DEVELOPMENT: A NEW UN AGENCY SUGGESTED
TVE Staff
BERLIN - A German think-tank has suggested the establishment of a new lead agency in the UN system with a view to combating poverty and protecting environment.
A new report by the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU) says that the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) cannot ensure coherence in achieving sustainability goals.
WBGU therefore recommends that it be replaced by a Council on Global Development and Environment, which should be established on the same hierarchical level as the Security Council.
The new Council would provide the strategic and policy framework, coordinate the activities of the multilateral organizations working on development and environment – including the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank – and focus their work towards the guiding vision of sustainable development.
WBGU estimates that a sum of 200-300 thousand million dollar is required every year to achieve significant progress in global poverty reduction and environmental policy. This would entail a threefold increase in official development assistance (ODA), to be introduced incrementally.
WGBU says that new environmental funding mechanisms should also be utilized. It favours introduction of charges for the use of global common resources. "The costs of inaction would be far higher than this funding requirement, so the benefits of taking action are considerable," says the WBGU.
For example, the damage caused by failing to protect the climate is likely to cost at least ten times more than emissions avoidance, and investing in healthcare in the developing countries could produce an economic yield six times higher than the initial investment.
Progress towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) very much depends on success in protecting the environment, says the WBGU.
The MDGs cannot be achieved without environmental protection. In WBGU's view, environmental policy is a prerequisite for development and must be a key element in any long-term poverty reduction strategy.
Conversely, the global environment cannot be protected without development policy, for the poor often have no option but to overexploit the natural resources on which they depend. WBGU recommends reinforcing the environmental policy dimension of the MDGs and defining it in clearer terms.
With their dynamic economies, major developing countries such as China, Brazil and India are key to global environmental protection and poverty reduction. Many of these ‘anchor countries’ are taking on an increasingly pro-active role in the international arena. They will thus be vital partners in international cooperation in future.
Anchor countries could, and should, assume an increasing share of the costs of poverty reduction and environmental protection. However, incentives and offers of cooperation from the industrialized countries – for example, in the sphere of climate protection – are still important. Responsible environmental and development policy action should be supported through strategic partnerships with the anchor countries.
For more information:
http://www.wbgu.de (END)
