Daily Archives: May 3, 2022

Austin, TX The City of Austin, in partnership with Austin Young Chamber, announced the winners of the annual[Re]Verse Pitch Competition. The program aims to reduce waste in Austin through innovation and design. The winners, known as Innovation Fellows, developed circular business ideas using byproduct materials from other businesses. The Innovation Fellows will receive prizes valued up to $16,500. The prize package includes a stipend for completing the three-part Innovation Accelerator program.

Born Again Kreations by Aria Ali, Amreen Rajabali, andMohammed AliBorn Again Kreations plans to create insulated water bottle holders using decorator fabric samples and cuts of high-quality fleece from Austin Creative Reuse and bulletproof vests from Travis County.

GROARTS by Jaclyn Heiser, Declan O'Reilly, and Ryan McAdamsGROARTS plans to create the GROBOX which is a simple hydroponic setup for growing microgreens at homeusing plastic boxes and plastic inserts fromACC Bioscience Incubator and EQO.

Reclaim. Repurpose. Reimagine.by Susan AndersonReclaim. Repurpose. Reimagine. plans to create packaging for luxury goods using decorator fabric samples from Austin Creative Reuse and bulletproof vests from Travis County.

REVISION GOODS by Aileen ChenREVISION GOODS plans to create durable home goods using decorator fabric samples from Austin Creative Reuse.

During the accelerator, Fellows will receive guidance, training and community support to work on their idea. This years accelerator partners are Texas State University, SOS Leadership and New Chip. At the end of the accelerator, teams will pitch their idea to a cohort of investors at the Citys Circular Austin Showcase on August 30, 2022. There will also be spots available for existing or start-up businesses to pitch in the Circular Austin Showcase.

Applications for the Circular Austin Showcase are open now through May 31. Visitaustintexas.gov/circularshowcaseto apply.This years [Re]Verse Pitch Competition started on February28 at the virtualopening pitch event. Over six weeks, competitors attended virtual workshops and worked with program mentors before submitting theirbusiness ideas to the competition. A panel of judges reviewed submissions and selected Fellows based on equal scoring criteria.

The [Re]Verse Pitch Competition is a collaboration between the City of Austin and Austin Young Chamber, with support from community partners.Learn more atReversePitch.org.

###

The City of AustinCircular Economy Programs mission is to attract, retain, and grow businesses, non-profits, and entrepreneurs in the zero waste industry in order to create well-paying local jobs, attract investment, and support the necessary infrastructure for a resilient circular economy in Central Texas. The program is a partnership betweenAustin Resource Recoveryand theEconomic Development Department.

Austin Resource Recovery provides a wide range of services designed to transform waste into resources while keeping our community clean. Services include curbside collection of recycling, trash, yard trimmings and large brush and bulk items; street sweeping; dead animal collection; household hazardous waste disposal and recycling; and outreach and education. Austin Resource Recovery offers free, voluntary, and confidential consulting services to help Austin businesses reduce waste and comply with the Citys recycling ordinances. In December 2011, the Austin City Council approved the Austin Resource Recovery Master Plan, which is the Citys roadmap to Zero Waste. The City of Austin is committed to reducing the amount of waste sent to area landfills by 90 percent by 2040. Learn more ataustinrecycles.com.

# # #

Go here to read the rest:

City of Austin Announces Winners of Annual Competition Celebrating Innovative Reuse Solutions - AustinTexas.gov

About the position

The postdoctoral fellowshipposition is atemporaryposition where the main goal is to qualify for work in senior academic positions.

The Industrial Ecology Program(IndEcol), Department of Energy and Process Engineering (EPT) at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) is seeking a Postdoctoral Fellowto advance the integrated modeling of circular economy and resource efficiency strategies in climate change mitigation models. The modeling is to combine bottom-up life cycle assessment, dynamic stock models, and integrated assessment models. It is part of theCIRCOMODproject, a Horizon Europe project lead by Utrecht University.

The circular economy has been recognized at the EU and global levels as an important mechanism to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs). Land, water, energy, biomass, and minerals comprise resources which are to be used more efficiently. The International Resource Panel has found that there are important potential synergies between reducing material footprints (the indicator for SDG 12.1) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. So-called integrated assessment models, which are central in informing climate change and biodiversity policy, capture material use and industrial production insufficiently. The industrial ecology community has traditionally focused on empirical research of resource use, material cycles, the life cycle impacts of products and technologies, and global supply chains and production networks. There is now a move towards forward-looking, mechanistic models which can provide scenarios of resource use and emissions as a function of technology choice and the implementation of specific mitigation strategies.

The RECC modeling framework focuses on the functional performance and dynamics of product stocks over time and combines life-cycle assessment, engineering models, and material flow analysis. NTNU is collaborating with climate research institutes in order to help climate change mitigation models correctly represent material demand and options for demand management in circular material flows. This is the focus of the CIRCOMOD project.

The Postdoctorwould take a leading role in the further development and application of the current suite of models and assessment approaches to the decarbonization of identified with the aim to develop an approach that can be implemented in a range of economic and climate models. The work will be done under the guidance of Professor Edgar Hertwich and in collaboration with the entire consortium.

The Head of Department is Professor Terese Lvs. The positions supervisor is Professor Edgar Hertwich.

Trondheim, Glshaugen, is the place of duty.

Duties of the position

Requiredselectioncriteria

A postdoctoral research fellowship is a qualification position in which the main objective is qualification for work in academic positions. You must have completed a Norwegian doctoral degree inindustrial ecology, energy or climate economics or a related field, or a corresponding foreign doctoral degree recognized as equivalent to a Norwegian doctoral degree is required.

If, for any reason, you have taken a career break or have had an atypical career and wish to disclose this in your application, the selection committee will take this into account, recognizing that the quantity of your research may be reduced as a result.

The appointment is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants andnational guidelines for appointment as PhD, post doctor and researchassistant

Preferred selection criteria

Personal characteristics

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal suitability.

Weoffer

Salary and conditions

As aPostdoctoral Fellow(code 1352) you arenormallypaidfromgross NOK574 700 per annum before tax, depending on qualifications and seniority.From the salary, 2% is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

The period of employment is 3years.

The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants, and the acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who by assessment of the application and attachment are seen to conflict with thecriteriain the latter law will be prohibited from recruitment to NTNU. After the appointment you must assume that there may be changes in the area of work.

It is a prerequisite you can be present at and accessible to the institutionon a daily basis.

About the application

The application and supporting documentation to be used as the basis for the assessment must be in English.

Publications and other scientific work must follow the application.Please note that applications are only evaluated based on the information available on the application deadline. You should ensure that your application shows clearly how your skills and experience meet the criteria which are set out above.

If, for any reason, you have taken a career break or have had an atypical career and wish to disclose this in your application, the selection committee will take this into account, recognizing that the quantity of your research may be reduced as a result.

The application must include:

If all,or parts,of your education has been taken abroad, we also ask you to attach documentation of the scope and quality of your entire education.Description of the documentation required can befoundhere. If you already have a statement from NOKUT,pleaseattachthisas well.

Joint works will be considered. If it is difficult to identify your contribution to joint works, you must attach a brief description of your participation.

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experienceand personal and interpersonalqualities.Motivation,ambitions,and potential will also countin the assessment ofthe candidates.

NTNU is committed to following evaluation criteria for research quality according toThe San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment - DORA.

General information

Working at NTNU

A good work environment is characterized by diversity. We encourage qualified candidates to apply, regardless of their gender, functional capacity or cultural background.

The city of Trondheimis a modern European city with a rich cultural scene. Trondheim is the innovation capital of Norway with a population of 200,000.The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world. Professional subsidized day-care for children is easily available. Furthermore, Trondheim offers great opportunities for education (including international schools) and possibilities to enjoy nature, culture and family life and has low crime rates and clean air quality.

As an employeeatNTNU, you mustat all timesadhere to the changes that the development in the subject entails and the organizational changes that are adopted.

Under the freedom of Information Act (Offentleglova), your name, age, position and municipality may be made public even if you have requested not to have your name entered on the list of applicants.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Professor Edgar Hertwich, emailedgar.hertwich@ntnu.no. If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR consultant, Renate Fjellheim, e-mail:renate.fjellheim@ntnu.no.

Please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no with your CV, diplomas and certificates. Applications submitted elsewhere will not be considered. Diploma Supplement is required to attach for European Master Diplomas outside Norway. Chinese applicants are required to provide confirmation of Master Diploma fromChina Credentials Verification (CHSI).

If you are invited for interview you must include certified copies oftranscripts and reference letters. Please refer to the application numberIV-111/22 when applying.

Application deadline:27.05.2022

Further information

This positionis part of theCIRCOMODproject, a Horizon Europe project,lead by Utrecht University.

NTNU

NTNU - knowledge for a better world

The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) creates knowledge for a better world and solutions that can change everyday life.

Department of Energy and Process Engineering

We conduct research and teaching covering the entire energy chain, from resources to the end-user. We look at how energy is produced and used by humans and machines in a sustainable way with regard to health, climate change and the resource base.The Department of Energy and Process Engineeringis one of eight departments in theFaculty of Engineering.

Deadline27th May 2022EmployerNTNU - Norwegian University of Science and TechnologyMunicipalityTrondheimScopeFulltimeDurationFixed TermPlace of serviceGlshaugen

View post:

Postdoctoral Fellow, Integrated Assessment of Circular Economy and Resource Efficiency Measures job with NORWEGIAN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE &...

Covid-19 has impeded achievement of the sustainable development goals and a radical rethink of the global economy is required to meet them argue Fran Baum and colleagues

In 2015, the world adopted 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) with 169 targets to be achieved by 2030. These goals aimed to create a world in which people and the planet flourish. They were more ambitious than the previous millennium development goals and linked human wellbeing with the sustainability of the planet. Achieving these goals would make the world fairer, more sustainable, biodiverse, and healthy as well more participatory, decolonised, and democratic. Yet even before the covid-19 pandemic concerns emerged about whether governments had the will to achieve these aspirational goals. Covid-19 has cast further doubt and seen reversals rather than progress on many of the goals.

We examine the effect of covid-19 on progress across the five inter-related dimensions of the SDGsplanet, people, prosperity, peace, and partnership1and discuss the political, social, and economic transformations required to meet them. Although creating new challenges for the SDGs, covid-19 has shown that governments can change policy rapidly when they want to. Similar rapid changes are now needed to advance progress towards achieving the SDGs, including radical reforms to fiscal and economic systems to reduce inequities and devise policies that confront the interests of elite groups.

Planetary health and tenable human life on earth are at risk. Irreversible climate change will have a huge negative effect on health, particularly for those living in poor and marginalised settings. Unless there are immediate, rapid, and large reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, limiting warming to 1.5C or even 2C will be unachievable.2

Although the pandemic has had some positive effects on the planet (eg, reducing air travel), some countries are reducing their environmental safeguards and seeing natural resources as capital on which to build their post-pandemic economic recovery.3 Countries rapidly adopted new policies to limit the human and economic effect of the covid-19 pandemic, yet no government has similarly acted for the arguably greater existential threat of climate change.4 Nothing short of rapid, transformative change to protect ecosystems and reduce carbon dependence will be enough to safeguard planetary and human health.

Our best guides to this future may be indigenous peoples around the world, many of whose livelihoods remain based on principles of living in harmony with nature and protecting the liveability of the planet. For example, Australian Aboriginal methods of agriculture and land management are now informing current fire reduction strategies across the country.5 Another example is the Latin American concept of buen vivir,6 which emerged from indigenous traditions and embraces the broad notion of wellbeing and cohabitation with others and the environment, stressing ecological balance and cultural sensitivity.6

Young people around the globe are also demanding more political action on climate change. Governments, especially of countries that are major emitters of greenhouse gases, must step up their efforts and place long term health above short term growth and not allow temporary energy crises, including that resulting from Russias February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, to divert them from reducing emissions. Some businesses are also realising that adapting to a post-carbon world through more localised production (eg, reducing energy use) and material throughput (eg, minimising waste) is vital to future profitability.7

The SDGs envisaged a world in which people can flourish, where poverty and hunger are reduced, and extreme poverty is eliminated by 2030. Health and wellbeing, access to quality education, and the reduction of socioeconomic, gender, and other inequalities were also seen as critical for people to fulfil their potential (table 1). Even before covid-19 it was projected that 670 million people would be extremely poor in 2030.20 The World Bank estimated that collapsing supply chains and economic contraction associated with the pandemic pushed around 97 million more into extreme poverty in 2021 raising the estimated total to 732 million people.21

How covid-19 has affected progress towards the 17 sustainable development goals8

Disparities in covid-19 infections and mortality were experienced by minority ethnic groups in various parts of the world, including some South East Asian countries, the US, and UK, and reflect longstanding patterns of racism.2223 The pandemic also contributed to increases in violence against women, girls, and LGBT+ people and higher rates of poverty and food insecurity among women.2425 Women experienced greater income and employment losses than men as well as increased domestic caring demands.25 Globally, the pandemic both revealed and exacerbated the social protection gap between high and low income countries, with health inequities likely to increase.26

In his July 2020 report to the Human Rights Council,27 the special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights noted that poverty is a political choice and eliminating it would require transformative policies including tax justice and redistribution, universal social security, and equitable participatory governance. The adoption of participatory governance is essential to hold governments to account and strengthen the political will for such redistributive policies. There is enough wealth in the world for all countries to meet their SDG targets; distribution, not scarcity, is the fundamental and policy amenable problem.23 Social security, public health, and education systems need to be based on the right of all people to have access to them as such systems are essential to redress systemic inequities that marginalise social groups and to ensure that quality healthcare, childcare, and education are accessible to all.

The SDGs are also intended to provide the means by which all people can enjoy a prosperous and fulfilling life. An important pathway to prosperity is ensuring decent work through strengthened labour rights, protection of trade unions, and proper pay and working conditions. Social protection measures that safeguard people against shocks and stresses are also critical to decent work. Yet the pandemic has seen those already in precarious work, such as those in informal or casual work, being more likely to lose their jobs and at increased risk of covid-19.28

Table 1 provides examples of how wealth inequalities have worsened markedly during the pandemic, with 2020 recording the steepest increase in global billionaires share of wealth on record. The 2022 World Inequality Report notes that the poorest half of the global population owns just 2% of total global wealth, while the richest 10% now own 76%.29 In wealthier countries, governments rapidly introduced massive income and business support programmes that saw public debt soar in a way that would have been unthinkable before the pandemic.22 This had a mixed effect: although the support maintained most peoples prepandemic income, it created cheap money for banks and investors in a liberalised and under-regulated financial system. Those owning companies directly benefiting from a pandemic (eg, drugs and online sales) or with the financial means to speculate more broadly (eg, in equity markets, derivatives, real estate) saw their wealth increase substantially.30 At the same time millions of people around the world struggle for the prerequisites for healthy living. A small progressive tax (eg, 2%) on wealth could be used to improve access to health services, quality education, social security, and better work conditions for those with fewer resources.

A fundamental change is needed in the way prosperity is understood and measured. Growth of gross domestic product (GDP) continues to be the conventional metric of economic health and trickle down prosperity for all. However, endless growth and material consumption are incompatible with planetary and human health and are based on a colonial model of wealth through resource extractivism.31 The pandemic destabilised one path: the need for balanced government budgets, at least for high income countries with sovereign currencies. Therefore, achieving the SDGs will require rethinking the idea that an economic system must be based on GDP growth. Instead, alternative measures of prosperity need to be adopted, such as the genuine progress indicator32 or the happy planet index,33 both of which incorporate environmental and social components not measured by GDP.

Disruptive models of degrowth or prosperity without growth are also required to challenge embedded economic path dependencies. Examples of degrowth economic models include steady state economics, which aims for a balance between production and population growth without exceeding boundaries of planetary health,34 and doughnut economics, which defines the environmental and social space in which inclusive and sustainable economic development can happen.35 Glocalisation, which emphasises local production or consumption and producer cooperatives, is another approach to economic degrowth, prioritising environmental awareness and economic equity.

Wars, regional conflicts, terrorism, and attacks on human rights activists pose serious threats to peace. For people living in conflict zones, the covid-19 pandemic reduced already constrained mobility and opportunities to establish a new life elsewhere. In 2021 the UN Refugee Agency36 noted that borders were less likely to be open to refugees and that 168 countries fully or partially closed their borders at the peak of covid-19; around 100 of these countries made no exceptions for people seeking asylum.

The pandemic also provided cover for clawing back civil liberties and democratic systems. For example, concerns were raised about the implications of militarised approaches to public health mandates in many countries.18 The global civic society alliance CIVICUS reported that in 2020, 87% of the worlds population lived in countries rated as having closed, repressed, or obstructed civic spacean increase of over 4% in 2019.18 It also identified restrictive legislation to silence critical voices, censorship and restrictions on access to the internet, and attacks on journalists over pandemic reporting in at least 32 countries.37 In 79 countries, security forces used excessive force during protests related to covid-19, such as against confinement or weak political leadership responses, or to the consequences of the pandemic, including racial injustice, labour rights violations, and gender based violence.

A more peaceful world is requisite to all the other SDGs being met. In turn, if all peoples basic needs were met, rights to democratic expression were respected, inequities were reduced, and we lived within our ecological limits, peace would be more likely. Peaceful relations within and between countries rely on effective, accountable, and inclusive governance systems that can legitimately resolve conflicts between the rights of individuals and those of the community. These systems should facilitate the free flow of information, promote informed decision making and trust in governance institutions during global crises, and provide protected spaces for civil society participation.

SDG 17 considers multistakeholder partnerships and voluntary commitments38 important for achieving the SDGs. Rather than sparking greater multilateral partnerships for health, covid-19 highlighted persisting power imbalances between high income countries and lower income countries. An example of this was the failure of the Covid-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP), which was launched in May 2020 by WHO and international partners to facilitate timely, equitable, and affordable access of covid-19 health products by removing monopoly barriers that reduced their supply.39 Similarly, Covax, a global health partnership set up to provide equitable access to covid-19 vaccines, was initially hailed as an exemplar of global solidarity but was almost immediately undermined by bilateral advance market commitments between rich countries and vaccine manufacturers that prevented it from securing sufficient supplies.40 This resulted in rich countries having much higher covid-19 vaccine coverage than low and middle income countries. The EU, Germany, Switzerland, Canada, and the UK have so far failed to support efforts at the World Trade Organization to agree a temporary intellectual property waiver to reduce barriers to covid-19 technologies, including vaccines.41

The growing influence of the financial sector on global health is also a concern. For example, the covid-19 pandemic saw an increase in the trend to use investment bonds (a form of loan to governments or other agencies) to finance healthcare.42 Investors are also encouraged to support SDG aligned businesses through profit-making socially responsible investments.26 These approaches will inevitably increase wealth disparities since only the wealthy have the capital for profitable investment. WHOs ability to provide global leadership for health has also been reduced by a steady erosion of its autonomy and capacity over the past two decades,43 and this will likely worsen as it, alongside other UN agencies, seeks private financing to cover inadequate public funding.

The interdependence of all SDGs means more holistic approaches are required, and these will rest on effective public interest partnerships. First, the power imbalances of multi-stakeholder partnerships must be addressed. Private sector interests should not dominate international, regional, national, or local partnerships to realise the SDGs. For example, multi-stakeholder partnerships enable food corporations to participate in the formulation of nutrition policy despite their conflict of interest.44 There are also concerns about the influence of fossil fuel corporations in climate change negotiations.45 Public interest, civil societys voice, and elected officials should instead be prioritised in policy making so that public good is at the forefront.

In addition, effective intersectoral action such as WHOs health in all policies is needed to break down barriers between different sectors and to encourage a joint focus on shared outcomes. Countries will need to establish mechanisms to build citizen trust and adopt collaborative budget processes such as Brazils participatory budgeting, whereby residents allocate a portion of public funds to local priorities and needs, including health.46If multi-stakeholder partnerships for the public good are to be fully realised, the public sector must also value, reward, and encourage effective public participation and genuine power sharing.46

Transformative political, social, and economic reforms are needed to disrupt the status quo and promote wellbeing for all. These reforms will enable a redistribution of wealth and power through a fairer economic system based on tax justice and prosperity rather than prioritising growth. They will also reduce carbon dependence to halt global warming and protect and restore the earths ecological systems. The SDGs cannot be achieved without the flourishing of effective, accountable, and inclusive systems of justice and processes to reduce violence and resolve conflicts peacefully.

The UN sustainable development goals were intended to create a sustainable planet and a world in which all people could flourish by 2030

The covid-19 pandemic has set back the achievement of the SDGs

It has worsened social determinants of health, increased socioeconomic inequities, and restricted civil society activism

New economic models are needed that enable strong social security, education, and health systems and encourage participatory democracy

Contributors and sources: FB, RL, and LP have expertise in public health, political economy of health, and social and commercial determinants of health; JF in economics, public health, social determinants of health; and CM in public health, sociological analysis of covid-19, and social determinants of health. All authors contributed to the conceptualisation of the article. FB and JF wrote the first draft and all other authors offered critical comments. FB revised the article, and all other authors offered critical comments and approved the article for submission. FB is the guarantor.

Competing interests: We have read and understood BMJ policy on declaration of interests and declare the following: FB is co-chair of the global steering council of the Peoples Health Movement.

Provenance and peer review: Commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

This article is part of a series (https://www.bmj.com/pmac-2022) supported by the Prince Mahidol Award Conference 2022. Funding for the articles, including open access fees, was provided by the Prince Mahidol Award Conference (PMAC) and The Rockefeller Foundation. The BMJ commissioned, peer reviewed, edited, and made the decision to publish. Viroj Tangcharoensathien and an expert panel that included PMAC co-chairs and members advised on commissioning for the collection. Rachael Hinton and Kamran Abbasi were the lead editors for The BMJ.

IPCC. Climate Change 2021: the Physical Science Basis Working Group I contribution to the sixth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. 2021. https://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-working-group-i/

Colback L. The role of business in climate change. Financial Times 2020 Dec 17. https://www.ft.com/content/7ab0bfb0-b37c-463d-b132-0944b6fe8e8b

United Nations. The sustainable development goals report 2021. United Nations, 2021. https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2021/

Puliti R. Energy access takes center stage in fighting covid-19 (coronavirus) and powering recovery in Africa. World Bank blog, 22 Apr 2020. https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/opinion/2020/04/22/energy-access-critical-to-overcoming-covid-19-in-africa

CIVICUS Monitor. Country rating changes 2020. 2020. https://findings2020.monitor.civicus.org/rating-changes.html

International Labour Organization. World social protection report 2020-22. Social protection at the crossroadsin pursuit of a better future. ILO, 2021.

Alston P. The parlous state of poverty eradication: Report of the special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human right. Human Rights Council, 2020.

New Economics Foundation. Happy planet index. 2006. https://neweconomics.org/2006/07/happy-planet-index

CIVICUS Monitor. Civic freedoms and the covid-19 pandemic: a snapshot of restrictions and attacks. 2021. https://monitor.civicus.org/COVID19May2021/

Meuller B, Robbins R. Where a vast global vaccination programme went wrong. New York Times 2021 Oct 8. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/02/world/europe/covax-covid-vaccine-problems-africa.html

Peoples Health Movement. Money talks at the World Health Organization. In: Global Health Watch5. 2017. https://phmovement.org/download-full-contents-of-ghw5/

More here:

Can the world become a place where the planet and all people flourish after the pandemic? - The BMJ

Existing home sales took a bit of a breather in March. After hitting a post-Omicron-induced surge of 62,200 units in February, sales of existing homes eased slightly to 58,800 units in March. The supply of homes listed for sale also pulled back, by -5.5% m/m. During the month, the MLS House Price Index for Canada increased by +2.2%, moving from $868,200 to $887,000. The composite price was up by +27% y/y, just slightly below the record high of +29% y/y reached in February.

Strong fundamentals drove home construction to record high in 2021

Last spring, we wrote that housing demand (in Canada) will cool but not overnight. Well, the slowdown in housing demand has been even more protracted than expected for several reasons. At the top of the list is interest rates. Although nominal fixed mortgage rates have risen by 80 basis points since the beginning of 2021, the impact has been muted by more borrowers opting for variable-rate mortgages. Second, full-time hiring has increased by +3.5% over the past year, lifting the total number of jobs nation-wide above the previous peak achieved in January of 2020, before the first wave of COVID-19. Third, admissions of permanent residents to Canada have rebounded. In the past six months, according to Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada, 255,700 permanent residents have been admitted, more than twice the 104,100-figure for new arrivals during the comparable period prior.

Bank of Canadas rate hikes will take time to cool demand

Although the Bank of Canada has increased its policy interest rate to 1%, started quantitative tightening, and has announced its intention to reduce excess demand to bring the inflation rate (currently at 6.7%) back to its 2% target rate, these measures will take time to cool the overall economy and the housing market. The impact of the recent increases in interest rates and the accompanying tightening of the mortgage qualifying stress test will gradually intensify throughout the second half of this year. As a result, affordability, which the Royal Bank recently noted was deteriorating in worrisome fashion, will worsen further, thus sidelining an increasing proportion of first-time home buyers.

Between now and the end of the year, however, several factors will temporarily support housing demand. These include a near-record low for the number of months supply of existing homes for sale in all provinces and a record (since 1990) low inventory of completed and unabsorbed homeowner and condominium (new) dwelling units. Also, as noted above, the rate of increase in admissions of permanent residents is likely to remain high, helping to underpin demand for purpose-built and condo rental units. Finally, for the four months leading into January of this year, the percentage of mortgages in arrears remained at a record low of 0.17% and no region of the country saw a significant change.

Expect slowdown in starts and lower prices in 2022s second half

Ahead of the recent (April 13) hike in interest rates, there were indications the combination of unprecedented increases in average existing house prices and the eroding effect of high inflation on disposable incomes was dampening both the supply of and the demand for housing. Across the country, sales of existing homes are down by -12.4% year to date. And although average house prices are up by double-digit percentage changes in all but two major markets, they have decelerated in most metro areas. Despite persisting double-digit increases in existing house prices, the number of dwelling units started year-to-date is down -20% compared to the same period 12 months earlier. Provincially, declines in the number of units started in Saskatchewan (-42%), British Columbia (-31%), Quebec (-15%) Manitoba (-13%), and Ontario (-5%) have more than offset gains in the resource-based provinces of Newfoundland (+39%), New Brunswick (+39%), Manitoba (+11.5%) and Alberta (+4.2%).

Interest rate headwinds will slow residential construction through 2023

The effects of the above-noted deterioration in affordability due to high house prices and the prospect of further increases in interest rates will cause the pace of residential construction to steadily slow through the second half of this year and into 2023. As a result, we expect that, after hitting a record high of 271,000 units in 2021, housing starts will slow to 245,000 units this year and to 220,000 units in 2023. Reflecting the slowdown in demand, we anticipate average house prices to increase by +13% this year and by +2.5% in 2023 after rising by a record +21% in 2021.

John Clinkard has over 35 years experience as an economist in international, national and regional research and analysis with leading financial institutions and media outlets in Canada.

Read the original:

BoC's Slow-Release Anti-Inflation Medicine Will Cool Housing - constructconnect.com - Daily Commercial News

Australia is blessed with natural resources that make us the envy of the world.

But by far our greatest resource is our people.

If we are smart, we will invest in our peoples skills to increase their potential to get good, secure jobs and to supercharge growth of the Australian economy.

Investment in skills will be a major focus if Labor is successful at the May 21 federal election.

After nearly a decade of the Morrison-Joyce Government running down skills training, Labor would rebuild the sector with TAFE at its heart.

One of the big lessons from the COVID pandemic is that we rely too heavily on overseas labour. Right across the economy, labour shortages are forcing employers to hire overseas workers on temporary visas.

The closure of international borders put an immediate stop to the entry of overseas workers. That shone a spotlight on the labour shortage, particularly in areas like tourism and hospitality, nursing, aged care and childcare, but also in traditional blue-collar trades.

Now that borders have reopened, Australia employers will continue to rely upon overseas migrants to fill these shortages and reboot economic growth.

Temporary migration to fill urgent demands will be important, but the long-term answer to our skills crisis is to increase investment in local skills training.

A Labor Government will provide 465,000 fee-free TAFE courses in areas of skills shortages and 20,000 new university places.

Well train up the next generation of electricians, builders and plumbers and boost training in the caring sector, ensuring our nation has enough nurses, aged care workers and childcare workers to meet community needs.

The Morrison-Joyce Government has taken a hands-off approach to skills training. They seem to believe that if governments would just get out of the way, somehow the market will fix everything.

But that doesnt work. If it did work, we wouldnt have a skills crisis right now.

By contrast, Labor regards skills training as a central role for government, just like investing in education or health.

We see skills investment as good for the individual but also good for Australia, because it lifts our national capacity.

Our approach is to work with employers, unions, training providers and other levels of government to ensure our training sector meets the needs of industry.

To drive this collaboration, wed create Jobs and Skills Australia, an independent organisation which will take an evidence-based approach to assessing what skills should be taught for todays workforce as well as those that will be needed in the future.

Its not enough to look backwards at the workforce as it has been in the past. We must understand how the work landscape will look in the future and teach Australians the skills needed to help our businesses flourish in that future environment.

For example, we know the world is moving toward greater use of renewable energy and that this will drive huge demand for batteries to store energy produced by solar and wind power.

Australia has all the materials required to make batteries, including the key ingredient, lithium.

We face a choice. We can ship our lithium overseas in bulk so others can add value by making batteries; or we can develop a home-grown battery industry, which would provide increased export income and, more importantly, create jobs for Australians in Australia.

But to make that happen we need to ensure local workers are properly skilled. Otherwise employers will once again be forced to look offshore for workers.

The same principal applies across the board. Whether it is advanced manufacturing, the caring sector, health or education, we owe it to ourselves to train locals to meet our workforce needs.

Its not just about ensuring our businesses can find workers. Its also about providing opportunity for Australians to find good jobs that give them the security they need to raise families and get ahead.

This includes young Australians commencing careers as well as older Australians needing to reskill because their jobs have been eliminated by change.

When I was at high school, young people looking for good careers in future growth sectors were encouraged to think about studying computer science.

That was good advice. Just ask Bill Gates.

In 2022, we must think ahead to the industries that will dominate the 21st century. And we must be ready to make those industries our own.

Anthony Albanese is the Leader of the Australian Labor Party.

View post:

Labor will invest in our greatest resource Our people - Neos Kosmos

It is my pleasure to be here. Thanks so much for inviting me to this conversation. Let me start by expressing my solidarity with all of you. I know what it feels like to be in the middle of this crisis that affects everyone and everyday life. I send you the strength to fight and overcome this period.

I thought about organising my talk in three parts. The first one is an introduction. I understand that some people in our discussion today may not be aware of the whole economic picture of the debt issue. So, a very short introduction on the issue of financial crises in the Global South, followed by the experience we had in Argentina with the financial crisis in 2001. And then I will talk about what I think are the similarities and differences with the case of Sri Lanka, and what I think might be the alternative ways forward.

My first message would be that this crisis is not an exception. It is part of the dynamic of global financial capitalism, which is the state of capitalism were living in, that is characterised by the rationality of finance capital ruling the economy. There are a lot of unregulated capital flows searching for new opportunities to make a profitProfitThe positive gain yielded from a companys activity. Net profit is profit after tax. Distributable profit is the part of the net profit which can be distributed to the shareholders.. Debt has a key role in this financial dynamic. This crisis is part of the logic of financial capitalism.

So why do countries in the Global South face these recurrent crises, and what is the fiscal and monetary logic behind this? The issue is that States need money to rule the economy. States need money for current expenses: to pay for social provisions, education, health, social protection, investment in infrastructure, pensions, etc. But also, the State needs money to pay for financial commitments. Debt has become an increasing part of government expenses. There is always a tension between resources allocated to current expenses that allows States to provide for peoples needs and the pressure of financial obligations from debt commitments.

I would also like to highlight that many timesand this is very typical of countries in the Global SouthStates have difficulty in gathering the resources they need to pay for current expenses but also financial expenses, which has to do with the difficulty of getting money through the tax system. Here, tax abuse by corporations plays a big role. So, this crisis does not come just from governments doing badly, by spending more than what they have, or the consequences of corruption, but also the consequence of corporations tax abuse and the whole global tax system that allows corporations to pay much less than what they should pay.

Then the question would be what this financial crisis, in Sri Lanka as in Argentina, has to do with the need for foreign currency. Why do States need foreign currency? They need foreign currency to pay for imports. If you need to buy goods that you are not able to produce in your own country, you need foreign currency to import goods. But you also need foreign currency to pay for financial commitments when they have been committed in foreign currency. Thats the case of external foreign debt. Also, States need foreign currency for corporations that have investments in the country and want to take their profits back to their own country.

So how do States get this foreign currency? The natural way to get this foreign currency, to pay for commitments in foreign currency, would be through a positive trade balanceTrade balanceThe trade balance of a country is the difference between merchandize sold (exports) and merchandize bought (imports). The resulting trade balance either shows a deficit or is in credit.. The country should export as much as possible and the difference between the countrys exports and imports would be the trade balanceBalanceEnd of year statement of a companys assets (what the company possesses) and liabilities (what it owes). In other words, the assets provide information about how the funds collected by the company have been used; and the liabilities, about the origins of those funds.. When that balance is positive, then you have enough foreign currency to pay for whatever commitments you have in that currency. But you can also get foreign currency from foreign investors, corporations, and even other countries that come to your country and make investments.

You can also get foreign currency by borrowing in foreign currency: which is external debt. Here I want to highlight that external debt is not only held by international financial institutions, namely the World BankWorld BankWBThe World Bank was founded as part of the new international monetary system set up at Bretton Woods in 1944. Its capital is provided by member states contributions and loans on the international money markets. It financed public and private projects in Third World and East European countries.

It consists of several closely associated institutions, among which :

1. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD, 189 members in 2017), which provides loans in productive sectors such as farming or energy ;

2. The International Development Association (IDA, 159 members in 1997), which provides less advanced countries with long-term loans (35-40 years) at very low interest (1%) ;

3. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), which provides both loan and equity finance for business ventures in developing countries.

As Third World Debt gets worse, the World Bank (along with the IMF) tends to adopt a macro-economic perspective. For instance, it enforces adjustment policies that are intended to balance heavily indebted countries payments. The World Bank advises those countries that have to undergo the IMFs therapy on such matters as how to reduce budget deficits, round up savings, enduce foreign investors to settle within their borders, or free prices and exchange rates.

, the International Monetary FundIMFInternational Monetary FundAlong with the World Bank, the IMF was founded on the day the Bretton Woods Agreements were signed. Its first mission was to support the new system of standard exchange rates.

When the Bretton Wood fixed rates system came to an end in 1971, the main function of the IMF became that of being both policeman and fireman for global capital: it acts as policeman when it enforces its Structural Adjustment Policies and as fireman when it steps in to help out governments in risk of defaulting on debt repayments.

As for the World Bank, a weighted voting system operates: depending on the amount paid as contribution by each member state. 85% of the votes is required to modify the IMF Charter (which means that the USA with 17,68%% of the votes has a de facto veto on any change).

The institution is dominated by five countries: the United States (16,74%), Japan (6,23%), Germany (5,81%), France (4,29%) and the UK (4,29%). The other 183 member countries are divided into groups led by one country. The most important one (6,57% of the votes) is led by Belgium. The least important group of countries (1,55% of the votes) is led by Gabon and brings together African countries.

http://imf.org (IMF), regional development banks, and governments of other countries. Maybe in the case of Sri Lanka, China played an important role. But you can also go to the bond marketBond marketA market where medium-term and long-term capital is lent/borrowed in the form of bonds. Bonds are creditor stakes issued by companies or States. where those who provide you with the money when you issue bonds and sell them in the market are mostly global investment banks. In the case of bonds, it is important to note that there might also be people who live in Sri Lanka that hold bonds of Sri Lankas external debt. This is an important issue, as it was in the case of Argentina, because when your main problem is with debt from the bondBondA bond is a stake in a debt issued by a company or governmental body. The holder of the bond, the creditor, is entitled to interest and reimbursement of the principal. If the company is listed, the holder can also sell the bond on a stock-exchange. market, and you need to renegotiate that, it is very important to know who holds those bonds, and whom do you need to sit with to renegotiate the debt.

Whats the problem then? Here we come to the concrete experiences of Argentina and Sri Lanka. The problem is that highly dependent economies, that is economies that are too open and depend too much on getting foreign currency to buy imports to attend to peoples needs and to fuel the system of production, are more vulnerable to external and financial shocks. That was the case of Argentina and I guess the case of Sri Lanka as well. We are highly dependent economies: dependent on what happens in the rest of the international economy.

The second problem is also the dependency on foreign investors. The promotion of international foreign investors to invest in our country might be good in the beginning because they might bring money and help build the infrastructure that we need for electricity provision, roads, whatever. But then in the long run they are also a source of demand for foreign currency because they take their profits back to their own country once the investment is finished. So, when the trade balance is too small, the foreign currency becomes critical, and thats when there is an issue. And I think Sri Lanka is facing the same issue that Argentina faced 20 years ago. That was, we were increasingly indebted; the bigger the debt the more expensive it becomes. If you want to get new loans to pay for the loans you already have, then the interestInterestAn amount paid in remuneration of an investment or received by a lender. Interest is calculated on the amount of the capital invested or borrowed, the duration of the operation and the rate that has been set. rate they ask you to pay is higher and higher.

So, what happened in Argentina? In the case of Argentina, the first thing that I would like to say is that it was both an economic and political crisis. I think that economic crises are always political crises. Its important to understand that because there is a narrative that tries to impose the idea that the debt issue is a very technical issue and that you need to be an expert to understand it. I want to emphasise that debt is itself a political issue, and the solutions to the debt crisis are also political.

What were the main features in Argentina in 2001? Just before the crisis, we came through a long period of economic recession. We have an economy that is partially polarised, in the sense that many key prices of the economy were set in US dollars. The price of energy, the price of economic assets, and even local banks in Argentina were providing bank credit to the private sector nominalised [that is, expressed] in foreign currency (USD). So, we had, and still have, a partially dollarised economy, which is part of the problem.

The economy was going through a high fiscal deficit and, because of the specific form of currency management that we had at the time, we had a high demand for foreign currency. One of the characteristics of Argentina is that, in the trade sphere, we have a positive balance. We export more than what we need to import. So, we had a positive trade balance, but still, it was insufficient to attend to our foreign currency demands.

We had increasing external debts. At first, it was the IMF that was providing that debt but then Argentina went to the bond market, and we ended up taking debt at a very high-interest rate. It was at 16% when the international interest rate was only one per cent.

And then, I think like in Sri Lanka, the international reserves at the Central BankCentral BankThe establishment which in a given State is in charge of issuing bank notes and controlling the volume of currency and credit. In France, it is the Banque de France which assumes this role under the auspices of the European Central Bank (see ECB) while in the UK it is the Bank of England.

ECB : http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/Pages/home.aspx went to their minimum. So, what happened? The situation worsened and there was finally a combination of a social and economic crisis because the economy was performing badly, with very high unemployment and very high poverty rates. It was a social crisis. People were unable to provide for their needs. It was also combined with a fiscal and monetary crisis and with a bank crisis, which Im not sure is the case in Sri Lanka.

What happened in Argentina was that, at some point, middle-class people who had their savings in the banking system were unable to take their money out of the banks. I mention this because this was the basis of something that was very unique in the history of social mobilisation in Argentina, and I think something similar is also happening in Sri Lanka; which was the coming together in protest not only of the working class but also the middle class. It was the middle class who went on the streets to protest. Their main trigger was that they were unable to take their money out of the bank.

So, it was a combination of a social crisis with a bank crisis; and it was also a political crisis in the sense that during the whole period that lasted for a few years until 2001 when it finally exploded, there was an increasing lack of credibility of politicians. When we were protesting in the streets, we were shouting out this phrase in Spanish: que se vayan todos which means something like go away all of you! In other words, this movement was not only against the ruling government, but it was against the whole political class. So, the political system was very much in crisis.

There were massive protests with this characteristic of poor and working-class people together with middle-class people in the streets for days and days. There were riots, and some people died during these protests. There were also massive street protests. But there was also a mobilisation process in the form of peoples assemblies in neighbourhoods. People got together in open spaces in their neighbourhoods and started to discuss how to handle this crisis together. That also was something that was unique from past social mobilisations in Argentina.

The crisis intensified and finally, the government collapsed. I think this is also an important point because it was a different political leader who took up the process of renegotiating the debt and establishing the basis for the economic recovery. Maybe in Sri Lanka, you need to go through this too. I doubt the same government that took the country into this crisis, can be the one to overcome it.

In the case of Argentina, the government collapsed. The President had to flee his official residence and there was more than a week of anarchy. Finally, the Parliament elected a new President who was the leader of the majority political party in Argentina; the same that was in government but from a different part of the party. This person led the process of deciding what to do with the debt and, after that, established the basis for recovery.

So, what happened in the case of Argentina, and apparently this will be the same in Sri Lanka as per todays news, was that Argentina decided to default and restructure its public debt with bond-holders. Argentina did not default with the IMF but only with bond-holders. But unlike in Sri Lanka, as far as I understand, the IMF was not supporting the Argentinian government. So, the negotiation was between the Argentinian government and the representatives of those who held the bonds of the debt.

But one interesting point in the Argentinian case was that those who were buying the Argentinian external debt issued in bonds were the investment fundsInvestment fundInvestment fundsPrivate equity investment funds (sometimes called mutual funds seek to invest in companies according to certain criteria; of which they most often are specialized: capital-risk, capital development funds, leveraged buy-out (LBO), which reflect the different levels of the companys maturity. that managed the national pension system. Argentina during the 1990s had gone through structural adjustmentStructural AdjustmentEconomic policies imposed by the IMF in exchange of new loans or the rescheduling of old loans.

Structural Adjustments policies were enforced in the early 1980 to qualify countries for new loans or for debt rescheduling by the IMF and the World Bank. The requested kind of adjustment aims at ensuring that the country can again service its external debt. Structural adjustment usually combines the following elements : devaluation of the national currency (in order to bring down the prices of exported goods and attract strong currencies), rise in interest rates (in order to attract international capital), reduction of public expenditure (streamlining of public services staff, reduction of budgets devoted to education and the health sector, etc.), massive privatisations, reduction of public subsidies to some companies or products, freezing of salaries (to avoid inflation as a consequence of deflation). These SAPs have not only substantially contributed to higher and higher levels of indebtedness in the affected countries ; they have simultaneously led to higher prices (because of a high VAT rate and of the free market prices) and to a dramatic fall in the income of local populations (as a consequence of rising unemployment and of the dismantling of public services, among other factors).

IMF : http://www.worldbank.org/ programmes. Consequently, it privatised the national pension system, which became a system where what you contribute goes to your individual account and then when youre retired, you get that money. These investment funds were managing those savings accounts within the pension system.

This is also unique, and I guess its different in the case of Sri Lanka. What Im trying to say is that in the case of Argentina, debt restructuring was possible by seating, maybe 10 people around the table and discussing with them, because there was a concentration of those who were holding the bonds on which Argentina was defaulting.

The four main steps to stop the crisis were first, defaulting and restructuring of the public debt with bond-holders, not with the IMF. The second was the devaluationDevaluationA lowering of the exchange rate of one currency as regards others. of the currency. After the first big devaluation, there was a plan to stabilise the exchange rate and then the prices. Because there is this risk, in Argentina this is the case, when you devalue the exchange rate, prices go up because we have this dollarised economy. Then, peoples ability to buy what they need goes down. So, its important to go through this with a clever plan to stabilise the exchange rate and prices.

The third one and I think this is very important and it should be one of the demands in the case of Sri Lanka a very comprehensive cash transfer programme was established to contain the negative effects of the crisis on the most vulnerable social groups. It was a huge cash transfer programme that really helped people to survive during those times. Then Argentina also went through the de-dollarisation of the economy in terms of transforming the dollar nominated contracts into the local currency, including the pesification (our currency is called Peso) of peoples savings in the banks. The savings that were nominalised in the US dollar were turned into the national currency, which meant a big loss for peoples savings, most importantly for the middle class.

To begin concluding my remarks, Im coming to what I think is similar and different in the case of Sri Lanka. How did we overcome this crisis? How did we establish the basis for recovery, after these four measures were able to stop the crisis from deepening? In Argentina, it was a special moment in the global economy and most of the economic recovery was based on the boom in commodity prices. It was a time when prices of the products that Argentina mostly exports, soya and other primary goods, were very high. This was a big source of funding for the recovery in the Argentinian case.

The second thing was that, at some point, Argentina decided that because the economy recovered and because we had this very positive situation in the international market with export revenues, to make full payment of the stock of the debt to the IMF. So, something that also helped Argentina recover was getting rid of the IMF, not bringing the IMF in. This is something different from what is happening in Sri Lanka.

So, the economy started to recover, and it was also important to have this platform of social protection and to have a crash programme to support peoples income, and it was the basis for the recovery of consumer demand. There was a slow recovery in employment and peoples income. This social safety net that was established in the emergency of the crisis, became a core part of the social protection system. Until now, we have this very big conditional cash transfer programme that supports peoples income.

Argentinas crisis exploded at the end of 2001, and by the middle of 2003, the domestic economy was already recovering and growing at very high rates. That had to do, I repeat, mainly because of the international economic situation that favoured the Argentinian economy, which is basically based on exporting primary goods and natural resources.

One of my last points on the Argentinian case is that something that came out of the crisis was a new structure of social organisation. At the time of the crisis, a new social movement appeared, which is that of people who were out of the labour market, who were unemployed, and who survived with very small economic initiatives. This part of the population since 2001 started being very much organised in their neighbourhoods, and they kept setting limits on the government as to how much people can stand. When the economic situation starts to deteriorate again, it is very important to have these new social movements, very alert and there in the streets to demand peoples needs.

The second issue in terms of social mobilising was also the consolidation of a massive feminist movement which peaked in 2015, where we were struggling on sexual and reproductive rights issues and for policies regarding violence against women. In 2015 there were massive feminist mobilisations and the feminist movement became a key and active social actor. The point I like to make is that the feminist movements in Argentina have increasingly included economic issues in their agenda. For example, last year on 8 March, International Womens Day, the feminist movement went to the streets, and one of the slogans had to do with debt. We had this demand in Spanish which says vivas, libres y desendeudadas nos queremos, which in English would say something like we want ourselves to be alive, to be free, and to be debt-free. To be free of debt is one of the demands of the feminist movement nowadays.

I think it is useful to bring new issues up in the debt discussion. The main point would be that, when we are facing a crisis, and thinking about how to overcome it, when you bring a feminist lens, then your priorities change and you think about how to overcome the crisis in a way that people are put first, as a priority. The issue would be how we save people, and support peoples lives, before how we support banks or investment funds. Honouring commitments with banks and investment funds must come after the commitments that a State or government has to its own citizens.

To finish the story of Argentina, I would say that recovery from that crisis was a kind of success story. The social mobilising that came out of that crisis was a structural change in the type of social mobilising that we have. However, on the negative side, because, during the period of recovery the economy was doing very well, we didnt go through a change in the development model. We kept on being a dependent economy that basically exports natural resource-based goods and commoditiesCommoditiesThe goods exchanged on the commodities market, traditionally raw materials such as metals and fuels, and cereals..

Now that the global economic situation is also bad, we are again facing a debt crisis. Argentina in 2018 again went through a financial crisis, not as huge as the one youre facing now, but it was still a crisis. The government at the time, which was a Right-wing government, decided to go to the IMF and ask for a loan that was the biggest loan the IMF has ever provided to a country. So now Argentina again has to restructure the debt with the IMF, and we are again in the cycle of dealing with IMF conditionalities and the IMF pushing for a structural change that has much to do with liberalising the economy and organising an economy that is led by the financial logic of capitalism instead of a productive one.

To finish on what I think are the similarities and differences with the Sri Lankan case, I think there are similar economic roots to both crises. That has to do with the dependency of our economies and the rule of financial logic in the global economy. I hope that, as it was in the case of Argentina, this crisis in Sri Lanka can also be a turning point in the sense of a political turn and the possibility of the country deciding to build a different development model. I think the massive non-traditional social protests and mobilisation are also similar in Argentina and Sri Lanka. The youth-led mobilisation in Sri Lanka, I think, is something new for your country, and was similar in Argentina not because it was youth-led but because it was a different kind of social mobilisation.

What I think is different, and makes it more difficult for Sri Lanka to overcome this crisis, is that the Sri Lankan economy is more dependent on imports for basic goods like food or energy. The Argentinian economy was not as dependent on imports so we could go without foreign finance, but still have enough food to provide for peoples needs, and more or less enough energy too.

I understand that Sri Lanka has already decided to default on the external debt. In re-negotiations, I am not clear whether you can sit with the people with whom to re-negotiate or whether the bondholders are more dispersed; that might make the re-negotiation more difficult. I think another difference in the case of Sri Lanka is its relationship with the international economy. I bring up the issue of China as a big investor in Sri Lanka, and what the role of China would be in this crisis. We didnt have that in Argentina.

The other big difference is that in your case, the IMF is apparently willing to help. This can be very risky. Argentina restructured without the IMF. So, we didnt have to deal with the conditionalities and structural reforms that come with the IMF. In this case, whoever negotiates in the name of the Sri Lankan people must be very clear about priorities, and the limits beyond which Sri Lanka shouldnt accept conditionalities and specific reforms.

I would also raise the question, of whether there is a place in Sri Lanka for an alternative political leadership that can move this negotiation forward and that can establish the basis for a different economic recovery. I think its very tricky that the same people who took the country to this situation, are now the ones who are trying to overcome the crisis. My last point on differences with Argentina in 2001, is that the international context is much more difficult now. The whole global economy is going through a very difficult time, and this can also limit the recovery in Sri Lanka.

To close I would emphasise two or three messages. One, this is a political issue. It is not a technical or economic one. It is a political dispute. I think we, and when I say we I mean countries in the Global South, countries that face recurrent debt crises, should find a way to make those who are responsible for the crisis pay for it. Im not clear about how to do it, but at least it should be very important to make visible the ones who are responsible for the crisis, and why they should be the ones paying for it.

At this point, there is no need to think about the cost of defaulting, because you are already defaulting. There is a narrative that defaulting is much worse than trying to pay the debt. I think that is a huge discussion. But you are already defaulting, so maybe this conversation is not needed anymore. I would say that it is important to be very clear about what to negotiate with the IMF and to be sure that they commit to human rights and that they do not push for any kind of structural reform or austerity measures that would threaten peoples human rights. So, to push for the human rights framework during negotiations, as difficult as it may be, I think is important.

It could also be key for you to take this situation as a turning point and to think not only about how to handle the debt crisis, how to overcome the crisis itself, but also about whether this can be a new beginning for the Sri Lankan economy. That requires a democratic discussion about the development model that the Sri Lankan people want and one that would make their lives better.

Visit link:

The Argentinian (2001) and Sri Lankan (2022) Financial Crises: Ways Forward from a Feminist Perspective - CADTM.org

There are thousands of small-scale, community driven initiatives making a huge difference in peoples lives and contributing to efforts to curb global warming.

In early April, 29 countries pledged more than $5 billion to the UN-backed Global Environment Facility (GEF). The Fund said this was record support, providing a major boost to international efforts to protect biodiversity and curb threats to climate change, plastics and toxic chemicals.

But why such a major boost? Well, the GEF is a multilateral fund that serves as a financial mechanism for several environmental conventions including the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the UN Convention on Biological Diversity.

It has its own Small Grants Program (SGP) which grants of up to $50,000 directly to local communities including indigenous peoples, community-based organizations and other non-governmental groups investing in projects related to healing our planet.

The initiative is implemented in 127 countries by the UN Development Program (UNDP) which provides technical support to these selected local projects that conserve and restore the environment while enhancing peoples wellbeing and livelihoods.

Here at UN News, we want to highlight just five of the over 25,000 projects implemented since 1992, the year the GEF started working. Though the Funds projects span the globe, this list features a few initiatives currently improving the future of humankind and wildlife in Latin-America and the Caribbean.

For people living in cities is sometimes hard to believe that in 2022 there are still communities that dont have electricity, but more than 500 million people worldwide dont have access to this kind of service that many consider basic.

This is the reality for people in the District of Toledo, in Belize, where several rural villages lie far away from the national electricity grid making it hard and costly to electrify their communities.

However, thanks to a partnership funded by the GEFs Small Grants Program (SGP), three Mayan women solar engineers are installing solar energy systems and contributing to sustainable development in small indigenous communities in Southern Belize.

Florentina Choco, Miriam Choc and Cristina Choc, were trained by the Barefoot College in India to build and repair small household solar systems as part of a South-South cooperation exchange (Countries from the Global South sharing technical knowledge with their counterparts, without a developed country involved).

These women are shattering the glass ceiling! They have installed solar systems to four indigenous communities impacting over 1000 residents, says Leonel Requena, SGP Belize National Coordinator.

In 2021, despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, these solar engineers, along with national authorities and partners installed these solar energy systems to two of Belizes most remote communities.

With the work in just one of these villages, Graham Creek, they powered 25 homes benefiting over 150 residents, as well as a primary school with 30 children.

The best of all, UNDP estimates they have helped avoid 6.5 tonnes of carbon emissions.

Women are outstanding leaders in Belize driving the sustainable development agenda fostering harmony between nature and people for the benefit of both, adds Mr. Requena.

Did you know that extreme temperatures during heatwaves fuelled by climate change are literally cooking baby turtles in their nest?

Hawksbill sea turtles are classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as critically endangered as their population is decreasing around the world.

For ages, they have been hunted for their eggs and meat and now they are also at risk from coastal development and our changing climate, among other threats.

But a small grant 20 years ago turned into a big opportunity for this species to thrive in the Caribbean Island of Barbados.

The Barbados Sea Turtle Project, based at the University of the West Indies Campus, is the home of the regional Marine Turtle Tagging Centre and the wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network.

Tagging turtles helps scientists and conservationists to track their movements, calculate their growth rates, survival and reproductive output.

Barbados is currently home to the second-largest Hawksbill turtle nesting population in the wider Caribbean, with up to 500 females nesting per year. Turtle nesting occurs on most of the beaches around the island, which, like many in the region, is heavily developed with tourism infrastructure.

The Barbados Sea Turtle Project tags these creatures, measures them and archives and analyses the data for over 30 coordinated projects in the region. These research projects inform their conservation activities.

Each August when the baby turtles hatch, the project runners are on call seven days a week to respond to emergencies that might include hatchlings wandering off in the wrong direction or preparing for swells that can wash away nests during hurricane season.

The project runners also help communities promote ecotourism based on best practices, which provides a source of income for local communities.

Barbados is now well known for the success of its sea turtle conservation activities. The degree to which the Hawksbill population has recovered thus far allows trainees to work with large numbers of turtles and experience the challenges posed by extensive coastal development.

The widely renowned project recently received a new small grant from the GEF of $46,310.

Thanks to this grant [this project has] been able to offer persons from other sea turtle projects in the region the opportunity to be trained alongside BSTP volunteers in a South-to-South Exchange The ongoing work of the Project is integral to the conservation and protection of threatened and endangered sea turtles, their terrestrial and marine habitats, said Karen Harper, Programme Assistant of SGP in Barbados.

Puerto Ayacucho is the capital and largest city of the State of Amazonas in the south of Venezuela, its inhabitants include a number of local indigenous tribes, including the Yanomami, the Panare, the Bari, Piaroa and Guajibo (also known as Jibis).

Many of these populations have been displaced from their lands due to the socioeconomic crisis in the country, as well as the presence of armed groups and illegal mining activities.

The project Amazonas Originaria is currently training a group of indigenous displaced families to sustainably use and care for the tropical forests in the vicinity of Puerto Ayacucho. They are learning how to manage crops of cocoa, cupuau, manaca and tpiro (all amazon native plants) as well as how to transform their fruits into pulp, chocolates, baskets and other products.

This project, in particular, is interesting and inspiring, as it is led by women it supports the fight against climate change, since its purpose is to conserve the Amazon Forest as the main carbon sink in southern Venezuela, working hand in hand with native communities, valuing their traditions and protecting their ancestral habitat, explains national SGP coordinator Alexis Bermdez.

According to the UN Environment Programme, or UNEP, in the Amazon, the worlds largest remaining tropical rainforest, deforestation is reducing carbon stocks and altering the regional climate. The effects of climate change, forest degradation and more forest fires could result in60 per cent of the Amazon rainforest disappearing by 2050.

The SGP-supported initiative not only trains members of the community to make Amazon-derived products and ecological packaging helping them to diversify their livelihoods, but at the same time it works to restore parts of the degraded tropical forest by re-planting native trees and other species.

When families pass on this knowledge, we make indigenous communities gain the necessary strength and confidence to face the conservation of their culture and their environment, organize the community for the production and marketing of their products in more select markets and contribute directly to creating a sustainable economy, Kenia Martinez from Amazonas Originaria notes.

Clearly, climate change and environmental degradation cant be tackled by a single community, instead, unity is strength when we talk about exchanging ideas that have already proven successful.

The project Dialogue of Latin American Knowledge around Community Tourism has brought together community tourism ventures from Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia and Mexico to exchange experiences and good practices.

Tourism is the backbone of some economies and the source of livelihood for many people, especially those living in developing countries, but if mismanaged, it often puts pressure on natural resources through overconsumption, induces stress on local land use, as well as increases pollution and natural habitat loss.

Community tourism, on the other hand, is an economic alternative that allows local communities to generate complementary income to their main productive activities and at the same time protect and value the natural and cultural wealth of their territories.

Alone we go faster, but together we go further, Beatriz Schmitt, SGP Panama National Coordinator highlights.

The SGP-supported dialogues consisted of virtual trainings and good practices exchanges with 23 rural organizations focusing on local development, collaborative working networks, marketing, institutional perspective and biosafety protocols.

At the end of the virtual training, participants visited community tourism experiences in Costa Rica where the programme has been promoting rural tourism for 20 years and has established a robust institutional framework.

Community tourism is a local strategy that brings income to rural communities. This project is important because tourism is not approached only as a business but instead, it is derived from experiences of land conservation where these communities live, Viviana Rodriguez, SGP Programme Assistant in Panama tells UN News.

She adds that by conserving these areas for tourism and reducing other activities such as large-scale agriculture, small communities are also contributing to the fight against climate change.

Colombias paramos, tundra ecosystems in the Andes mountains that are above the forest line but below the snowline, occupy just 1.7 per cent of the national territory, yet they produce 85 per cent of its drinking water.

Guardianas de los Pramos (Paramos Women Guardians) is an Alliance between the GEF Small Grants Program and two other organizations that are supporting a variety of community projects focused on conservation and climate change adaptation in the Paramos Pisba and TotaBijagual-Mamapacha, about 280 km to the northeast of Bogot.

The alliance puts special emphasis on womens participation since historically, the intervention of women in environmental management has been diminished because of discrimination and inequitable access to resources.

A total of 37 projects were selected benefiting 2,400 families who had been working since 2020 to restore native plants, thus strengthening biological corridors and maintaining protected areas.

The initiatives also include aqueduct adaptation, as well as the implementation of homemade agroecological gardens to reduce the use of traditional productive systems that are harmful to the environment.

It is necessary to implement actions aimed at controlling or reducing pressures on the paramo and to mitigate negative actions by extractive activities in the area, establishing conservation areas and measures to reduce risks associated with climate change, says Catalina Avella, the alliance field coordinator.

Paramos are a unique Andean ecosystem, only found in high mountains of the north of South America, they are strategic not only due to their plant and animal biodiversity but also of their ecosystem services, including carbon sequestrations in the soil and water regulation.

The increase in temperatures and changes in rain patterns due to climate change poses a threat to these ecosystems, as well as mining and infrastructure projects.

If you have a project related to climate change mitigation, reversing land degradation, sustainable forest management, or protecting biodiversity, visit the Small Grants Program website where you can find out how to apply depending on your country.

SGP grants are made directly to community-based organizations and non-governmental organizations in recognition of the key role they play as a resource and constituency for environment and development concerns. The maximum grant amount per project is $50,000 but averages around $25,000.

Related

See the rest here:

Our use of sand brings us up against the wall - Modern Diplomacy