Italy’s G8: from bad to worse

by | Jul 5, 2009 | Global system

Folk close to preparations for Italy’s G8 next week have been rolling eyes, shruggling shoulders and wringing hands for some months now about the train wreck that the summit looks likely to be: but now that L’Aquila, the venue for the shindig, has just had yet another earthquake, maybe it’s time to start biting nails as well.  Still, at least the briefing pack sent to delegations has detailed instructions for what to do if disaster strikes (bet they all feel a whole lot better for that).

Security, meanwhile, is rock-solid – as two British representatives of the media discovered:

Top secret: a mobile basketball hoop specially installed for Barack Obama to enjoy during next week’s Group of Eight summit of world leaders is strictly off-limits to unauthorised personnel, the heavily armed Italian police guards warned.

Such is the chaotic state of preparations for the July 8-10 summit in a police barracks on the edge of the quake-torn city of L’Aquila that scores of reporters were kept penned for hours outside in a temporary press centre waiting for Silvio Berlusconi, prime minister and host, to speak.

Except, that is, for two frustrated correspondents of the Financial Times and The Guardian, who found an unguarded side entrance into the sprawling complex of the Ministry of Finance Police College and spent an hour mingling with workers before finally being captured at the hoop.

The FT’s Guy Dinmore reports that “digital photographs of the sensitive hoop [were] deleted” by vigilant members of the Guardia di Finanza, but the Guardian’s John Hooper showed more initiative: here’s his snap of the 5 star resort that awaits President Obama.

Nice. Incidentally, if you’re still optimistic enough about the summit to be curious about what’s actually on the agenda, Berlusconi’s modest ambitions include “the financial and economic crisis and the search for new proposals for stability and growth”; “the battle against climate change”; “the fight against terrorism and nuclear proliferation”; “development in Africa and other less advanced economies”; and “regional and global security … with special attention paid to the Middle East and Afghanistan”.

Sarah Palin quits as Alaska governor

by | Jul 3, 2009 | North America

KTUU – ‘Alaska’s news source’ – has the [few] details:

Gov. Sarah Palin will resign her office in a few weeks, she said during a news conference at her Wasilla home Friday morning. Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell will be inaugurated at the Governor’s Picnic at Pioneer Park in Fairbanks on Saturday, July 25, Palin said.

There was no immediate word as to why she will resign, though speculation has been rampant that the former vice presidential candidate is gearing up for a run at the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.

Steve Benen’s take:

Palin is making a terrible mistake. The lure of the national spotlight is strong, and the day-to-day challenges associated with running the executive branch of a state are no doubt difficult. There are probably plenty of far-right activists and donors whispering in Palin’s ear, telling her to ignore the naysayers and realize she’s ready to lead the nation, but she’s listening to the wrong people. Walking away from the governor’s office after one term is incredibly foolish — but walking away from the governor’s office after two and a half years in office is stupefying.

But the best comment (predating today’s announcement) is from conservative blogger Reihan Salam, who according to Benen “defended Palin repeatedly over the last several months, making excuses for her shortcomings, and arguing valiantly that Palin is a credible national figure” before reluctantly giving up:

Palin’s campaign antics can be forgiven. What can’t be forgiven is the ham-handed way she’s tried to build her national profile since she returned to Alaska. She’s abandoned the bold right-left populism that won over Alaska voters — and me — in the first place in favor of an increasingly defensive and harsh partisanship…. One can’t help but get the impression that Palin is a clownish, vindictive amateur…. What I’m wondering is: Has Sarah Palin undergone some kind of secret lobotomy?

We love Gordon

by | Jul 3, 2009 | Climate and resource scarcity, UK

Yes, yes, it’s not a phrase one hears very often these days, but credit where it’s due: Gordon Brown’s climate change speech a week ago was first rate. Don’t just take it from me – Dan Smith thinks so too:

I think the Brown government – covered as it is with the ordure of scandal and recession that is dished out daily by the UK news media, the commentariat and the blogosphere – deserves a whole heap of credit for getting out in front of the crowd like this.

So what’s Brown done that’s so praiseworthy? In essence, the right thing on financing for climate change in developing countries (both the adaptation and the mitigation / technology transfer side of the equation). The key points in his speech are:

– a commitment that “I will commit the UK now to paying its fair share of the global total of [a climate financing mechanism for developing countries]. And we would expect other developed countries to do the same”;

– recognition that climate finance must be additional to the 0.7% aid target, and that “while some climate finance can come from official development assistance – where it clearly meets both poverty reduction and adaptation or mitigation objectives – a ceiling should be placed on this … in the UK we will limit such expenditure to up to 10% of our official development assistance. And we will work towards this limit being agreed internationally”;

– and a headline global needs figure of $100 billion a year by 2020 for adaptation.

These are really significant announcements.  The $100 billion figure is at the high end of the range of figures so far mentioned (and looking at the rate at which the science outlook is worsening on climate damages, the high end is the correct end of the spectrum). But better still is the absolutely explicit commitment on additionality. Aid advocates have been seriously worried about the potential that more and more development aid would end up being diverted to coping with climate, rather than actively reducing poverty – Brown’s speech puts a tough new benchmark in place.

The big question now is whether the Conservative party will match Brown’s pledge on adaptation finance. True, they say that they’re committed to reaching the 0.7% aid spending target (it’s one of only two spending areas that the Conservatives have promised to protect) – but that’s of little use if all the money ends up being diverted to coping with climate change…

2009 Failed States Index: Britain’s security apparatus worse than UAE’s, apparently

by | Jul 3, 2009 | Conflict and security, UK

Here in the UK, there’s much wringing of hands and gnashing of teeth about the fact that it’s even conceivable that we might lose our triple-A credit rating.

But over at ForeignPolicy.com, the bad news is already here: for it emerges that our “security apparatus” is ranked worse than the United Arab Emirates, which kind of makes you question their methodology given things like this – although on the other hand, now that I think of it…

It also transpires in the full list that Iceland is regarded as more stable than Britain; and that Ireland is even better off, being a member of the coveted “most stable” club (other members: Scandics; Aussies; Kiwis; er – that’s it).  And there I was thinking that Ireland and Iceland had felt the brunt of the credit crunch among OECD countries…