GLOBAL ISSUES – Page 167 – IDN-InDepthNews

GLOBAL ISSUES2015-12-152023-07-10

Paris and A Tale of Democracy and Climate

By Roberto Savio* | IDN-InDepthNews Viewpoint

ROME (IDN) – In the space of just a few days, two fundamental lessons have come from Paris for the world about democracy and climate. The media have been dealing with them as separate issues, but they are, in fact, linked by the same problem that can no longer be ignored: democracy is on the wane. | READ IN JAPANESE |

While all media have reported the defeat of the Front National in the French administrative elections, and while few have made the old observation that to win a battle is not to win a war, there is no doubt that the FN is becoming a mainstream party.

In these elections, the traditional political system – the centre-right under former French president Nicolas Sarkozy and the socialists under current president François Hollande – again joined forces to keep the FN under Marine Le Pen out.

GLOBAL ISSUES2015-12-142023-07-10

Study Unveils How Big Philanthropy Shapes Development Agenda

By Rodney Reynolds | IDN-InDepthNews Analysis

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – Global development policy is being increasingly influenced not only by “big business” but also by “big philanthropy”, warns a new study released here.

“They have become influential actors in international policy debates, including, most importantly, how to address poverty eradication, sustainable development, climate change and the protection of human rights”.

GLOBAL ISSUES2015-12-132023-07-10

79-Nation African, Pacific and Caribbean States Welcome COP21 Agreement

By Jaya Ramachandran | IDN-InDepthNews Analysis

BERLIN (IDN) – The African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group has welcomed the Climate Change Paris Agreement on December 12. “It is a major step forward; it has reinforced the core issues around which the ACP joined forces with the EU,” said the 79-nation Group’s Secretary-General Dr. Patrick Gomes.

Climate Change2015-12-102023-07-10

Polluters and Sufferers Push for Legally Binding Deal by COP21

By Jaya Ramachandran | IDN-InDepthNews Analysis

BERLIN | BRUSSELS | PARIS (IDN) – The UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris would be recorded in the annals of global negotiations if only because a block of wealthy nations responsible for contributing to global warming made a common cause with a group of developing nations suffering the dire consequences of climate change.

Refugees2015-12-092023-07-10

Jordan Risking Humanitarian Disaster by Denying Entry to Syrian Refugees

By Bernhard Schell | IDN-InDepthNews Analysis

AMMAN (IDN) – Amnesty International johas urged Jordan to “take immediate action” to help up to 12,000 refugees who have been denied entry to the country and are struggling to survive in desperate, freezing conditions in “no man’s land” on the Jordanian side of the border with Syria.

PLANET EARTH2015-12-082023-07-10

Humans Causing Sixth Mass Extinction of Species

By Robert J. Burrowes* | IDN-InDepthNews Analysis

DAYLESFORD, Victoria | Australia (IDN) – What do the Pyrenean ibex, St. Helena olive, Baiji dolphin, Liverpool pigeon, Eastern cougar, West African black rhinoceros, Formosan clouded leopard, Chinese Paddlefish, the Golden Toad and the Rockland grass skipper butterfly all have in common but which is different from the Dodo?

The answer is that these species all became extinct since the year 2000, that is, in the last fifteen years. The Dodo became extinct in 1662.

The one thing that all of these species have in common is that the cause of their extinction was human beings.

Population2015-12-052023-07-10

China’s New Two-Child Policy No Economic Panacea

By Shastri Ramachandaran* | IDN-InDepthNews Analysis

BEIJING (IDN) – The ending of China’s one-child policy, which gained notoriety for its coercive implementation, is a landmark event of immense economic and political significance, but there are serious question marks about whether it can effectively produce the positive economic fallout that its architects expect.

The importance of the October 29 decision of the Communist Party of China (CPC) to jettison the 35-year-old draconian one-child policy in favour of a new, universal two-child norm is primarily political as underscored by the fact that the announcement was made in a communique released at the conclusion of the four-day conclave – Fifth Plenum – of the CPC’s 18th Central Committee.

The main purpose of the plenum was to finalise China’s 13th Five-Year Plan – the first since Xi Jinping became President – and map the road ahead for the world’s second largest economy, which has had to contend with a falling growth rate in the last few years. China now aims to strive for a GDP growth rate of 6.5 to 7 percent during the five years of this Plan ending in 2020.

GLOBAL ISSUES2015-12-052023-07-10

A Turkish Recluse Bridges the Western and Muslim Worlds

By Fabíola Ortiz | IDN-InDepthNews Feature

PENNSYLVANIA (IDN) – A free global and interconnected citizenship might be the pathway to foster a non-violent and peaceful culture within societies. This is the main objective of a grassroots movement that advocates enhancing education, promoting universal values, interfaith dialogue and democracy.

A Turkish Muslim scholar Fethullah Gülen is the inspiration behind the movement called “Hizmet” (‘service’ in Turkish). Seen as a moderate Muslim, he emphasizes the need for interfaith dialogue, educational projects as an emancipatory tool of society to live freely and fairly, and the idea that science and religion can go hand in hand.

Over the five decades, the movement grew in Turkey and spread over 100 countries through the Turkish diaspora around the world. It is estimated that around 10 to 15% of the Turkish population is somehow engaged in this movement that has no centralized bureaucracy.

Climate Change2015-12-022023-07-10

Developing Nations Need Hundreds of Billions To Address Climate Change

By Nozipho Mxakato-Diseko* | IDN-InDepthNews Viewpoint

PARIS (IDN) – Warming of the climate system is unequivocal. Concentrations of greenhouse gases have increased and as a result the atmosphere and ocean have warmed, the amounts of snow and ice have diminished, sea level has risen, and the impacts are being felt in particular by developing countries. According to the latest science, the emissions gap with respect to the 2 degree or 1.5 degree goal is not closing.

GLOBAL ISSUES2015-11-302023-07-10

Vulnerable Communities Reject Proposed COP21 Accord

By Jaya Ramachandran | IDN-InDepthNews Analysis

PARIS (IDN) – Leaders from the U.S. and Canadian grassroots and indigenous communities have expressed their opposition to the proposed global climate agreement, saying that it falls far short of what is needed to avoid a global catastrophe.

With more than 100 delegates from dozens of climate impacted communities across the U.S. and Canada, the It Takes Roots delegation is calling on world leaders to emerge from COP21 in Paris with an agreement based on real solutions. COP21 is the 21st session of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change from November 30 to December 11, 2015.