NGO reactions to the 2008 G8 Summit, Hokkaido, Japan
International development NGOs and networks reacted with a mixture of disappointment and frustration to the final communiqué of the July 2008 G8 summit in Hokkaido, Japan.
G8 NGO Platforms' Reaction to the 2008 G8 Summit Final Communiqué (word)
Global Call to Action Against Poverty's reaction to the G8 Communiqué
60,000 UK citizens and 1,000,000 people worldwide signed petitions calling on G8 leaders to resolve the food crisis, address climate change, deliver funds for water and sanitation, and provide aid for healthcare and education.
However, concrete plans from the G8 to deliver action on these vital concerns were not forthcoming.
Food Crisis
The G8 registered their deep concern about the current global food crisis, but did not announce tangible or measurable initiatives for tackling it.
According to World Vision the $10 billion pledged since January will make a difference in the short term. Tearfund see the appointment of a G8 Expert Group to monitor the implementation of food security commitments as a positive step, although the lack of measurable plans adopted means that it is unclear exactly what role this group will play.
Many NGOs report that the G8 did not address the structural causes of the food crisis. Instead of delivering trade justice, G8 leaders pushed for even more trade liberalisation for developing countries. The G8 also remained silent on the role of food-price speculation in global markets in making the crisis worse.They also used only vague words on reducing bio-fuels and addressing climate change.
Climate Change
The G8 pledged to cut CO2 emissions by half by 2050. However NGOs including CAFOD, ActionAid, Christian Aid, and Save the Children all argue that this is not credible, because there is no agreed baseline year, no agreement on when emissions will peak and begin to decline and no mid-term target on emissions reductions.
$6 billion was pledged to a ‘Climate Investment Fund'. However Christian Aid points out two problems with this. Firstly, the fund will be housed at the World Bank, which has a track record of imposing damaging economic policies on poor countries and is backing a large portfolio of greenhouse gas emitting projects around the world. Secondly, this is not new money - the money will come out of aid budgets, at a time when aid budgets are decreasing.
Water and Sanitation
The international alliance End Water Poverty reports that hopes of a breakthrough in the global sanitation and water crisis at the G8 summit were dashed as the G8 delivered a communiqué largely devoid of concrete actions to help the 2.6 billion people lacking access to a safe toilet, and the 1.1 billion people lacking access to clean water. Instead of agreeing an action plan to tackle what a recent WaterAid report claims kills more children than any other single factor, G8 leaders were content to report on progress at the 2009 summit and take steps to implement the discredited 2003 G8 Evian Water Action Plan.
Aid for Healthcare and Education
Tearfund welcomed that fact that G8 leaders committed to provide a projected $60 billion for health over the next 5 years. However, they point out that this falls far short of what is required to achieve the health-related MDGs and Universal Access by 2010. Based on current UNAIDS resource estimates, the G8 share of resources needed for HIV alone is US$65 billion for the next three years. Meanwhile previous commitments, such as universal access to paediatric treatment, as outlined at Heiligendamm in 2007, are conspicuous by their absence.
There are no timetables for delivery or measurable action plans attached to the communiqué. G8 leaders have agreed to establish a monitoring mechanism but the details remain unclear. Without funding, timetables and monitoring mechanisms, the G8 leaders' stated concerns about global health will be empty gestures.
According to the Global Campaign for Education, there has been a pledge of $1 billion for education, yet this is less than 10% of what is needed to deliver what is every child's human right.
