|
|
July 7, 2008
G8 Must Do More for Food Security: ActionAid
London
As the G8 summit starts in Japan, international NGO ActionAid has
appealed to leaders of the world's eight richest countries to take
urgent steps to end the current global food crisis.
“The ranks of the hungry have swelled to over 950 million this year,
and ActionAid estimates that a further 750 million are now at risk
of falling into chronic hunger,” the NGO said in a statement here
Monday. “As many as 1.7 billion people, or 25 percent of the world's
population, may now lack basic food security.”
“G8 leaders can, and must take bold steps in Hokkaido to prevent
world hunger spiralling further out of control,” the NGO said,
demanding an immediate revocation on subsidies to biofuels
production.
“ActionAid's analysis shows that on current trends, 290 million
people are hungry or at risk of chronic hunger because of the
biofuels juggernaut,” the NGO said.
“The US should immediately remove all subsidies for corn ethanol
production and revoke the targets for increased use of biofuels that
are driving the current increase in corn and other biofuels
feedstock prices.
“The EU should remove subsidies and targets that encourage the
production of biofuels from food crops, such as beetroot and canola.
”G8 leaders should support a five-year moratorium on the diversion
of arable land into biofuel mono cropping. Instead of subsidizing
biofuels the G8 countries should increase research, investment and
incentives to scale up alternative renewable energy sources.”
ActionAid alleged: “The G8 countries' failure to reduce greenhouse
gas emissions is already wreaking havoc on agriculture through
severe floods and droughts and rising temperatures. Weather effects
have already reduced harvests in some countries. In some countries
in Africa, yields from rain-fed agriculture could drop by as much as
50 percent by 2020 because of climate change.
“It will cost developing countries an estimated $67 million a year
to tackle these and other risks, but so far, G8 pledges to the two
voluntary climate change adaptation funds amount to only $158
million, less than a tenth of what Europeans spend annually on
sunscreen.”
The NGO called upon the G8 leaders to “confine future increases in
global temperatures to less than two degrees Celsius by agreeing
binding and time bound targets to reduce their own emission levels
by at least 25-40 percent below 1990 levels by 2020".
“The US as the single largest polluter, must commit to reduce its
emissions by at least 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050, and
provide at least $55 billion of the estimated $67 billion annual
cost of helping developing countries cope with climate change.”
Based on historic responsibility and capacity to pay, ActionAid has
also demanded: “The G8 must commit to assist developing countries in
accessing clean technology. Clean technology funding must be
additional to overseas development assistance; should give
preference to grants that provide incentives for developing
countries to embrace a clean development path; and should give
preference to small, locally controlled and managed projects that
provide local energy access, particularly directed at women.”
IANS
|
July 7, 2008
Top
|
|
