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CAMPAIGNS We have the poWer to end the scandal of hunger This year and next offer major opportunities for governments to ease the plight of almost 1 billion people around the world who don’t get enough food. It’s time for major development organisations to step up the pressure on them to do so, say Christian Aid journalists Rachel Baird and Andrew Hogg Christian Aid/Matthew Gonzalez-Noda A grimly fAmiliAr pattern reappeared this summer: poor harvests in major grain producing countries such as the US, russia and india, followed by food price surges and warnings that worsening global hunger will not be far behind. Higher food prices are devastating to families living in poverty, because buying food already takes up so much of their money. Here in the UK, Office for National Statistics figures show that less than 15 per cent of the average household’s spending goes on food and non-alcoholic drinks. But according to the United Nation’s food and Agriculture Organization, poor people in developing countries spend 60-80 per cent of their incomes on simply getting enough to eat. in fact, almost 1 billion people around the world don’t have enough to eat and go to bed hungry every night, even though the planet produces enough to feed everyone. fundamentally, they are hungry because they are poor. food is often for sale in the countries where they live – but at a price they can’t afford. Christian Aid believes passionately that it doesn’t have to be this way. governments have the power to end the scandal of hunger. And 2013 presents major opportunities for them to make progress. Debate is now under way about what new targets should be set when the current millennium development goals (mDgs) end in 2015. Halving the proportion of people who suffer from hunger is part of the first of the existing mDgs, but according to the World food Programme, this is a long way from being achieved in parts of Asia, the former Soviet bloc and sub-Saharan Africa. With Prime minister David Cameron a member of the UN panel looking at this issue, plans to tackle hunger are set to gain prominence. The UK government has already shown concern about the food crisis – exemplified by a global hunger event held in london during the Olympics. Next year, the UK will chair the g8 group of powerful countries, giving it an even greater opportunity to influence global priorities. Christian Aid is using this opportunity to join with other major development organisations in 2013 to campaign for a fairer global food system that works for everyone. An important part of the solution, we believe, is tax justice. Tax revenues help countries to help themselves, which is why it’s vital that multinationals and others pay what they owe in every country in which they operate. At present, we estimate that developing countries lose a staggering US$160bn a year due to tax dodging by some unscrupulous multinationals and other businesses trading internationally, who manipulate their accounts to reduce their tax liability. That is more than poor 14 Christian Aid News
countries receive in aid each year. What, you may ask, has that got to do with global hunger? Well, tax pays for services such as health and education, which in turn support people’s ability to work and earn a living. tax also funds the infrastructure, such as roads and ports, needed by people and companies (who provide jobs) to get their goods to market, as well as funding other essentials such as police forces and justice systems. in addition, tax gives governments the means to invest in their nation’s agriculture, on which many millions of people in poor countries still depend for survival. it also pays for a social safety net to prevent people starving, while funding work to better prepare communities against disasters such as floods and droughts, which damage crops and fuel hunger. that’s why next year, with allies across the development sector, Christian aid will continue to campaign for reforms to help countries collect more of the taxes they’re due. specifically, we’ll continue to call on governments to end tax haven secrecy and require companies to be more transparent about the taxes they pay and the profits they make in every country where they work. We hope you will join us. look out for more information in the next edition of Christian Aid News and on the act now pages of our website. Government backs our carbon call Christian aid is delighted to announce that deputy Prime Minister nick Clegg, on behalf of the UK government, has committed to introducing measures that will oblige companies listed on the london stock exchange to report all of their carbon emissions. Christian aid has been calling for this since we launched our climate change campaign in 2007, so we are very glad that the government has finally backed this demand. Christian aid supporters (you!) have taken more than 60,000 actions on this key issue over the past five years. thank you for the time you gave to campaigning. it has paid off! nick Clegg has also acknowledged your role in this important work: ‘it’s important that organisations such as Christian aid continue to push hard on these vital issues. the UK is blazing a trail by making all businesses listed on the london stock exchange publish full details of their greenhouse gas emissions, which will ultimately encourage them to operate more sustainably but also save them money by doing so. Your support for this makes all the difference when we’re making these decisions,’ he said. in 2007 Christian aid estimated that global investment from UK companies is responsible for 12-15 per cent of all carbon emissions. so getting businesses listed on the london stock exchange to report their UK carbon emissions is a great step forward in learning the true carbon footprint of UK companies. this will help civil society and government to hold businesses to account for the level of their carbon emissions, and is an important move towards reducing global emissions further. this is a timely boost for our campaigning at a crucial time. the world’s poorest are paying the highest price for climate change. they need rich countries to meet their responsibilities when it comes to their carbon emissions – and that must start with knowing for sure how much businesses are contributing. as the only international development agency to call for this we should rightly be very proud of our work – and we could not have done it without your support. thank you. Rio failS to nail SuStainability GoalS Campaigns journalist Rachel Baird reports on a disappointing outcome to the Rio+20 conference in Brazil We KneW that this summer’s rio+20 conference on sustainable development was never going to solve the scandal of poverty or the global environmental crisis – but the outcome still left us disappointed. it was ‘stunning only in its lack of urgency’, according to Christian aid’s senior adviser on sustainable development, dr alison doig. ‘We leave rio with a text that contains no deadlines for countries to take action and lamentably few other targets,’ she said, as the talks closed in late June. For instance, negotiators failed to agree on a target date by which everyone in the world should have access to sustainable energy – something that some 1.4 billion people currently lack. But there is still cause to hope that the rio talks will have a positive legacy. negotiators made important progress towards the creation of a new set of sustainable development goals (sdgs). these will help to set the direction of future development work after 2015, when the existing millennium development goals expire. ‘the sdgs could help make global food production more sustainable and ensure that many millions more people can enjoy clean water and sustainable modern energy,’ added dr doig. ‘But this will only happen if citizens keep up the pressure as work continues on shaping the goals.’ People in the UK are especially wellplaced to influence things for the better, because the United nations has chosen Prime Minister david Cameron to cochair the panel that is working on the replacement for the Mdgs after 2015. another potentially important part of the rio outcome document – a 49-page tome called The Future We Want – is a section about major companies. it could help to increase the pressure on them to reveal publicly how their activities affect people and the environment. similarly, by far the best news of all in rio was also about big companies in the UK having to come clean about some of their contributions to climate change. See story ‘Government backs our carbon call’ above. Christian Aid News 15
Page 1 and 2: CHRISTIAN AID NEWS Issue 57 Autumn
Page 3 and 4: CONTENTS Contact us: 020 7620 4444
Page 5 and 6: AS CAMPAIGNERS ASSEMBLED at the Gre
Page 7 and 8: india ...and IndIa floods hIt 1.2 m
Page 9 and 10: IndIa Star power booStS hope of end
Page 11 and 12: christian aid/tom pilston or friend
Page 13: Christian Aid campaigners with Rev
Page 17 and 18: Main picture: supporters prepare fo
Page 19 and 20: Building equality: Christian Aid pa
Page 21 and 22: Christian Aid/Ally Carnwath Christi
Page 23 and 24: The Good Little Company’s Craig B
Page 25 and 26: AROUND NORTH ENGLAND TAX JUSTICE TO
Page 27 and 28: AROUND THE SOUTH EAST Regional news
Page 29 and 30: AROUND WALES FROM PUDDINGS TO PRAIS
Page 31 and 32: KEEP uP TO DATE WiTH WHAT’S HAPPE
Page 33 and 34: KEEP uP tO dAtE WitH WHAt’S HAPPE
Page 35 and 36: SATURDAY 29 SEPTEMBER Day conferenc
Page 37 and 38: COMMENT all companies are required
Page 39 and 40: ✁ march for justice JOIN huNDrEDS
Page 41 and 42: FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE SWITCH TO ECOT

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