Sixty-first General Assembly: Second Committee (economic and financial).

• Position: On economic situation of developing countries and on the environmental policy on industrialized countries

The Second Committee continued to tackle the enormous dilemmas of economic inequality, poverty and environmental degradation. Many developing countries expressed their frustrations at the lack of progress on the World Trade Organization (WTO) Doha Round of multilateral negotiations, aimed at increasing economic growth by lowering trade barriers worldwide. Negotiations reportedly broke down because developed countries could not agree on dismantling their agricultural subsidies. WTO Secretary-General Pascal Lamy told the Committee that "heavy political lifting" was needed from Europe and North America to prevent the failure of the Doha Round, which would improve market access for goods produced in developing countries by reducing agricultural protectionism. The Committee adopted a resolution calling on developed countries to show flexibility and political will to resume talks. It also heard the Secretary-General's report on trade and development, pointing out that South-South trade continued to grow, with 42 per cent of exports from developing countries going to other developing nations. UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Jose Antonio Ocampo said that the more than 40 resolutions adopted by the Second Committee constituted significant contributions to poverty eradication and the advancement of the Millennium Development Goals.

CLIMATE CHANGE SEEN AS INCREASINGLY DANGEROUS

But Consensus Still Lacking

Factory smokestacks and automobile exhaust pipes spewed more carbon dioxide in 2006 than any other year in history. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said these emissions caused the greenhouse effect and predicted that the average global temperature would increase from 1.4 to 5.8 degrees Celsius by 2100, which would lead to rising sea levels as ice caps melt.

As the issue of global warming receives increasing media coverage and becomes part of mainstream politics for many countries, Committee delegates could not reach consensus on a resolution that reiterates support for United Nations efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, at a meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, important steps were taken to ensure that African countries can benefit from efforts to introduce green technologies and that developing nations can adapt to climate change.

Born out of the 1992 Earth Summit, which was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) took effect in 1994. Some 189...