WELCOME & INTRODUCTION

Aid and Our Changing EnvironmentStockholm, 4 June 2013

Finn TarpUNU-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?