October-2010-International

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

EU bows to German call for debt mechanism
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has won European Union backing for a rewrite of EU treaties to create a permanent debt-crisis mechanism by 2013, to prevent a repeat of the Greece-led shock that jolted the Euro. As the biggest contributor to Euro 860 billion ($1.2 trillion) in loans and pledges to stem 2010-s debt crisis, Germany wants to spare taxpayers the costs of any future operations to rescue financially distressed States.

Bonds in Greece, saved from the brink of default by EU and International Monetary Fund loans in May, led a decline by so- called peripheral European securities as Germany’s triumph spurred concern that the EU mechanism will force bond holders to bear the costs of future bailouts. The extra yield investors demand to hold Greek 10-year debt over German equivalents rose to 813 basis points. German bonds advanced as investors sought safer assets, paring their weekly drop.

G-20 raises developing nations’ quota in IMF
The Group of 20 Finance leaders struck a landmark deal on October 22, 2010, to boost developing countries’ power in the International Monetary Fund, even as they failed to set targets for a wide-ranging global economic rebalancing. The IMF deal was hailed by fund MD Dominique Strauss-Kahn as a ‘historical’ moment that will see Europeans give up two seats on its 24-strong board to powerful developing countries and transfer 6 percent of votes to them.

India is world’s third largest carbon emitter
India is now world’s third biggest carbon dioxide emitting nation after China and the US. The new emission data from the United Nations was a cause of worry for India’s climate negotiators at the next round of talks in Tianjin in China, held in October 2010.

China, in 2009, moved to the top position while contributing 23 per cent of the total global emissions and India, in 2010, surpassed Russia to take the third position with five percent.

The saving grace is that the difference in total carbon emissions between the US (22 per cent) and India is still huge.  Russia's emissions have been falling because of economic slowdown.

India's per-capita carbon emission is still lowest in the world (about 4.5 tonnes) but the demand for energy is rising, especially among the middle-class.

The pressure on India and China to reduce emissions is rising. US chief climate negotiator Todd Stern told a meeting of major economies forum that a legally binding climate treaty was not possible until India and China take “obligation” to reduce emissions.

ASEAN Summit
The 17th ASEAN Summit was held in Hanoi, Vietnam, on October 28-30, 2010. The meeting was considered a success, with all members agreeing to cooperate with one another in solving the region’s economic downturn.

The 17th ASEAN Summit focused on the contents of building the community and implementing the ASEAN Charter, external relations and key role of the body, sustainable development and coping with global challenges.