Both the New York Times and the Washington Post reported good news today on worldwide child mortality rates. As shown in the Times chart after the jump, the number of deaths of young children around the world has been cut in half since 1960, when these statistics were first recorded. This fact is even more impressive considering: 1) world population has doubled since 1960, and 2) these stats are based on 2005 household surveys and do not adequately account for the recent uptick in funds from sources like the Global Fund, the Gates Foundation, and the Administration's AIDS and malaria programs. UNICEF gives four reasons for the dramatic decrease (according to the Times).
The urgent need to act on climate change is sadly counterbalanced by the paucity of viable ideas for controlling further carbon emissions. Even those firmly convinced that prompt action is required appear mesmerized by the tantalizing hope that the problem can be efficiently controlled –- and developing nations induced to participate -- by harnessing market forces.
In the weeks leading up to the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Event on Climate Change on September 24, UN Dispatch will host a series of commentaries on a range of issues related to energy and climate change -- for example, the challenge of sustainable energy production, combating climate catastrophe through adaptation, or financing climate change mitigation.
The first contribution, a post on a seminal energy efficiency report by UNF Climate Change expert Richard Moss is up in the Delegates Lounge to the right. A link to this series is available in the "Features" section on the left.
Please stop by regularly, use our Email feature to send posts to your friends and colleagues, and sign up for our weekly updates. And, over the course of the month, if a particular post strikes a chord with you or you have an insight on climate change or energy in general, email us and participate in the discussion.
By Richard Moss, Senior Director, Climate Change, United Nations Foundation
Energy efficiency is the single most promising strategy for getting the global community on track to tackle the climate change crisis. Energy efficiency is the cheapest, cleanest, and most readily available energy resource. Reducing the amount of energy used to produce goods and services not only addresses climate change, it also reduces dependence on oil supplies from unstable regions such as the Middle East, and saves money too. Aggressively exploiting global energy efficiency resources will allow for sustainable sustainable growth that avoids further damage to the climate system.
The provisional list of speakers for the general debate of the 61st Session of the General Assembly has been released. With 15-minute allotments, it's easy to figure out when your favorite Head of State (HS), Head of Government (HG), Deputy Foreign Minister (DPM), or Foreign Minister (FM) will speak. See the schedule after the jump.
I just came across Steven Levitt's Freakonomics post from Monday suggesting that man-made tornadoes or some other silver bullet will likely be the cure for climate change; we needn't fret. His reasoning:
Technology and human ingenuity have solved just about every problem we’ve faced so far; there is no obvious reason why global warming shouldn’t succumb as well.
Today, in the Council on Foreign Relations' Daily Analysis, deputy editor Robert McMahon does a good job summarizing a common thread that runs through the foreign policy agendas of the leading '08 candidates:
What is striking so far about the candidates’ foreign policy presentations is the consistent desire, expressed by Republicans and Democrats alike, to have the United States improve and deepen its engagement with the world.Although the suggested methods of engagement differ, it is clear that the candidates are tapping into the sentiments of American voters, who are becoming increasingly tired of costly, and largely ineffective, unilateral action.
UN Dispatch was well represented at Yearly Kos at the end of last week. Three out of four Dispatchers made the trip out to Chicago.
Aside from getting to meet many of the bloggers that I had only known as online personas, I thought the foreign policy discussions were the most interesting part of the convention. For the most part, everyone seemed remarkably well-informed. And, even though as a convention largely dedicated to the progressive movement the discussion too often veered toward a single-minded view of the war in Iraq, international cooperation and improving the U.S. image abroad was the underlying sentiment in the forums on U.S. foreign policy.
Unfortunately, that idea was rarely carried through to a discussion on the U.S. role at the United Nations. The UN is the world's platform for international cooperation, and it is clear that strengthening U.S. engagement at the UN should be the centerpiece of our efforts to bolster both our image and our influence abroad. UN Dispatch intends to continue to foster this conversation in part so that at next year's event it attains its natural position at the center of U.S. foreign policy discussions.
Yesterday, the new U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Zalmay Khalilzad, sat down with CSPAN's Washington Journal to discuss the U.S. relationship with the UN and the UN's role in Iraq. Watch the video.