As the American Presidential Election is near, we have some interesting material to watch and comment on.
Last week, there was the Republican National Convention (RNC), which appointed Mitt Romney as their official candidate. This week was the Democrats National Convention (DNC) turn, which confirmed Obama as their candidate.
Thus, a series of speeches took place in both Conventions, some of which you'll be able to watch and read here so that you can comment on to bring up a hot debate and answer this key question:
Which candidate - Mitt Romney or Barack Obama - will be better for the USA and the world? Why?
Before you either watch or read the speeches transcripts, you should focus on these points to analyse the Candidates, Vice-Presidents and Candidates' Wives' intention:
1) Political rethorics: how the speakers involve the audience (tone and intonation of voice; effective utterances; word choice; powerful structures, etc.)
2) Family Background; 3) American principles; 4) Education Programs; 5) Health Plans and Regulations; 6) Energy Sector; 7) Job Creation; 8) How to cut costs; 9) Others
The Olympic Games is the biggest sporting event on the planet. With 26 sports, 10,500 athletes and millions of spectators, it’s going to be a busy summer.
Here are our top 5 tips on how to have a great Olympic Games:
l. Be prepared for security checks when you arrive: this will be like taking an international flight at an airport. It will be busy and you will have to queue, so get there early – check your venue information for your recommended arrival time.
2. Bring as little as possible with you: the more you bring, the longer it will take to go through security. One small soft-sided rucksack or handbag is allowed per person – this must fit under your seat. If you have a ticket for Football, we strongly suggest you do not bring a bag – if you do, your entry will be delayed and you may miss your event.
3. Read the lists of prohibited and restricted items before you leave: you cannot bring in liquids over 100ml*, including water – but at most venues you can bring an empty plastic water bottle and fill it up at water points inside venues. There is a wide range of food available to buy, but if you need to bring your own food, it must fit inside your bag.
4. Leave plenty of time to travel to your venue: London and the UK will be extremely busy and very different to what you’re used to. Use the spectator journey planner to find the best route and, where necessary, book your travel to make sure you get to your event on time. Ticket holders for events in and around London can use their Games Travelcard for travel in London zones 1-9.
God, Save the Planet! Or would it be: Green, Save the Planet!
Dearest students,
This is the cry heard from the 4 Corners of the World, especially now with the Rio+20 Earth Summit on Sustainability about to happen from June 20 - 23, 2012, in Rio de Janeiro.
On this blog, I invite you all to be up-to-date on the issue and discuss the important points raised by the organizers.
Be ready to read and watch the following material for later discussion here and in class, trying to answer the following questions:
1) How important is this kind of world event?
2) Can world leaders really be committed to the Agenda Goals proposed?
3) Are the points brought up really fundamental to the world sustainability?
4) How do you contribute to the world sustainability? Recycling? Taking part in community initiatives? Being a whistle-blower to the authorities whenever you see anything wrong in your neighborhood, region or state?
The goal of the Earth Charter Initiative for Rio 2012 is to emphasize the need for a comprehensive ethical framework, articulating shared values and principles to inspire and guide different actors in the transition to a sustainable future. The aim is also to demonstrate the relevance of the Earth Charter to the objectives of the Rio 2012 Conference and its process.
The EC Initiative Rio 2012 objectives are to:
1. Collaborate with the preparatory process and help ensure the successful outcome of the Rio 2012 goals.
2. Draw government and non-state actors’ attention to the need for an inclusive ethical framework and shared values that inspire and help guide intergovernmental and governmental decisions towards strong sustainability and a green economy, and show the role the Earth Charter can play in facilitating this process.
3. Present the Earth Charter as a comprehensive articulation of shared values and a vision of strong sustainability, and as an integrated ethical foundation for a green economy.
4. Invite governments and non-state actors to make use of the Earth Charter as an ethical framework and guide for advancing sustainability.
Recommendations to the compilation text:
The Earth Charter Initiative organized a one-month consultation process between September and October 2011, to produce a set of recommendations for the Rio+20 compilation text (or zero draft). The zero draft will be the framework document that will be debated by states’ parties at next year’s Earth Summit in Rio
In addition, four Member States (Armenia, Bolivia, Mexico and the Russian Federation) and several organizations included the Earth Charter in their recommendations to the Rio+20 process.
The high-level summit will be held from 20 to 22 June at the Riocentro Convention Centre in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Before then, there will be a meeting of the preparatory committe from 13 to 15 June, and a "People's Summit" of NGOs and other representatives of grassroots opinion from 15 to 23 June. Who will attend?
Representatives from more than 190 countries, including 130 leaders, will participate in the formal session. In addition, it is estimated that 50,000 participants from civil society and business groups will take part in side events and the People's summit. Who are the main players?
The political weight is tilted heavily towards emerging economies and developing nations. Brazil, Russia, India and China will be represented by national leaders. In Europe the picture is mixed: France and Spain are among those participating at the highest level.
The UK's David Cameron and Germany's Angela Merkel will not attend, with deputy prime minister Nick Clegg and the environment secretary Caroline Spelman representing the UK. US president Barack Obama has indicated that neither will he, but a final decision has yet to be announced. How does it compare with 1992?
Rio+20 is much bigger than its predecessor, but it has also been criticised for being vaguer and less ambitious. The earlier Earth summit resulted in the landmark conventions on climate change and biodiversity, as well as a host of other influential documents. This time, however, organisers do not expect any legally binding treaties. Instead, they hope nations will agree to a set of shared principles, landmarks and goals and initiate a process to define what it means to be sustainable. Why is another mega-conference necessary?
In the past 20 years, the world's environment has continued to deteriorate. According to the most recent Living Planet report, global demand for natural resources has doubled since 1996 and that is now 50% higher than the regenerative capacity of the planet.
Meanwhile, carbon emissions have increased 40% in the past 20 years, biodiversity loss is accelerating and one in six people remain undernourished. Without a new path of development and a change in consumption patterns, the pressure on ecosystems and poor communities is set to intensify in the future as the global population is projected to rise from the current 7 billion to 9 billion by 2050.
What does the conference hope to achieve?
Leaders will grapple with two main themes: How to build a green economy that reduces poverty without destroying the environment, and how to improve global governance.
A central aim is to start a process so that by 2015, the international community can agree on a set of global sustainable development goals - with targets for consumption and production, a mechanism for periodic follow up and reports, and specific actions for key areas such as water, food and energy.
Draft texts have included proposals to strengthen protection of the world's oceans, to upgrade the United Nations Environment Programme, to create an ombudsman for future generations, to conduct annual 'state-of-the-planet' reports, to promote alternatives to GDP as a measure of well-being, to reduce subsidies for fossil fuels, to support consideration of "ecosystem services" (the public good provided by forests, rivers, mountains and weltands) in policy planning, to encourage investment in natural capital, and to provide financial support for poorer nations to move onto a more sustainable track.
Some countries - including the host Brazil - are thought likely to announce a set of numerical targets in Rio, but most of the proposals, even if agreed at the conference, will take several years to thrash out. United Nations general secretary Ban Ki-moon said he expects the most concrete actions to come from NGOs, businesses and city governments. What are the main drawbacks and sticking points?
As at the climate talks in Copenhagen and Durban, and the earlier Rio conference, there are considerable divisions - particularly between developed and developing countries - about burden sharing and whether to emphasise environmental protection or poverty alleviation. Climate change and renewable energy - although identified as crucial concerns - are relegated to a relative minor position. Delegates also disagree on the extent to which environmental reporting and progress towards commitments should be checked.
As a result, preparations have been agonisingly slow. Compromise remains possible, but the risk is that it will come at the expense of delayed commitments and open-ended, unenforceable promises that dilute the outcome into meaninglessness.
2) Rio+20: leadership and reform pave the way towards the future we want Yvo de Boer (special global advisor at KPMG Global Climate Change and Sustainability Services): Stable regulatory framework and the right incentives for corporate transparency will drive transition to a green economy
Given the world's preoccupation by economic constraints, one could argue that this is not the best time for an intergovernmental sustainability summit. Timing aside, a predictable policy direction, including priced externalities, corporate reporting requirements and reform of the UN sustainability structure is needed to incentivise bold action towards green growth.
Recent elections or leadership changes in many countries have focused attention on affairs at home, providing important local action but risking short-termism and ultimately short-term prosperity.
Thus, the preparations for the UN Rio+20 summit have not been what they could have been – and seem to pale in comparison with the runup to the original Rio Earth summit in 1992 where three international treaties were ready to be signed. While the world has moved forward in 20 years, it is highly unlikely any formal treaty will be signed.
Short-term thinking comes with severe risks. Global megaforces, such as population growth, natural resource scarcity, biodiversity loss and climate change are impacting our planet, our economy and ourselves. It is now of utmost importance not to remain preoccupied by the more temporary issues, but to grasp opportunities arising from these megaforces, remaining competitive in the long run.
Rio provides an opportunity for momentum towards a more sustainable economy. Business has shown the ability to lead the way towards green growth by enhancing cost effectiveness, reducing impacts on the supply chain and by collaborating to retain natural resources.
But business cannot pave the way towards a green economy in isolation. The policy framework in which business has to operate is of crucial importance for sound progress. I envision four main aspects of such a regulatory framework that would spur action towards a green economy.
Long-term sustainability and climate change policy goals are needed
The main culprit preventing investors from transitioning towards greener investment portfolios is the lack of predictability in policy direction, which is often subject to change in favour of short-term economic benefit or political populism. So clarity, predictability, transparency and stability of policy is an essential requirement for green growth.
Governments must lead the way
Secondly, an encompassing playing field is needed, in which externalities of economic activity are internalised. A government framework is needed to facilitate this, where the external effects of social and environmental costs are properly priced and scarcity is integrated into the price of all common goods such as air, water and minerals. Needless to say, a fair price for goods and services incentivises producers and consumers to transition towards more sustainable business. Tax system reform is another way to achieve this. The International Energy Agency, for example, has calculated that subsidies for renewable energy amounted to $64bn (£41bn) in 2010, whereas subsidies for fossil amounted to $409bn. It's obvious that governments are pivotally positioned to reform this system and need to lead the way.
Comply or explain
Thirdly, governments should encourage business to enhance transparency on their business functions, ideally via a framework where business couples financial and non-financial information as well as reporting. Minimum sustainability reporting requirements for stock-listed companies, including a "comply or explain" rule on material sustainability issues could stimulate substantive corporate board discussions on risks and opportunities arising from sustainability issues. This could then result in true integration of sustainability within business operations, making business stronger agents of change towards a green economy.
These three actions towards a stable regulatory framework can be categorised under the Rio agenda known as "the green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication", an item that has resonated well in many spheres lately. Although less attention has been paid to the other Rio agenda item, "the institutional framework for sustainable development", it should not be underestimated as an element for success in the regulatory framework.
The fourth aspect, a new UN Sustainability Framework, can also help to provide the necessary support for a progressive, global sustainability agenda.
Despite the UN secretary general's work to engage member states into sustainability and climate meetings and the efforts to bringing the climate negotiations under the sustainability umbrella, the UN system seems to be insufficiently coordinated to be able to really make sustainability a priority. Hence, it is important that the secretary general is explicitly mandated to mobilise the UN system to support national strategy development and implementation and that through him, or her, different UN organisations are held accountable for how they deliver on national needs and priorities.
Decisions made by all parts of the UN, including the World Bank, must be in line with this. As a consequence, the activities undertaken by different UN agencies to develop and implement a particular national strategy, would need to be explicitly identified under the overall responsibility of a single UN agency or institution.
This can only be made to work if the governing bodies of individual organisations explicitly support such an approach. In the end, the greatest battle regarding coherence of the UN system needs to be fought in national capitals, not New York.
The green growth business case can be made convincingly if governments implement a stable regulatory framework, including proper pricing of externalities, and by means of the right incentives for corporate transparency, facilitating a green transition. Importantly, the UN system can contribute more strongly to this transition through institutional reform with a more co-ordinated approach.
Only broad conviction of the policy direction will unlock global capital flows towards green economic growth. Leadership from heads of state and business is needed now, perhaps more than ever, to achieve that. Leadership to help future proof our global economy, towards the future we want.
This month I bring the escalating and controversial discussion of GREXIT!
I invite all my Intermediate and Upper students to post your opinion, based on the reading and video/audio material posted below to better offer arguments to your opinion.
If, by any chance, you have other material to recommend, be my guest and spread it around.
