G20 not keeping promise in trade fight - EU commissioner
“The members of the G20 have clearly not kept all their
promises,” said De Gucht. “The EU will therefore continue to
remind its trading partners of their commitments in all
multilateral and bilateral fora.”Talks for a global trade accord have all but failed at the
World Trade Organisation and worldwide economic concerns have
further chilled the global trade climate.De Gucht said that only 17 percent of protectionist measures
introduced since the start of the crisis had so far lapsed.”So measures designed to temporarily support demand hit by
the crisis, are now locked in,” he said.The best way forward would be a new multilateral trade
agreement, he said, but admitted that progress seemed unlikely.”However, it is true that so far finding a compromise has
proved to be unlikely,” he said.The EU would support any proposals to unblock the stalemate
and hope the December WTO ministerial meeting to at least “map
out the way ahead for the coming year”.More than 36 million jobs in Europe depend on trade and net
exports were responsible for one third of EU economic growth in
2010, according to EU figures.
Louis Dreyfus IPO unlikely in the short term-source
The Financial Times reported on Monday the French company
had hired bankers to look at a listing of its commodities
trading arm, or a partial sale to a sovereign wealth fund.”Taking into account the state of the (stock) market, there
is only little chance that we see a transaction in the short
term,” the source close to the company said.”A private investor is less unlikely that an IPO,” he added.
Some good news for a thirsty world
Amid the worry about water and food scarcity, some hints of good news: a five-year, 30-nation analysis suggests there might be enough water â and therefore enough food â for Earthâs hungriest and thirstiest as the human population heads toward the 9 billion mark sometime around mid-century.
Anxiety about food and water supplies stems in part from the effects of climate change, with its projected rise in droughts, wildfires, floods and other events that cut down on food production. Another factor is the increase in population, much of it grouped around water sources in the developing world. But water experts said at a conference this week in Brazil that there could be plenty of water over the coming decades if those upstream collaborate with those downstream and use water more efficiently.
The leader of the study, Simon Cook of the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, said this is actually possible. And he said it wouldnât require the repeal of the more selfish impulses of human nature.
Citing an article in Harvard Business Review, Cook said, âItâs not necessarily human to be totally individualistic. Thereâs substantial evidence that people can collaborate.â
In fact, Cook said, this kind of discussion between upstreamers and downstreamers â the ones most likely to be at odds over how water should be used â is already taking place. There is evidence that Chinaâs involved in a project to enable hydropower development along the Mekong River, one of several huge river basins examined in the water study. âTheyâre actually engaged in dialog with the people who will be affected by itâ in Laos, Cook said, with a bit of wonder in his voice. âSo there are some glimmers of hope.â
That would be different from what has often happened in developed countries, including the United States, where those who use water for irrigation may have scant discussion with those who use it for rain-fed farming, hydropower, aquaculture or other purposes.
The key is to communicate across borders and across sectors, Cook said. One problem is that those who have power tend to want to hang onto it.
âPower tends to stick,â he said. âOnce you get a power interest ⦠for example amongst irrigators or amongst farmers and pastoralists who have an interest in preserving the status quo, then itâs more difficult to shift.â
Much of the solution may come down to communication. Right now, systems that are meant to manage large river basins are often fragmented, Cook said, with ministries of agriculture that donât talk to ministries of water.
So should big global organizations step in? Not really, Cook said.
âItâs got to be a local broker, obviously,â he said. âThe UN or the World Bank can try to ensure that this process takes place and that thereâs an informed dialog. But it canât pre-determine the outcome.â
Photo credits:Â (Three-year-old girl, displaced by floods, holds a drink of water as she takes refuge with her family in a camp for flood victims in the Badin district of Pakistanâs Sindh province September 23, 2011.)
(A man rides an electric bicycle through an underground passage near a fountain in central Beijing, September 22, 2011)
(A boy plays in the flood waters near a temple in Nonthaburi province on the outskirts of Bangkok September 19, 2011)
