Green issues to top agenda at finance meeting

The Peninsula (Qatar): Green Economy' will take centre stage at the upcoming Doha Global Conference on Financing for Development 2008. The Second Global Financial meet on Development, scheduled to be held from November 29 to December 2, will discuss boosting investment in clean and natural resources as an ideal way to spur real global economic growth, if a document released in connection with the meet is an indication. Underpinning the need to discuss the green issues at the meeting, an analytical note released as a precursor to the conclave says that climate change could seriously undermine economic development through increased frequency and severity of natural disasters, decline in agricultural productivity and food security, further spread of water-related diseases, population displacement and conflicts over scarce resource.

…The note on 'Financing for Climate Change' added: "The issue of climate change has far-reaching implications for both development and finance. The question of sharing of costs of mitigation and adaptation between the developed and the developing world requires an open and honest discussion (at the meet)".

The source of today's climatic and environmental degradation are principally the more advanced, industrial countries, and the situation has assumed alarming proportions mainly because there was no accord among such countries on the extent or nature of the problem.

The right to develop and improve the well-being of populations in the South cannot be denied, and, while everything should be done that their development is "clean", there is no question that their contribution to pollution would increase over time, the South Centre Input into the reparatory process leading to the Doha meeting said….

Aerial view of Doha, Qatar, site of the meeting. NASA