Farming First guide to food security for G8 Summit via AgInfo News from IAALD
In the runup to the next G8 meeting, Farming First - an advocacy group for sustainable agriculture - has launched a guide to the many initiatives working for food security.Download the guide or learn more by using the interactive food security map.Information specialists might be interested to see the widespread use of social media tools - blogs, facebook, twitter, RSS, etc - on their website.... 20 Days To The G20…20 Reasons The Youth Climate Movement Must Get Organized! via It's Getting Hot In Here
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Denmark Passes “Anti-Riot” Law 12 days before UN Climate Negotiations. via It's Getting Hot In Here
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Mismatch between Newly Inclusive G-20 and Limited Changes at the IMF and World Bank via Global Development: Views from the Center
Join the climate contingent at the People’s Uprising march on the G20 in Pittsburgh Sept 24th via It's Getting Hot In Here
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“Hip Hip…Hooray? Cautious Optimism for G8 Agricultural Commitments” via Global Development: Views from the Center
Greenpeace banner on Mt Rushmore, and FIVE coal plants occupied in Italy. via It's Getting Hot In Here
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G8: Press Iran on Rights, Free Expression via
(New York) - Leaders of the G8 group of industrialized nations meeting in L'Aquila, Italy on July 8, 2009, should condemn the violent attacks on peaceful protests, hundreds of arbitrary arrests, and harsh interrogations in Iran in the aftermath of the disputed June elections, Human Rights Watch said today.
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G-8 recommends stockpiling food to prevent price shocks via Poverty News Blog
When food prices went through the roof last year, many people in the under developed world began to riot, because they could no longer afford food. Since then, world leaders have been looking for ways to prevent such unrest from happening again. They have a lot of work to do, as many countries are far behind meeting the Millennium Development Goal of of halving poverty by 2015. The agricultural leaders of the eight wealthiest nations have concluded meetings to improve food security. They recommend that countries stockpile food. But Oxfam has called on the G-8 to do a lot more.From the AFP via Google, we see what was announced at the G8 meetings recently concluded in Italy. The G8 agriculture ministers called for a study into setting up a global system to stockpile essential foodstuffs...
Annan and Geldof meet Italy’s Premier via Poverty News Blog
We love the quotes that come from Sir Bob Geldof, they have a real "punk rock" quality to them. We found some more quotes from Bob Geldof today, as he and former UN secretary Kofi Annan met with Italy's Premier Silvio Berlusconi. Italy holds the chair of the G8 this year, so the two activists pressed the Premier to keep Africa poverty a focus as he leads the group of the wealthiest nations.This Associated Press article that we found in the International Herald Tribune covered the meeting, and gave us the quotes from Sir Geldof. "In richer countries this crisis is resulting in bankruptcy, unemployment, personal misery and fear for the future," the former U.N. chief said. "But for many in Africa, the effects are life-threatening."...Annan, who is chairman of the Africa Progress Panel, a... Regular talks between G8 and Least Developed countries stressed via Poverty News Blog
from the New Nation A round table discussion on the outcome of the recent G8 meeting stressed the need for repeated talks between rich countries and poor ones. - KaleSpeakers at a roundtable here on Monday underlined the need for holding regular dialogues between leaders of G-8 countries and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) for cutting poverty and achieving sustainable growth of the global economy.The large and small economies need to interact regularly to find out ways for facing the current challenges of food and energy security, climate change and price hike of oil and other commodities, they said.The roundtable styled 'Outcome of the G8 Summit in Japan' was organised by Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI) at its conference room at Gulshan here.BEI president Farooq Sobhan moderated... [comment] Jeffery Sachs on the G8 via Poverty News Blog
from the Guardian Jeffery Sachs calls on the G8 leaders to honor their commitments. - KaleThe G8 summit in Japan earlier this month was a painful demonstration of the pitiful state of global cooperation. The world is in deepening crisis. Food prices are soaring. Oil prices are at historic highs. The leading economies are entering a recession. Climate change negotiations are going around in circles. Aid to the poorest countries is stagnant, despite years of promised increases. And yet in this gathering storm it was hard to find a single real accomplishment by the world's leaders.The world needs global solutions for global problems, but the G8 leaders clearly cannot provide them. Because virtually all of the political leaders that went to the summit are deeply unpopular at home, few offer... G8 agree to $60 bln in health spending to Africa via Poverty News Blog
from Business Weekly, Zimbabwe The Group of Eight leaders agreed Tuesday to spend 60 billion dollars to fight disease in Africa over five years and reaffirmed commitments to double aid to the continent.The G8 leaders, issuing a joint statement after talks in Japan, set a timeframe of five years to make good on promises made at least year's summit in Germany to spend 60 billion dollars to fight malaria, AIDS and tuberculosis.Specifically, the leaders set a goal of providing 100 million insecticide-treated nets by the end of 2010 to halt the spread of malaria in developing countries.They also reconfirmed pledges made at the G8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland in 2005 to boost aid to Africa by 25 billion dollars by 2010.African nations had pushed on the spending commitments during talks an... Humanitarians cool on G8 summit response to food crisis via Poverty News Blog
from IRIN NEW YORK, When the leaders of the US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, opened their meeting in Japan on 7 July, World Bank President Robert Zoellick urged them to “seize this opportunity” in the face of a crisis that threatened to push 100 million or more additional people into hunger beyond the 850 million already suffering.He called for “resources, action, and results in real time” in three areas - meeting immediate needs with safety net support; giving small farmers, especially in Africa, access to seeds, fertilisers and other basic inputs; and easing export bans and restrictions that have contributed to higher prices.“The G8 did not rise to the challenge laid down by President Zoellick and others,” Oxfam policy director Gawain Kripke told IRIN.... G8 summit: all talk, zero walk via Poverty News Blog
from the Dispatch Online, South Africa Njongonkulu NdunganeTHE Group of Eight (G8) summit has come and, like other summits, gone. A lot of anticipation preceded this year’s summit against a backdrop of an escalation of the usual problems and new challenges bedevilling the world, especially Africa.Our world communities are currently confronting the worst food crisis in 45 years. Food prices have tripled in three years. The World Bank estimates that 100 million people are falling deeper into poverty as prices for staples like wheat, rice, and corn have risen 83percent. Coming on top of Africa’s old, existing challenges, our continent is disproportionately affected.Escalating global oil prices, which contribute to the dramatic rise in food prices, have also hit the poor... G8 result bare minimum for Africa - Annan via Poverty News Blog
from Reuters Alert Net By Jeremy LovellLONDON - Leaders of the Group of Eight rich nations who met in Japan this week did the bare minimum for Africa and must not be allowed to backslide from even that, as they have in the past, former UN head Kofi Annan said.On climate change, aid, food prices and trade the G8 had warm words but made scant real progress, reaffirming a 2005 pledge to give the continent $50 billion by 2010 -- of which only $10 billion has so far been given -- and calling for completion of the long-stalled Doha world trade negotiations."We are ... putting pressure on them to honour what they have committed to including coming out with a timetable that would indicate how they are going to implement what they have promised," Annan told Reuters by telephone."What is the point...