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Contributions from
the Column
Facts and trends
Rich countries should pay
for environmental damage
Accountability in the health sector
AIDS: Brazil to ignore patents
It’s the price that counts
New government for Somalia
AIDS: Indian generic drugs back on WHO list
German opposition calls for interest-oriented development policy
The miserly rich
01/2005
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[ Poverty and environment ]
Rich countries should pay
for environmental damage
The German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU) calls for an improved cooperation between international poverty relief and environmental policy. A new report criticises the fact that the millennium goals and the poverty reduction strategy papers (PRSPs) make virtually no allowances for environmental protection. For the council however, environmental policy and development policy are inexorably linked. An intact environment – clean water and life-supporting forest habitats for example – are a vital prerequisite for effective poverty eradication. On the other hand, poverty often leads to over-exploitation of natural resources and so to additional environmental problems. However, the WBGU points out that the consequences of poverty for the environment should not be overestimated. “Industrialisation and prosperity contribute far more to environmental change”, says the report.
In the opinion of the council, those responsible for most of the environmental changes – the advanced countries and their corporations – should pay compensation for damage which has already occurred in poor countries, as well as for measures designed to protect against future damage. The amount contributed by each country should directly relate to their accumulated levels of greenhouse gas emissions since 1990. As in an earlier report, the council is suggesting air traffic and shipping charges for the use of global resources as another source of funding poverty-sensitive environmental policies. The additional bill for protecting the climate and biodiversity is estimated at 400 billion US dollars per year.
The WBGU wants to see international trade policy place greater emphasis on the environment and development. For instance, only those trade concessions which serve poverty reduction or the environment should be expected from the developing countries – such as exempting customs duties on renewable energy technology. The UN Environment Programme UNEP should be upgraded to a UN specialised agency and should cooperate closely with the World Trade Organisation. In the longer run the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) should be replaced by a Council on Global Development and Environment. This council would coordinate the activities of the multilateral organisations, including the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, focusing their activities on a vision of sustainable development. (ell)
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