Climate justice

In solidarity with campaigners in South Africa, WDM has joined a call to the UK government to say no to a World Bank proposal to provide a $3.75 billion loan to South African energy giant Eskom. The project, which Eskom want to use as an excuse to raise rates for people living in South Africa, would increase energy poverty and cause environmental destruction that would hit the poorest people in South Africa hardest.

The people of Bangladesh are already suffering from climate change. People’s homes, food supplies, livelihoods and lives are under threat.

Md Shamsuddoha, Equity and Justice Working Group Bangladesh
 

Your emails are already having an effect

DfID officials in Bangladesh have now met with Bangladeshi campaigners citing correspondence from people in the UK about the issue. WDM has also met with DfID, partly as a result of these actions. Keep up the pressure – add your voice now by taking action below.

Ask International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander your questions at a public meeting about global poverty and climate debt in Paisley, Scotland on 19 March.

The start of an unusal mobilisation of pension fund members has been kicked off by the organisation FairPensions to attempt to hold BP and Shell to account for their investment in tar sands.

The idea is that individuals contact their pension funds, through an online action, to show support of environmental resolutions that have been tabled at the annual meetings of BP and Shell this spring.

Earlier today, WDM held a protest outside the Department for International Development to oppose the UK’s plans for how climate finance should be administered; plans that WDM are concerned would lock Bangladesh into further poverty.

A politically embarrassing stand off is developing as Bangladesh is currently resisting the UK's offer of £60 million of climate finance.

The vote on this was on Wednesday 24 February. Unfortunately the Bill narrwly failed. More information on Google News. Thank you to all of you who took action!

The shambolic climate conference in Copenhagen last December was far from what was needed to stop catastrophic climate change. Leaders failed to agree a pathway for rich countries to either cut their emissions, or to pay the climate debts they owe to the global south.

The World Development Movement has been long critical of the government's pledges for climate finance and international development aid, and has been pressing the government for more information about the small print behind the announcements of cash.

Take action

Email DfID on climate debt in Bangladesh. Your emails are already having an effect.

Instead of the UK government repaying its climate debt, it proposes taking money from its existing aid budget, channeling it through the untrustworty World Bank.