Professor Sharon Friel joins Sharon Bessell and Arnagretta Hunter for a challenging conversation about the commercial determinants of health, and what can be done to save and improve lives.

You can listen here.

We discuss how there is no silver bullet fix, and it would take a multilevel and multi-pronged approach to commercial determinants of health and if it is done right, it could save a third of preventable global deaths. However, the implications are far more wide-reaching than that. If we take into consideration the indirect impact that industries have, from health and health inequities, income inequalities and changes to our lived environment, “well above half of the global burden of disease could be eliminated” Professor Friel states. The challenge is enforcing change across unregulated industries, and on transnational corporations.

“The most basic public health question is not whether the world has the resources or will to take such actions, but whether humanity can survive if society fails to make this effort.”

Sharon Friel is a Professor of Health Equity and an ARC Laureate Fellow in Planetary Health Equity at the ANU School of Regulation and Global Governance. Her research is focused on the intersection of social, commercial, political and environmental factors that contribute to health inequities and what changes policy and governance can make. Professor Friel and her colleagues have recently published a remarkable series of papers on The Commercial Determinants of Health in The Lancet.

Sharon Bessell is a Professor of Public Policy and Director of both the Children’s Policy Centre and the Poverty and Inequality Research Centre at the ANU Crawford School of Public Policy.

Arnagretta Hunter is the Human Futures Fellow at ANU College of Health and Medicine, a cardiologist, physician, and a Senior Clinical Lecturer at ANU Medical School.

Show notes | The following were mentioned during this episode:

Commercial determinants of health published in The Lancet by Sharon Friel, et al. (2023)

21st-century capitalism: structural challenges for universal health care by Susan Sell (2019)

The collateralization of social policy by financial markets in the global south – A freely available chapter can be found in the Routledge international Handbook of Financialization. by Lena Lavinas (2020)

Taxing Extreme Wealth An annual tax on the world’s multi-millionaires and billionaires: What it would raise and what it could pay for  by Oxfam (2022)

Policy Forum Pod is available on Acast, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Subscribe on Android or wherever you get your podcasts. We’d love to hear your feedback for this podcast series! Send in your questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes to podcast@policyforum.net. You can also Tweet us @APPSPolicyForum.

The post Podcast: Global Health – holding industries accountable appeared first on Policy Forum.

How will the United Kingdom’s Integrated Review refresh affect Britain’s Indo-Pacific policy? What does AUKUS mean for the United Kingdom? And what’s the future of Australia-UK cooperation? In this episode of the National Security Podcast, the Rt Hon Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP — who was recently appointed as Britain’s first Minister of State for the Indo-Pacific — joins Professor Rory Medcalf in conversation. They discuss the United Kingdom’s Integrated Review refresh and the country’s subsequent tilt towards the Indo-Pacific, AUKUS, and Australia-UK relations. Listen here: https://bit.ly/3YrBfz4

The Rt Hon Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP is the United Kingdom’s Minister of State for the Indo-Pacific. She has previously served as Secretary of State for International Trade and International Development.

Professor Rory Medcalf AM is Head of ANU National Security College. His professional experience spans more than three decades across diplomacy, intelligence analysis, think tanks, journalism and academia.

We’d love to hear from you! Send in your questions, comments, and suggestions to NatSecPod@anu.edu.au. You can tweet us @NSC_ANU and be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss out on future episodes. The National Security Podcast is available on Acast, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts.

The post National Security Podcast: The United Kingdom’s tilt towards the Indo-Pacific appeared first on Policy Forum.

Climate change is a major hazard in the international trade system, with increasingly severe and frequent disasters disrupting the economic activity that has underpinned global growth in recent decades. But despite the significant risks, the World Trade Organization (WTO) – the preeminent multilateral global trade body – has been unable to adapt.

Dealing with climate change is essential to achieving sustainable global development and poverty reduction, and international trade plays an important role in addressing this challenge.

However, global trade is also part of the problem. This is because greenhouse gas emissions are integrated into global production and supply chains – as trade volumes have increased, so have emissions.

The wealthiest countries – those that have benefitted most from the current global trade regime – are the worst offenders. According to a 2020 report on carbon dioxide emissions in international trade by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the per capita emissions of its member countries were around 2.5 times higher than the world average and 3.6 times higher than non-OECD countries.

More on this: Can Asia and the Pacific get on track to net zero?

Moreover, as citizens of developing countries become wealthier, they naturally consume more resources and thereby contribute more to global temperature rise. One only needs to look at the increase in emissions from China since its integration into the global economy to see this in action.

However, it is this very economic development via increased trade that developing countries need to successfully mitigate the worst impacts of climate change. So, more sustainable global trade is needed to fund the fight against the very climate impacts globalisation has created.

A well-regulated trading regime could be a net benefit in the fight against climate change – via the promotion of environmentally sustainable goods and services – rather than the anchor on global emissions reduction it is today.

The WTO and its 164 member states have a critical role to playing climate change mitigation efforts, but the organisation’s inefficiencies are preventing it from making progress.

The largest impediment is the ‘single undertaking principle’, which requires complete consensus for the adoption of new rules, and that every member of the WTO abide by all the same agreements, regardless of circumstance. In other words, nothing is agreed upon until everything is agreed upon.

Ideally, the single undertaking principle should promote fairness in the international system, but in reality, it does the exact opposite. It slows down negotiations significantly and raises the risk of them failing.

More on this: Podcast: The loss and damage consensus at COP27

As a result of this requirement for consensus, no specific WTO framework addressing climate change has been adopted. This inaction poses unacceptable risks to lives and livelihoods. Worse still, existing WTO agreements can hinder member state’s efforts to avert climate change and environmental damage.

This is not just detrimental for developing countries, but also for the WTO itself. Due to the obvious inadequacies within the single undertaking principle, many countries are increasingly turning to bilateral agreements, and even new forums, to negotiate green trade agreements. This undermines the legitimacy of the organisation at a time when it is critical make significant strides in climate change mitigation efforts.

In response, reform is needed, for the future of both the planet and the WTO.

One option for the organisation is to pursue ‘plurilateral’ trade agreements, whereby members would have the freedom to choose which agreements they wish to pursue and adopt. Contrary to the single undertaking principle, plurilateral trade agreements are not hampered by the need to be approved by every member.

Freed from the strict single undertaking principle, this plurilateral model has led to some successful negotiations around specific issues, particularly anti-counterfeit measures. If this success can be translated to climate change mitigation efforts, a sustainable trade system could be within reach.

The WTO’s lack of action on the climate crisis only exacerbates disruptions to the global value chain, slowing development and exacerbating poverty.

The international trading system urgently needs to find ways to further environmental sustainability, but so long as the WTO remains inflexible and blind to the disparities between the most and least developed countries, it’s hard to see significant progress being made.

The post Reforming the WTO for a greener future appeared first on Policy Forum.

Which international leader stood tall in the performance of a lifetime? Who stole the show as Best New Musical Talent? And who selflessly gave it all for the ensemble as Best Supporting Minister? On the Democracy Sausage night-of-nights, Mark Kenny, Marija Taflaga and Frank Bongiorno give out the gongs for the best and worst of politics in 2022. Listen here: https://bit.ly/3UTGcxP

Frank Bongiorno AM is an Australian labour, political, and cultural historian and Professor of History at The Australian National University (ANU).

Marija Taflaga is the Director of ANU Centre for the Study of Australian Politics and a Lecturer at the ANU School of Politics and International Relations.

Mark Kenny is a Professor at the ANU Australian Studies Institute. He came to the university after a high-profile journalistic career including six years as chief political correspondent and national affairs editor for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, and The Canberra Times.

Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny is available on Acast, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. We’d love to hear your feedback for this podcast series! Send in your questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes to podcast@policyforum.net. You can also Tweet us @APPSPolicyForum or join us on the Facebook group.

This podcast is produced in partnership with The Australian National University.

The post Democracy Sausage: The third Annual Democracy Sausage Awards appeared first on Policy Forum.

Since the creation of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015, there has been a renewed push to achieve a range of global development objectives, including eliminating poverty, addressing gender inequality, and promoting environmental sustainability. A plethora of new initiatives have taken shape in the years since, but efforts to measure the outcomes of these activities remain insufficient.

The challenge is that some of the desired outcomes of development programs, such as increased happiness, are intangible. While traditional businesses rely on measures like return on investment to evaluate their work, financial return isn’t necessarily an adequate or appropriate marker of success in development project.

While impact measurement is no doubt a difficult task, this lack of quality data can have serious implications across the sector. Without consistent metrics that capture the true value of development projects, it can be difficult to make informed decisions about, for example, how to best allocate resources to ensure that this work is actually having a positive impact.

More on this: Parliament's power of banishment

In response, there has been a push to create alternative evaluation frameworks. Examples such as ‘impact management norms’ and ‘social return on investment’ (SROI) are starting to grow in popularity, as they offer organisations a way to more fully evaluate the impact of their work.

In the Asia-Pacific region, Taiwan has been a leader in using these kinds of tools, driven by a small but vibrant community of practitioners and experts.

Taking the example of SROI, which was created by England-based registered charity Social Value International (SVI), Taiwan ranks first in the region for the number of assured reports produced.

In this assurance process, SVI examines whether analysis reports applicants submitted comply with SROI’s eight principles: understand what changes, value the things that matter, only include what is material, do not over-claim, be transparent, verify the result, and be responsive.

As of October 2022, the number of assured SROI reports in Taiwan reached 36. Of these, 20 were impact assessment cases for projects carried out by listed companies, 11 were for non-profit organisations, and four were concerned with government initiatives.

More on this: Getting on track to net zero

However, for this kind of impact measurement to thrive, a larger ecosystem of human, financial, and intellectual capital needs to exist, and this is where Taiwanese policymakers can provide support.

One step the government could take is to fund industry-focused academic research centres dedicated to impact measurement.

Evaluation is only useful to the extent that organisations actually use it to inform resource allocation and utilisation, so by supporting research to better understand how this work is being applied, policymakers can support and build upon best practice in this area.

Governments could also reward organisations that conduct impact assessments by publicly encouraging these practices or even with tax relief.

Furthermore, governments can set an example by introducing broader impact measurement and management to their own projects.

As one of the most advanced economies in the Asia-Pacific region, Taiwan is well equipped to cultivate impact measurement as an area of expertise. There is an opportunity now to capitalise on the work that has already been done and use it as a strong foundation to expand its use nationally.

In doing so, Taiwan can ensure it is truly meeting its own development targets and provide support to others in the region to do the same.

The post Measuring the social impact of development appeared first on Policy Forum.

In this episode of the National Security Podcast, Professor the Hon Gareth Evans – a longstanding and influential voice in Australian foreign and public policy – joins Professor Rory Medcalf in conversation. They discuss navigating the Australia-China and Australia-US relationships in an era of strategic competition, strengthening relations with Australia’s Indo-Pacific neighbours, the country’s credibility as a good international citizen, and the importance of diplomacy. Listen here: https://bit.ly/3FmtS4L

The Hon Gareth Evans AC KC FASSA FAIIA is a Distinguished Honorary Professor at The Australian National University (ANU), where he was Chancellor from 2010–19. He was a Cabinet Minister in the Hawke and Keating Labor Governments from 1983–96, in the posts of Attorney General, Minister for Resources and Energy, Minister for Transport and Communications and –from 1988–96 – Foreign Minister.

Professor Rory Medcalf AM is Head of ANU National Security College. His professional experience spans more than three decades across diplomacy, intelligence analysis, think tanks, journalism and academia.

We’d love to hear from you! Send in your questions, comments, and suggestions to NatSecPod@anu.edu.au. You can tweet us @NSC_ANU and be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss out on future episodes. The National Security Podcast is available on Acast, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts.

The post National Security Podcast: Australia’s new geopolitical outlook appeared first on Policy Forum.

What does the historic agreement to establish a ‘loss and damage’ fund at this United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Egypt mean for small island developing states, particularly in the Pacific? How can negotiating parties ensure the fund is operationalised by COP28 in Dubai, rather than allowing countries to stall – as has been seen with previous initiatives? And with Australia looking to co-host the 2026 instalment of the conference with Pacific Island nations, what impact would a successful bid have on the region and the Australian public? Dr Siobhan McDonnell and Dr George Carter, who negotiated on behalf of Pacific Island countries at COP27, join Professor Sharon Bessell and Dr Arnagretta Hunter to discuss the talks and to look ahead to the next conference in Dubai. Listen here: https://bit.ly/3EUs29x

Siobhan McDonnell is a legal anthropologist with over 20 years of experience working with Indigenous people in Australia and the Pacific on land use, gender, and climate change. She is a Senior Lecturer at ANU Crawford School of Public Policy and Chief Investigator for the Australian Research Council’s Discovery Project on Climate Change and Gender in the Pacific.

George Carter is a Research Fellow in Geopolitics and Regionalism at ANU Department of Pacific Affairs and Director of the ANU Pacific Institute.

Sharon Bessell is Professor of Public Policy and Director of both the Children’s Policy Centre and the Poverty and Inequality Research Centre at ANU Crawford School of Public Policy.

Arnagretta Hunter is the Human Futures Fellow at ANU College of Health and Medicine, a cardiologist, physician, and a Senior Clinical Lecturer at ANU Medical School.

Policy Forum Pod is available on Acast, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Subscribe on Android or wherever you get your podcasts. We’d love to hear your feedback for this podcast series! Send in your questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes to podcast@policyforum.net. You can also Tweet us @APPSPolicyForum or join us on the Facebook group.

The post Podcast: The loss and damage consensus at COP27 appeared first on Policy Forum.

The recent climate talks in Egypt have left us with a sobering reality: the window for maintaining global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius is closing fast and what is on the table currently is insufficient to avert some of the worst potential effects of climate change. The nationally determined contribution targets of Asian and Pacific countries will result in a 16 per cent increase in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 from 2010 levels.

The Sharm el-Sheikh Implementation Plan and the package of decisions taken at COP27 are a reaffirmation of actions that could deliver the net-zero resilient world our countries aspire to. The historic decision to establish a loss and damage fund is an important step towards climate justice and building trust among countries.

But they are not enough to help us arrive at a better future without, what the United Nations Secretary-General calls, a “giant leap on climate ambition”. Carbon neutrality needs to at the heart of national development strategies and reflected in public and private investment decisions. And it needs to cascade down to the sustainable pathways in each sector of the economy.

At the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), we are working with regional and national stakeholders on these transformational pathways. Moving away from the brown economy is imperative, not only because emissions are rising but also because dependence on fossil fuels has left economies struggling with price volatility and energy insecurity.

More on this: Indonesian nationalism and the Ashmore Reef debate

A clear road map is the needed springboard for an inclusive and just energy transition. We have been working with countries to develop scenarios for such a shift through national roadmaps, demonstrating that a different energy future is possible and viable with the political will and sincere commitment to action of the public and private sectors.

The changeover to renewables also requires concurrent improvements in grid infrastructure, especially cross-border grids. The Regional Road Map on Power System Connectivity provides us the platform to work with member states toward an interconnected grid, including through the development of the necessary regulatory frameworks for to integrate power systems and mobilise investments in grid infrastructure. The future of energy security will be determined by the ability to develop green grids and trade renewable-generated electricity across our borders.

The move to net-zero carbon will not be complete without greening the transport sector. In Asia and the Pacific, transport is primarily powered by fossil fuels and, as a result, accounted for 24 per cent of total carbon emissions by 2018.

Energy efficiency improvements and using more electric vehicles are the most effective measures to reduce carbon emissions by as much as 60 per cent in 2050 compared to 2005 levels. The Regional Action Programme for Sustainable Transport Development allows us to work with countries to implement and cooperate on priorities for low-carbon transport, including electric mobility.

Our work with the Framework Agreement on Facilitation of Cross-border Paperless Trade also is helping to make commerce more efficient and climate-smart, a critical element for the transition in the energy and transport sectors.

Even with mitigation measures in place, our economy and people will not be safe without a holistic risk management system. And it needs to be one that prevents communities from being blindsided by cascading climate disasters.

More on this: What can we expect at COP27?

We are working with partners to deepen the understanding of such cascading risks and to help develop preparedness strategies for this new reality, such as the implementation of the ASEAN Regional Plan of Action for Adaptation to Drought.

Finance and investment are uniquely placed to propel the transitions needed. The past five years have seen thematic bonds in our region grow tenfold. Private finance is slowly aligning with climate needs.

The new loss and damage fund and its operation present new hopes for financing the most vulnerable. However, climate finance is not happening at the speed and scale needed, and it needs to be accessible to developing economies in times of need.

Innovative financing instruments need to be developed and scaled up, from debt-for-climate swaps to Sustainable Development Goal bonds, some of which ESCAP is helping to develop in the Pacific and in Cambodia. Growing momentum in the business sector will need to be sustained. The Asia-Pacific Green Deal for Business by the ESCAP Sustainable Business Network (ESBN) is important progress. We are also working with the High-level Climate Champions to bring climate-aligned investment opportunities closer to private financiers.

Climate actions in Asia and the Pacific matter for global success and wellbeing. The past two years have been a grim reminder that conflicts in one continent create hunger in another, and that emissions somewhere push sea levels higher everywhere. Never has our prosperity been more dependent on collective actions and cooperation.

Our countries are taking note. Member states meeting at the seventh session of the Committee on Environment and Development, which opens on 29 November, are seeking consensus on the regional cooperation needed and priorities for climate action such as oceans, ecosystems, and air pollution. We hope that the momentum begun at COP27 and the Committee will be continued at the 79th session of the Commission as it will hone in on the accelerators for climate action.

In this era of heightened risks and shared prosperity, only regional, multilateral solidarity and genuine ambition that match with the new climate reality unfolding around us – along with bold climate action – are the only way to secure a future in which the countries of Asia and the Pacific can prosper.

The post Can Asia and the Pacific get on track to net zero? appeared first on Policy Forum.

A new national security strategy from Australia’s most important ally deserves close attention. What is a national security strategy in the American context? What are the key areas of continuity and change between this strategy and the document produced by the Trump Administration? How does the new strategy approach non-traditional security challenges such as climate change and COVID-19? In this episode, Lisa Curtis — Senior Fellow and Director of the Indo-Pacific Security Program at the Center for a New American Security — joins Will Stoltz and David Andrews from ANU National Security College to discuss the Biden Administration’s National Security Strategy. Listen here: http://bit.ly/3hRoz3F

Lisa Curtis is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Indo-Pacific Security Program at the Center for a New American Security. She is a foreign policy and national security expert with over 20 years of service in the United States government.

Dr William A Stoltz is the Policy Director at ANU National Security College.

David Andrews is the Senior Policy Advisor at ANU National Security College.

We’d love to hear from you! Send in your questions, comments, and suggestions to NatSecPod@anu.edu.au. You can tweet us @NSC_ANU and be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss out on future episodes. The National Security Podcast is available on Acast, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts.

The post National Security Podcast: Understanding the United States’ National Security Strategy appeared first on Policy Forum.

With the predicted ‘red wave’ of Republican victories at the United States midterm elections failing to materialise, what does the future hold for the party? Will Trump run again in 2024 and, if he does, what are his chances of securing the Republican nomination? And, buoyed by an above-expectations performance, will Biden be on the ticket in 2024 as well, or are Democrats working on a succession plan? On this episode of Democracy Sausage, Macquarie University’s Dr Jennifer Hunt joins Dr Marija Taflaga and Professor Mark Kenny to discuss the results of this month’s midterm elections in the United States. Listen here: http://bit.ly/3hI331r

Jennifer Hunt is a Senior Lecturer in Cyber and Security Studies at Macquarie University, specialising in the national security of critical systems such as cyber and energy.

Marija Taflaga is the Director of ANU Centre for the Study of Australian Politics and a Lecturer at ANU School of Politics and International Relations.

Mark Kenny is a Professor at ANU Australian Studies Institute. He came to the university after a high-profile journalistic career including six years as chief political correspondent and national affairs editor for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, and The Canberra Times.

Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny is available on Acast, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. We’d love to hear your feedback for this podcast series! Send in your questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes to podcast@policyforum.net. You can also Tweet us @APPSPolicyForum or join us on the Facebook group.

This podcast is produced in partnership with The Australian National University.

The post Democracy Sausage: Trump’s midterm misfires appeared first on Policy Forum.