Social Watch News

Increasing oil and gas production while at the same time trying to reduce carbon emissions are conflicting priorities, argues a joint study by the University of Victoria, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and the Parkland Institute. The Climate Leadership Plan of the province of Alberta allows to expanding oil sands production by 53 per cent and emissions by 47 per cent above 2014 levels. To compensate and still meet Canada’s Paris Agreement commitments the rest of the Canadian economy should reduce emissions by 47 per cent by 2030. This will be virtually impossible in the time remaining barring an economic collapse.

Three new pipelines have been approved in Canada and a fourth (Energy East) is under review even though oil supply forecasts show that not all are needed. This shows, according to the study that "Canada has no energy strategy beyond liquidating its remaining non-renewable resources as fast as possible to serve the economic interests of governments of the day. What we really need is a comprehensive energy strategy that addresses both the future energy security of Canadians and Canada’s commitments on climate change".

"Despite the importance of a healthy Pacific Ocean, evidence is mounting that this unique ecosystem is in real danger from anthropogenic threats such as overfishing, habitat destruction, and pollution and probably the most severe threat of all, climate change and resulting sea level rise" argued Maureen Penjueli, from the Pacific Network on Globalization, on occasion of the Ocean Conference that took place from June 5 to 9 at the United Nations in New York.

The rush to mine the deep seas is representing the newest frontier of extractive industry and perhaps the biggest threat to the world’s oceans in the 21st century. There is a significant concern that seabed mining has the potential to cause major environmental destruction to the entire Pacific Ocean and would seriously undermine the implementation of SDG 14, to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources.

Photo: Maailma kylässä

The follow-up report of Government´s achievements in implementing the Agenda 2030 was published last weekend at World Village Festival in Helsinki. The report was prepared by ten Finnish organisations (The Finnish League for Human Rights, Kepa, Save the Children Finland, Plan International Finland, The Finnish Blue Ribbon, SOSTE Finnish Federation for Social Affairs and Health, The Finnish Association for Nature Conservation, Finnish Olympic Committee, Finnish Red Cross and WWF Finland), with each being responsible for its respective area of expertise. Oth­er organisations have also contributed to the report.

Representatives of the CSOs handed over the reports to the Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Kai Mykkänen and Minister for Housing, Energy and Environment Kimmo Tiilikainen. After the ceremony a lively panel discussion together with representatives of different parliamentary parties was held. The amount of ODA -funding started a vivid debate.  The cuts made from CSO funding were seen especially problematic.  Minister Mykkänen made a promise to increase the ODA-funding after the huge cuts the current Government made at the beginning of its term of office.

The Social Degradation Report explores the impact of the armed conflict in Syria on social relations. It uses the concept of social capital as an approach to analyse trust, cooperation, and shared values.

Direct violence –including displacement, involvement in violent acts, and discriminatory institutional practices– affects both bridging and linking social capitals. Development indicators such as health, education, and employment are strongly correlated with the shared values and attitudes component. While these indicators are not directly related to violence, they affect the cognitive aspect of a shared vision for the community and the country, and are important factors in building the future social contract. Moreover, the research shows that conflict economy and conflict-related deaths are the main determinants of feeling secured, while the trust between individuals is affected by conflict economy, discriminatory institutions, forced displacement, and loss of job opportunities.

The Syrian Centre for Policy Research (SCPR) launched its report “Social Degradation in Syria” in cooperation with the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs (IFI) at the American University of Beirut (AUB) on June 1st.