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Scoop
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
The Sevilla Commitment: A Vital Step To Rebuild Trust In Global Cooperation
3 July 2025 Activists, many from the Global South, attending the talks in Spain, are calling for greater leadership and commitment from wealthier nations to help address long-standing structural inequalities. The 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) carries strong symbolic weight, reflected in the agreed priorities of the Sevilla Commitment. However, organizations warn that there is still a long way to go before promises translate into tangible action. Good timing That is the message from Paula Sevilla, a representative of the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) – a London-based research centre – who has worked for decades on sustainability and climate justice in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. 'This summit has come at a crucial time to try to restore faith in international cooperation, especially after the pandemic, which exposed a lack of global solidarity,' she stated. One of IIED's main goals in Sevilla has been to ensure that the announced financial commitments actually reach local communities at the forefront of the climate crisis. To that end, the organization emphasises the need to address issues such as external debt – draining public budgets – and to ensure innovative mechanisms like blended finance, while directing resources to those who need them most, who are often on the frontlines of finding solutions. ' We're seeing countries spend more on debt payments than on healthcare or education, while inequalities are deepening,' the expert warned, speaking shortly after a respectful but forceful protest inside the conference centre. A place to call home Housing solutions linked to sustainable development are notably absent from the summit's final document. 'It's regrettable that it's not even mentioned, at a time when we are facing a global cost-of-living crisis – not only in the Global South but also here in Spain. Housing is a source of anguish and distrust among citizens, and it has been completely ignored,' Ms. Sevilla said. Despite this, her organization is working to leverage the Sevilla outcome to find ways to channel funding into providing more affordable homes. Commenting on the initiative led by Spain and Brazil to work towards fair taxation and push back against tax avoidance by the world's richest – promoting more transparency and accountability – the IIED representative said it could be a useful path toward correcting structural inequalities. Tax for development ' We need leadership from the Global North, where many of the world's major tax-avoiding corporations are based. Without their commitment, we won't move forward,' she stated. She also criticized the absence of the United States from the summit – not only as a diplomatic setback but also as a worrying precedent following the dismantling of its international development agency, USAID. 'We're talking about people counting their pills to figure out how many days of life they have left. This is dramatic,' she emphasised. With just five years remaining to meet the Sustainable Development Goals, Ms. Sevilla warned that time is running out – and that the Sevilla Commitment will be meaningless without real change. ' We need political leadership, a will to cooperate, and a commitment to protect democratic space. In the end, it's organized people who keep hope alive and hold leaders accountable,' Ms. Sevilla concluded. Concerns for the poorest Meanwhile, the UN Capital Development Fund – a hybrid development and finance organization within the UN system – warned against leaving the world's poorest behind. 'At FFD4, we've seen exciting coalitions around substantive solutions using blended finance. And while they are significant, it's important that we guard against a two-tier outcome that leaves the hundreds of millions of people who are living in extreme poverty out of the equation,' said Pradeep Kurukulasuriya, Executive Secretary of UNCDF, which is mandated to unlock finance for the most underserved markets. ' We need private sector capital to flow, not only in middle income countries and the rising stars of the Least Developed Countries that are preparing for graduation. But also to countries and communities in fragile, vulnerable and crisis situations. UNCDF, working with partners across the UN family, has the capabilities to do just that.' UNCDF works in partnership with international organizations and UN entities to deliver blended finance solutions – including concessional loans, grants and guarantees – in any sector, to de-risk markets and drive sustainable economic growth. The Sevilla Commitment in brief: The Sevilla Commitment sets out a new global roadmap to raise the trillions of dollars needed each year to achieve sustainable development, building on previous international agreements It calls for fairer tax systems, cracking down on tax evasion and illicit financial flows, and strengthening public development banks to support national priorities The agreement highlights the need for new tools to ease debt pressures on vulnerable countries, including debt-swap schemes, options to pause payments during crises, and better transparency Countries committed to boosting the capacity of multilateral development banks, increasing the use of special drawing rights, and attracting more private investment to support development It also aims to make the global financial system more inclusive and accountable, with improved coordination, stronger data systems, and broader participation from civil society and others The Commitment launches the Sevilla Platform for Action, which includes over 130 initiatives already underway to turn the pledges into real-world results.
CNBC
28-06-2025
- Politics
- CNBC
Trump loses latest bid to get Central Park Five defamation lawsuit tossed
A federal judge on Friday dealt another blow to President Donald Trump's efforts to throw out a defamation lawsuit against him filed by plaintiffs formerly known as the Central Park Five. U.S. District Judge Wendy Beetlestone said that Pennsylvania's Anti-SLAPP law, designed to protect defendants from lawsuits targeting protected speech, does not apply in federal court, rejecting Trump's motion to dismiss the case. "The only issue before the Court is whether Plaintiffs' claims for defamation, false light, and intentional infliction of emotional distress ("IIED") can survive given Pennsylvania's Uniform Public Expression Protection Act, otherwise known as its Anti-Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation Statute," Beetlestone wrote in a 13-page filing. "Pennsylvania's Anti-SLAPP Statute (a state law) does not apply here, in federal court," she wrote in the filing, adding: "Accordingly, Defendant's Motion shall be denied." Five men who as teenagers were wrongfully convicted in the so-called Central Park Five jogger rape case sued Trump in October, accusing the then-Republican presidential nominee of defaming them. They cited a number of statements Trump made during his Sept. 10 presidential debate against former Vice President Kamala Harris, accusing him of falsely stating that the men killed somebody and pled guilty to the crime. "These statements are demonstrably false," they wrote in their filing against Trump. The five men — Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray and Korey Wise — spent years in prison for the rape and assault of a white female jogger, a crime they were later exonerated of and did not commit. Trump has tried to dismiss the defamation lawsuit against him, but has not been successful. Judge Beetlestone in April also threw out Trump's motion to dismiss the case against him in a different filing.
CNN
30-03-2025
- Politics
- CNN
As Trump works to cut FEMA, data shows there was a major disaster declaration every four days in 2024
Deanne Criswell has spent years sounding the alarm about busier disaster seasons. Just days before the former chief of the Federal Emergency Management Agency stepped down at the end of the Biden administration, Criswell was directing the federal response to the deadly and destructive wildfires in Los Angeles. 'We're seeing hurricane season last longer, we're seeing spring severe weather season get more significant and we're seeing the fire season go year-round now,' Criswell told CNN at the time. The agency is 'more engaged in wildfire response than we ever have been before.' It's not just FEMA's perception that threats are increasing — there were 90 declarations of 'major disasters' in 2024. It was one of the worst years for disasters declarations in the last three decades (1995-2024), according to a new analysis from the International Institute for Environment and Development, or IIED, shared exclusively with CNN. Ninety major disaster declarations in a year is nearly double the annual average of 55 declarations, according to the London-based think tank. It translates to a major disaster declaration every four days. Researchers also found that 41% of the US population lived in a county where a major disaster or emergency was declared — about 137 million people. 'Our analysis of FEMA data shows the agency has been responding to a growing number of climate-driven disasters over the past few decades. This is in line with what scientists warned us would happen,' said Sejal Patel, senior climate finance researcher at IIED, in a statement to CNN. It comes as the Trump administration plans for deep staff cuts at FEMA. 'As global temperatures continue to rise, all levels of government will have no choice but to help people adapt to the realities of climate change,' Patel said, adding political leaders should be focusing on how to adapt and build resilience against climate change threats, including solutions like stronger building codes, early warning systems, reenvisioning the homeowners insurance industry and infrastructure like flood barriers. The US president can declare a major disaster or emergency for any natural event, such as hurricanes, storms, tornados and landslides, when they determine an event is severe enough to surpass the ability of state and local government to respond. It provides access to federal funding for emergency needs and permanent repairs. In 2024, the US experienced 27 separate weather and climate disasters that cost more than $1 billion in damage, according to a final tally from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The IIED analysis focused only on weather-related disasters, and did not include things like chemical or toxic substance disasters. August was the most disaster-heavy month, with 10 major weather-related disasters active at the same time in mid-August, including Hurricane Debby in Florida, severe storms in Kansas and flooding in Vermont. Hurricane season, which typically runs from June through November, had an average of four active major disasters every day. Scientists have long said that climate change will lead to fewer but stronger storms – something that played out in 2024. Many disasters overlap, such as Hurricanes Helene and Milton, in back-to-back incidents. Given that multiple disaster declarations are often active at the same time and declarations can last for months, IIED researchers also added up the cumulative number of days spent under disaster or emergency declarations across all states. In 2024, there was at least one active disaster somewhere in the country for 73% of the year, and 1,251 disaster days. Climate scientists have repeatedly warned that extreme weather events around the world are becoming more intense. 'One of the big drivers of these extreme events is the fact that as air gets warmer, it can hold more water vapor. What this means is that rainfalls are getting heavier,' said Ed Kearns, chief data officer at First Street Foundation, a non-profit focused on weather risk research. 'So, hurricanes will have stronger precipitation, thunderstorms will have stronger precipitation, and this is driving a lot of those disasters that you're seeing.' Disasters are also increasing because infrastructure intended to handle heavy rainfall – for example, water pump systems built to keep subway systems clear from flooding – were built 'for yesterday's climate, not today's climate,' Kearns said. 'For this coming summer, we could be sure that there will be one or two large flooding events in the eastern US,' Kearns added. 'The main thing we would like to call attention to is the level of risk that exists, whether it's flood or wildfire… This level of risk is absolutely predictable.' Despite the well-predicted increase in disasters, Trump has expressed desire to close FEMA altogether, saying during a trip to disaster-hit North Carolina in January that he would 'begin the process of fundamentally reforming and overhauling FEMA, or maybe getting rid of FEMA.' On Wednesday, Trump signed an executive order that outlines his desire to shift more responsibility for disaster response and recovery to the states. Some state officials and even Republican lawmakers have raised concerns about Trump's plans to slash FEMA, expressing worry that it will weaken responses to future disasters. The changes could all have chilling effects on emergency response even at state levels, given that FEMA already acts as a centralized hub to help support states respond to and recover from disasters, former FEMA chief Criswell told CNN in January. 'We need to take him at his word, and I think state emergency management directors should be concerned about what this means for spring tornado season' and the coming hurricane season, Criswell said. 'Do they have the resources to protect their residents?' CNN's Soph Warnes and Annie Grayer contributed to this report.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
2024 one of worst years for natural disasters, researchers say, with FEMA's future uncertain
Last year was one of the worst years for U.S. natural disasters, according to researchers, as the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) future remains uncertain. According to a new analysis from the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and CNN, major disaster declarations 'related to weather and natural disasters' occurred at a high level last year, nearly doubling a 55-declaration-per-year average of the previous 30 years, reaching 90 declarations. Major disaster declarations, which the president has the ability to declare, cover 'any natural event' like hurricanes, tornadoes, snowstorms and tsunamis. The analysis examined 30 years of data from 1994 to 2024 on FEMA disaster declarations across all of the states, according to the researchers. 'Millions of Americans are being affected by climate-driven disasters every year, sometimes with deadly consequences. Others have been left in financial ruin,' Sejal Patel, an IIED senior climate finance researcher, said on a webpage about the analysis. 'Political leaders need to respond to the gravity of the challenge by putting in place bold plans to cut emissions to address the cause of climate change. They also need to support households and communities most affected by climate-driven disasters,' Patel added. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Monday she was looking to remove FEMA as a federal agency as she was giving a status report amid a Monday Cabinet meeting. 'We're going to eliminate FEMA,' Noem said. In January, President Trump said he would 'be signing an executive order to begin the process of fundamentally reforming and overhauling FEMA, or maybe getting rid of FEMA.' 'I think, frankly, FEMA's not good,' the president added. A newer executive order from the White House did not go as far as cutting the agency completely, but pushed for a review of disaster response policies. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
25-03-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
2024 one of worst years for natural disasters, researchers say, with FEMA's future uncertain
Last year was one of the worst years for U.S. natural disasters, according to researchers, as the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) future remains uncertain. According to a new analysis from the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and CNN, major disaster declarations 'related to weather and natural disasters' occurred at a high level last year, nearly doubling a 55-declaration-per-year average of the previous 30 years, reaching 90 declarations. Major disaster declarations, which the president has the ability to declare, cover 'any natural event' like hurricanes, tornadoes, snowstorms and tsunamis. The analysis examined 30 years of data from 1994 to 2024 on FEMA disaster declarations across all of the states, according to the researchers. 'Millions of Americans are being affected by climate-driven disasters every year, sometimes with deadly consequences. Others have been left in financial ruin,' Sejal Patel, an IIED senior climate finance researcher, said on a webpage about the analysis. 'Political leaders need to respond to the gravity of the challenge by putting in place bold plans to cut emissions to address the cause of climate change. They also need to support households and communities most affected by climate-driven disasters,' Patel added. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Monday she was looking to remove FEMA as a federal agency as she was giving a status report amid a Monday Cabinet meeting. 'We're going to eliminate FEMA,' Noem said. In January, President Trump said he would 'be signing an executive order to begin the process of fundamentally reforming and overhauling FEMA, or maybe getting rid of FEMA.' 'I think, frankly, FEMA's not good,' the president added. A newer executive order from the White House did not go as far as cutting the agency completely, but pushed for a review of disaster response policies.
