Posts Tagged "briefing papers"
Canada Falls Far Short of Pope Francis’ Call for Ecological Justice : Briefing Paper #42
August 4, 2015
Post filed in: Ecological Justice
The Moral and Financial Case for Divesting from Fossil Fuels: Briefing Paper #38
May 5, 2014
The movement is growing for withdrawing investments from oil, natural gas and coal companies that contribute to climate change, and among the churches in Canada Trinity-St. Paul’s United Church in Toronto has shown leadership. The latest KAIROS Briefing Paper -…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice
Ecologists Call for a Transformed Financial System – Policy Briefing Paper #34
February 16, 2014
Ecologists, alarmed by how human activity is de-pleting ecosystems faster than they can be replen-ished, have added their voices to calls for a trans-formed financial system. Ecological economists point to how excessive consumption leads to more extraction of raw materials…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice
IPCC Confirms We Must Act Now on Climate Change: Briefing Paper #37
November 1, 2013
KAIROS’ latest briefing paper evaluates the strength and weaknesses of the recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). It cites a new study by climate scientist James Hansen showing how burning just one-third of remaining fossil fuels…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice
First Nations Challenge Foreign Investment Protection Agreements: Policy Briefing Paper #36
September 5, 2013
In August 2013, KAIROS welcomed Brenda Sayers, a band councillor from the Hupacasath First Nation on Vancouver Island. Brenda explained eloquently why the Hupacasath had filed a request in a federal court seeking a judicial review of the federal government’s…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights, UNDRIP Blog Updates
Time to Refocus Our Approach to Climate Change: KAIROS Policy Briefing Paper No. 35
March 19, 2013
KAIROS’ newest policy briefing paper, “Time to Refocus Our Approach to Climate Change,” which highlights some of the feasible actions we can take to curb greenhouse gas emission beginning with cancelling plans for new tar sands pipelines, is now available.
Post filed in: Ecological Justice
Policy Briefing Paper #33 – Signposts for a New Financial Architecture
January 16, 2013
In 2012 KAIROS joined ecumenical partners from around the world in fashioning the São Paulo Statement on International Financial Transformation for the Economy of Life. Briefing Paper No. 33 describes the background for 10 of the key elements contained in…
Post filed in: Latin America
Policy Briefing Paper #32 – Tax Reform for Equity and Sustainability
January 16, 2013
Briefing Paper No. 32 summarizes research on tax justice issues that KAIROS prepared for the São Paulo conference. Reform of taxation is a feasible way to reduce ine-quality, fund social programs and finance invest-ments in harmony with Earth‟s ecological carrying…
Post filed in: Latin America
Policy Briefing Paper #31: Whose Green Economy
June 22, 2012
In the twenty years since the historic 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, calls for “sustainable development” have been heard over and over again. Governments, corporations and civil society groups have all used the term, each in its own…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice
Policy Briefing Paper #30: Coal and Shale Gas Obstacles to Climate Justice
December 14, 2011
While much attention has focused on the tar sands as the fastest growing source of Canadian greenhouse gas emissions, climate justice demands that we also curb emissions from coal and shale gas. The most recent KAIROS briefing paper examines these…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice
Policy Briefing Paper #29: Arctic Melting Sounds the Alarm for Life on Earth
December 1, 2011
Accelerated melting of Arctic ice and permafrost is among the clearest signals that climate change is rapidly approaching a point of no return. This latest KAIROS Briefing Paper “Arctic Melting Sounds the Alarm for Life on Earth” summarizes several recent…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice
Policy Briefing Paper #28: Is Durban the world’s last, best hope to avoid climate disaster?
November 13, 2011
“Our Mother Earth is ill. The development model of unlimited economic growth and overconsumption has broken the balance between human beings and the envi-ronment. The current proposals on the table in the nego-tiations are not enough to stop climate change….
Post filed in: Ecological Justice
KAIROS Briefing Paper #27: Can Quantitative Easing Fund Green Jobs?
December 22, 2010
In our August 2010 Policy Briefing Paper, “G20 Surrenders to the Money Traders,” we discussed how central banks have the option of creating money out of nothing through what is known as“quantitative easing” or QE for short. In that paper, we note that…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice
KAIROS Briefing Paper #26: Decisive Action Vital at Cancún Climate Talks
November 25, 2010
One year after the failure of UN climate talks in Copenhagen, KAIROS has released a Briefing Paper calling for decisive action as negotiations resume in Cancún, Mexico. The paper contrasts the Canadian public’s desire for urgent action with a lack…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice
KAIROS Briefing Paper #25: G20 Surrenders to the Money Traders
July 27, 2010
KAIROS latest Policy Briefing Paper provides an in-depth analysis of the G20 Meetings and Final Statement. The paper examines how the outcome represents a caving in to pressure from the same bond and derivative traders whose irresponsible actions caused the…
Post filed in: Uncategorized
KAIROS Briefing Paper #24: An Idea Whose Time Has Come: Adopt a Financial Transactions Tax
May 1, 2010
A growing number of politicians, civil society organizations, economists and some financiers have become strong advocates of a global Financial Transactions Tax (FTT). An FTT is a tiny tax on financial market transactions such as equity, bond, derivative or foreign exchange…
Post filed in: Uncategorized
Copenhagen Accord or Discord
February 23, 2010
Read the Briefing Paper (PDF) The UN climate summit in Copenhagen December 2009 has been variously described as a “failure”, a “setback”, or “utter chaos.” Since the climate conference in Bali in 2007, the hopes of the world had been…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice
KAIROS Briefing Paper #22: Canada’s Climate Challenge: What’s at stake in the Copenhagen climate change talks
December 22, 2009
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, between December 7-18, 2009 represents a critical turning point in mobilizing the political will for a transition towards a low-carbon future. Canada’s challenge is to bring credible and constructive…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice
KAIROS Briefing Paper #21: The Costs and Risks of Carbon Capture and Storage
November 22, 2009
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is a technology for trapping carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and storing them underground before they escape into the atmosphere. The Canadian government wants CCS to be a major part of Canada’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice
KAIROS Briefing Paper #20: Pricing Carbon: A Primer
November 1, 2009
Of the many approaches to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, two are market-based: cap-and-trade systems and carbon taxes. Both these proposals involve putting a price on carbon dioxide emissions as an incentive for companies and individuals to take steps to reduce the amount of GHGs…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice
KAIROS Briefing Paper #19: Financial Crisis An Opportunity for a New Global Order
November 1, 2009
The current financial crisis has created an exceptional opportunity for transforming the global economic order. In this report we shall first explore the proximate causes of the crisis that began with excessive speculation in the US housing and financial markets. In Part II…
Post filed in: Uncategorized
KAIROS Briefing Paper #18: Indigenous Peoples and Oil and Gas Development Respecting Rights, Minimizing Risks, Maximizing Benefits
November 1, 2009
Oil and gas exploration and development has been driven to the doorsteps and backyards of Indigenous communities across Canada by society’s seemingly insatiable demand for nonrenewable fossil fuels. Historically, the societies and cultures of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples have been seriously damaged…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights
KAIROS Briefing Paper #17: G20 Rehabilitates IMF, Marginalizes UN
April 22, 2009
The Summit of G20 leaders on the global economic crisis held in London, April 1-2, 2009, received massive, world-wide media coverage. In contrast, a report from a Commission of Experts on Reforms to the International Monetary and Financial System tabled two weeks earlier at…
Post filed in: Uncategorized
KAIROS Briefing Paper #15: KAIROS Analysis of Budget 2009
February 1, 2009
KAIROS called for decisive action, guided by lasting moral values, to respond to the global financial crisis in a January 24, 2009, letter to the Prime Minister and the Leaders of the Provinces and Territories. It looked to them for transformative policies to “invest…
Post filed in: Uncategorized
KAIROS Policy Briefing Update: X + Y = Z: Our Formula for a Green Fiscal Policy
September 22, 2008
Every year the Canadian government spends millions of dollars on subsidizing oil and gas extraction, a prime cause of climate change, while federal expenditures on energy efficiency, conservation and renewable alternatives remain woefully inadequate. This briefing paper summarizes some proposals…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice
KAIROS Briefing Paper #14: Federal Subsidies to Fossil Fuel Producer
April 22, 2008
KAIROS submitted a petition to the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development in the Auditor General’s office to obtain more up to date information on the actual amount of current subsidies. The petition asked six government Ministers for an explanation of the contradiction between subsidies that…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice
KAIROS Briefing Paper #13: Human Rights in the Philippines
March 22, 2008
Since President Gloria Arroyo assumed power in 2001, the human rights record of the country has been abysmal. Despite national and international outcries, extra-judicial killings, enforced disappearances and intense militarization have terrorized the Philippine population. A report released by the…
Post filed in: Asia-Pacific
KAIROS Briefing Paper #12: G8 and IMF Hinder Aid for Zambia While Vultures Attack
September 22, 2007
Some 1.2 million Zambians out of a population of 11 million are living with AIDS. There are nearly 600,000 AIDS orphans. Life expectancy has fallen from 54 years in the mid-1980s to just 37 years now. There is just one doctor…
Post filed in: Uncategorized