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From Poverty to Power Green, Oxfam 2008 - weman

From Poverty to Power Green, Oxfam 2008 - weman

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FROM POVERTY TO POWERCASE STUDYFebruary, when G8 finance ministers outlined a debt cancellation plan.Then in May, EU leaders committed <strong>to</strong> aid increases that went a long way<strong>to</strong>ward meeting the $50bn target.Activists both inside government and out benefited from a broaderrevival of commitment <strong>to</strong> development, evidenced in the reversal offalling aid levels since 2000 and the endorsement that same year of theUN’s Millennium Development Goals. The efforts of African governments<strong>to</strong> promote a sense of progress – through the New EconomicPartnership for African Development, the spread of elections, and theres<strong>to</strong>ration of promising levels of growth – also helped make aid politicallypalatable. Leaders may also have wanted <strong>to</strong> rebuild international cooperationafter deep divisions over the 2003 invasion of Iraq.Strong growth in the global economy was a fac<strong>to</strong>r, allowing the G8leaders <strong>to</strong> concentrate on long-term issues, breaking free of the crisismanagement mindset of previous summits. And unexpected events <strong>to</strong>oplayed a critical role. The Asian tsunami six months earlier had promptedan unprecedented display of public generosity, which in several cases hadshamed politicians in<strong>to</strong> increasing government humanitarian relief, anddemonstrated the level of public interest in development issues. Then onthe first full day of the summit, terrorist bombings in London killed morethan 50 people, evoking a sentiment of solidarity in which G8 leaderswere keen <strong>to</strong> support the British government.The upbeat message on aid and debt contrasted sharply with theleaders’ inability <strong>to</strong> achieve significant progress on climate change or thestalled trade talks at the WTO. Generally speaking, leaders find it easier <strong>to</strong>promise money than <strong>to</strong> change their own policies: reductions in carbonemissions or righting the rigged rules of global trade cannot be achievedby writing a cheque.The lesson of 30 years of G8 summits is also that progress is oftenachieved only through reiteration – the same issue returning year afteryear <strong>to</strong> the summit agenda. The 2005 summit marked the fifth successivediscussion on Africa, whereas climate change had not figured on the G8agenda since 1997. The reappearance of climate change on the agenda inthe years following Gleneagles may therefore hold out some hope forfuture progress in the talks on a successor <strong>to</strong> the Kyo<strong>to</strong> Pro<strong>to</strong>col.382

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