In response to the High-level Panel on Global Sustainability report presented to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in Addis Ababa today, Sarah Best of Oxfam said:
“The Panel’s report is a welcome rallying cry for the vision of a sustainable, fair, and resilient future that Oxfam fully shares. But their recommendations don’t deliver the quantum leap the Panel calls for. It’s weak medicine for such a life-threatening diagnosis. World leaders will need to do better when they meet at the UN summit in Rio in June.
“The emphasis on women’s rights and the call for an ‘ever-green’ revolution in agriculture, so it is more resource-efficient and productive, is helpful but concrete recommendations on reforming the food system are thin. There is nothing in the report on how to finance the recommendations - for instance, through a levy on international shipping and aviation, or a financial transaction tax - which has been backed by the UN panel on climate finance. They also missed the chance to tackle damaging biofuel mandates and subsidies, which drive food price hikes whilst failing to address the climate crisis.”
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For further information please contact Georgette Thomas on: +44 (0)7824 503108 or gthomas@oxfam.org.uk
Tags: Ban Ki-Moon, climate change, food, grow, Rio+20, sustainable development
