Suchergebnisse

Abstract The Republic of South Africa faces the imperative of escaping economic stagnation. This article seeks to synthesise results from a series of research efforts, including but not limited to the articles presented in this special issue, and consider policy options for escaping economic stagnation. The focus is on South Africa and South African policies yielding relatively quick dividends in terms of growth and taking the rest of the world as given. Four broad implications are presented. These could form part of a concerted effort to escape from South Africa's long running economic malaise.

In this article, we assert that developing countries are much better prepared to undertake negotiations at the Conference of the Parties in Paris (CoP21) as compared to CoP15 in Copenhagen. An important element of this is the accumulation of knowledge with respect to the implications of climate change and the ongoing internalization thereof by key institutions in developing countries. The articles in this special issue set forth a set of technical contributions to this improved understanding. We also summarize five major lessons related to uncertainty, extreme events, timing of impacts, the inseparability of the development and climate agendas, and the rate of assimilation of climate and development information in key institutions. They are drawn from the Development Under Climate Change (DUCC) project carried out by UNU-WIDER of which the countries of the Greater Zambeze Valley formed a part. Finally, we outline three areas for future research.

The distinction between development assistance and climate finance is driven by an optic of compensation largely derived from the 'polluter pays' principle. For practical as well as conceptual reasons, this principle provides a weak basis for climate finance. The distinction also cuts against the need to holistically consider developmental, adaptation, and mitigation policies and naturally focuses on government-to-government flows despite the manifest need to catalyse non-official sources of finance. Beyond the 'polluter pays' principle, ample justifications, such as the conceptions of justice set forth by Sen, for an international architecture that addresses integrated climate and development challenges.