards the deterioration of the bilateral relationship and making it crisis-prone. Vulnerabilities arise from the interdependencies between the two societies and economies. An awareness of this fact can provide an incentive for cooperation. Efforts made to avoid the risk of escalation can also promote cooperation. Both states are dependent on a functioning international order. However, this insight is all too easily overshadowed by the conflictual aspects of the bilateral relationship. This is the task – and at the same time an opportunity – for German and European policy, which should strengthen European participation in world governance to gain more weight and exert a moderating influence on China and America.