Good news on climate loans!

Over 5,600 ‘no new debt’ postcards and nearly 1,000 emails were sent to Andrew Mitchell, secretary of state for international development.

Up and down the country, local groups held World ‘piggy’ Bank piñata actions. As the World ‘piggy’ Bank was smashed, money fell into a ‘UN Adaptation Fund’ pot.

Over 1,500 WDM supporters sent pound coins to Andrew Mitchell, asking him to send them to the UN Adaptation Fund, instead of to the World Bank. When Andrew Mitchell refused to do this, WDM and JDC demonstrated outside DfID, highlighting how the coalition parties were backtracking on their pre-election pledges to give grants, not loans for climate change adaptation.

Because the UK government refused to pass your pounds onto the UN Adaptation Fund, we took them to the UN climate talks in Cancun, and handed them to Farrukh Khan, the chair of the fund’s board.

In June 2011, on the day of a World Bank meeting where new loans were due to be agreed, we released a joint report with the Jubilee Debt Campaign. We also protested outside DfID to highlight the amount of debt that these new loans would create.

At the same time, 52 organisations from countries due to receive climate loans signed a letter to the UK government condemning the loans policy. Nearly 1,000 people also emailed Chris Huhne, secretary of state for energy and climate change, to say that the policy would undermine international negotiations.

Ahead of the UN climate talks in Durban, two South African activists joined WDM for our climate justice speaker tour. Eight events were held around the country, as well as parliamentary meetings where they spoke out against climate loans.

As part of debt week, WDM groups around the country collected messages from the public on paper ‘chains of debt’, and handed them to their MPs.

Around the country, WDM activists also took part in a global ‘World Bank out of Climate Finance’ week of action, in solidarity with our allies around the world.

As Scottish climate change minister Stewart Stevenson prepared to join the UK government delegation in Durban, WDM and Jubilee supporters in Scotland sent him a message calling on him to use his influence to stop it from forcing climate loans on to developing countries.

WDM supporters and members of Eastleigh Transition Network held a stunt outside Chris Huhne’s constituency office in Eastleigh in the run up to Durban.

Chris Huhne came out and met the campaigners. He accepted a copy of our Climate Loan Sharks report and a paper ‘chain of debt’ with messages signed by Eastleigh residents.

Over 1,700 postcards to Chris Huhne, asking him to stop giving climate loans through the World Bank, were delivered to the Department for Energy and Climate Change.

WDM campaigners were in Durban following the UN climate talks and joining in the civil society mobilisations that took place. Whilst in Durban, the UK announced that it was giving the majority of its adaptation funds, helping people adapt to climate change, as grants instead of loans. Success!