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WELCOME & INTRODUCTION Aid and Our Changing Environment. Stockholm , 4 June 2013 Finn Tarp UNU-WIDER. What is ReCom ?. Aid is diverse and complex – no single individual can encompass it all
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WELCOME & INTRODUCTIONAid and Our Changing Environment Stockholm, 4 June 2013Finn Tarp UNU-WIDER
What is ReCom? • Aid is diverse and complex – no single individual can encompass it all • A large and comprehensive joint research, documentation and communications initiative (initiated in early 2011) • Motivated by the desire to understand better four key questions about aid
Four key questions • What works? • What could work? • What is scalable? • What is transferrable?
Five thematic focus areas • Growth and employment • Governance and fragility • Social sectors • Environment and climate change • Gender equality Note: Poverty and associated human development issues are addressed throughout
Why? • The development job far from done • 1.3 billion people absolutely poor • Poor farmers face environmental challenges • On top comes climate change • Global temperature rise • Plus many other issues • Need to develop, mitigate and adapt • We study how can aid help
Today’s questions include – Part I • What works, what does not work, and what could work in foreign aid in the pursuit of a sustainable human development agenda characterized by global environmental change and the need for planetary stewardship? • Has aid become “greener”? • Have recent institutional innovations worked and what would be required to make them work better? • What is required to rise to the 21st century challenges in land use? • How can aid contribute to more effective governance in the pursuit of sustainable development objectives? • What is the role of renewables in Africa’s energy future and how should environmental issues influence these choices?
Today’s questions include – Part II • What are the respective strengths and weaknesses in bilateral versus multilateral aid in relation to environmental issues? • What are the distinctions between traditional development aid and financial transfers related to the environment? • What are the issues and difficult choices associated with focusing aid finance and/or aid institutions on issues in middle income countries (environmental or otherwise)? • What are the roles of aid institutions in fomenting the transformations necessary to address global environmental problems, particularly climate change? • Is the aid system as presently designed up to the task of addressing climate change? • What, if any, institutional reforms to the aid system are required to address 21st century issues?