THE WORLD

The Climate Crisis Cannot Be Solved by Capitalism

To Fulfil the Paris Agreement, Germany’s Climate Policies Need to Look Beyond Market-Based Strategies

Viewpoint by Kai Niebert*

ZURICH (IDN-INPS) – It’s time to get tough – that’s how Chancellor Angela Merkel set the tone for Germany’s climate policies in 2019. But the question remains: will the federal government manage to reduce emissions in line with its international obligations and help to end the climate crisis?

Warnings from government figures are coming thick and fast: Merkel calls the climate crisis a ‘challenge to humanity’, Vice-chancellor Olaf Scholz calls for ‘forceful steps’, and the Bavarian MP and environmental convert Markus Söder describes inadequate climate protection as ‘a sin’.

: Opinion Editor; THE WORLD; EU & Europe; 01 October 2019

Photo: Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters on 28 July 2019. CC BY 2.0

The Roots of Hong Kong’s Crisis

By Henry Huang*

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) – Hong Kong, the pearl of the East, yet lives in such a turmoil. The ongoing political crisis and massive protest have drawn a large amount of international concern and attention. There are multiple explanations of what has happened in Hong Kong. Some may say it is for a “wider demands for democratic reform.”^[1] On the mainland side, some may argue, “‘The demonstrations in Hong Kong are not about rights or democracy. They are a result of foreign interference.’”^[2]

: Asia Editor; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 30 September 2019

White Paper Expounds China’s Relationship with The World

By Globaltimes.cn

BEIJING (IDN-INPS) – The State Council Information Office issued a white paper titled "China and the World in the New Era“ on 27 September. This is the first governmental white paper that has comprehensively expounded the relationship between China and the world. The white paper focuses on China's international outlook, its development objectives and the role it plays with a purpose to increase the international community's understanding on China's development.

: Asia Editor; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 28 September 2019

Photo: U.S. President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron at a joint press conference at the G7 summit in Biarritz, France. Credit: G7 France,

A New Iran Deal French Proposal on Hold as Tensions Mount

Viewpoint by Daryl G. Kimball and Julia Masterson

The following are extensive extracts from an that analysis first appeared on the website of Arms Control Association (ACA) on September 24. Daryl G. Kimball is ACA Executive Director and Julia Masterson research assistant.

WASHINGTON, DC (IDN | Arms Control Association) – The latest attempt by European powers to salvage the 2015 Iran nuclear deal hit a roadblock this month when the Trump Administration hesitated to engage in a French-sponsored initiative. In August, French President Emmanuel Macron offered a proposal before world leaders at the G-7 summit in Biarritz, France for a $15 billion line of credit to Tehran in exchange for its full compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

: Arms Control Association; OPINION; 27 September 2019

Photo: Tackling vulnerabilities, building resilience. Credit: UNCTAD.

UN Calls for A Global Green New Deal and Radical Reforms

By Jaya Ramachandran

GENEVA (IDN) – In a bold move, new UN report has proposed a series of reform measures to make debt, capital and banks work for development and finance a Global Green New Deal generating a net increase in global employment of at least 170 million jobs, with cleaner industrialization in the South and an overall reduction in carbon emissions by the target year of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

“We can meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, but only if we find the political will to change the rules of the international economic game and adopt policies that scale up the resources needed for a big investment push led by the public sector and set the global economy on an expansionary course, says UNCTAD’s Trade and Development Report 2019.

: Jaya Ramachandran; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 27 September 2019

Collage of photos of Brigadier General Mike Nicholas Sango, Zimbabwean Ambassador to Russia against the backdrop of the Zimbabwe Embassy in Moscow. INPS-IDN.

Russia Making Further Inroads into Zimbabwe

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

MOSCOW (IDN) – Russia maintains very friendly relations with Zimbabwe, thanks to ties which evolved during the struggle for independence. Since then, it has had a very strong mutual sympathy with and friendly feelings toward the southern African people, government and country.

One of the fora in which relations between the two countries are discussed is the Russia-Zimbabwe Intergovernmental Commission on Economic, Trade and Science and Technical Cooperation.

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; THE WORLD; Africa; 27 September 2019

Collage with images from SDGs, ACP and EU websites. Credit: INPS-IDN.

ACP, EU Point to Crucial Linkages Between Sustainable Development and Climate Action

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – More than half of the UN members have issued a joint declaration in support of the 2030 Agenda, 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) endorsed by the international community in September 2015, and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change adopted three months later.

The joint declaration by the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States and the European Union (EU) carries significant weight in terms of demonstrating a commitment to Agenda 2030 by countries which together account for over 1.5 billion people, one-fifth of the global population.

: J Nastranis; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 25 September 2019

Image credit: Transparency International

Corruption a Cause for Citizen Concern in Latin America and the Caribbean

By Kwame Buist

BERLIN (IDN) – In the last five years, momentum has been building against corruption in Latin America and the Caribbean. High-level politicians have been found guilty of corruption in Guatemala and Brazil, and a wave of legal action against the perpetrators of grand corruption has swept across the continent, including the Lava Jato – or “Operation Car Wash” – investigation in Brazil.

However, most of the region’s citizens think their governments are not doing enough to tackle corruption and that corruption levels have increased in the past 12 months across the region.

: Phil Harris; THE WORLD; Latin America & the Caribbean; 25 September 2019

Photo: Screenshot of joint ACP-EU press conference on 23 September at the UN. From left to right: Kamina Johnson Smith, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Jamaica; Neven Mimica, European Union Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development; Mamadou Tangara, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Gambia; Patrick I. Gomes, Secretary General of the ACP Group of States. Source: UN Web TV

EU Joins 79 ACP States in Calling for ‘Bold Decisions’ to Achieve SDGs

By J. Tuyet Nguyen

NEW YORK (IDN) – Governments from Africa, Caribbean, Pacific and the European Union issued on September 24 a joint declaration calling for “bold decisions” to implement the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and climate change agreements, saying that the two programs are closely linked.

“Recognizing that the linkages between sustainable development and climate action, we reiterate our strong commitment to implement the Paris Agreement on Climate Change fully and effectively,” the groups said in a Joint Declaration issued in New York.

: UN Bureau; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 24 September 2019

Photo: Local residents in Kaliningrad at "Immortal regiment", carrying portraits of their ancestors who fought in World War II, on Victory Day in Kaliningrad, 9 May 2017. CC BY-SA 4.0

Military Confrontation with Russia in Kaliningrad Is Dangerous

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – “What idiocy”, exclaims Jack Matlock on Facebook. Matlock is one of my “Facebook Friends” because I judge his knowledge of Russia as second to none, having been under President Ronald Reagan the White House’s senior advisor on the Soviet Union and, later, his ambassador to Moscow.

The object of his ire is based on a Newsday article earlier this month. (The Russian, nation-wide, NTV channel carried the same story in a broadcast on September 23.)