G20 Summit - 2011

G20 Summit - 2011: Oxfam was there, making it clear that world leaders need to get serious about fixing the world's problems at this year's Cannes summit.

Blogs

• Oxfam Canada: G20 -The Result
• Oxfam International: Attention to Detail: Small steps for G20, giant leap for Robin Hood
• Oxfam Canada: Open the Gates for Robin Hood

At Issue

Food Reserves:

Community and national food reserves can help stabilize prices by buying at above-market rates at harvest time and selling below-market during the “hunger season”. Up for discussion at the G20 was whether to endorse wider use of reserves, as well as a specific proposal to set up emergency food stocks to speed up response to food shortages.     

• GROW Fact Sheet: "Why does the world need food reserves?"
• GROW - Food Prices

Regulation of financial derivatives:

Speculation in "derivatives" based on food commodities can accentuate food price spikes. Since 2008, the amount of money invested in such “commodity funds” has mushroomed into the tens of billions. The G20 was asked to consider ways to ensure regulation of financial derivatives, initiated by the US and the EU, will relieve pressure on food prices.

• Check out Oxfam's interactive food price map
• Not a Game: Speculation vs. Food Security

Phasing out incentives to use food for fuel:

Requirements for minimum ethanol content in gasoline divert massive amounts of corn from the world market, contributing to price increases while doing little for the climate. Canada burns four billion kilos of corn as ethanol annually, enough to feed over three million families for a year. The G20 has so far rejected a proposal to suspend such minimum content rules when food prices are high.

• Why are food prices rising?

A new tax on financial transactions:

Economists from around the world have endorsed a proposal for putting a small levy (0.05%) on transactions by large financial institutions to discourage excessive trading on major markets and to provide a new source of revenue to fight poverty and help communities adapt to climate change. Bill Gates and the president of the European Union both pushed for the G20 to give its blessing.

• International Financial Transaction Fee (aka the "Robin Hood tax")
• Oxfam International Media Briefing

A new tax on international shipping:

International shipping is a major source of the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change. A fuel levy would give industry an incentive to reduce emissions, while at the same time raising new revenue to help poor communities adapt to climate change and enhance their resilience to shocks. In a new report on innovative financing for the G20, Bill Gates endorses a tax on international shipping.

• Briefing Note: "Out of the Bunker: Time for a Fair Deal on Shipping Emissions"

Oxfam supporters at the People First! Rally in Toronto during the 2010 G20 Summit. Photo: Oxfam