By Rishikesh Ram Bhandary In June 2020, a group of political parties filed a lawsuit against the Brazilian government alleging that the national climate change fund – Fundo Clima – had been willfully rendered inactive by the government. Earlier this summer, the Brazilian Supreme Court delivered a verdict, arguing that the Brazilian government had an […]
By Oyintarelado Moses and Laura Gormley Through the ‘Going Out’ strategy and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China has become the largest source of official bilateral development finance. However, after reaching a peak in 2016, overseas development finance from China’s two main policy banks, the China Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of China, […]
On August 23, 2021, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) allocated a historic $650 billion worth of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) in a general allocation to its 190 members, proportional to their quota. SDRs are an international reserve asset that can be exchanged for hard currency or donated among member countries. These new SDRs added much-needed […]
By Emanne Khan The Rohingya Muslims of Myanmar have been described by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres as “one of, if not the, most discriminated people in the world.” Since 2017, more than 750,000 Rohingya have fled Buddhist-majority Myanmar as refugees due to systematic persecution and targeted violence at the hands of Myanmar’s government, which […]
By Rishikesh Ram Bhandary At the 17th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP17), India tried to introduce a discussion on intellectual property rights, arguing that these rights were hindering the transfer of clean technologies to developing countries. However, there was no agreement on its inclusion, and because decision-making in the UN climate process requires consensus, […]
Since the UN General Assembly launched negotiations on climate change in 1990, countries have negotiated and adopted the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement. Between the treaties, major decisions set new approaches to reducing emissions and established new institutions. In the last 22 years, how have […]
China’s ‘Going Out’ strategy and Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) launched China to be the world’s largest source of cumulative bilateral official development finance. However, in recent years, overseas development finance from China’s policy banks has declined and China’s outward finance has diversified towards other channels. One emerging and under-studied area of China’s overseas economic […]
The 50th anniversary of the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment provides an opportunity to reflect on mercury pollution as a sustainability issue past, present and future. The first global mercury assessment, completed in 2002, identified mercury as a global pollutant. Voluntary partnerships aiming to reduce mercury use and pollution under the United […]
By Oyintarelado (Tarela) Moses On October 20, 2022, the Boston University Global Development Policy Center hosted Léonce Ndikumana to discuss his new book ‘On the Trail of Capital Flight from Africa: The Takers and the Enablers.’ Through qualitative, quantitative and institutional analysis, the book edited by Ndikumana and James K. Boyce investigates the dynamics of […]
By Liaoguo Chen China’s overseas development finance has increased significantly over the last two decades, making China the largest bilateral official creditor in the world. The launch of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013 has brought China’s overseas investment and financing to the next level in global expansion. However, the BRI has also […]