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35271. Climate Change Spending in Ethiopia: Recommendations to bridge the funding gap for climate financing

Author:
Neil Bird and Eshetu Zedwu
Publication Date:
11-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Abstract:
The Government of Ethiopia considers climate change to be one of its priorities in responding to the country’s long-term development needs. The nation’s widely acclaimed Climate Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) strategy has called for annual spending of $7.5bn. With federal budgetary resources for climate change relevant actions estimated to be in the order of $440m per year, and international sources adding an uncertain amount that may be in the tens of millions (USD) per year, there appears to be a major financing gap. Therefore, if the CRGE strategy is to be delivered, and the lives of the country’s most vulnerable people made more resilient, much more effort needs to be exerted to mobilize additional resources both domestically and externally. In particular, international commitments on climate finance need to be realized. This is now a matter of urgency for Ethiopia, as it is for many other African States. Drawing on research by the Climate Science Centre of Addis University and the Overseas Development Institute, this policy brief, supported by the ACCRA programme, sets out recommendations to bridge the funding gap for climate financing in Ethiopia.
Topic:
Climate Change, Politics, Natural Resources, Budget, and Finance
Political Geography:
Ethiopia

35272. Rebuilding a More Resilient Nepal: Key recommendations for reconstruction and recover

Author:
Ruth Jackson
Publication Date:
10-2015
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Abstract:
The April 2015 earthquake devastated Nepal, affecting more than eight million people. Nepalis have shown remarkable resilience in the face of the disaster, and six months on people are rebuilding their homes, their lives and their country. Reconstruction provides an opportunity to build back better and create a stronger, more equal country that is more able to cope with crises. However, this opportunity is being missed, leaving Nepal vulnerable to future shocks and disasters. This briefing paper considers the successes and challenges of the response so far, and looks at what must be done to ensure that Nepal recovers in a way which makes it more resilient and more equitable.
Topic:
Development, Disaster Relief, Humanitarian Aid, Natural Disasters, and Reconstruction
Political Geography:
Nepal

35273. Reviewing the Euro-Mediterranean Relations

Publication Date:
10-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Abstract:
Ambassadors Florensa (IEMed) and Aragona (ISPI) introduced the annual conference, highlighting the important role of EuroMeSCo at a critical juncture for the Mediterranean and for Euro-Mediterranean relations. Ambassador Florensa stressed that the commitment and the dynamism of EuroMeSCo were greater than ever. The Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hon. Gentiloni gave an official address to the participants of the EuroMeSCo annual conference, describing the Mediterranean space as the epicentre of global disorder and enumerating the various challenges it posed for the European Union in particular, in terms of security but also in terms of identity and values.
Topic:
Security and Globalization

35274. Greece and the European Project: Canary in the Coal Mine?

Author:
Daniel V. Speckhard
Publication Date:
09-2015
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
After serving for two challenging years in the chaos of a war zone as the Deputy Chief of Mission in Iraq, I received word that I would become the next Ambassador to Greece. To be quite honest, I had mixed feelings. I looked forward to the challenge, but I imagined the post would be too sedate compared with the adrenalin-charged days and world-shaping events in Iraq. It was anything but. Within a year of my arrival, the streets were aflame with violent protests over a police shooting of a teenager. A year later, snap elections brought a socialist government to power. And soon thereafter, the onion was further peeled to expose a financial crisis and a crumbling economic foundation built on a corrupt, oligarchic, and debt-addicted system fed by billions of dollars of public and private EU loans and grants.
Topic:
Corruption, Economics, Politics, Financial Crisis, and European Union
Political Geography:
Europe and Greece

35275. IN3 - Incubating a New Spain through the Promotion of Entrepreneurship

Author:
James Costos
Publication Date:
09-2015
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Ambassadors Review
Abstract:
Helping entrepreneurs grow their businesses and achieve their full potential is in the interest of anyone who wants to foster prosperity worldwide— that’s why it’s an Obama administration priority. Growth anywhere does some good everywhere, and the fact is that entrepreneurs create jobs and drive economic growth both at home and abroad. In the United States, 40 percent of our $17 trillion economy is generated by companies that did not even exist 20 years ago. Two-thirds of our 65 months of consecutive job growth is driven by small businesses. The owners of those businesses—28 million and growing—employ over half of America’s workforce.
Topic:
Economics, Human Welfare, Social Stratification, and Labor Issues
Political Geography:
United States and Spain

35276. Engaging the Swiss on Apprenticeships: Economic Diplomacy with Results Back Home

Author:
Susan G. LeVine
Publication Date:
09-2015
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
One of the core priorities for the State Department and for the Obama administration overall is shared prosperity because, as Secretary Kerry frequently points out, “Economic policy is foreign policy.” The United States firmly believes that, by growing bilateral economic ties, the United States as well as the host country will prosper. The metrics around our economic relationship with Switzerland are a perfect example of that: Switzerland is one of the top ten foreign direct investors in the United States and number one in research and development; the United States has been the largest growth market for Swiss exports over the past five years; and Swiss companies generate almost half a million jobs in the United States—really great jobs with an average salary of $100,000 per year. With those ties in mind, I set out to meet with Swiss companies of all kinds to understand how they do business in Switzerland and how to deepen their investment in the United States. What I learned in the course of that exploration will, I believe, profoundly and positively affect both countries economically, and also have a positive effect on the world.

35277. Ebola, Liberia, and the “Cult of Bankable Projects”

Author:
Shefa Siegel
Publication Date:
04-2015
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
Fragile states are unable to cope with additional shocks like Ebola; without passable roads, electricity, and social solidarity there is no viable way to administer basic medical care or prevent minerals from illegally crossing porous borders, much less suddenly contain a runaway virus. Yet instead of addressing core issues of state failure, development aid continues pushing narrowly focused agendas that have little meaning in places where institutions and infrastructure are broken. Why, in response to the disastrous events we saw unfolding in Liberia, were we not calling for public and private investment in the region to be shifted from one bureaucratic budget line to another?
Topic:
Development, Humanitarian Aid, Infectious Diseases, Health Care Policy, and Ebola

35278. International Organizations vs. Terrorism

Author:
O. Khlestov, A. Kukushkina, and Sh. Sodikov
Publication Date:
11-2015
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Affairs: A Russian Journal of World Politics, Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
East View Information Services
Abstract:
The growth in acts of international terrorism endangers the lives of people worldwide, as well as threatens the peace and security of all states. The September 23, 1999 Statement on Combating International Terrorism issued by the ministers for foreign affairs of the five permanent members of the Security Council has stressed that it is vital to strengthen, under the auspices of the United Nations, international cooperation to fight terrorism in all its forms. Such cooperation must be firmly based on the principles of the UN Charter and norms of international law, including respect for human rights.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Terrorism, United Nations, International Security, and Peacekeeping
Political Geography:
Global Focus

35279. Courting a New Ally in the Quest for Equality: Closing the Implementation Gap between Law and Practice in India

Author:
Jasmine Wyatt
Publication Date:
09-2015
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Ambassadors Review
Abstract:
India has a long history of passing laws and signing treaties and conventions focused on eliminating violence against women and ensuring women’s equal rights. Some of the world’s most progressive laws are embodied in India’s Constitution: women had the right to vote and were considered equal citizens since the beginning of Independence—a feat even the United States and Britain did not manage to accomplish. Nevertheless, gender inequality remains a daily reality in India, sometimes with deadly consequences.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Human Rights, History, Governance, and Elections
Political Geography:
United Kingdom, India, and United States of America

35280. Defeating ISIL Requires US Leadership Now

Author:
Edward M. Gabriel
Publication Date:
09-2015
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Ambassadors Review
Abstract:
As a member of the Council of American Ambassadors, I have written before in CAA publications on Syria and radicalism in the Levant—once in September of 2013,1 and again in September of 2014.2 Nearly a year later, I am disheartened to see that US leadership continues to be timid in its struggle with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) and Syria, in spite of our warnings and prediction that if the United States didn’t define and lead the effort in this fight, radical elements would take over against our interests. This didn’t have to be the case and doesn’t have to be in the future. However, the problem cannot simply be wished away and we can’t wait two long years for a new administration to take action.
Topic:
Political Violence, Islam, Religion, and Violent Extremism
Political Geography:
Iraq, Middle East, Arab Countries, and Syria