After three summits have produced only broad policy statements of a voluntary nature, the G20 is not a credible policymaking body to address the global economic crisis. Will it now serve as the lightning rod for the rebirth of the anti-globalization movement? By Walden Bello.
At a special session at the UN General Assembly, world leaders unveiled a plan for free healthcare for some of the world's poorest countries. But doing away with user fees alone is no panacea for improving medical access for the poor, reports IRIN.
Bribery and corruption in business are not only costing countries
billions of dollars in lost revenues, but are partly to blame for the global
economic crisis. Tackling these issues should be integral to the ongoing
reforms of the global financial architecture, says a report by Transparency International.
The international monetary framework which emerged after the
collapse of the Bretton Woods system in the 1970s has proved volatile, damaging
and prone to crises. It is time for a fundamental redesign and the introduction
of a global reserve currency, argue Peter Chowla, Barbara
Sennholz and Jesse Griffiths.
Unless we drastically reduce our reliance on fossil fuels we
are heading for an "Era of Xtreme Energy". Clinging on to conventional energy
supplies is likely to devastate the environment, accelerate climate change, and
create global conflict, warns Michael T. Klare.
With the need to reform international
finance now widely acknowledged, the solutions put forward from organisations in over 60 countries emphasise the importance of greater
social investment, says a report by Social Watch.
The
political and economic risks of allowing foreign governments and private
investors to purchase land in Africa far outweigh any gain. African governments
must make food security for their own people paramount, writes Ama Biney.
The toxic waste dumped by oil trading firm Trafigura represents
one of the world's worst cases of chemical exposure. The story is also a metaphor
for corporate capitalism in revealing that without regulation, it's all too easy
for firms to protect profit and pass the risk onto the world's poor, argues George
Monbiot.
The revenue lost to international
tax evasion amounts to more than poor countries receive in aid. Global finance rules should be changed to enable governments to raise more money to spend
on essential public services, says a report by ActionAid.
When Zambian economist Dambisa Moyo
published her controversial book, Dead Aid, her critique that development aid isn’t
working struck a resonant chord. But does this mean that we
should scrap aid altogether for the world’s poorest countries? By the New
Internationalist.
