In this Issue...

	Message from UNRISD Director, Sarah Cook
	People Making Change
	In the Spotlight
	Publications
	Think Pieces on Social Dimensions of Green Economy
	Think Pieces from the 2nd Development Forum
	Podcasts

MESSAGE FROM UNRISD DIRECTOR, SARAH COOK

PEOPLE MAKING CHANGE

International Women's Day and Women's Rights in Pakistan: Interview with Farida Shaheed Fareeda Shaheed, a sociologist with over 25 years’ research experience on women’s gender justice in Pakistan and South Asia, speaks to UNRISD about International Women’s Day, laws on women’s rights in Pakistan and some of the challenges women’s rights advocates are facing implementing them.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

PUBLICATIONS

Climate Change, Double Injustice and Social Policy: A Case Study of the United Kingdom Ian Gough The "double injustice" referred to in this paper is that the groups and populations likely to be most harmed by climate change are the least responsible for causing it and have the least resources to cope with the consequences. In light of this phenomenon, what are the distributional implications of current, fairly ambitious, policies to decarbonize the economy? The paper looks at this question in two parts: within the Kyoto framework and beyond it.

A Fair Green Economy? Studies of Agriculture, Energy and Waste Initiatives in Malaysia Adnan A. Hezri and Rospidah Ghazali This paper looks at how the Malaysian government deals with green economy. Through case studies of agriculture, renewable energy and waste-to-wealth initiatives, the paper demonstrates that green economy in Malaysia has the most potential when it involves the engagement of local communities.

Realizing Local Development in the Carbon Commodity Chain: Political Economy, Value and Connecting Carbon Commodities at Multiple Scales Adam Bumpus This paper provides an analysis of how local community development is connected to the global carbon economy through the creation of carbon commodities (offset credits) and the role of premium credit certification in assisting in local development. It shows that information on local conditions should be focused on political-economic processes and the interactions between actors to nuance the social benefits of carbon credit generation in developing country contexts.

The Global Political Economy of REDD+: Engaging Social Dimensions in the Emerging Green Economy Rocío Hiraldo and Thomas Tanner The REDD+ initiative has emerged as a means through which individuals and communities in developing countries can be financially rewarded for reducing emissions from deforestation, forest degradation and enhancement of carbon stock. This paper assesses how actors bring the social dimension into REDD+ negotiating processes at the global level and stresses that power relations in policy processes need to be taken into account.

Journals and Books Religion et politique: Les femmes prises au piège, Cahiers du Genre, hors-série 2012 Jacqueline Heinen and Shahra Razavi (eds.) This edition of Cahiers du Genre looks at how religion as a political force affects the struggle for gender equality in contexts marked by different histories of nation-building and challenges of ethnic diversity, different state-society relations and different relations between state power and religion. Most of the articles here first appeared in English in the special issue of Third World Quarterly, "The Unhappy Marriage of Religion and Politics: Problems and Pitfalls for Gender Equality" (Vol. 31, No. 6, 2010).

The Politics of Resources Extraction: Indigenous Peoples, Multinational Corporations, and the State Terence Gomez and Suzana Sawyer (eds.) Despite the burgeoning number of international charters and national laws asserting the rights of indigenous peoples, they find themselves subjected to discrimination, dispossession and racism. The authors explore this paradox by examining mega resource extraction projects in Australia, Bolivia, Canada, Chad and Cameroon, India, Nigeria, Peru and the Philippines.

Business Regulation and Non-State Actors: Whose Standards? Whose Development? Peter Utting, Darryl Reed and Ananya Mukherjee-Reed (eds.) This volume assesses the achievements and limitations of a new set of non-state or multistakeholder institutions that are concerned with improving the social and environmental record of business, and holding corporations to account.

Publications from UNRISD Researchers Conscientious Consumers and the Global Agri-Food System Kristen Lyons and Kiah Smith This is a chapter in the book, Food Systems Failure: The Global Food Crisis and the Future of Agriculture. The book examines the contradictions in the global food system associated with industrial, neoliberal agriculture that impede solutions to the food crisis. Kristen Lyons and UNRISD Research Analyst Kiah Smith provide a case study that looks at alternative strategies for regulating the ethics of global food trade, emerging from smallholder farmers engaged in fair, ethical and organic agriculture in Kenya and Uganda.

THINK PIECES ON SOCIAL DIMENSIONS OF GREEN ECONOMY

The False Dichotomy Between Economy and Society: Implications for a Global Green Economy Leisa Perch One of the assumptions about green economy is that it will lead to poverty reduction and equity. Since several mainstream arguments for going green are largely economic, the structural changes and incentives envisaged are also largely economic in nature. However, to "go green with equity" will require social sustainability principles such as (i) preferential access for the poor and vulnerable to new jobs, green microfinance and infrastructure; (ii) adaptable social protection mechanisms which mitigate the impact of environmental and disaster risk and provide income support for green consumption by the poor; and (iii) a rights-based approach which tackles fundamental structural inequalities.

Green Growth, Social Agency and the Regulation of Agricultural Production in India and Brazil Diego Vazquez-Brust and Evelyn Nava-Fischer Green growth is being promoted as a new paradigm that encompasses economic growth, environmental sustainability and social inclusion. However, some developing countries have been questioning its relevance for their development. This piece shows how this paradigm is challenging, and being challenged by, traditional social norms and practices in agricultural production in India and Brazil.

Green Economy and Beyond – Case Studies in Guangzhou, China Chen Jinjin China’s rapid economic growth has led to a gap between urban and rural development, as well as environmental pollution and the marginalization of traditional farming. Two cases in Guangzhou in Guangdong province of southern China—a government programme and a non-governmental initiative—show how the local government and the public are trying to connect the green economy agenda with other sustainable development objectives, including poverty reduction, food security and social protection.

THINK PIECES FROM THE 2ND DEVELOPMENT FORUM

The EU Commission Proposal for a Financial Transaction Tax: Problems and Prospects Heikki Patomäki In the midst of the ongoing crisis, the European Commission is supporting a comprehensive Financial Transaction Tax. Heikki Patomäki welcomes this move, but says that far from providing resources for development and poverty eradication, the Commission is looking for an alternative to national contributions for financing the EU budget. As such, Patomäki believes that a campaign for a global currency transaction tax is as necessary as ever.

PODCASTS

CONTACT

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