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2. Chinese Firms and Adherence to Global Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Standards in Developing Countries: Is there Potential to Create Common Ground?
- Author:
- Mike Morris
- Publication Date:
- 01-2023
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)
- Abstract:
- This paper focuses on analysing how Chinese firms operate in Latin America, Asia and Africa in regard to ESG (environmental, social and governance) standards and sustainability issues. How do they respond to the increasing global value chain requirement to incorporate and maintain ESG standards? Is their space for an alignment between Western development cooperation ESG policies, frameworks, strategies and practices and Chinese political and economic stakeholders in the developing world? The paper uses a variety of case studies covering Chinese firms (disaggregated into SOEs (state-owned enterprises) and large, medium and small private sector firms) operating in various sectors in countries across the developing world. It uses a three dimensional framework to analyse different types of Chinese firms in terms of value chain operations covering many of the ESG standards they are required to meet: 1. Supply chain relations (i.e. approach to supporting upgrading of local suppliers); 2. Internal firm processes (i.e. approach to local labour, training and upskilling); 3. Social licence to operate (i.e. approach to meaningfully engaging with local communities taking account of their social and economic needs).
- Topic:
- Development, Environment, Governance, Business, and Supply Chains
- Political Geography:
- Africa, China, Asia, and Latin America
3. Is Colombia One Step Away from a Fracking Ban?
- Author:
- César Rodríguez
- Publication Date:
- 02-2023
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA)
- Abstract:
- While lawmakers debate a proposed fracking prohibition, deepening struggles over the social and environmental impacts of oil and gas extraction loom.
- Topic:
- Environment, Oil, Gas, Legislation, Wealth Extraction, and Fracking
- Political Geography:
- Colombia, South America, and Latin America
4. Humanitarian aid: Defining new areas of US-LAC collaboration
- Author:
- Pepe Zhang and Isabel Bernhard
- Publication Date:
- 03-2023
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Atlantic Council
- Abstract:
- The US humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) system—well practiced and extensively developed—could further serve US and partners’ needs in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and beyond through targeted improvements. Based on our experience as HADR practitioners with operational and academic expertise, we share insights from many years of working with partners in the Americas. The task is urgent: fragile governments and organizations further impacted by COVID-19 and climate change have exposed HADR deficiencies that need to be rapidly strengthened. Redoubling the US’s HADR commitment to allies and partners can also have strategic benefits during a period of renewed competition with the People’s Republic of China. We believe that the United States can strengthen its HADR work globally, and particularly with LAC countries, through partnership and relationship building as well as education and exercises. By deepening its strengths and address- ing room for improvement, the United States can remain the partner of choice for LAC countries and conserve its positional advantage over China and other strategic competitors. How can LAC and partner nations (such as the United States), nongovernmental organizations, and regional and other global organizations strengthen their abilities to respond to natural disasters? What can the United States do to improve its disaster preparedness and response in LAC? And what can Washington learn from Beijing’s approach to disaster assistance in LAC? In crafting this report to address these questions, we drew from a roundtable discussion, verbal and written consultations with subject matter experts, and written material. A full description of the methodology is provided in the appendix. The findings of the report include eight recommendations grouped under two mutually complementary areas: (1) partnership and relationship building, and (2) education and exercises. Not only are these recommendations timely and relevant for HADR practitioners, but taking these steps would strengthen Western hemispheric security by investing in the region’s infrastructure and human capital. As the United States and its LAC partners consider future room for cooperation and collaboration, HADR work will form an indispensable centerpiece of their strategies.
- Topic:
- NATO, Climate Change, Diplomacy, Environment, Humanitarian Aid, International Organization, Politics, Partnerships, Resilience, and Energy
- Political Geography:
- China, Latin America, Caribbean, North America, and United States of America
5. Good Practices in the Provision of Global Public Goods: How multilateral development banks build on global public goods in their operations
- Author:
- Johanna Neuhoff and Hannah Zick
- Publication Date:
- 07-2023
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Oxford Economics
- Abstract:
- In our flagship report, ‘Multilateral Development Banks for Global Public Goods’, commissioned by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Oxford Economics highlighted the positive role that the use of GPGs can play in preventing and addressing crises that cross national boundaries. As part of that work, we wanted to identify and share promising practices and good examples of how the provision of GPGs can be supported through international funding—and in particular through MDBs. We gathered a longlist of 99 examples of MDBs supporting GPG provision based on comprehensive desk research and interviews with over 30 key actors in the realm of project development. From this, we selected 20 case studies to carry out “deep dive” research to showcase good practices of provision of GPGs by MDBs based on whether the intervention: benefitted not only people inside the country of implementation but also beyond the country’s borders; supported the implementation of framework conditions that change the incentive structure for the provision of GPGs; could be replicated in other countries; and rated a good practice in reports or named a good practice by interview partners from MDBs. As a result, we gathered examples of GPG projects supported by MDBs and multilateral institutions at the country level that might not have been intended to only support GPG provision—such as those GPG projects mostly financed via Trust Funds and FIFs—but which also produced high GPG effects by maximising the synergies between national and global benefits. The case studies are designed to inform stakeholders from MDBs and receiving countries involved in the programming and project designing of development cooperation alike. The case studies showcase promising and highly replicable ways of supporting the provision of GPGs in the MDBs’ country engagement—considering both national and cross-country benefits of an intervention. Furthermore, valuable lessons can be learned on the institutional set-up, financing, quantification etc. concerning the support of GPGs by MDBs. They include examples of projects in sub-Saharan Africa, East Asia & Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and South Asia, and which covered issues such as climate and the environment, global public health, peace and security, financial resilience, and a fair international trading system. In a synthesis report, we set out 12 recommendations to organisations implementing GPGs to ensure they maximise the benefits on the ground, based on our findings from the analysis of the case studies. These range from using cost-benefit analysis and focusing on projects with high cross-country benefits to helping coordination of in-country provision and encouraging regional learning.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Development, Environment, International Trade and Finance, Institutions, Public Health, and Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs)
- Political Geography:
- South Asia, East Asia, Germany, Latin America, Caribbean, Asia-Pacific, Global Focus, and Sub-Saharan Africa
6. A shared EU-US economic agenda for the world: Engagement as an imperative
- Author:
- Lauri Tähtinen
- Publication Date:
- 12-2023
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA)
- Abstract:
- It is time for the European Union and the United States to build a shared, positive economic agenda towards third countries. Such an agenda would build upon the bilateral relationship but not focus on it. It would still be shared, even if the parties may have distinct reasons for supporting different aspects of it. The first elements of a shared economic agenda are evident in the EU-US Trade and Technology Council projects for Jamaica and Kenya. However, the political window for further alignment between the US and the EU, as well as for European trade deals, may be closing in 2024. Future initiatives should take into account major economies such as Brazil, Mexico, and Indonesia. The entry into force of the EU-Mercosur agreement should be a high-level priority for both Washington and Brussels. The current state of the EU-US relationship is characterized by a divergence in technology, industrial policy, and environmental policy. To move onto a path of convergence, Washington must reassess its exaggerated fears regarding the regulatory power of the EU, and use the spread of European standards as a means towards shared ends.
- Topic:
- Environment, Industrial Policy, Science and Technology, Bilateral Relations, European Union, and Economic Policy
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Latin America, and United States of America
7. Amérique latine. L'année politique 2022
- Author:
- Olivier Dabène
- Publication Date:
- 01-2023
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Internationales (CERI)
- Abstract:
- Amérique latine. L’Année politique 2022 est une publication de l’Observatoire politique de l’Amérique latine et des Caraïbes (Opalc) du CERI-Sciences Po. Il prolonge la démarche du site www.sciencespo.fr/opalc en offrant des clés de compréhension d’un continent en proie à des transformations profondes.
- Topic:
- Democratization, Environment, Political Economy, Sovereignty, Regional Integration, Transnational Actors, and Social Policy
- Political Geography:
- Latin America
8. Forest-Based Carbon Markets: Pitfalls and Opportunities
- Author:
- Julián Cárdenas and Juan Jose Guzman Ayala
- Publication Date:
- 11-2023
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development (CGD)
- Abstract:
- Forest-based carbon markets could become an important source of income for countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia-Pacific. Estimates indicate that under a high carbon prices scenario, the value of the forest-based carbon credit market could increase from US$1.3 billion in 2021 to US$25 billion per year by 2030. Apart from the climate and monetary benefits, forest based carbon markets also have pitfalls that must be avoided. Without the right institutions in place, at the national and local level, forest projects can generate negative externalities, such as population displacement, increases in food prices, and biodiversity degradation. The value chain in carbon credits involves a number of high value-added upstream and downstream activities that tend to take place outside the countries where the projects are located. Industrial policies are required for host countries to receive a higher share of the revenue stream, including in areas such as structuring, monitoring, verification, and surveillance. Countries need to promote actions in labor training, research and development, and access to long-term capital. The paper proposes the creation National Carbon Federations as institutions to resolve several market failures, while preventing conflict, ensuring adequate savings of the additional income, and strengthen democratic governance. These organizations can also provide key public goods, so that local communities benefit from the development of carbon credits from tropical forests.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Environment, Climate Finance, Forests, and Carbon Markets
- Political Geography:
- Latin America
9. The Importance of Lula’s Presidency in an Increasingly Multipolar World
- Author:
- Sean T. Mitchell
- Publication Date:
- 01-2022
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA)
- Abstract:
- The inauguration of the leftist two-time former leader as Brazil’s president is a source of hope for social and environmental movements worldwide.
- Topic:
- Environment, Social Movement, Leftist Politics, Political Movements, Multipolarity, and Lula da Silva
- Political Geography:
- Brazil, South America, and Latin America
10. Both hard and soft corporate practices construct and secure industrial mining operations: The case of Colombia
- Author:
- Line Jespersgaard Jakobsen
- Publication Date:
- 01-2021
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
- Abstract:
- This DIIS Working Paper elaborates how local consent to a huge industrial mining complex, including a port and a 150 km railway built in the 1980’s on indigenous arid lands, were created. Showing how both ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ security technologies were effective in preparing the complex, constructing the necessary infrastructure and securing the operation, the paper at the same time illustrates how corporate security practices have changed over time in the northern part of Colombia. The paper is based on extended ethnographic fieldwork in La Guajira, Colombia, carried out through 2018 and 2019 as well as historical written documents.
- Topic:
- Security, Environment, Oil, Poverty, Natural Resources, Non State Actors, Gas, Capitalism, Inequality, Economy, Conflict, Ethnography, Violence, Investment, Justice, Land Rights, and Minerals
- Political Geography:
- Colombia, South America, and Latin America
11. Building an Energy and Climate Coalition with Latin America and the Caribbean: An Agenda for the Biden Administration
- Author:
- Mauricio Cardenas and Laurie Fitzmaurice
- Publication Date:
- 06-2021
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP), Columbia University
- Abstract:
- The initial months of the Biden administration’s foreign policy have underscored the importance of defining the type of relations with China (cooperative in some areas, adversarial in others) and revamping relations with Europe on areas of common interest. However, the United States should look closer to home, where it can find some major opportunities for international policy advancement. The Biden administration has a window of opportunity to rethink its relations with and policy toward Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). In particular, there are very good reasons—political and economic—for putting the energy and climate change agenda at the center of the hemispheric partnership. On the political front, building a hemispheric bloc will increase the influence of its members in global negotiations. On the economic front, the countries in the region offer significant opportunities for trade and investment for the United States. Canada, which earlier in the year pledged to work with the United States on addressing climate change,[1] could also have an interest in promoting and potentially participating in this initiative. Prior to the arrival of the pandemic, the economies of LAC had already been confronting a complex series of economic growth challenges after the end of the commodities supercycle. Many countries in the region faced high levels of public indebtedness, currency depreciation, credit rating risk, insufficient tax revenue bases, and low investment rates.[2] The appearance of the COVID-19 crisis only served to exacerbate these conditions. The LAC region contains 8.4 percent of the world’s population but represents 30 percent of COVID-19 fatalities to date.[3] Forecasts now predict that per capita GDP will remain below the 2019 level at least until 2023.[4] The continuing surge of undocumented immigration into the southern border of the United States, the social and economic impacts of COVID-19, and the growing influence of China in the region could increase political pressure on the United States to develop a coherent policy toward LAC. These urgent and competing dynamics represent an opportunity for the United States to recast its policy toward the region as one of engagement. The United States could utilize the tools of technology and financing focused on energy and climate to put the region on a path toward sustained economic growth and social progress. LAC needs technology and financing to build clean infrastructure, develop alternative energies, and reduce energy poverty.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Energy Policy, Environment, Regional Cooperation, and Regionalism
- Political Geography:
- Latin America, Caribbean, North America, and United States of America
12. Illegal Gold That Undermines Forests and Lives in the Amazon: An Overview of Irregular Mining and its Impacts on Indigenous Populations
- Author:
- Melina Risso, Julia Sekula, Lycia Brasil, Peter Schmidt, and Maria Eduarda Pessoa de Assis
- Publication Date:
- 04-2021
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Igarapé Institute
- Abstract:
- The Brazilian Amazon is rife with illegal gold mining operations, with 321 identified points of illegal, active and inactive mines arranged in the 9 states that comprise the Brazilian Amazon Basin. This devastation has a price — according to Brazil’s Federal Public Prosecutors Office, 1kg of gold represents roughly R$1.7m in environmental damages, culminating in an environmental cost roughly 10 times greater than the current price of gold. The Amazon is nearing its critical ‘tipping point’, beyond which both the Amazon biome and our global climate will suffer irreversible damages. As such, discussions on illegal mining in the Brazilian Amazon present two interrelated challenges: combating deforestation and protecting the distinct cultures of indigenous populations, who constitute the forests’ principal environmental defenders. Considering the urgency of the discussion, the Igarapé Institute launches the publication Illegal Gold That Undermines Forests and Lives in the Amazon: An Overview of Irregular Mining and its Impacts on Indigenous Populations. The article presents urgent recommendations, in the short and long term, to avoid an irreversible climatic collapse, in which the preservation of the Amazon rainforest plays a fundamental role.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Environment, Natural Resources, Culture, Mining, Indigenous, and Ecology
- Political Geography:
- Brazil and Latin America
13. Climate change and security in West Africa
- Author:
- Peter Schmidt and Robert Muggah
- Publication Date:
- 02-2021
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Igarapé Institute
- Abstract:
- The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warns that climate change will generate alarming consequences for West Africa. A rise in global temperature between 3°C to 6°C by the end of the century (or earlier) is associated with greater irregularity in rainfall, and a delay in the beginning of the rainy season. Another risk involves higher frequency of extreme weather events such as heat waves, droughts, rainstorms, and flooding. According to some models, sea levels could rise by more than 75cm on average by the end of the century, forcing hundreds of millions of people to move, mostly within their own countries, and often to cities.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Environment, Migration, and International Security
- Political Geography:
- Latin America and West Africa
14. A new energy strategy for the Western Hemisphere
- Author:
- David L. Goldwyn
- Publication Date:
- 03-2020
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Atlantic Council
- Abstract:
- In 2019, the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Center and Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center began an effort in partnership with the United States Department of Energy to consider a fresh approach to energy in the Americas that is comprehensive in nature and targeted in its approach. Following a year-long period of engagements alongside six representative stakeholder countries participating, the resulting report: “A New US Energy Strategy for the Western Hemisphere,” was launched in March 2020 and will serve as the launch point for additional work by the Atlantic Council on energy and sustainability issues across the hemisphere.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Energy Policy, Environment, Governance, Nuclear Power, Geopolitics, Renewable Energy, and Fossil Fuels
- Political Geography:
- South America, Latin America, and North America
15. Colombia’s shale resource potential
- Author:
- John D. Padilla
- Publication Date:
- 10-2020
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Atlantic Council
- Abstract:
- Oil and gas production is a significant driver of Colombia’s economic growth. With decreased conventional hydrocarbon production in recent years, unconventional shale resources could provide additional revenues from the sector and stimulate growth as the country recovers from COVID-19. But care must be taken to ensure that shale production is environmentally sound and that royalties reach local communities. As the Iván Duque administration prepares to award investigative pilot projects (PPIIs) for shale development in November 2020, the Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center and Global Energy Center launched on October 29 the report “Colombia’s Shale Resource Potential,” the second in the Global Energy Center’s Future of Shale series. In the report, John D. Padilla explores the necessary conditions for successful shale development in Colombia. He analyzes key global and local factors that will determine whether the country’s abundant shale resources can be developed safely and sustainably. The new report argues that the most important factors that will support sustainable shale development are political will, legal certainty, and a robust, yet flexible, regulatory framework for PPIIs.
- Topic:
- Environment, Oil, Natural Resources, Economic Growth, and Energy
- Political Geography:
- Colombia, South America, and Latin America
16. Planning a Sustainable Post-Pandemic Recovery in Latin America and the Caribbean
- Author:
- Mauricio Cardenas and Juan Jose Guzman Ayala
- Publication Date:
- 10-2020
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP), Columbia University
- Abstract:
- In 2020, Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) will experience the most severe economic recession in decades. This paper looks at the challenges confronted by LAC and proposes a series of actions to structure a recovery plan that minimizes potential moral hazard effects while aligning fiscal, social, and environmental sustainability priorities.[1] High pre-pandemic sovereign debt levels, worsening credit ratings, and low tax revenues limit the much-needed fiscal space to overcome the present health and economic crises. Most countries in the region are at risk of losing two decades of progress in the fight against poverty and inequality, while their upper-middle income status makes them ineligible for debt relief and aid packages from advanced economies. The focus on solving the current crisis may also delay much-needed progress on climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts, as well as overall improvements in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). We propose a combination of fiscal policy responses combined with new sources of financing to unlock a sharp recovery with minimal harm to fiscal sustainability in the long run. Through expanded public-private partnerships and blended finance structures, governments should be able to leverage private financing in large job-creation undertakings. Additionally, the issuance of SDG-linked sovereign debt and Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) with SDG conditionality could also provide much-needed liquidity at low cost.
- Topic:
- Environment, International Cooperation, Global Recession, Sustainable Development Goals, and COVID-19
- Political Geography:
- Latin America, Caribbean, and North America
17. The LFDD – Human Mobility Nexus in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean: A Review of National Policy and Legal Frameworks
- Author:
- Diogo Andreola Serraglio
- Publication Date:
- 01-2020
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)
- Abstract:
- Addressing human mobility in the context of land and forest degradation and desertification (LFDD) in global and national policy and legal frameworks remains essential for improved management of population movements related to slow onset processes.
- Topic:
- Environment, Population, Mobility, Land, and Forest
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Latin America, and Caribbean
18. Environmental Crime in the Amazon Basin: A Typology for Research, Policy and Action
- Author:
- Adriana Abdenur, Brodie Ferguson, Ilona Szabo de Carvalho, Melina Risso, and Robert Muggah
- Publication Date:
- 08-2020
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Igarapé Institute
- Abstract:
- According to the world’s top scientific experts, deforestation and degradation are up 25 percent in the first six months compared to last year. More forests are being cleared in 2020 than at any point in the past 15 years. Although spectacular levels of illegal burning have occupied global headlines, a host of other less visible but equally significant environmental crimes are being committed throughout the Amazon basin every day. Such crimes not only impact biodiversity and the global climate, but are virtually always associated with social ills ranging from corruption to slavery and violence. A new paper from the Igarape Institute – Environmental Crime in the Amazon Basin: a Typology for Research, Policy and Action – introduces a typology to help better understand the scope and scale of the problem and its extensive social and environmental impacts. To date, one of the principal barriers to better policing of the Amazon is the confusion and ambiguity of what is, and is not, a crime. Different countries apply different interpretations which can frustrate investigations and the enforcement of existing laws. The new paper is designed to provide greater clarity to policy makers, law enforcement agencies, civil society actors, and companies committed to curbing environmental crime.
- Topic:
- Crime, Environment, Public Policy, Ecology, and Deforestation
- Political Geography:
- Brazil, Latin America, and Amazon Basin