Catalogue of bullying and bribery by rich countries at climate talks revealed

A catalogue of bribery and bullying tactics are being used against developing countries in an attempt to force through a deal at all costs at the Copenhagen talks campaigners revealed today.

UK based, anti-poverty campaigners, the World Development movement said that developing countries are being bribed in numerous ways, including by threatening that international aid and finance for adapting to the impacts of climate change would only be delivered if countries cooperated with developed countries' demands.

The campaigners are arguing that there is no hope for a deal with justice at its heart, and so no deal would be better than forcing through a bad deal.

The campaigners have compared the kinds of tactics used by developed countries to those that take place in World Trade Organisation negotiations, which are widely viewed as notoriously undemocratic, unaccountable and immoral. And they say that the UN talks have been 'darkened by blatant bullying by rich countries saving face, but not the climate.'

Tim Jones, climate policy officer at the World Development movement said:
"It's absolutely scandalous that developing countries are being told that international aid and finance to cope with the impacts of climate change is dependent on cooperation at these talks. The bullying and bribery tactics being employed right now by rich countries to force through a bad deal are disgusting and deeply immoral.

"These talks are being darkened by rich countries trying to save face, but not the climate. Rich countries have caused this problem and now they are trying to blame developing countries for stalling the talks because they are standing up to these insulting and outrageous bribes. The very survival of some of these countries depends on the outcomes of these talks but rich countries can not see beyond the survival of business as usual."

Bullying and Bribery tactics revealed:

Offering bribes

• Rich countries have sought to bribe countries into signing unfair long term agreements with offers of short term money now. Lesotho, head of the Least Developed Countries, has been told decisions on extension of $7 million in aid will be decided this week depending on its cooperation.
• Pacific Island, Palau has been told negotiations on a funding package with the US will be decided soon, so it should support the US’s emission reduction target.
• For the last two weeks, rich countries have been pushing their $10 billion in short-term finance. This money is being channelled through the World Bank, and so the Bank’s paymasters in rich countries can choose which countries will receive the money. Over recent months, the UK told Bolivia its eligibility for funding could be determined by its cooperation.

Picking countries off one-by-one

• Most of the negotiations have been happening in small or one-on-one meetings behind closed doors. Collectively developing countries have been able to resist the unjust demands of rich countries. Therefore rich countries have tried to resort to splitting them in one-on-one negotiations.
• On 15 December, Nicholas Sarkozy struck a bilateral deal with Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, to endorse the EU’s unjust deal. The French government then presented Ethiopia as speaking for Africa. This was entirely misleading. Africa has maintained its position that the EU should cut emissions by at least 45 per cent by 2020, that $400 billion is needed in short term financing, and that the increase in global temperatures must not go over 1.5°C.
• Delegates from across Africa were surprised that the Ethiopia-France position was being presented as representing Africa, including Senegal, Burkina Faso and Eritrea. Mauritania was so surprised they assumed it was not the real French website.

Misleading the media

Rich countries have used their greater access to the media to spin the stalling of negotiations as being due to developing countries raising pointless concerns over the process. UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Ed Miliband was reported as saying on 16 December that: "Things are getting held up by procedural wrangling. People can kill this agreement with process arguments. It will be tragedy if we cannot reach an agreement on substance, but it will be a farce if we cannot agree on process."

This is intentionally meant to mislead. The deadlock in the talks has entirely been because of substance. The lack of any serious commitments to reduce emissions by rich countries has stalled talks.

Controlling the process

The Danish government has been working on a separate agreement independent of the UN process, to suddenly be pushed on heads of government at the end of the Conference. One version of this was leaked in the first week. Prime Minister Rasmussen tried to push a second version on 16 December. A group of developed countries has been formed, chaired by Gordon Brown, to help write the political statement for 18 December.

Developing countries have collectively resisted this imposition of an unjust deal. It is the attempted imposition of an agreement by Denmark acting on behalf of rich countries which has caused the continued stalling of negotiations.

Build up the pressure for a deal

In his speech to the conference on 17 December, French President Nicholas Sarkozy said: “Let me tell my African friends, you will be first to suffer if we do not reach a deal.” Rich countries are now using the pressure to get a deal to push through a bad deal. With the arrival of heads of government, the focus has become entirely on whether or not there will be a deal, rather than what a deal consists of. Heads of government from rich countries continually assert their willingness to reach a deal. But it is a deal on their terms which would destroy justice and wreck the climate.