ii iiiiriHiii 9 "770029ll705002l! Johannesburg summit Pollution People Poverty Progress "As we enter the new Millennium we must make trade work for the poor." Kofi Annan, UN Secretary General Trade Justice Following the success of the Jubilee 2000 campaign, many organisations are coming together in a new global campaign for trade justice. We call for new trade rules to promote sustainable developing by guaranteeing: protection and support for poor producers fairer markets for poor countries' products effective regulation of international companies. For more information www.christianaid.org.uk/campaign/trade ChristianTTAid We believe in life before death CONTENTS Observer Contents No. 233 - AUGUST 2002 LETTERS ENERGY Temporary job problems; Workable Tobin 35 Global warming: What comes after Kyoto? tax Burton Richter 38 Trading in pollution EDITORIAL 39 Nuclear energy: Can it help? Interview with Luis Echdvarri 3 Sustainable development: Our common future 41 Renewables: Upwardly mobile DonaldJ. Johnston Global sustainabiltty, page 8 SOCIETY NEWS BRIEF 43 Transport troubles 4 Trade fall eases?; IT outlook is not so dim; Peter Wiederkehr and Nadia Caïd Early check-up for business ethics; 46 EST: Blueprint for better transport Soundbites; Agricultural markets may recover; Russian visit; Development aid 47 Sustainable buildings holds steady Takahiko Hasegawa SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT BUSINESS VIEW 8 Back to the basics 50 Bye-bye, Miss American Pie Douglas Worth Simon Upton 10 Unsustainable risks Valli Moosa, South Africa's OECD.ORG 14 Roundtable: What ministers are doing environment minister. South Africa; Finland; France; Mexico; U.S. Roundtable. page 14 52 Tax environment; NEPAD: A new partnership for Africa's development; For FOOD & FARMING safer transport; Fundamental sense: OECD Forum 2002; Public against terrorist 17 Rethinking agriculture and food financing; Blueprint for open government; Renate Kiinast Slovak Republic joins NEA 19 Sustainable agriculture depends on 54 OECD Ministerial Council 2002: biodiversity Partnership for growth and development Kevin Partis 55 Calendar 21 Integrating the Rio conventions in 56 Education: The door of hope development co-operation Extracts from speech by Laura Bush Food security and development, page 23 BOOKS 23 Sustainable food for all 37 Dealing with wretched excess; Better bus Tom Arnold je*«ia £&k& systems; Indian power; Smarter minds 25 Millennium Development Goals: 59 New publications Looking beyond the averages fan Vandemoortele DATABANK 27 For diversity in development strategies 9MHB ,.- «M$|g ^gSfflPSfc Kenichi Ohno 61 How green is farm support?; Unsustainable 28 Social vision habits; Lower-paid women; Semiconductor slide 30 Trade and environment: Striking a balance % / 62 Indicators Ronald Steenblik and Dale Andrew sunshine as a renewable resource, page 41 32 Fish crisis: A problem of scale Carl-Christian Schmidt 34 Inconvenient flags A 1 oecd Observer www.oecdobserver.org OBSERVER Letters Temporary job job satisfaction between would be zero and avoidance temporary and permanent would be practical!)' zero for the problems workers is quite small is currencies that are covered by the Observer disingenuous when temporary Tobin lax. The article. "Tackling some myths workers report (.elsewhere) that As to which currencies to tax, a www.occdobservev.org about temporary jobs" (OECD they are much less satisfied handful ol currencies dominate, © OECD 2002 Observer, No. 231/232), seeks to with pa}' and job security than such as the dollar, the euro and 2002 subscription raie: "re-balance" a debate which you permanent workers. They also the yen. Even exchanging -US$50 -£30 -¥5 900 consider to have been distorted ISSN 0029-7054 more often report inflexible work Indonesian rupiahs for Russian Tel.: +33 (0) 1 45 24 82 00 by unfounded assertions. schedules and monotonous Fax: 4-33 (0) I 45 24 82 10 rubles needs to go through such a [email protected] It appears to be based on the work tasks. vehicle currency So if these major That some workers make Founded in 1962 assumption that no one has a currencies were covered by the The magazine of the Organisation for good word to say For temporary a successFul transition from Tobin tax it would already be Economic Co-operation and Development employment. But on the contrary, unemployment or inactivity to nearly global. Also, il only one OECD Publications the view that temporary work is secure labour market status via major currency is outside of the 2 rue André-Pascal 75775 Paris cedex 16, France of some advantage, to employers temporary work, while certainly Tobin net, even the US, then if [email protected] at least, is commonplace. As you true, is not on its own a everyone else is covered by the www.oecd.org note, it increases labour market conclusive argument in favour tax, US dollars traded would be Published in English and French taxed as well. by OECD and Financial Times Business Ltd, Flexibility by making it easier of temporary work. Some Maple House, 149 Tottenham Court Road, for employers to hire and fire evidence is required that this You also suggest that a Tobin London WIT 7LB, Tel: +44 (0)20 7896 2525 workers in line with shifting transition could not have been lax would cause liquidity to fall. EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Rory Clarke demands. You also relet' to the accomplished otherwise. But il the Tobin tax, through a SENIOR EDITOR: Sue Kendall-Bilicki scope for employers to screen David Foden managed flow, could at least STATISTICS EDITOR: Eileen Capponi EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS: possible long-term recruits while Brussels, Belgium decrease the amplitude of a Alison Benney, Lorcan Lyons they are temporarily employed. currency crisis, then in fact there PHOTO RESEARCI I: Silvia Thompson PRODUCTION CO-ORDINATOR: The larger question, however, would be increased liquidity in Workable Nadine N'diaye-Robinson is whether these advantages to that currency Also, it could be WEB EDITION: Rory Clarke employers should be allowed to Tobin tax argued that there is loo much MARKETING: Jill Colonna LOGO AND DESIGN: outweigh the drawbacks. IF all the liquidity in the Forex market, Café Crème, Peggy King drawbacks were suffered only by Your article "Tobin tax: Could it which is a fundamental problem HEAD OF PRODUCTION (FTB): employers it might make sense work?" (OECD Obseiver, No. Mhairi Swans as profits are too easily made in PRODUCTION (FTB): to leave them to make up their 231/232) supposes that the tax transactions that hurl the real Celine Bijleveld, Kay Burton own minds without regulation. would be levied at the dealing economy. ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER (FTB): However, despite your efforts to Maui Kohonen Angus Cushley sites, which would create huge minimise the disadvantages for administrative problems and London, United Kingdom GLOBAL ADVERTISING MANAGER 1 1 I B): workers, these are Far from make it unfeasible. The foreign Adrian Northey, +44 (0)20 7896 2109 negligible. exchange (Forex) market has two On the cover PRINTING: A brief summary of the sides to it. According to Rodney In Unsustainable PRESS: Faesimilie Graphics disadvantages from a worker Schmidt, a Canadian economist PRINTERS: St Ives risk, David perspective would include: from North-South Institute, Rooney Applications it permission U reproduce lower pay; limited access while dealing is not organised, captures the translate all r parts of anic is from the OECD Ohser sr, should be ; idressed u to paid vacations, sick leave, settlement, which usually high-stakes unemployment insurance and operates two days later via the gamhlc with The Editor, the Earth OECD Observer training (and this despite the back office, is very regulated, and its 2 rue André-Pascal. 75775 Paris, ccdex 16, France. "equal treatment" principle of centralised and organised - entire life European regulation); and of the money is closely tracked. support All signed articles express the opinions system, a of the authors and do not necessarily course the inherent insecurity. It Mr Schmidt suggests that represent the opinion or the OECD. is suggested that account should centralised payments systems game which must be taken of the profile of could be used to collect the tax. Reprinted and translated articles should carry we are to achieve sustainable the credit line 'Reprinted from the OECD temporary workers - they are Systems have been modernised Observer', plus the dale of issue. Signed articles development. Mr Rooney reprinted must bear the author's name. Two disproportionately younger and lately, easily distinguishing a regularly illustrates for voucher copies should be sent to the Editor, less well educated. But one The Irish Times and All correspondence should be addressed to the Forex trade. It is very simple to Wirtschaftswoche, as well as Ediior. The Organisation cannot be responsible might question why temporary programme a computer to take a for returning unsolicited manuscripts. popular magazines, and his jobs are disproportionately filled percentage of each trade. The work includes award-winning by those who are vulnerable in central bank could do this or illustrations for The Folio FT Business labour market terms. designate a payments system. Society. He can be reached at [email protected]. To argue that the gap in overall Thus the administrative cost Observer No. 233 August 2002 EDITORIAL Sustainable development Our common future Donald J. Johnston, Secretary-General, OECD There seems to be a wide variety of definitions and opinions as platform itself through erosion oF the soil, pollution oF the air and to what "sustainable development" really means. One might water, global warming and its concomitant climate change, depletion even be tempted to conclude that sustainable development is of fish stocks, and so on. While the material and social progress ol in the eye of the beholder! humankind in the developed world has been stupendous, especially in Some 15 years ago, the World Commission on Environment and recent years, its travelling companion has been the continuing and Development chaired by Gro Harlem Brundtland, in its report. Our accelerating degradation of the biosphere itself.