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Belarus on Tuesday (22 May) appointed its first ambassador to Sweden for almost six years, resolving a bitter diplomatic spat over a pro-democracy stunt involving teddy bears.

Accusations of hypocrisy have rained down on the couple that heads Spain's far-left Podemos party for buying a 600,000-euro luxury home with a swimming pool after previously condemning such extravagance.

Die EZB lässt den Finanzkonzern Blackrock Banken überprüfen, obwohl dieser Konzern Aktien von ihnen hat. Experten warnen vor einem Interessenskonflikt. Eine Recherche von Investigate Europe.

The EU said Tuesday (22 May) it will consider imposing new sanctions on Venezuela after Nicolas Maduro's re-election was marred by "irregularities" and failed to meet international standards.

Macédoine : la majorité de Zoran Zaev ne tient plus qu'à un fil
Macédoine : les cent premiers jours du gouvernement Zaev, social-démocratie et néo-libéralisme
Municipales en Macédoine : le VMRO-DPMNE est balayé, le BDI s'impose dans le camp albanais
Besa : le mouvement « erdoğaniste » de Macédoine au bord de l'implosion

/ Macédoine, Courrier des Balkans, Politique intérieure, Politique Macédoine

Macédoine : la majorité de Zoran Zaev ne tient plus qu'à un fil
Macédoine : les cent premiers jours du gouvernement Zaev, social-démocratie et néo-libéralisme
Municipales en Macédoine : le VMRO-DPMNE est balayé, le BDI s'impose dans le camp albanais
Besa : le mouvement « erdoğaniste » de Macédoine au bord de l'implosion

/ Macédoine, Courrier des Balkans, Politique intérieure, Politique Macédoine

Euro-hopeful Bulgaria does not yet meet the criteria to adopt the single currency, the European Commission will say today (23 May) in an assessment of European Union countries that must one day switch to the euro.

The Erie Shores wind farm in Ontario, Canada. Credit: Denise Morazé/IPS

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage
UNITED NATIONS, May 23 2018 (IPS)

With the landmark Paris Agreement now almost two years old, funding for climate-related activities continues to be a challenge. However, efforts have been underway to bring two seemingly very different sectors together to address climate change.

While developed countries have committed to channeling 100 billion dollars to developing countries by 2020, trillions may be needed in order to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius.

“Trying to address climate change at current financing levels is like walking into a Category 5 hurricane protected by only an umbrella,” said head of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Patricia Espinosa during a conference.

“Right now, we are talking in millions and billions of dollars when we should be speaking in trillions,” she continued.

Achieving the ambitious climate goals set out by the international community will require major financial investments by both the public and private sectors in order to fill funding gaps.

It also requires coming up with ways for the two sectors to work together.

“International organizations such as the Global Green Institute (GGGI) and development banks are trying and testing different structures, different methods of financing, different blends of public and private financing all the time. And occasionally, things work,” GGGI’s Principal Climate Finance Specialist Fenella Aouane told IPS.

The Green Climate Fund (GCF), set up by UNFCC, was given an important role to serve the Paris Agreement and has since used public investment to mobilize private finance towards low-emission, climate-resilient development.

In March, the GCF approved concessional funding to 23 projects in developing countries valued together at 1 billion dollars.

“This large volume of projects for both mitigation and adaptation – and the additional USD 60 million for readiness support – shows that GCF is ready to shift gear in supporting developing countries to achieve their climate goals…. The projects adopted here will make a real impact in the face of climate challenges,” said GCF Co-Chair Paul Oquist.

Aouane echoed similar sentiments about GCF’s efforts to IPS, stating: “They are testing the waters but that was a very good move by the GCF to say if we’re going to get the private sector, we have got to start dealing with them.”

And waving a magic wand won’t get the private sector, whose sole purpose is to make profits, to funnel money into climate mitigation and adaptation.

“[We need] to make projects more attractive for private sector investment. Reduce the costs, reduce the risks, and do a few using that concessional funding to show that they worked,” Aouane said.

Already, successes can be seen in renewable energy development.

With the help of concessional finance and continued political will, there has been a boom in renewable energy development across the world, opening the door to more players.

According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the private sector paved the way in renewable energy investment in 2016, providing 92 percent of funding compared to 8 percent from the public sector.

This has helped rapidly reduce the cost of renewable energy, which is set to be cheaper than fossil fuels by 2020.

In fact, solar and wind energy is already cheaper than fossil fuels in many parts of the world.

The forestry sector, on the other hand, is finding it more difficult to attract investments, Aouane told IPS.

“Forestry is a struggle in the sense of what is return, where do you make your money in a project?” she said.

But there is an ongoing initiative by the aviation industry that could help protect forests, Aouane noted.

In an effort to offset its carbon emissions, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has looked to buy credits from projects that reduce emissions such as forestry.

This could not only help level out their emissions, but also help nations protect their forests from deforestation and ensure biodiversity.

“If they do this, then there will be a possible clear return for investors in forestry because they will be able to purchase the forest and then sell the emission reduction assets to an airline who will pay for it. If the price is sufficient, then it’s attractive enough for the private sector,” Aouane said.

The idea has been controversial, however, with environmental groups noting that the move is not enough to substantially offset or reduce emissions.

The environmental group Fern also found that the Virgin Atlantic airline’s carbon offsetting projects in Cambodia have actually led to local residents being “exploited and kicked off their land,” while another project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) by Austrian Airlines and the San Diego Airport has resulted in increased deforestation.

Other challenges arise when bringing together two very different sectors with different goals, Aouane said.

“Using some World Bank finance and some GCF finance is relatively simple because they are both heading in the same direction culturally. But when the private sector gets involved, there can often be an issue with trying to get mindsets to work together,” she told IPS.

“You can imagine that the mindsets are very different about how you put a deal together and how you actually get the motives right that the project is right for everybody,” Aouane continued.

The GCF provides a model for bringing the two sectors together, and its new projects could help the private sector become even more involved. But it will take time, Aouane said.

“There is work happening, but I think quite often people forget how long it takes for things to change…but it will get done,” Aouane said.

The post When Two Becomes One: Blending Public and Private Climate Finance appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Der katalanische Separatistenführer Carles Puigdemont soll nach dem Willen der Generalstaatsanwaltschaft in Schleswig-Holstein an Spanien ausgeliefert werden.

Officials are crowing about the latest GDP figures – but experts say more investment and exports and a better business environment are needed, if recovery is to be maintained.

Programmers will gather in Sofia in June for the first Balkan Hackathon, aimed at developing digital solutions and software prototypes to boost progress in the region.

Employees at Serbia's landmark Zastava Arms company have called a strike, demanding that the state exempts their company from recently-adopted legislation aimed at privatisating the arms industry.

Turkey is willing to provide three billion euros to build a Sarajevo-Belgrade highway, but even though details of the deal are not yet known, Bosnian Serb officials strongly oppose it.

Tensions soared between a handful of leading MEPs and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg as the 34-year-old billionaire avoided answering detailed questions on the company’s data policies during a meeting in the European Parliament on Tuesday evening (22 May).

Stung by criticism it has been selling European Union passports for cash, Cyprus has tightened vetting procedures in a scheme that grants Cypriot citizenship to investors, the finance minister said yesterday (22 May).

Market pressure, the strong hand of EU institutions and the limits of power will determine how far the new Italian government will go in shaking up the eurozone’s status quo.

Batteries and storage are set to become even more important as electro-mobility and renewable energy go from strength to strength. That is why EU efforts are meant to help the burgeoning industry compete against the likes of China and electric carmaker Tesla.

French President Emmanuel Macron has to make his political identity clear and clarify whether he is a “real progressive” who wants to contribute to a social Europe, S&D President Udo Bullmann told EURACTIV in an interview.

Europe’s struggle with migrants has led to an increase in funding for border control to authoritarian regimes such as Chad, Niger, Belarus, Libya and Sudan. EURACTIV.fr reports.

Annual summits between China and central and eastern European countries are beneficial to the European Union as a whole, the Chinese government told Bulgaria's foreign minister, brushing off concerns that Beijing is seeking to divide the continent.