Door-stepping the World Bank and donating to the UN Adaptation Fund

Today, we joined Reza, one of our allies from Justice and Equity Working Group in Bangladesh to pay a visit to the World Bank's stall at COP 16. Reza was asking the Bank’s representatives why they were giving loans to a country like Bangladesh, which already has high levels of debt.

Credit: WDM / Kate Blagojevic

Of all countries, Bangladesh certainly shouldn’t be the one shackled with more unfair debt in the name of coping with the impacts of a climate crisis which it wasn’t responsible for causing. One World Bank official started answering his questions, trying to justify the loans by saying they were optional, that countries had chosen to accept them. But Reza wasn't going to be fobbed off with this pathetic justification of something that was clearly hugely unjust, and went on to explain passionately about what the impacts of climate change in Bangladesh meant for the lives of people living there. Clearly, he said, the people were so desperately in need of funds that they had no choice to accept the loans. The Bank official gulped, looking increasingly embarrassed, and in the end refused to answer any more questions, saying that if we wanted to know any more, they had press people we could speak to!

After their swift exit, we went to on to an event which we had specifically been invited to, hosted by the UN Adaptation Fund, the fund set up through the negotiations and supported by the G77, the group of over 130 countries who strongly oppose the World Bank’s involvement in climate finance. As the panel was drawing to a close, I stepped onto the stage with a giant cheque, and explained that this money was from the UK public and that we had hoped that the UK government would pass this money on themselves, but that they had refused to do so. Indeed, they had not given a single penny to this fund; she also explained that we were really hoping the UK government would add a significant amount to it. The Chair of the Fund agreed, nodding “so do we”. And the assembled audience of country delegates spontaneously burst into loud applause. It proved to be a great opportunity to shame the UK government, who so far have not given a single penny to the fund, in front of a large number of adaptation experts and civil society representatives.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2aoLSx0L3w&feature=player_embedded#!

At the end of the event, as we walked out, an African delegate came to shake my hand “Thank you so much,” he said smiling “We’ll make good use of that money”.  We hope that it inspires more people to join our campaign and send a pound.