Articles by Martin Khor

Rio+20 may not have achieved as much as was hoped for in addressing the environmental challenges of the world. But the summit was not a failure that many have portrayed it to be. An analysis of the main outcomes, especially of the new "sustainable development goals", brings out the complex nature of the outcome and the challenges in the follow-up.

When the dust settles after the Cancun climate change conference of the United Nations, a careful analysis will find that the adoption of the "Cancun Agreements" may have given the multilateral climate system a shot in the arm, but that the meeting also failed to save the planet from climate change and helped pass the burden of climate mitigation onto developing countries. Instead of being strengthened, the international climate regime was weakened by the now serious threat to close the legally binding and top-down Kyoto Protocol system and to replace it with a voluntary pledge system.

It now seems certain that the United Nations conference on climate change in Copenhagen in December will not see the adoption of a detailed and legally binding agreement. But a political declaration with a framework for a future global deal that is more likely to emerge from the summit would be no less important, for such a declaration will draw the contours of an agreement on climate change and cover many issues of importance for the developing countries - the future of the Kyoto Protocol, common and differentiated responsibilities of rich and poor countries and an agenda for the "advanced developing countries". This article outlines the challenges before the developing countries at Copenhagen.

A gross imbalance in the World Trade Organisation proposals in agriculture and industry explains why the latest attempt in July to achieve a breakthrough in the Doha round collapsed. The US demand that developing countries institute a stringent special safeguard mechanism in agriculture that would make it difficult for developing countries to protect themselves against import surges was not the only obstacle. There was the US farm subsidy issue, the cotton issue, the industry tariff proposal issue and more, on none of which a majority of the developing countries were ready to accept the US/EU position. What next for the Doha round, which was launched way back in 2001?

Due to unrelenting pressure by the developed countries, the Doha negotiations have veered from their proclaimed development orientation towards a "market access" direction in which developing countries are pressurised to open up their agricultural, industrial and services sectors.