The Taliban are advancing in Afghanistan; Libya remains in a state of chaos; and NATO enlargement has heightened tensions on Europe’s eastern borders – NATO’s record in the past two decades is not looking particularly good. Nonetheless, at its most recent summit, the alliance broadened its horizons, speaking in terms of containing China – a state far removed from the North Atlantic. In light of these developments, Professor Paul Robinson of the University of Ottawa will discuss whether NATO is a solution to problems of international security or whether it is itself one of the problems.
June 16th, Dr Peter Singer, Special Advisor to the Director General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and Assistant Director General of the World Health Organization will speak on how COVID19 has shone a harsh light on the pre-existing social and economic inequities among and within countries. It has also used in the defining challenge of our time: vaccine equity. This can be addressed with dollars, dose sharing, and domestic manufacturing. Ultimately COVID-19 vaccine sustainable equity and regional security will depend on domestic production supported by sharing of technology, know how and intellectual property. This is the world’s Mandela moment: it always seems impossible until its done!
The engagement of religious diplomacy with the United Nations systems has become increasingly important for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The editors argue that effective religious diplomacy must reflect the great diversity of religious and spiritual expressions within human communities. Religious engagement in the United Nations systems has been understandably constrained by limited and formal organizational structures and conventions. The editors discus how increased engagement with marginalized voices of religion or belief contributes to a more inclusive public discourse.
We will be discussing the nature and extent of funding from governments in Canada (federal and provincial) for fossil fuel production. Funding comes in different guises—including direct financing, loan insurance, subsidies and tax breaks. Our contention is that these various sources of financing should be identified and phased out as quickly as possible and reallocated to green technology and renewable energy.
We don’t have to wait for government, private industry, or institutional investors to finance the transition to renewable energy and green technology. Citizens and local communities can act by pooling their money and facilitate the climate action we need. The Ottawa Renewable Energy Cooperative (OREC) is a proven local for-profit energy cooperative that has a track record of building new generation assets, attracting growing membership while paying regular dividends. This webinar will discuss the experience of OREC as an alternative model to help us achieve Canada’s zero net carbon target.
Trade: Laura Macdonald, Professor, Political Science, Carleton University
Aid: Stephen Brown, Professor, Political Studies, University of Ottawa
Diplomacy: Bianca Mugyenyi, Director, Canadian Foreign Policy Institute
Defence: Peggy Mason, President, Rideau Institute on International Affairs
Environment: Angela Keller-Herzog, former Green Party Candidate and Co-coordinator CAFES
followed by Q&A
April 15th, 2021. This webinar will discuss “responsible investing”. For anyone interested in greening their investment portfolio, it will delve into the challenges and opportunities of ensuring that their savings are actually aligned with the goals of protecting the environment and the climate.
On April 27th we will compare and contrast the petroleum and climate policies, performance and records of Norway and Canada. Both countries are major oil exporters, close to major markets. It will examine their different systems of governments, electoral systems and cultures. Discussion will include the most recent carbon commitments of each country in advance of COP 21, Including Canada’s latest 2030 emission reduction target and the measures in the April 19 budget to reach this target. Finally. it will outline lessons for Canada from the Norwegian experience, and also how Norway can build on its strengths.
March 30 – Multinational companies, particularly the ‘digital giants’, avoid effective taxation of their profits and thus undermine fiscal provision of essential public services, particularly in developing countries. Despite G20 mandated multilateral negotiations at the OECD since 2012, progress has been slow – particularly during the Trump administration. In consequence a number of countries have recently introduced their own conflicting ‘digital levies’…
Webinar On May 6, 2021 Outline – The conflict in Ethiopia’s northern state of Tigray is being fought on two interconnected fronts. The first is physical and on the ground, while the second is a dangerous information campaign projected via social media to influence, draw in and even direct international reaction. At the same time, the geopolitical interests of various major powers in the Horn of Africa, such as the US, China, the UK and France, remain largely hidden. As with similar situations elsewhere and before, the evolving strategic interests and decisions of these global actors will play a role either in achieving an equitable and sustainable solution to the violent dispute, or in escalating it.
