Raising the heat on Chris Huhne

We are nearly halfway through the UN climate talks in Durban, and today a day of mobilisations against the World Bank is planned. WDM has been campaigning alongside other NGOs and civil society organisations as part of the ‘World Bank out of Climate Finance’ campaign to stop governments supporting the World Bank as an institution suitable for delivering climate finance.

At last year’s climate talks the creation of a UN Green Climate Fund was proposed, but its exact form is still to be agreed. The design of this Green Climate Fund, intended to distribute climate finance to countries affected by climate change, is a key issue for the Durban climate talks. However countries such as the UK are undermining this fund by continuing to support the World Bank as the insitution of choice for delivering climate finance, and by pushing for a 'private sector facility' which could mean the fund becomes a 'Greedy Corrporate Fund' which puts profit before people (see a letter released at the talks in Durban here).

The UK currently gives over 80 percent of its climate finance as loans to the World Bank and is pushing for it to have a greater role in the Green Climate Fund. Not only does the World Bank’s history of funding socially and environmentally destructive projects mean that it is an unfit institution for dealing with climate finance, but the loans will only increase the debt for already highly debt-burdened countries.

Whilst at the UN talks in Copenhagen, it was agreed that climate finance funds would be new and additional to aid, this has not happened and climate finance comes out of the existing aid budget, diverting resources from vital projects. Although DfiD (the department for international development) oversees the aid budget, Chris Huhne, secretary of state for energy and climate change, is representing the UK in Durban and must take responsibility for the way in which climate finance is spent.

WDM supporters and activists have been increasing the pressure on Chris Huhne before he sets off for Durban, urging him to go to the talks calling for climate finance to be delivered as grants through the UN and not loans through the World Bank.

Last week WDM campaigners and members of Eastleigh Transition Network visited Chris Huhne’s constituency office in Eastleigh for an action and a hand-in of messages written by Eastleigh residents. The campaigners smashed a World ‘piggy’ Bank pinata and then Chris Huhne came out to meet the group and accepted the ‘climate chain of debt’ messages and a copy of WDM’s Climate Loan Sharks report.

The action was covered by the local papers Daily Echo and Southhampton Echo.

Bexhill and Hastings WDM group have also lobbied Greg Barker MP, climate change minister, who will be accompanying Chris Huhne to the climate talks, at two events over recent weeks. 

Today we delivered over 1700 World Bank action cards signed by people from all over the UK to the department for energy and climate change. WDM local groups and supporters have been fundamental in getting these action cards signed so thank you so much for your efforts!

 

And in Scotland this morning, WDM and Jubilee local group members and campaigners visited the Scottish Parliament (with our loan shark’s costume) to call on Scottish climate change minister Stewart Stevenson, who’s also going to Durban, to join us in putting pressure on Chris Huhne not to force loans for climate adaptation on to developing countries.

This evening we have a chance to raise these issues with Chris Huhne before he leaves for Durban. Join the Stop Climate Chaos online debate at 7pm and submit questions about the UK’s policies of giving loans through the World Bank for countries affected by climate change. Join the debate here and submit questions using the widget on our website here.