High-level Meeting to Address Asia-Pacific Region’s Food, Energy and Financial Crises and Climate Change

9 December 2008
     

Press Release No. G/62/208

 High-level Meeting Discusses Strategies to Address Asia-Pacific Region’s
           Food, Energy and Financial Crises and Climate Change

Convergence of crises provides opportunities to reshape development agenda

JAKARTA (UN Information Centre) – A high-level meeting kicked off today in Denpasar, Indonesia, with the aim of finding strategies to address the  impact  of  the  food,  energy  and  financial  crises on Asia and the Pacific,  in  the context of climate change – and prevent the triple crises from becoming a development emergency.

The  High-level  Regional  Policy  Dialogue  on  “The  Food-Fuel Crisis and Climate  Change  –  Reshaping the Development Agenda,” jointly organized by the  Government  of  Indonesia  and  the United Nations Economic and Social Commission  for  Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), has attracted a wide-ranging group,  including  policy-makers,  finance  experts, civil society leaders, climate  change  specialists,  private sector entrepreneurs and agriculture innovators.  The  two-day  event  is  the first time that the issues of the food,  energy and financial crises, and climate change, have been addressed in a comprehensive and integrated manner in the Asia-Pacific region.

At  the  meeting’s  opening,  Indonesia’s  Foreign  Minister, Dr. N. Hassan Wirajuda, spoke of the need for Asia and the Pacific to exercise leadership in finding solutions to the crises.

We  must  “develop  a  regional framework that will reconcile our drive for food  and  fuel  security  with  the  need  to  forestall  the  adverse and potentially  devastating  impacts  of  climate  change,” Dr. Wirajuda said, noting  that  the  regional  framework  should  help  developing  countries formulate  sustainable policies that include strategies to enhance food and energy  diversity.  “With  that  framework,  we  will be able to manage the interlinked  issues  of  food security, energy security, climate change and even the financial crisis,” he added.

In   her   remarks  at  the  meeting’s  opening,  Dr.  Noeleen  Heyzer,  UN
Under-Secretary-General  and  Executive  Secretary  of ESCAP, said that the crises  threatened  to  unravel  much  of  the  progress  achieved  by  the
Asia-Pacific   region   in   so  many  areas,  including  economic  growth,
unemployment, food and energy insecurity, as well as many other development gains.

“The  food-fuel-financial crises and climate change have exposed our region to enormous human, environmental and economic costs,” said Dr. Heyzer. “But the  convergence  of these crises has also brought an opportunity to take a fresh  look  at our policies and reshape our development agenda – for that, we must act together and act now.”

“The  situation  is indeed worrisome: as we move towards the year 2015, the finish  line  in  our  drive  to  achieve  our Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),  it  has become even more difficult for us to overcome the problems of social and economic development that have always burdened the developing world,”  said  Indonesia’s  Coordinating  Minister of People’s Welfare, Mr.
Aburizal Bakri, in his keynote address to the meeting. “With every day that we  have  to  grapple  with  the crises, the MDG targets seem to become les attainable.”

The  eight  MDGs  – which range from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread  of  HIV/AIDS  and providing universal primary education, all by the target  date  of  2015  –  form  a  blueprint  agreed to by all the world’s countries  and  leading  development  institutions.  They  have  galvanized unprecedented efforts to meet the needs of the world’s poorest.

Mr. Bakri added that in trying to understand the food crisis, consideration must  be given to its strong linkage to the fuel crisis and the high-demand for  bio-fuels  –  and  that  the  food  crisis’  magnitude  is bound to be
amplified   by   financial   crisis   and   challenge  of  climate  change.
“Nevertheless,  I  am  confident that a regional response can be devised so that we countries of the Asia-Pacific region can cope with these crises and eventually overcome them,” he said.

Following  the  meeting’s  opening,  in  a  round table discussion entitled “Threats  to  Development:  Addressing  financial  and food-fuel crises and climate  change  in  volatile  times,”  participants heard from Indonesia’s Agriculture  Minister,  Mr.  Anton  Apriyantono, who spoke of his country’s response to the crises and other associated problems.

“Responding  to the issues of food security, food safety, global warming as well as the food-fuel and financial crisis, the Government of Indonesia has reiterated  calls for ‘The Second Green Revolution,’” Mr. Apriyantono said.
“It is basically a greener way of increasing production.”

He  said the approach is directed, amongst others aims, towards: the use of less-favourable environments, such as dry or swamp land; rice-based farming diversification  through  the use of indigenous resources and technologies; and, the use of environment-friendly technologies.

Addressing  the round table discussion, the Deputy Minister from Malaysia’s Ministry  of  Agriculture,  Ms.  Rohani Abdul Karim, said the thrust of her country’s  food  security policy was split into immediate measures, such as increasing  rice  supplies  and  ensuring a reasonable price for consumers, and,  in  the  trade  sector, facilitating imports through the reduction of tariffs;  as  well  as  long-term  measures  addressing  food availability, accessibility  and  nutrition.  She added that a comprehensive and holistic approach  was required for the current situation – one that balanced social
responsibility   and  economic  considerations.  Also  looking  ahead,  the
Under-Secretary  of  State  from Cambodia’s Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy,  Mr.  Heng  Sokkung,  said  that  future  steps  should include the promotion  of  research activities and human capacity-building in the field of  food, fuel and climate change, and that trade policies that keep global food  and  fuel  markets open need to be encouraged. He also cited the need for greater public awareness and education on climate change.

In another presentation to the round table discussion, Mr. Yilmaz Akyuz, an ESCAP  consultant  and  former director at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, spoke on the financial crisis’ links to the food and energy  crises,  as well as the commodity bubble created at the time of the global credit crunch. He noted that as long as global economic activity was weak,  oil  and food prices were likely to remain depressed. But with signs of  a global recovery, he added, massive liquidity created for bailouts may find  its way into commodity futures once again, causing sharp increases in prices.

“Increased  financialization  of  commodity markets now threatens stability and  energy  and  food  security;  hence the need to roll back deregulatory steps  taken  in  the US – such as limits on speculative positions – and to curb commodity speculation,” Mr. Akyuz said. He added that this should be a
key   agenda   item   in  reforming  the  world’s  international  financial
architecture;  and,  that there was a need for non-G20 commodity exporters, such as Malaysia and Thailand, to take part in such deliberations.

The  High-level  Regional  Policy  Dialogue  on  “The  Food-Fuel Crisis and Climate Change – Reshaping the Development Agenda” is expected to result in an  outcome  document  which  will  include  regional  recommendations  and actionable  initiatives  for addressing food, energy and financial security in  the context of climate change. The outcome document is also expected to
inform   various   inter-governmental  regional  processes,  including  the
ASEAN-UN  Summit  in March, 2009, and the ministerial discussions scheduled to be held during ESCAP’s 65th Commission Session in April, 2009.

                                    ***

ESCAP’s  Dr.  Heyzer  will  take  part  in  a joint press conference with a representative  of  the Indonesian Government, at the end of the High-level Regional  Policy  Dialogue,  at 5:00 p.m. (Denpasar time) on Wednesday. The press conference will be held at:

The Keraton Ballroom
Nusa Dua Hotel and Spa
Denpasar, Bali
Indonesia

For more information, please contact:

Ari Gaitanis
UN Information Services (ESCAP)
Tel.: +66-81 835 8664
Email: gaitanis@un.org