Climate cash coming from aid budget

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.

In an email exchange with WDM yesterday that has been reported in the Guardian and BBC,  the Department for International Development (DfID) admitted that the £1.5 billion pledged by Gordon Brown in Copenhagen would all be siphoned from the existing aid budget meant for anti-poverty programmes, like health, education and public water provision in the developing world.

WDM is calling for climate finance to be additional to aid money from the government as compensation for the climate damage that emissions from rich countries are causing developing countries.

Tim Jones, policy officer at the World Development Movement said:“The UK government has publicly said 90 per cent of money for tackling climate change should be additional to existing aid commitments. But all of the UK’s climate change money is being diverted from international aid. The UK has a moral responsibility to put new money into tackling both development and climate change.

“Over half of the money announced by the UK in Copenhagen had already been announced, allocated or spent. At least one-third of it will be loans, increasing unfair debts channelled through the undemocratic and mistrusted World Bank."

The UK government has threatened that only countries who ‘sign up’ to the Copenhagen Accord will be eligible to receive any money. And in the email exchange the DfID official said the money would be used.. 'in support of countries that have demonstrated a commitment towards tackling climate change.' But this is ignoring the fact that developing countries who spoke out against the Accord in Copenhagen are demanding stronger action on climate change.

Tim Jones, policy officer at the World Development Movement said: “It is shameful that the UK government is resorting to blackmail to force through the unjust and ineffective Copenhagen Accord. It is dishonest that the UK backs up this threat by pretending that the money is new, when it has actually already been spent or committed.”

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