Congratulations to the Global Subsidies Initiative, part of the International Institute for Sustainable Development, which just celebrated its 20th anniversary! Over its two decades, GSI has engaged with subsidy transparency and reform efforts across dozens of countries and in multiple natural resource areas. They have expanded the data on subsidies in many countries, studied what makes reforms more likely to succeed, and helped initiate, support, and document many, many international meetings on environmentally harmful subsidies (EHS). Continued attention to EHS has been critical in keeping this issue in the public spotlight and on the agendas of key international bodies.
I participated in the original kick-off meetings for GSI back in February 2005, and happened across a photo of that event. Quite a few of the attendees have remained active in subsidy transparency and reform issues. Too many have passed since the original meeting.
It was an exciting time, and with more people than ever focused on the massive damages that EHS cause across the world, we can redouble our efforts to achieve standardized and systematic subsidy disclosure, reform, and removal.
Participants at the Kick-Off meeting for the Global Subsidies Initiative Rockefeller Bellagio Center, February 28 - March 2, 2005
Attendees,with affiliations at the time of the meeting: Back row, left to right - Jacob Werksman (Rockefeller Foundation), David Runnals (IISD), Celso Lafer (University of Sao Paulo), Paula Stern (The Stern Group), Doug Koplow (Earth Track), David Boyer (IISD), Konrad von Moltke (IISD). Front row, left to right- (Paul Koutstaal, Netherlands Ministry of Finance), Norman Myers (Author), Jennifer Kent (Author), Horst Siebert (Kiel Institute for World Economics), Gerrit Zalm (Netherlands Ministry of Finance), Sylvia Ostry (Centre for International Studies, University of Toronto), Simon Upton (OECD Roundtable on Sustainable Development), Mark Halle (IISD), Isher Judge Ahluwalia (International Food Policy Research Institute). Not pictured - Ronald Steenblik (OECD).
