Social Watch E-Newsletter - Issue 352 - September 19, 2019

The coming UN week of summits from September 23 to 27 could see more positive action on the climate emergency, on implementing the SDGs, and could change the direction of financing for development, argues Global Policy Watch. “In the four years since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) most governments have failed to turn the proclaimed transformational vision of the agenda into policies that bring about real change, but there are signs of push-back'”, says Jens Martens of the Global Policy Forum and the Civil Society Reflection Group in the run up to the Summits' Week. Read more

At the closing of the 73rd Session on 16 September, Secretary-General António Guterres and outgoing President Espinosa Garcés reflected on the work of the 73rd session, imploring Member State delegates to continue to pursue the many challenges the multilateral body is designed to address, with particular emphasis on the significance of the forthcoming 75th UN Anniversary. At the opening of the 74th Session on 17 September, incoming President Muhammad-Bande closed this loop, highlighting his plans and vision for continuing the work thus far and bringing new themes to the attention of Member States. Elena Marmo, from Global Policy Watch, reports from New York. Read more

Climate change is increasingly making its impact felt worldwide. Everyone is suffering, but the poor in the developing world is bearing the brunt of the impacts. It is not fair that those who did not contribute to the problem of climate change are suffering the most, and sometimes even paying with their lives, argues Indrajit Bose, from Third World Network (TWN). "The developed world, historically responsible for causing climate change must own responsibility and fulfil longstanding commitments to reduce emissions and provide developing countries the means—finance, technology, capacity building—to deal with climate change."
The Green Climate Fund is going through its first formal replenishment in 2019, after which a needs assessment of developing countries and a new collective goal on finance is to be agreed. Calls for ambitious goals must be accompanied by calls for ambitious support to developing countries who are facing overriding social and environmental challenges. While climate action is urgent, support to developing countries for such action is even more urgent. Read more

Climate change is increasingly making its impact felt worldwide. Everyone is suffering, but the poor in the developing world is bearing the brunt of the impacts. It is not fair that those who did not contribute to the problem of climate change are suffering the most, and sometimes even paying with their lives, argues Indrajit Bose, from Third World Network (TWN). "The developed world, historically responsible for causing climate change must own responsibility and fulfil longstanding commitments to reduce emissions and provide developing countries the means—finance, technology, capacity building—to deal with climate change."
The Green Climate Fund is going through its first formal replenishment in 2019, after which a needs assessment of developing countries and a new collective goal on finance is to be agreed. Calls for ambitious goals must be accompanied by calls for ambitious support to developing countries who are facing overriding social and environmental challenges. While climate action is urgent, support to developing countries for such action is even more urgent. Read more

Arab NGO Network for Development (ANND) hosts an electronic platform to share information and reports on the progress in the implementation of the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development issued by CSOs in the Arab Region. Read more