UN 2011 Climate Change Conference Interview Database

Tag: short term

Saleemul Huq on the transition to a green economy

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Dr. Saleemul Huq, Senior Fellow at the International Institute for Environment and Development Climate Change Group, discusses how climate change will severely affect the development of poor countries in the near future. He says in the long term, however, China and the United States will begin to compete for integrating sustainability into what he says will be the new economy. Huq believes it will be competition, not negotiations, that will eventually drive the transition into a green economy. However, he describes the necessity for the issue to still be solved as a global challenge because it is in essence a global problem. Finally, he emphasizes the ever-pressing need for on the ground action.

Interviewed by Esther Babson, Anna McGinn, Maggie Rees and Claire Tighe on November 30, 2011, COP 17, Durban, South Africa

Youba Sokona on the barriers in Africa for jump-start development

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Dr. Youba Sokona of Ethiopia, the coordinator of the African Climate Policy Centre (ACPC) based in the UN Economic Commission for Africa, discusses the need for a new global paradigm. He also explains the opportunity Africa faces to embark of “jump-start” sustainable development due to the primary stages of development the continent is currently in. He names the four biggest barriers to this solution: political will, institutions, finance and short-term focus. He then provides examples for how each of these barriers can be broken.

Interviewed by Elena Capaldi, Maggie Rees and Emily Bowie on November 30, 2011, COP 17, Durban, South Africa

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