Africa

Mthuli Ncube is named "Best African Finance Minister of the Year" despite the nation's economic turmoil.

On Arborek Island, Indonesia, shrubs and coral blocks are planted to prevent erosion of the beach. Credit: Alain Schroeder/Climate Visuals

By Umar Manzoor Shah
DUBAI, Dec 11 2023 (IPS)

There is an irreparable connection between culture and the seas: loss of land due to rising sea levels and loss of livelihood due to changing fish migration patterns are having a massive impact on coastal communities.

This formed the core of discussions at an event titled Tackling Climate Change for Sustainable Livelihood in Island and Coastal Communities at COP28 in Dubai.

The panel included experts and climate advocates from across the globe, all sharing a common mission: to confront the intricate challenges faced by some of the world’s most vulnerable regions and explore sustainable solutions.

The Sasakawa Peace Foundation’s Ocean Policy Research Institute, the Palau Conservation Society, the National Institute of Oceanography and Marine Sciences of Sri Lanka, the University of Namibia, the Maldives National University, the University of the West Indies, and the Columbian Institute for Marine and Coastal Research were all involved in organizing the event.

Together, they sought not only to dissect existing challenges but also to share successful practices and foster potential partnerships for a sustainable future.

Farhana Haque Rahman, Executive Director, IPS Noram, and Masanori Kobayashi, Senior Research Fellow, Ocean Policy Research at the Institute of Sasakawa Peace Foundation, moderate a panel on the impact of climate change on coastal communities. Credit: Umar Manzoor Shah/IPS

The panel discussion, co-moderated by Farhana Haque Rahman, Executive Director, IPS Noram, and Masanori Kobayashi, Senior Research Fellow, Ocean Policy Research Institute of Sasakawa Peace Foundation, included a rich tapestry of insights with diverse perspectives.

Rahman stressed the need for tailored solutions, emphasizing that the vast challenges faced by coastal communities often remain obscured in the shadows of mainstream international media. She passionately urged for a collective effort to illuminate these issues globally.

Dr Manumatavai Tupou-Roosen, Director General of the Pacific Forum Fisheries Agency, offered a scientific perspective, delving into the predicted impact of climate change on fisheries. She highlighted the dual threat posed in terms of abundance and distribution, stressing that science indicated a potential shift of biomass from exclusive economic zones to high seas, signifying a significant loss for coastal nations.

For countries heavily dependent on oceans, like those in the Pacific, fisheries were not just a source of sustenance but also a lifeline for economic development and government revenue.

An artist and environmental advocate, Uili Lousi, representing the Kingdom of Tonga, infused the discourse with cultural significance. He passionately articulated the inseparable connection between their heritage and the oceans. Lousi drew attention to the existential threat that melting ice caps and the potential migration of tuna due to rising sea temperatures pose.

“Our culture and our heritage are our ocean, and as the Arctic is melting, we are sinking.”

The event showcased voices from the frontlines of climate change impacts—Rondy Ronny, acting chief of Eco Paradise in the Republic of Palau, spoke of how fisheries were not just livelihoods but the very pulse of family well-being.

Climate change was disproportionately impacting livelihoods, particularly those of women, and there was a pressing need for solutions, Amin Abdullah, the warden in charge of marine parks and reserves in Tanzania, said while highlighting the vulnerability of coastal communities in the western Indian Ocean, where 25 percent of the population lives along the coast.

Alvin S Jueseah, chair of the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture Sciences at the University of Liberia, provided a stark portrayal of ground reality. He underlined the realness of climate change, with rising sea levels displacing residents, destroying fishing gear, houses, and, tragically, lives.

This had resulted in the necessity of building sea walls and implementing early warning systems to aid those facing climate change-related crises.

Collaboration was needed, Dr Hamady Diop, CEO of DnS Consulting, said, and he warned of the potential for transboundary conflicts arising from climate change, especially in regions where fishing is an industry. The industry was valued at USD 25 billion.

“With 38 coastal countries in Africa depending on fisheries, the implications of sea-level rise and temperature increases were dire,” he said.

The director of the Maldives Specie Research Agency, Ahmad Niyad, shed light on the critical importance of data availability.

Niyad stressed that one cannot manage what one cannot measure. The scarcity of data was a significant challenge faced by their organization, prompting a year-long focus on analyzing the situation and obtaining satellite monitoring data. He highlighted the unique economic reliance of island nations on tourism, an industry intricately linked with climate conditions.

“We island nations are together. We have one ocean, and we have to share it together,” was his message to COP28.

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African researchers want African issues to be front and center as the continent comes to grips with climate change-induced impacts. Credit: COP28/Neville Hopwood

By Joyce Chimbi
DUBAI, Dec 11 2023 (IPS)

African scientists and researchers are concerned that the data shows that the continent is being cornered by the spiraling effects of climate change, that the real impact of climate devastation is yet to unfold, and that the region is on the cusp of more severe and catastrophic consequences.

Given Africa’s high exposure and fragility to extreme and drastic changes in weather patterns, coupled with a low adaptative capacity, fears and concerns are rife that a failure to capture the full devastating picture on the ground could compromise Africa’s negotiating position at COP28 currently underway in Dubai.

In a session titled ‘African Science for the African Position,’ delegates heard about the mismatch between existing data and the needs on the ground and why it is critical to highlight climate change research from the continent.

“The focus of this conversation is really about data needs; the role of science from Africa but also across the global South to feed into the negotiating positions is overlooked. There is a need to improve our data and our social science in a way that provides accurate and comprehensive evidence for decision-making. Across climates—and of course here we are focusing on the UNFCCC—we are starting to look at critical inter-linkages around biodiversity, the ocean, livelihoods, justice, and equity,” said Laura Pereira, associate professor at the Global Change Institute at Wits University in Johannesburg and researcher at the Stockholm Resilience Centre at Stockholm University.

Dr Odirilwe Selomane, from the Department of Agriculture Economics, Extension, and Rural Development at the University of Pretoria, reflected on progress at COP28.

“Some of the issues that stood out are that there is a lack of nature-based solutions for funding on the one hand, and on the other hand, listening to those with nature-based solutions speak about a lack of funding, especially biodiversity financing. This disconnect can be bridged through scientific baselines that show what is happening on the ground to inform decision-making while designing responsive or climate action projects for Africa.”

Further emphasizing the need to “design data collection tools that can accurately capture the continent and all its ecosystems. When we look at the global soil degradation map, for instance, is it reflective of our continent and ecosystems, and how do we then improve these maps so that they give us an accurate reading of our contexts? One of the most effective and efficient approaches is to lean on African-centered science and research to give us the data needed to make decisions that match the needs on the ground.”

An open letter by 50 African scientists to African Heads of State and Government in light of COP28 reads, in part: “African citizens are feeling the heat and experiencing the drought, the instability in food supply and prices, the boiling oceans, and the impact of dwindling forests. The world is on fire, quite literally. Climate floods, cyclones, and wildfire events are becoming less predictable and more intense, destroying lives and displacing tens of thousands as the climate crisis deepens. We are in the midst of a human-made climate crisis, one that will get much more catastrophic if we fail to act.”

Odirilwe Selomane speaks about the disconnect between needs and investments and the urgent need for Africa-centered science to close the gap. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS

The letter further spoke about how alarming levels of gas emissions are increasing temperatures on the continent, compounding the multiple challenges facing the continent. Between 1900 and 2000, the continent warmed by 2 °C in some regions. Stressing that Africa’s ten hottest years since records began have all been since 2005.

At the current pace of greenhouse gas emissions, the projected annual mean temperature increase for Africa is approximately 6 °C by the end of the 21st century, the scientists warned. In the coming years, climate heat waves will occur more often, at higher intensities, and last longer as greenhouse gas emissions increase.

Climate change is already multiplying threats to life on the African continent with record-breaking food insecurity and water stress levels. Poor health indicators and economic insecurities are of particular concern.

As the end beckons for the COP28 summit, these scientists are urging African leaders and negotiators to keep their eyes firmly on the African agenda and particularly focus their attentions on key areas: phase out fossil fuels, enforce the polluter’s pay principal, protect and conserve Africa’s biodiversity, and not be distracted by fraudulent carbon markets and biodiversity credit markets.

Against this backdrop, more than USD 186 million of new financing for nature and climate towards forests, mangroves, and the ocean has already been announced during Nature, Land Use, and Ocean Day. This funding builds on the USD 2.5 billion mobilized to protect and restore nature during COP28’s World Climate Action Summit.

For African leaders, this is a step in the right direction. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana, said, “The COP28 Presidency, the UAE, has demonstrated real action for nature, one that is backed by significant financial commitments. The journey to 1.5°C, as we all know, is not possible without nature, and this level of action must be expedited to achieve real progress by COP30.”

From a scientific point of view, the move is similarly welcome; reversing nature loss can provide upwards of 30 percent of the mitigation action needed to keep 1.5°C within reach by 2030. Nature has a crucial role to play in reducing climate-related hazards, such as floods and fires currently ravaging poor and vulnerable countries in Africa.

Nature preservation can also provide Africa with the answer to unemployment, as it can contribute a potential USD 10 trillion worth of new business opportunities and provide almost 400 million new jobs.
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Dr Jasdev Singh Rai brings his concepts of reforestation and diversity to COP28. Credit: Umar Manzoor Shah/IPS

By Umar Manzoor Shah
DUBAI, Dec 11 2023 (IPS)

Dr Jasdev Singh Rai, an accomplished ENT doctor who hails from London, is not just attending COP 28; he is representing an organization that brings a unique perspective to the global stage.

Rai is the face of the ‘Sikh Human Rights Group,’ an entity that holds United Nations Special Consultative status. The group, in collaboration with its associate, ‘Nishan-e Sikh Kaar Sewa Khadur Sahib,’ is advocating a pluralistic approach to the environment, rooted in the rich concepts embedded in the Sikh faith.

He sheds light on the fundamental difference in perspective, stating, “Indian civilization always had a lot of concepts, and many of them are within the Sikh faith, and we are promoting them.”

He draws attention to the Sikh belief system, emphasizing that, unlike the prevailing Judeo-Christian approach at the UNFCCC, Sikhs consider themselves one among a million species, not custodians of the world.

The narrative takes a fascinating turn as Rai introduces the visionary behind Nishan-e Sikh Kaar Sewa Khadur Sahib, a Sikh faith leader, Baba Seva Singh. The Baba embarked on a mission to transform the mindset of farmers in India’s Punjab, known for their deep attachment to their land.

Baba Seva Singh, armed with the teachings from holy Sikh scriptures, convinced farmers to see trees not as mere vegetation but as sacred entities. Rai elaborates on the strategy: “Whenever a farmer would go to a Sikh temple, Baba Sewa Singh would hand over to him a tree sapling as a sacred offering.”

Through this ingenious method, Baba Seva Singh managed to cultivate 285 small jungles in Punjab. He didn’t stop there; he approached landowners with vast expanses of unused land, convincing them to contribute to the cause. The project resulted in the creation of 500 forests across 550 villages, a remarkable achievement in reforesting a region where the green cover had drastically dwindled.

Rai, carrying this impactful project to COP 28, aims to showcase alternative approaches to community engagement. He underscores the importance of recognizing the indigenous knowledge that rural communities possess, stating: “There are places in South India where traditional farmers have a far better understanding of climate than science.”

He advocates for the recovery of traditional knowledge systems, especially in a country like India, where ancient civilizations thrived with coexistence at their core.

The outcomes of Baba Seva Singh’s efforts are not just anecdotal; they are scientifically verified. In the reforested areas of Punjab, temperatures have seen a reduction of 1.5 degrees, and carbon emissions have significantly decreased.

“We are bringing in trees from other parts of India that are efficient in absorbing carbon,” Rai says. The project has already witnessed the planting of 130,000 trees across 323 miles, with a target of establishing 550 mini-forests.

This groundbreaking initiative, which started in 1999 as a 20-year plan, successfully reached fruition in 2020.

Rai believes it’s time for COP 28 to embrace a more inclusive and realistic approach, one that doesn’t impose western ideals on diverse nations like India or China. He urges the global community to recognize the coexistence inherent in Indian traditions and advocates for letting people take ownership of climate initiatives.

As Rai attends COP28, he brings not just a story of reforestation but a narrative that challenges the hegemonic norms, offering a model that works with, rather than against, the diverse traditions and cultures that shape our world.

“We have been constantly engrossed in realizing the spiritual realms into practical ones. Our organization earnestly aims to maintain the balance of our mother nature and provide a clean and green environment to future generations. In the coming years, places adorned with enormous plants and trees will emerge as distinguished entities on earth. These places will for sure provide shelter to birds and living creatures and thus create an ideal place for meditation and spiritual enlightenment,” says Rai.

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Moscow continues to foster close relationships with various countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

Canva/ IPS. Known for its expensive villas and numerous letterbox companies: the Cayman Islands.
 
The Global South wants to strengthen the role of the UN in global tax policy. But the North is united in its opposition
 
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By Sarah Ganter
BERLIN, Dec 11 2023 (IPS)

Champagne corks popped in New York after the majority voted in favour of a UN tax convention. The clear result paved the way for a stronger role of the United Nations in shaping more inclusive and effective international tax cooperation. This fulfils a decades-long demand by the G77 group and the international civil society.

Public Services International (PSI), the international trade union of public service providers, is also an important champion of fair international tax rules. Its General Secretary, Daniel Bertossa, commented that the UN vote stood as a confirmation of the tireless campaigning work of the trade union movement and its partners and the fact that ‘tax rules that affect us all should involve us all’.

For international tax policy is ultimately a global distribution policy that touches on issues of national sovereignty. As far back as the American Revolution, the slogan ‘no taxation without representation’ was aimed at the British Crown.

However, it’s a shame that the historic vote turned into a battle between the Global South and the Global North. On the online platform X, Kenya’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations commented on the result as the most clear-cut North-South vote he had seen in recent years.

In view of the increasing state of crisis and conflict in international relations, people often talk about the formation of global alliances and the need for partnerships on equal terms. But the refusal to release patents for vaccines during the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as the industrialised countries shrugging their shoulders in the face of the existential threat of the international debt crisis for many middle- and low-income countries, have long since undermined trust in the reliability of such partnerships.

A dangerous signal

The vote on the UN tax convention has become the next crucial test, with a clear result: 125 countries voted for and only 48 against the resolution introduced by the group of African countries to the Second Committee of the General Assembly. Opposing votes came from the US, Canada, Australia, all EU countries and EU accession candidates, as well as Switzerland. With the exception of Norway’s abstention, the Global North voted unanimously against the initiative.

In an open letter prior to the vote, the Independent Commission for the Reform of International Corporate Taxation (ICRICT) had appealed to the EU and the US. In the letter, members of the commission, which is made up of high-ranking economists from the North and South, warned of a ‘dangerous signal’ that ‘blocking the Resolution on Promotion of Inclusive and Effective International Tax Cooperation at the United Nations’ would send.

According to the experts, the suspicion would be that ‘those who most loudly tout the benefits of a rules-based international order don’t actually believe in one.’

Taxes are one of the most important sources for financing public goods and services. In the last 10 years, there has finally been some movement in the discussion about reforming the international tax system. But despite all the talks and negotiations, multinational companies are still able to avoid taxes on a large scale.

Given the ever-increasing concentration of wealth in the hands of a few and the fact that only four per cent of global tax revenue comes from wealth-related taxes, it is obvious who bears the main financial burden of financing – working people and ordinary citizens, not billionaires. Labour is taxed, not wealth and financial assets.

The call to make the United Nations the central venue for international tax cooperation is as old as the debate about reforming the international tax system itself. So far, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the club of industrialised countries, has taken a leading role in the reform process of the international tax system. On behalf of the G20, the OECD is developing proposals to curb base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS).

The Group of 77 and civil society organisations such as the Global Alliance for Tax Justice have long called for the United Nations to take a stronger role in shaping an international tax system aligned with the goals of the sustainable development agenda that will ensure greater international tax justice.

With the slogan ‘if you are not at the table, you are on the menu’, they criticise the fact that developing countries do not have an equal seat at the table in OECD negotiations.

Proponents are expecting the UN tax convention to not only lead to a more inclusive international tax policy but also more transparency in the process, thanks to the greater involvement of civil society. Critics, however, fear a parallel event to existing reform efforts and a dilution of the negotiation successes achieved so far at the OECD.

The need to work together

In the ICRICT Commission’s press release following the vote, former Colombian Finance Minister José Antonio Ocampo struck a conciliatory tone. He called the resolution ‘one step further towards global social justice’ and sees it as a ‘strengthening of institutions, democracy and international stability’. He asks that all ‘learn from all the efforts of the past and build this process not on antagonism but on real cooperation between countries and between global institutions’.

Against the backdrop of the enormous financing challenges of our time, it is crucial that common solutions be quickly found for better international taxation of multinational corporations, without getting lost in institutional disputes. A UN tax convention offers the opportunity to give the negotiation successes of the OECD process a universal basis of legitimacy and also to build on important preparatory work by the United Nations Committee of Experts on international tax matters, such as the framework on double taxation developed by the UN.

The OECD’s Inclusive Framework on BEPS has undoubtedly achieved a historic negotiation success with the agreement on a global minimum tax. The minimum rate is intended to put a stop to international competition between locations for ever-lower taxes.

Nevertheless, from the perspective of the Global South, the rate of 15 per cent is clearly set far too low to achieve the hoped-for positive revenue effects. There is even concern that countries with higher tax rates will have an incentive to adjust them downwards. For this reason, the ICRICT Commission has been long calling for a rate of 22–25 per cent.

Structural injustices, such as the distribution of taxation rights, are hardly addressed in the OECD’s two-pillar approach. Critics see the linking of taxation rights to the registered domicile of the parent company as posing a disadvantage for the countries in which the actual value creation takes place along production networks. Therefore, criticism is being levelled that the OECD-led reform process has little to offer the countries of the Global South, while at the same time preventing them from taking their own initiatives, for example in the taxation of the digital economy.

It is hoped that the United Nations could facilitate a more effective reconciliation of interests, while at the same time placing taxation issues in the larger context of financing the transformation towards a sustainable global development model. Along those lines, preparations for the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4), which will take place in Madrid in 2025, are set to begin in early 2024.

Ten years after the last major conference in Addis Ababa, the FfD4 conference is to provide the much-needed framework to create coherence between the various reform agendas, especially in the areas of taxes, debt and investment.

The demand for the creation of a universal and intergovernmental tax institution under the auspices of the United Nations was already on the agenda in Addis Ababa but was rejected by industrialised countries.

In the final statement of the accompanying Civil Society Forum, more than 600 non-governmental organisations from around the world expressed their disappointment at the lost opportunity. With the new vote on the UN tax convention behind it, the Global South is now in a significantly better negotiating position for FfD4 in Madrid 2025

Sarah Ganter is a political scientist and heads the Globalisation Project of the Global and European Politics Department of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung.

Source: International Politics and Society (IPS) is published by the Global and European Policy Unit of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Hiroshimastrasse 28, D-10785 Berlin.

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By Timothy A. Wise
CAMBRIDGE, MA., Dec 11 2023 (IPS)

The dispute mounted by the U.S. government over Mexico’s policies to restrict the use of genetically modified corn is the latest example of the misuse of a trade agreement to impede social programs in Mexico and other countries. The U.S. government has been doing this for years.

It’s all about boosting exports. U.S. agricultural policies favor and encourage the overproduction of crops such as corn, soybeans and wheat. They depress prices, with supply regularly exceeding demand. It serves the interests of agribusiness, which benefits from high demand for its seeds, agrochemicals, and machinery, and low prices for livestock feed, for its ethanol factories, and for its highly processed food.

But farmers suffer from low crop prices and high input costs, kept high by corporate concentration. As the graph shows, between 1980 and 2020, U.S. farmers suffered losses in sales in 33 of the 40 years. The bottom line represents their profits without subsidies, in the negative in every year save the 2007-2013 period of the so-called “food crisis.”

(Source: FarmDoc Daily, December 9, 2022.)

The top line represents their earnings with subsidies. Even with subsidies, in many years, most still lose. But the subsidies themselves do not cause this overproduction. Rather, they are a response to losses which maintains the system for agribusiness.

For a time in the 1950s and 1960s, the U.S. had a policy of supply management to reduce overproduction and achieve a balance between supply and demand to keep prices at a more appropriate level for producers. Not anymore, and the resulting expansion of production requires the U.S. to open international markets to sell the excess, usually at prices below production costs. This is known as “agricultural dumping.”

Timothy A. Wise

The U.S. has for years used NAFTA and now the U.S.-Canada-Mexico Agreement (USMCA) to try to weaken or end a successful supply-management program in Canadian dairy. Canada recently won a dispute with the U.S., but U.S. officials promise to keep trying to open the Canadian dairy market for U.S. farmers, who are suffering a wave of overproduction.

U.S. dairy exports to Mexico under the USMCA have driven down milk prices there. Milk is one of the Mexican government’s priority products to recover a margin of self-sufficiency, but that is very difficult with dumping-level prices.

In May of this year, I published a report on U.S. dumping, particularly for Mexico’s priority products – corn, wheat, rice, beans, and milk. In each case, we see a dramatic expansion in exports under NAFTA/USMCA and a drop in domestic prices under competition from dumped imports, while domestic production stagnates or falls.

In wheat, for example, imports rose by 68% after NAFTA took effect in 1993, and prices to Mexican producers fall by more than 60%. Domestic production suffered. Before NAFTA, Mexico produced 80% of the wheat it consumed. Now it imports more than 60% from the U.S.

In corn, after NAFTA, exports surged by more than 400% in the first few years at prices 19% below production costs. That produced a drop in Mexican farm prices of 66%. Mexico has maintained its production of white and native corn, but so far has failed to stimulate the dramatic expansion sought by the government. Much of this is due to U.S. agricultural dumping.

Now the U.S. government is using the USMCA to undermine the Mexican government’s policies in the GM corn dispute. A presidential decree barely restricts U.S. exports, prohibiting GM corn in tortillas to protect human health. But the U.S. still seeks to impose its industrialized agricultural regime and its narrow view of science over Mexico’s precautionary science and food sovereignty.

Mexico has dramatically moderated its policies to reduce impacts on international trade. Even the USMCA itself recognizes the right to take precautionary measures, based on science and with transparent processes. And by taking the “least trade distorting” actions.

What measures can Mexico take that are less trade-distorting than its current actions? It does not restrict imports, only the use of GM corn in the tortilla chain. The borders are open to any non-transgenic corn, even from the U.S.

But more to the point, why doesn’t Mexico deserve the right to take precautionary measures to advance public health and protect the diversity of its precious corn?

The U.S. has a long history of misusing trade agreements to undermine anti-hunger programs. Since 2013 at the World Trade Organization the U.S. government has pursued a dispute against India over its national food security program, which was established through the efforts of a national movement for the right to food. India is the hungriest country in the world with hundreds of millions of people lacking sufficient food.

The program guarantees a minimum distribution of basic foodstuffs to the poor, free of charge, through public distribution centers. The government collects rice, wheat, and other crops from small and medium-scale producers at fixed and fair prices, somewhat higher than free market prices. Purchases go for distribution to the poor. It has been a great success, reducing poverty and food insecurity both for the farmers because of the fair prices and for the hundreds of millions of poor people who receive the benefit.

Using outdated rules under the WTO agreements, the U.S. filed a formal dispute arguing that the guaranteed prices offered by the government to Indian farmers violate the agreement. It said India is harming exporters who do not receive the same price, that its above-market prices represent an excessive subsidy to farmers.

Imagine the hypocrisy! The U.S., even with its billions of dollars of subsidies to farmers, most of whom are not going hungry, accuses India of providing excessive subsidies to its small-scale farmers, who are poor. This is a guaranteed price, not a direct subsidy, and it is part of the largest anti-hunger initiative in the world. So far, the dispute remains unresolved. Fortunately, the program continues to expand in India.

Mexico has every right to defend its policy of restricting GM corn in the tortilla chain. Hopefully the arbitration panel will recognize the hypocrisy and cynicism of the U.S. in trying to apply the USMCA rules to an initiative that barely affects its exports. Mexico gets to decide if it wants tortillas free of GM corn.

This article summarizes the author’s presentation November 30, 2023 at the International Conference on Food Self-Sufficiency and Agroecology held in Oaxaca City, Mexico.

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Philip Mpango resurfaced on Sunday after not being seen for a month, leading to rumours about his health.

Kenya has experienced three nationwide blackouts in the last four months, the latest on Sunday evening.

On Oct. 19, 2023, Ahmad, 9, stands in the ruins of his house, destroyed by an aerial bombardment in Rafah city. “Here was my room, my bed, my toys, and my clothes," he said. "I cannot see anything now except rubble and traces of the fire that destroyed everything.” Credit: UNICEF/UNI457839/El Baba

By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS, Dec 11 2023 (IPS)

As the civilian death toll in Gaza continues to rise to unprecedented heights —reaching over 17,000 since October 7, with more than 46,000 injured – one of the most distressing reports to come out of the war zone is the use of excessively heavy weaponry by Israel.

The Hamas attack on October 7, which killed 1,200 inside Israel, has resulted in a disproportionate number of Palestinians killed so far—and rising.

In a report last month—comparing Israeli bombings with US attacks in Middle East conflicts—the New York Times pointed out that the aerial bombs used by American forces against the Islamic State (ISIS) in urban areas in Mosul, Iraq and Raqqa, Syria were 500-pound weapons.
But, in contrast, “Israel’s liberal use of very large weapons in dense urban areas” included American-made 2,000-pound bombs that flattened buildings, houses and an apartment tower in Gaza while killing thousands of Palestinians.

“It’s beyond anything that I’ve seen in my career” Marc Garlasco, a former intelligence analyst at the Pentagon, was quoted as saying.

Which triggers two questions: would Israel have survived without the $130 billion in weapons and military assistance provided by the US since Israel’s creation in 1948. And should Israel be charged with war crimes, along with US, the primary arms supplier to Israel?

https://www.ipsnews.net/2023/11/us-provided-130-billion-dollars-aid-weapons-israel-largest-ever/

But both scenarios are not likely to happen. Any such attempts in the Security Council—either against the US or Israel will be vetoed by the Americans—as it happened last week on a resolution for cease-fire in Gaza.

The resolution suffered a US veto (even though it had the support of 13 of the 15 members in the Security Council, with one abstention by UK.

According to a December 1 report in the Wall Street Journal, the U.S. last week provided Israel with additional 2,000-Pound bombs for the Gaza War.

The U.S. has provided Israel with large bunker buster bombs, among tens of thousands of other weapons and artillery shells, to help dislodge Hamas from Gaza, U.S. officials were quoted as saying.

The surge of arms, including roughly 15,000 bombs and 57,000 artillery shells, began shortly after the Oct. 7 attack and has continued in recent days, the officials said. The U.S. hasn’t previously disclosed the total number of weapons it sent to Israel nor the transfer of 100 BLU-109, 2,000-pound bunker buster bombs.

After sending massive bombs, artillery shells, U.S. also urged Israel to limit civilian casualties: a warning ignored by Israel.

According to Wikipedia, the Mark 84 or BLU-117 is a 2,000 pounds (907 kg) American general-purpose bomb. It is the largest of the Mark 80 series of weapons. Entering service during the Vietnam War, it became a commonly used US heavy unguided bomb (due to the amount of high-explosive content packed inside) to be dropped.

Norman Solomon, Executive Director, Institute for Public Accuracy and National Director, RootsAction.org, told IPS military aid from the U.S. government has been essential for Israel to maintain itself as an expansionist country during the last several decades.

“That assistance has enabled Israel to systematically crush the human rights of Palestinian people while continuing to violate international law with occupations of Gaza and the West Bank. Israel has used its military might to, in effect, sadistically turn Gaza’s residents into abused prisoners,” he said.

He pointed out that much of the strength of the Israeli armed forces has been due to Washington’s extraordinary quantities of support with military aid. Recent events have underscored how the U.S. government is willing to step up military assistance with massive amounts of weaponry and other war material while Israel continues to slaughter civilians in Gaza.

“The wanton and purposeful killings of more than 15,000 civilians during the last two months are war crimes that deserve unequivocal condemnation and prosecution. What’s more, the U.S. government is more than complicit – it is an accomplice in these crimes against humanity. The same standards that should emphatically condemn Hamas’ murders of civilians on October 7 should also emphatically condemn Israel’s murders of civilians since then,” said Solomon, author, “War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll of Its Military Machine.”

In recent days, a pair of developments involving the United States government have underscored its direct complicity in the ongoing mass murder by Israel in Gaza.

On December 8, the U.S. vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution for a ceasefire. The next day, the Biden administration disclosed that it is bypassing Congress to sell 13,000 rounds of tank ammunition to Israel. Overall, in Washington, bipartisan zeal is persisting to actively support the slaughter of Palestinian civilians in Gaza.

“Propaganda efforts to equate calls for a single standard of human decency with antisemitism are specious and demagogic”.

“Like a growing number of other Jewish Americans, I reject any and all efforts to equate Judaism with the state of Israel. The government of Israel continues to be engaged in large-scale war crimes, with the support of the U.S. government. They should be unequivocally denounced and opposed,” declared Solomon.

Dr Ramzy Baroud, author, a syndicated columnist, editor of Palestine Chronicle & a Senior Research Fellow at Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA), told IPS a long-term narrative has served to explain Washington’s relationship with Tel Aviv: that the former is the latter’s benefactor and main backer, whether financially, military or politically.

“The latest war on Gaza and the direct US involvement in this war are forcing us to rethink our perception of the US-Israeli relationship”, he said.

“If we list everything that Washington has done to help Israel in carrying out and sustain its ongoing genocide in Gaza, we would need many hours explaining the degree of US involvement”.

This includes the immediate blank check signed by Washington to justify any Israeli response to the October 7 operation, the dispatching of aircraft carriers, of hundreds of military airplanes, along with seemingly endless financial and other forms of support.

So, this is no longer about a certain, fixed amount of money that Washington sends to Tel Aviv. It is also about 2,000 pounds bombs with the full knowledge of how and when these bombs would be used, with intelligence information as to where these bombs would be dropped, and the full political backing in justifying the devastating outcome once the bombs are dropped, he argued.

“In other words, Washington is a direct partner in the Israeli war on Gaza. This realization shall have direct consequences, not only to US reputation in the Middle East, but in the short and even long-term US-Middle East strategies, including its military presence in Iraq, Syria, and elsewhere.”

Palestinians, and millions around them, understand that they are also fighting a war against the US. They are not wrong, he said.

Meanwhile, according to a breaking story in the New York Times last week, the US State Department is pushing through a government sale to Israel of 13,000 rounds of tank ammunition, bypassing a congressional review process that is generally required for arms sales to foreign nations.

The State Department notified congressional committees at 11 p.m. last Friday that it was moving ahead with the sale, valued at more than $106 million, even though Congress had not finished an informal review of a larger order from Israel for tank rounds.

The department invoked an emergency provision in the Arms Export Control Act, the State Department official and a congressional official told The New York Times. Both spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivities over the sales. The arms shipment has been put on an expedited track, and Congress has no power to stop it.

The Defense Department posted a notification of the sale before noon on Saturday. It said Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken had informed Congress on Friday that “an emergency exists that requires the immediate sale.”

It is the first time that the State Department had invoked the emergency provision for an arms shipment to the Middle East since May 2019, when Secretary of State Mike Pompeo approved weapons sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, a move that was criticized by lawmakers and some career officials inside the State Department, according to the Times.

The State Department has used the emergency provision at least two times since 2022 to rush arms to Ukraine for its defense against Russia’s invasion.

But in the case of the Israel-Gaza war, there has been growing condemnation in the United States and abroad of the way Israel is carrying out its offensive. The State Department’s decision to bypass Congress appeared to reflect an awareness of some Democratic lawmakers’ criticism of the Biden administration for supplying arms to Israel with no conditions or scrutiny, the Times said.

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Five fishers pray for a benevolent sea in Dublar, Bangladesh. Credit: Rodney Dekker/Climate Visuals

By Umar Manzoor Shah
DUBAI, Dec 11 2023 (IPS)

Wealthier nations must deliver the finances so developing countries can adapt—the time for excuses is over, says Saber Hossain Chowdhury, Bangladesh’s Special Envoy for Climate Change in the Prime Minister’s Office.

In a wide-ranging exclusive interview with IPS, Chowdhury said climate change was at the forefront of Bangladesh’s focus, as one in seven people faces displacement due to climate impacts. With this in mind, the country was focused on building resilience and ensuring resources were directed toward the most marginalized.

“The biggest challenge we will have is the melting of the glaciers in the Himalayas because it means flooding in the short term and sea level rise in the long term. We will lose about one-third of our agriculture GDP between now and 2050, and we can lose up to 9 percent of our GDP by 2100,” Chowdhury said.

“For us, it is not just one sector of our economy; it is an existential challenge for Bangladesh.”

Saber Hossain Chowdhury, Special Envoy for Climate Change, Prime Minister’s Office Bangladesh, addresses an event on climate change at the Bangladesh Pavilion at COP28 in Dubai. Credit: Umar Manzoor Shah/IPS

Here are edited excerpts from the interview:

IPS: In terms of climate change and the government’s actions, where is Bangladesh?

Chowdhury: Bangladesh is giving most importance to the Global Stocktake because it has two dimensions—one is looking back and the other is looking forward. We all know how bad things are when we look back because we know we are nowhere near where we are supposed to be.

But what do we do with that knowledge? How do we move forward across the board in terms of mitigation, adaptation, funding, loss and damage, and, of course, the global goals? And one of the points we are stressing is the continual interconnectedness between mitigation, adaptation, and loss and damage.

The more effective our mitigation in terms of keeping temperatures in check, the more manageable the adaptation becomes, and the more manageable the adaptation becomes, the lesser the burden that we pass on the loss and damage.  And it is meaningless to talk about adaptation without the context of mitigation. Because of the rise in temperature to 1.5°C (the threshold to which world leaders pledged to try to limit global warming), there will be a certain level of adaptation that you can do, but if the temperatures are close to 3°C, as it is now said the temperature is likely to rise to, then all adaptation will become loss and damage because there are limits to adaptation and there are limits to resilience.

IPS: What are your views on the ongoing COP 28?

Chowdhury: We got off to a great start. The fact that the Loss and Damage Fund was agreed upon on the first day. In terms of context, we only had this in the agenda last year and it was approved and within a year, the funds have started coming in.  That was a huge positive. We know that funds are nowhere near what the needs are. But it is a good start and we are hoping that the same spirit will be seen in other challenges such as mitigation, adaptation, funding, etc.

Also, I believe the presidency has tried to be very inclusive. But at the end of the day, it depends on global solidarity. If members of the conference come together, then we will have the deal we need. Let me say that this COP is a hugely important COP because we don’t have the luxury of tradeoffs.  We have to deliver across the board, and mitigation (to keep to the Paris Agreements) of 1.5°C is an absolute must, and if we go beyond that, I think we have lost the game. To what extent we can mitigate will then determine what our adaptation requirements are. The better we manage adaptation, the lesser the burden will be on loss and damage.  It is a litmus test. Bangladesh being at ground zero for climate change impact, this is a hugely important event for us.

IPS: Bangladesh is often termed a ‘victim of climate change’ across the globe. Why is that?

Chowdhury: One in seven people in Bangladesh will face displacement because of climate change, and that adds up to about 13–14 million people. We have a huge food security problem because we are losing agricultural land due to sea level rise.  The biggest challenge we will have is the melting of the glaciers in the Himalayas, which means flooding in the short term and sea level rise in the long term. We will lose about one-third of our agriculture GDP between now and 2050, and we can lose up to 9 percent of our GDP by 2100. For us, it is not just one sector of our economy; it is an existential challenge for Bangladesh.

IPS: What do you believe is the responsibility of wealthier nations towards Bangladesh?

Chowdhury: Climate justice is all about wealthier nations. They must deliver the finance so that we can adapt; they must rein in the emissions. They need to act as per science and not have any excuses. It is now or never because the window of action is closing very fast. If we don’t get it right in COP 28, whatever we do in subsequent COPs may well be too little, too late. We have to reduce emissions by 43 percent by 2030. We must reduce emissions by 60 percent by 2035, then we can get to net zero. With that, you also must have tripled the amount of renewable energy and doubled your energy efficiency. So, it has to be a package of responses. It is for the wealthier nations to mitigate, to provide funds for loss and damage as well as for adaptation.

IPS: How responsive do you find these developed nations to the climate crisis?

Chowdhury: Responses must be taken at two levels: one is making pledges, and the other is delivering on pledges. There is no point saying we will do this and then, as in the past, not do it. Pledges are the first step, and therefore everybody has to realize that this is the question of global solidarity.  It is not the question of Bangladesh and the developed world. What is happening in Bangladesh today will also happen in those countries that we call developed. Greenland will become greener again because the ice is going to melt. They will also face sea level rise. So it is not the question of “if,” it is the question of when.

IPS: Bangladesh has advanced warning systems for the climate. Please tell us about it.

Chowdhury: We have what we refer to as an ‘early warning system’ If you look at the cyclone that hit Bangladesh in the early 1970s, up to a million people died because of it. But now, when the cyclone hits Bangladesh, the number of deaths is in single digits. The reason for that is that through an early warning system, we can evacuate people to cyclone shelters. That has saved lives, and Bangladesh is a model for that.

Our honorable Prime Minister has this program where we are building cyclone shelters all around the coast of Bangladesh so that people can be evacuated there. We cannot stop a storm or a hurricane from coming, but we can prepare ourselves so that the loss of lives is minimal, and that is what Bangladesh has achieved. Also, the early warning system is very basic, and it is community-based.

IPS: What is Bangladesh doing about the agrarian crisis?

Chowdhury: Bangladesh has a huge success story in terms of food production. From a deficit nation, we are now a surplus nation, but climate change threatens that.  This is something we look at in terms of food security, so all of the advances and progress that we have made over the years are now at risk because climate change is impacting this sector.

IPS: What is the role of NGOs in terms of tackling climate change and offering support to governments?

Chowdhury: NGOs need to have partnerships with governments where they can take those ideas and scale them up. That is the reason that NGOs need to have a very close relationship with the government. The whole issue is not how much money I have spent; it is what impact I have generated through spending that money.

But the message at the end of the day is that whatever money is spent must be spent on those who are most marginalized. So how do we get funds for the people who are most in need? I think that must be an overriding issue. This is a learning process, and we are all on the learning curve. When we go back to Bangladesh, we need to have a brainstorming session with NGOs and CSOs and find out what is working, how we can make their job easier, and how we can make the collaboration a win-win between various ministries, government departments, and NGOs.
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The BBC visits the Central African Republic to see why Russian Wagner forces are so popular there.

Seven others including three charity staff were injured in what the Red Cross has called a "deliberate attack".

By Yasmine Sherif
NEW YORK, Dec 10 2023 (IPS)

Today we mark a milestone in history: the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. As people around the world commemorate Human Rights Day, we must also deeply reflect on the meaning of this historic document and what it takes to achieve peace in the world.

The inspiring preamble of the Universal Declaration is not the work of an indifferent or greedy mindset. It was crafted by those able to delve into their hearts and souls to authentically express the imperatives for peaceful co-existence in the world.

Inspired by the East and West, North and South, Eleanor Roosevelt, together with the French jurist, Rene Cassin, were the driving force behind the Universal Declaration for Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948. With the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and successive legal human rights conventions, one can safely say that these rights were not proclaimed to find consensus around the lowest common denominator. Rather, the Declaration was created to inspire and mold consensus around the highest of human values: the goal was to achieve peace.

The preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights reads: ‘Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.’ Yet, almost a century later, these universal rights are largely not respected, nor equally applied. As the essence of these values and laws are eroded and ignored, is it any wonder that there are more wars, conflicts and widespread injustices, resulting in more refugees, internal displacement and immense human suffering?

This unspeakable, yet preventable, human suffering comes about because we have departed from our highest of human values through many small and big decisions. These are decisions leading to actions severely undermining the foundation for peaceful co-existence in the world. Haven’t freedom, equality and justice for all members of the human family been compromised or disregarded enough?

The path to peace is not complicated. The answer lies in the preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and all the rights enshrined in the Declaration.

The right to an inclusive, sustainable quality education is a foundational right. A continued quality education empowers every child and adolescent to claim all other rights. The chance of success is even greater provided that these children and adolescents live in an environment conducive to all other human rights – also for their families, communities and countries.

This is not complicated. It only demands that we take courageous decisions in every role we find ourselves – and deploy meaningful action – to begin materializing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for all members of the human family.

It would be such a purposeful way of moving forward. It would be a profound legacy to leave behind for the young generation and for generations to come. All we need to do is to act as our conscience dictates. Or, as the co-author of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Eleanor Roosevelt, rhetorically asked: “When will our conscience grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it.”

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Excerpt:

Human Rights Day Statement by Education Cannot Wait Executive Director Yasmine Sherif

In Nahoualakaha, Côte d’Ivoire, rice productivity increased with drought-resistant seed. With the endorsement of the Food and Agriculture Declaration by 130 countries at COP28 in Dubai there is the opportunity to address the nexus between agriculture and climate change. Credit: ©IFAD/David Paqui

By Joyce Chimbi
DUBAI, Dec 10 2023 (IPS)

In the absence of sufficient urgency to curb greenhouse gas emissions, it is becoming too hot to farm in Africa. Confronted by extreme, intense, and frequent climate events such as record-breaking prolonged dry spells, current agriculture and farming systems are ill equipped to adapt to or alleviate climate change.

For millions of farmers, the sun’s intensity has increased, and rainfall is far and in between. Unlike their forefathers, when farmers could look at the clouds and smell the air to predict the weather, these time-honored techniques no longer work as the climate has morphed into something unforeseeable. Consequently, food basket regions are being wiped off Africa’s agricultural belts in a growing number of African countries.

Against a backdrop of agricultural and food systems that are losing the battle to climate change, there is now hope for millions of smallholder farmers to put food on the table at home and across the world.  The Food and Agriculture Declaration, which more than 130 world leaders endorsed at COP28 in Dubai, is now the key to breaking the deadlock between food and agriculture systems and climate change.

“For the first time in the history of COP summits, we have a critical declaration that captures the most pressing issues facing the world today. We have agriculture and food on one hand and climate on the other. This presents us with a two-fold solution: to build sustainable agriculture and climate-resilient food systems on the one hand, and to address agriculture’s contribution to overall emissions on the other. Agriculture is responsible for 22 to 27 percent of all global emissions, and food systems contribute one-third, or 33 percent,” says Jyotsna Puri (PhD), Associate Vice President, Strategy and Knowledge Department at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

Puri leads IFAD’s strategy work in key areas targeting agriculture, climate, gender, nutrition, youth, and social inclusion, with a focus on rural populations, providing the vision for evidence-informed advice on program designs and implementation.  IFAD is both a UN organization and an International Financial Institution (IFI), and the landmark inaugural agriculture declaration is particularly critical as it aligns with every aspect of IFAD’s work to build food systems that can withstand ongoing climate change shocks.

As an international financial institution, IFAD provides financing through loans, grants, and a debt sustainability mechanism. As a UN organization, IFAD works in remote rural areas where poverty and hunger are at their deepest, so that rural populations are not left behind and are equipped to lift themselves out of poverty.

Jyotsna Puri, Associate Vice President, Strategy and Knowledge Department at IFAD, is pictured at COP28 in Dubai. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS

“The Declaration is additionally critical because solutions must be just and equitable. They must be people-centered, taking on board those most burdened by the uncertainties triggered by climate change and the increasing variabilities of climate change. In Africa, for instance, 20 to 80 percent of the overall food and agriculture production would be significantly challenged by climate uncertainties if left unmitigated, extensively affecting crop production and nutrition patterns,” she emphasized.

She therefore called for a laser-focused approach to building stronger local value chains rather than global value chains, for the former has greater potential to transform food systems in line with local challenges and possible solutions.

“Bringing food and agriculture into the climate agenda is significant; 70 percent of the food is produced by smallholder farmers in Africa and Asia, and they are also the most climate-impacted constituencies. There are about 500 million small farms in the world, and this means 80 percent of the world’s farms are family-owned. The declaration is a lifeline, for it presents an opportunity to transform food and agriculture systems in a just, equitable way without leaving anyone behind,” Puri says in an exclusive interview with IPS.

Puri further spoke about the undeniable and intricate nexus between sustainable agriculture and climate-resilient food systems and climate. The effects of increasing global emissions have manifested through low production and increasing hunger, pushing the world off track from the global goal to address hunger and poverty in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

“Weather patterns are now unrecognizable from what your parents and grandparents were taught about what, when, and how to plant. These changes are radical, and we must rethink agriculture so that farmers are equipped to overcome these challenges through technology and digital options that help read the weather more accurately and make timely decisions—looking at the ground to read the weather is no longer practical,” she says.

Puri told IPS that other changes include a shift in how farmers interact with markets as the European Union food imports regulations ban agricultural produce linked to deforestation and forest degradation. Stressing that this presents new opportunities for farmers to shift to indigenous or ancient crops such as cassava that are aligned with climate goals, resilient food systems, and high nutritional value.

“In the Upper Tana River valley, for instance, IFAD realized that the Nairobi River was losing its momentum due to the growth of Eucalyptus trees in the upper regions of the Tana. We work with smallholder farmers and provide compensation—through the Water Fund—for them to transition from eucalyptus to crops that are less water-absorbing and climate-resilient without compromising the economic and nutritional value of these crops to the farmers.”

On whether the landmark Agriculture Declaration will be the silver bullet for Africa’s smallholder farmers, Puri said the magic of the declaration will be in its implementation and the amount of money that will be committed to effecting it. Stressing the importance of financing and investments in agriculture, food systems, and value chains within the context of climate change. Members states must therefore build back better to address fragilities caused by climate change through partnerships with the private sector.

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Sustainable Fashion Show at Al Wasl Dome during the COP28 at Expo City Dubai. Credit: COP28/Walaa Alshaer

By Joyce Chimbi
DUBAI, Dec 10 2023 (IPS)

Thousands of bales of cheap, poor-quality secondhand clothing arrive on boats and ships docking on Africa’s extensive 26,000-kilometer-long coastline, dotted with at least 100 ports and harbors. From Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, Uganda, and Kenya, Africa’s ecosystems are chocking with cheap, air-polluting, and emissions-producing low-quality clothing as they often contain plastic-based fibers.

High volumes of very low-grade used clothing commonly known as fagia, Swahili for sweep, as they are often sold to fagia traders in large volumes and for very little money—to cut into tiny pieces and sell as industrial rags and thereafter be used as industrial fuels—significantly cause air pollution and emissions.

The first-ever global stocktake is set to conclude at the ongoing COP28 and is a process for countries and stakeholders to assess progress towards meeting the goals of the Paris Climate Change Agreement. The world is not on track to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, and the fashion industry has come under heavy criticism. Now some in the sector have expeditiously switched to sustainable fashion.

An estimated 300,000 metric tons of clothing end up in household bins every year, with around 20 percent going to landfills, polluting the environment and creating a health hazard. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS

Clothes made from sustainable materials were on display at Al Wasl Dome during the UN Climate Change Conference COP28 at Expo City Dubai. Credit: COP28 / Neville Hopwood

“We are a hub for climate-focused solutions derived from nature. We are helping the fashion and textile industry transform into a circular economy by developing and scaling new fibers and yarns that are made from seaweeds,” says Tessa Callaghan, co-founder and CEO of Keel Labs.

“Rather than using and mitigating the systems that we currently have, we are pairing an existing supply chain—in fiber and textile manufacturing—with new raw materials. For us, that is seaweed, which is able to negate the water, land use, and chemical usage that really make the fashion industry so polluting. We work with brands to help them transition to a better, cleaner future.”

Protein Evolution, also represented at COP28, is the U.S.’s first biological recycling company with validated technology and a clear supply-chain roadmap that enables plastic production from waste, not fossil fuels. The result is recycled plastic, which makes a low-carbon, circular plastic economy possible.

A circular economy is anchored on waste management, mitigating pollution by keeping products and materials in use for longer, and regenerating natural systems. In the fashion industry, circular fashion refers to a regenerative approach that ensures that clothing and textiles are designed, produced, and consumed with great consideration for the environment and related ecosystems, minimizing waste, pollution, and the use of natural resources.

UN research indicates that greenhouse gas emissions must peak before 2025 at the latest and decline 43 percent by 2030 to limit global warming to 1.5°C; crossing the 1.5°C threshold risks unleashing far more severe climate change impacts. To halt the pace and impact of the ongoing climate crisis, it can no longer be business as usual for the fashion industry.

Fast fashion—rapidly producing high volumes of clothing—causes extensive damage to the planet, exploits workers, and harms animals. An estimated 300,000 metric tons of clothing are dumped in household bins annually; approximately 80 percent of it is incinerated, while 20 percent goes to landfills.

The cost of fast fashion to the planet can no longer be ignored. The textile industry is responsible for 10% of all global CO2 emissions, which is more than all international aviation and shipping emissions combined. At the ongoing COP28 Summit, delegates heard from fashion industry players about steps being taken to reverse its negative impact on the climate, environment, and all its ecosystems and health.

“I would like to call what we do fashion farming, actually. We are trying to grow regenerative cotton and turn it into fabulous fabrics for our fashion lines. We have been working on this for the last five years, and we are trying to get farmers in our areas to try and succeed in regenerative agriculture. The idea is to build healthy, resilient, and interconnected ecosystems,” said Muzaffer Kayhan, CEO, SÖKTAŞ Tekstil.

“At SÖKTAŞ, we recognize the value and the inherent resilience of interconnected ecosystems. Through employing centuries-long regenerative practices, we seek to undo the negative environmental effects of industrial agriculture.

“We are the world’s first company to completely use plant-based fur as an alternative to animals, synthetic furs, and all sorts of fluffy materials. We work with fashion brands to provide an alternative to material that is more responsible, sustainable, and nature-derived—an ethical and green solution,” said Roni GamZon, co-founder and chief commercial officer, Biofluff.

New reports are highlighting the urgency of scaling up green solutions as greenhouse gas emissions hit new highs, temperature records tumble, and climate impacts intensify. According to the Emissions Gap Report 2023: Broken Record: Temperatures hit new highs, yet world fails to cut emissions (again) finds that “the world is heading for a temperature rise far above the Paris Agreement goals unless countries deliver more than they have promised.”

The Paris Agreement inspired near-universal climate action and played a central role in catalyzing cooperative action so the world could address the climate crisis. But the global stocktake shows implementation of the Paris Agreement is lacking across all areas and not where it should be.

Governments will take a decision on the global stocktake at COP28, which can be leveraged to accelerate ambition in their next round of climate action plans due in 2025. The stocktake calls for a systems transformation that follows a whole-society and whole-economy approach that mainstreams climate resilience and development aligned with low greenhouse gas emissions, and the fashion industry is expected to scale up green solutions and significantly contribute to the global journey to net zero.

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Many people are disgruntled with the president's handling of the economy after a decade in power.

Félix Tshisekedi accuses his counterpart in neighbouring Rwanda of wanting to expand.

A mask seller in an Indian food market in Kerala during a recent zoonotic disease outbreak. COP28 is the first climate negotiation where the majority of the countries have agreed to declare their commitment to prevent the worsening health impacts of climate change. Credit: Stella Paul/IPS

By Stella Paul
DUBAI, Dec 9 2023 (IPS)

One Health activist, Kelly Dent, has been attending UNFCCC COPs since 2009, when it was held in Copenhagen. From there, it has been a 15-year-long journey to Dubai, but Dent is finally having a reason to feel good: for the first time, the majority of the countries have come together to formally declare their commitment to prevent the worsening health impacts of climate change.

“After 14 years of working for this (inclusion of One Health in the climate change negotiations), it is finally there in the health declaration, so we are very happy. It is mentioned clearly—says what it is and uses the exact term; there is no ambiguity,” says Dent, who is the Global Director of External Engagement at World Animal Protection, one of the 14 organizations that issued a statement of endorsement soon after the health declaration was issued in Dubai on December 3.

The Health Declaration

The three-page document called “COP28 Declaration on Climate and Health” says that the parties will facilitate collaboration on human, animal, environmental, and climate health challenges. Implementing a One Health approach would include addressing environmental determinants of health, stepping up research on the connections between environmental and climatic factors and antimicrobial resistance, and finding zoonotic spillovers early to stop, prepare for, and respond to future pandemics.

While the declaration is not legally binding, it serves as a voluntary call to action outside the formal process of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). So far, 124 countries have signed it.

According to Dent, this health declaration should be viewed alongside the “Emirates Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems, and Climate Action,” another landmark declaration made at COP28 on December 4. This is also the first-ever leaders’ level declaration on food systems and climate at a COP, and it highlights the unique and crucial role that food systems play in either driving or mitigating climate change—as well as adapting to its impacts.

Put together, the two declarations widen the scope of addressing and tackling environmental, human, and animal health, all of which are interrelated.  “Even a couple of years ago, there was nothing on One Health or climate and health connections in the COPs. And now we have not one but two declarations on this. So, this is definitely a great start,” Dent says.

Nathalie Beasnel, a surgical nurse and health philanthropist from Chad. Credit: Stella Paul/IPS

Perspective of a Developing Oil-Producing Country

Nathalie Beasnel is a surgical nurse from Chad, a nation in sub-Saharan Africa with alarmingly high levels of air pollution due to industrial emissions, such as the production of oil and gas.

According to Energy Intelligence – a global energy information company, in the first quarter of 2023, Chad’s crude oil production was 141,700 barrels per day. Of this, the country only uses a marginal portion—slightly over 2 thousand barrels; the rest is used by consumers outside of the country. The total revenue from the oil is estimated to be over USD 1.13 billion.

Ironically, Chad ranks 190 out of 191 countries on the UN Human Development Index which makes it among the poorest countries in the world. 42% of the country’s population lives below the national poverty line.

In addition, air pollution has emerged as one of the biggest health crises in Chad. The current PM2.5 concentration in Chad is 4.9 times higher than the WHO 24-hour air quality guidelines, according to live data gathered by AQI.in, the global air quality monitoring tool.

Beasnel, who provides specific and basic medical supplies to hospitals in the rural areas of Senegal, Chad, and South Africa through her charity Health4Peace, receives dozens of requests every quarter from pregnant women to help them go abroad to give birth in a “clean air environment.”

Beasnel feels that the health declaration has hopes for communities facing health challenges induced by climate change and fossil fuel burning in poorer countries like Chad; they can expect some concrete action and support, especially since the announcement of a total of 1 billion USD in financing for climate and health. The billion-dollar funding comes from an array of existing and new funders, including the Green Climate Fund, Asian Development Bank, Global Fund, and Rockefeller Foundation.

“This is a portal. We know that USD 1 billion has already been raised, specifically by the health sector. Now I want to see where this 1 billion goes. For example, we have sudden floods, droughts, farm failures, and air pollution. However, we now need to see the mechanism of the flow of this fund—whether it is through leadership, whether it is through people, or whether it is through the people who are directly affected,” she says.

Coming up Next: One Health Guidelines From the Quadripartite

Last year in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, four UN agencies (quadripartite)—WHO, UNEP, FAO, and WOAH—collectively drew a Joint Plan of Action (JPA) to advocate for and support the implementation of One Health at all levels and across sectors to tackle interconnected health risks and protect the health of all species.

Since then, the quadripartite has taken several steps to advance the adoption of the One Health approach, which include, among others, a workshop on environmental determinants of health and the One Health Assembly.

At COP28, the quadripartite has developed an implementation guide to provide the countries with step-by-step guidance on how to adopt and adapt the OH JPA at the national level. Scheduled to be launched on December 10, 2023, the guideline is expected to focus on how to adopt a multidisciplinary and inclusive principle. According to Cristina Romanelli, Programme Officer & Biodiversity, Climate and Health Focal Point, World Health Organization, this is one of the most exciting developments that we can expect during the remaining days of COP28.

“Now that we understand what a holistic, multilayered One Health framing means, how does that apply in terms of implementation? So, what will happen on December 10 is the launch of the plan for this implementation,” Romanelli says.

Some Words of Caution

Meanwhile, One Health advocates are urging people to make note of some omissions in the health declaration that could affect its successful adoption and implementation. One of these is factory farming of animals, which significantly raises the chances of trauma and sickness in animals and contributes to at least 11% of total greenhouse gas emissions.

“There is a powerful agriculture lobby that doesn’t allow any changes. We have to challenge this dominant lobby and their business model and expose the harm they are causing. The governments also need to take responsibility, rid away subsidies in industrial agriculture, and support protein diversification,” says Dent.

Dent cites the example of Germany, which, in November, allocated 38 million euros to support the production of alternative (plant-based) proteins.

The German government’s decision follows similar steps taken by the Netherlands, which has already invested 60 million euros to develop an ecosystem for cultivated meat and precision fermentation. Denmark (168 million euros) France (65 million euros) and the UK are other European countries that have announced investing in developing plant-based, alternative proteins.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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