News

This year, the British public will be paying more for their Christmas turkey because of City speculators. Betting on commodity prices by hedge funds and investment banks has led to rapidly rising prices of animal feed [1], driving up the retail price of turkeys.

Paul Kelly, an award winning turkey farmer and breeder, warned that turkey prices this Christmas are going to be more expensive than last year and we will be paying up to £3 extra for our festive bird. He said:

“It’s all down to feed prices which have been rising at a rapid pace this year. And it’s entirely fuelled by speculators in the commodity food markets. It’s got nothing to do with wheat stocks. It’s city money men who are driving these prices.”

In spite of the wildfires destroying Russian wheat during the summer, the US and Europe and other grain producing regions have had good harvests this year and the UN even issued a statement saying that global wheat stocks are sufficient.[2]

Since the financial crisis began, market analysts have noted a wave of speculative money pouring into commodity derivative markets, including food. Many experts link this activity by banks and hedge funds to recent volatility and sudden inflation in the retail costs of food and energy.[3]

Paul Kelly adds...

At the conclusion of the climate talks in Cancun, UK-based anti-poverty campaigners from the World Development Movement say that no real progress has been made since last year’s meetings in Copenhagen in terms of tackling emissions due to rich coutnries  feet-dragging. But although they cautiously welcomed the establishment of a new ‘Green Climate Fund’ to help poor countries cope with climate change, they raised strong concerns over the level of finance and potential role of carbon trading and markets.

Dr Julian Oram, head of policy of the World Development Movement said:
“In terms of making serious commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the foot-dragging by developed countries has resulted in a text with little difference from the Copenhagen Accord. A year later, and 300, 000 more people have died from climate change related impacts, and still no more binding commitments have been forthcoming. The best that can be said is that it keeps the Kyoto process limping along until next year’s meetings in South Africa."

On the Green Fund
Dr Julian Oram, head of policy from the World Development Movement said:
“The establishment of a new Green Fund represents probably the only real breakthrough here in Cancun, but even on this big issues remain....

• New figures produced on eve of World Food Day reveal new wave of financial speculation on wheat and corn
• Speculation drives surge in wheat and corn prices to two-year highs

New evidence that speculation on food by hedge funds, pension funds and investment banks is fuelling the rise of bread and other basic foods has been released by anti-poverty campaigners on World Food Day, October 16, 2010.

The World Development Movement has calculated that over the summer, financial speculators in Chicago alone bought up corn futures contracts equivalent to nearly 1.7 billion bushels [1] – more than the annual consumption of Brazil, a country of some 260million people and the world’s third largest consumer of corn.

The figure for wheat over the same period was 241 million bushels [1], equivalent to seven times the amount consumed by Kenya, or half the UK’s total annual wheat harvest.

Between April and September 2010, world prices for wheat rose by over 40 per cent, while corn has risen by over 30 per cent. The campaigners say that these prices rises, which are the highest since the food crisis that gripped the world in 2008, are contributing to higher inflation in the UK for basics foodstuffs such as bread and pasta in the UK, as well causing...

Today, there are many stories about food price rises - hitting poorer people in Mexico and countries in Africa, but delivering fat profits for the likes of contraversial agribusiness, Cargill, which is the world's largest agricultural commodity trader.

In the Daily Mail, climate change is blamed, stemming from academics studing extreme weather events and the impact on food production - they recommended more investment in agriculture and weather resistant crops.

Over at the BBC, they are asking you why you think Africa is still hungry which will culminate in a phone in on World Service this afternoon, should make interesting listening.

And the FT, they highlight that Cargill has made bumper profits because corn prices are at a two year high, that tortilla riots in Mexico in 2006 were a sign of things to come, and that there is a stampede to buy corn because of a reported drop in supply.

With the exception of the...

Watch our new film, be inspired and join us in the fight for climate justice - Cleaning up the Royal Bank of Scotland

Fossil fuel fanatics, and bailed-out bank, RBS are investing our money in the most destructive project on earth; tar sands mining in Canada. They're fuelling climate change and trampling on human rights. Indigenous activists from Canada joined us in protests at the RBS 2010 AGM. 

Please share with your friends and networks!

Take action: Stop taxpayers' money funding climate change
Email the chancellor today - http://www.wdm.org.uk/tarsands

The progress towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals is being discussed at a summit in New York. The goals were set in 2000 with a target of meeting them by 2015. Ten years later, it's clear that progress in many areas is slow, espeicially for countries in sub-Saharan Africa, where over half the population continues to live in abject poverty.

Deborah Doane, director of UK based, anti-poverty campaigners, the World Development Movement explains why:
“With only five years to reach the Millennium Development Goals, leaders of rich countries need to get beyond inspirational speeches, and pledging more aid money that never arrives. Heads of State are delivering rhetoric but little else.
 

"They need to address the root causes of poverty that simply aren’t being mentioned: including an unfair trading system, unjust debt burdens and the biggest elephant in the room: climate change. If governments continue to dodge these thorny issues, then ultimately, MDG project will be doomed to failure.”
 

The World Development Movement believes that the lack of progress can be attributed to three central failures by rich countries which are neglecting people in sub-Saharan Africa in particular, but are also failing to address inequality between...

The World Development Movement believes that a key reason that food prices rises have been increasing dramatically is due to excessive speculation in commodity markets by investment banks and hedge funds and that the UN FAO should be coming out more strongly against excessive speculation.

Dr Julian Oram, who is attending the UN FAO emergency summit in Rome commented:

"There is a clear narrative emerging from the meeting of, ''crisis? what crisis?' Looking at the numbers we're not facing an imminent food shortage, such as we saw in 2007-08. What's interesting is that the current jump in grain prices seems to be driven by markets, not supply and demand. There's a strong view that we're  witnessing a speculation-induced food price spike.

"We've heard some concrete ideas at today's sessions to reign in excessive speculation on commodity markets, and it's encouraging to hear more and more governments falling in line behind these proposals."

“Food experts are telling us that global grain stocks are fine and there’s no imminent shortage. The recent price movements we’ve seen can only be explained by opportunistic speculators snapping up food derivatives contracts, in order to make a quick buck. This kind of activity benefits no one, and it’s up to the...

The World Development Movement (WDM) has said proposals to establish three new European banking regulators could help prevent food crises, as wheat price rises fuelled by financial speculation trigger bread riots in Mozambique.

WDM has been pushing for urgent action to prevent banks and hedge funds engaging in excessive speculation in food derivatives markets, which drove the 2006-2008 food price crisis [1] and is fuelling the recent wheat price spike. Wheat prices have rocketed nearly 70% since January, causing riots in Mozambique this week in which seven people have died.

Negotiators from the European Commission, European parliament and Council of Ministers yesterday agreed to establish the three watchdogs, which will include a European Securities and Markets Authority covering derivatives as well as other markets.

Deborah Doane, director of the World Development Movement said:

"The feeding frenzy on wheat derivatives is once again causing hunger and unrest in the world’s poorest countries. It is essential that we end the reckless speculation by big banks and...

WDM condemns the link between public money and Cairn’s Arctic drilling. RBS underwrote loan to oil company one month before it acquired rig for arctic drilling.

A coalition of environmental and social justice organisations in the UK are condemning the use of public money through the 83% publicly-owned RBS to provide finance for Cairn energy that may have enabled them to start controversial offshore drilling in Arctic Greenland.

See coverage on Cairn's Greenland drilling here - Quest for oil reaches Earth’s final frontier - Herald

The revelation was made during the weekend that Camp for Climate Action was taking place at the Edinburgh headquarters of RBS [1] and a few days before the Greenpeace boat, the Esperanza, was challenged by a Danish warship near the Cairn rig. [2]

Edinburgh-based oil company Cairn Energy have started drilling in the Davis Straits off the coast of Greenland, nicknamed 'Iceberg Alley and close to where the recent Petermann glacier broke away. According to research that was revealed in the Sunday Herald, [3] RBS loaned $100 million to Cairn Energy on 11 December 2009, and then on 21 December 2009 it...

India has rejected plans by UK-based Vedanta Resources to mine bauxite from indigenous lands in Orissa, India.  The ruling has been described as a 'landmark victory' for indigenous rights.

The Royal Bank of Scotland were criticized earlier this year by Amnesty International alongside WDM for providing financial services to Vedanta Resources despite a damaging human rights record in the region.

Liz Murray, Head of Scottish Campaigns said: "The Indian government is right to use its powers to stop Vedanta mining on the tribal lands of the Kutia and Dongria Kondh people. The UK government should follow suit by using its own powers to stop the UK bailed-out banks, such as RBS, from continuing to use taxpayers money to provide finance for these kinds of damaging projects. The UK government could, instead, turn RBS into a green investment bank, investing our money ethically and for sustainable development."

India’s Ministry of Environment and Forests rejected the mine project proposed by a subsidiary of UK-based Vedanta Resources and the state-owned Orissa Mining Corporation, after finding that the project already extensively violates forest and environmental laws and would...

By Tim Jones

Politicians break promises. We are told it is naïve to think otherwise. However, society can only function through the making of promises. It is how we collectively agree to work together.

In campaigning, we often have to comment and make judgements on promises rather than actions. During the general election campaign, we rated each opposition party based on what they said they would do. There was nothing else to go on.

Today we learnt that, rather than trying to be the ‘greenest government ever’ the coalition has dropped its pledge to introduce a limit on emissions from new power stations. An ‘emissions performance standard’, if set at the right level, would have prevented new dirty coal power stations from being built, such as Hunterston in Ayrshire or Kingsnorth in Kent.

The promise to introduce an emissions performance standard was made not once but over and over again by both Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. This...

Wheat prices have hit a two year high. Prices are again climbing steeply for wheat and, despite claims by some analysts in the media, there is plenty of wheat available and talk of global shortages is unfounded.

The last time prices were higher, there was a food crisis and people were going hungry across the developing world, whilst in the US and UK people were paying more for their weekly shop.

Whilst drought, fire and flooding have reduced Russia and Canada's wheat harvest respectively, there is a bumper yield in the United States and global wheat stocks are high. So if the price were based on supply and demand for wheat itself, the price would not be rocketing in the way that it has over the last month. According to Jonathan Barratt, managing director at Commodity Broking Services in Sydney “There are two things driving the market, fear and fund buying.”

Those funds are the same speculators which caused food prices to go so high in 2008, and have sent coffee and cocoa prices all over the place in recent months. Now they are once again pushing up the price of one of the world’s staple foods. It has been reported that speculators bought an unusually high number of wheat contracts in recent weeks.

Some producers of biscuits and bread have said that...

A new WDM/PLATFORM report released today finds that transforming the Royal Bank of Scotland into the Green Investment Bank would kick start the green energy revolution.  The research, by former Pricewaterhouse Coopers consultant, James Leaton, finds that it would bring 50,000 new green jobs a year, boost the UK economy, reduce the UK's carbon emissions and improve international competitiveness - whilst not increasing the budget deficit.

It has recently been reported that amidst confusion and wrangling between George Osbourne and Vince Cable, the government may scrap plans to invest public money in a Green Investment Bank. Instead the government may rely on private capital to fund green projects such as wind farms, high-speed rail and electric cars.

The report was commissioned by pressure group PLATFORM and the anti-poverty campaigners, World Development Movement, who are campaigning for RBS to end its investment in high carbon projects. They reject the premise that investment in a green economy should be scrapped due to public sector cuts.

Deborah Doane, director of the World Development Movement, said: “It would be completely irresponsible and short-sighted to scrap public investment in a low carbon economy. RBS is...

* New report: Gambling by banks like Goldman Sachs increased food prices

* UK must 'back, not block' new banking reform in Europe, say campaigners

* Over 800 people have pledged to call the FSA to demand action to stop banks gambling on food

Today banks have come under fire for risky and secretive gambling on coffee, cocoa and wheat which is playing havoc with prices.

Lovers of chocolate spread on toast with a cup of coffee in the morning face paying more for their breakfast as prices have rocketed on the international markets.

The same banks, secretive hedge funds and dangerous speculation that caused the sub-prime mortgage crisis and global financial meltdown are also causing food prices to rise massively, argues new research from anti-poverty campaigning group, the World Development Movement.

Cocoa prices have reached their highest levels for 33 years, increasing by 150 per cent over 18 months which could force some chocolate makers to raise prices and in some cases use less cocoa.

Although poor harvests acted as the initial trigger for price rises in cocoa, the finger is being pointed at hedge funds and big...

We have recently launched www.whoshouldicheerfor.com – a website that ranks the countries playing in the World Cup based on development and social justice indicators such as income inequality, maternal mortality rates and carbon emissions per capita.

This means that if you want to support a team that gives aid generously, you could choose to cheer for Denmark or the Netherlands. And if you wanted to choose a low carbon country, you could choose Cameroon or Ghana.

The site is not an overall ranking of how ‘good’ or ‘bad’ we think each country is. It is intended to be a fun and interesting way to think about the serious issues of global poverty and the inequality between the nations competing in the World Cup. 

For example, Nigeria is the poorest country in the World Cup with an income of £730 per person a year. It takes England centre-back John Terry just ten minutes to earn the same. Some of the poorest countries in the world are playing in South Africa and we think that we should cheer for them.

We have also put together a great team of bloggers from a range of organisations who will write daily during the World Cup on issues around football and social justice.

So, who will you cheer for...

David Cameron has announced today that his government will be the 'greenest government' ever. We welcome the sentiment but we are sceptical and said that ‘history will judge this government on its green credentials by its policies to cut the UK’s emissions dramatically and getting a fair international climate deal, not by turning off its lights at night.’

David Cameron has announced today that his government will be the 'greenest government' ever. We welcome the sentiment but we are sceptical and said that ‘history will judge this government on its green credentials by its policies to cut the UK’s emissions dramatically and getting a fair international climate deal, not by turning off its lights at night.’

Deborah Doane, director of the World Development Movement said:

"The Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition has brought some progress for achieving climate justice. Whilst it's welcome that central government has pledged to cut its emissions by 10 per cent, history will judge this government on its green credentials by its policies to cut the UK’s emissions dramatically and getting a fair international climate deal, not by turning off its lights at night. It doesn't take the scale of the problem seriously, any suggestion that blue and yellow means green government are premature because there are so many unanswered questions about the policies.

"The Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition has brought some campaign successes for climate justice. But it has also left a lot of unanswered questions, and media reports suggesting that blue and yellow = green government seem potentially premature."

The...

Purple protests are springing up across the country in support of demanding a fairer electoral system - and an emergency rally has been called tonight at 5pm outside the offices where the Lib Dems are corralled in deep talks. I went to the first of these on Saturday at Trafalgar Square. There were about a thousand people – and some morris dancers – who as far as I could tell were not part of the demonstration – but made a typical rally into an eclectic or eccentric English affair. The rally itself was short but we decided to make our way from Trafalgar Square, past parliament and to Smith Square where the Lib Dems were holding talks.

It was quite amazing to see people so fired up about electoral reform, perceived as so complex and little understood that it has, until now, remained the domain of a few academics and politics geeks. Chants rang out including ‘we want to see Nick’ and ‘Fair votes now’ and ‘don’t sell out’. It was incredibly positive to see that this short notice demo had attracted people of all ages and Billy Bragg, who has campaigned for years for constitutional reform.

Nick came out to a...

We met this morning with RBS executives, including Sir Philip Hampton, RBS Group Chairman, after yesterday's protests challenging RBS’ investments in controversial projects, such as tar sands.  This meeting represented a significant concession on the part of RBS who had previously resisted campaigners’ requests for high level meetings.

The campaign groups have been putting pressure on RBS to publicly commit to stop financing companies that are exacerbating climate change or developing projects without the free, prior and informed consent of indigenous communities.

“I was shocked to hear the Chairman state that RBS involvements in Tar Sands were seen to be so minute, that they hardly knew what the Tar Sands actually are. Eight billion dollars loaned to companies involved in tar sands extraction is hardly minute. Our local communities are feeling the devastating impacts of tar sands each and every day.” Said Eriel Deranger, of the Rainforest Action Network.

“We welcome RBS’ commitment to take our issues to board level discussion; however talk alone is not enough. We remain sceptical that this will lead to changes in RBS’ practises relating to lending in projects such as Tar Sands or Vedanta. The Chair explicitly denied any significant responsibility on...

Kate Blagojevic, press officer

The PR tactic of organising a meeting with your opponents days before a protest or critical report is launched is as old as the hills. But it can still be disarming.

WDM has been working with PLATFORM and People & Planet for a year on the campaign to get RBS to stop investing our money in dirty and unethical companies and projects. During that time, we have repeatedly asked for meetings with high level reps from RBS to explain why they are the target of our campaign so that they will see that we are talking sense. They have always ignored us or offered us a meeting with their head of corporate sustainability, Andrew Cave.

With no disrespect to Andrew, a meeting with the head of corporate sustainability of the bank that's got a track record of investing in the most unsustainable fossil fuel projects in the world is as useful as a chocolate teapot. We need to get in higher up, with someone who we can talk about the real issues with, rather than getting the corporate, green-washed brush off.

On Friday with just days to go before nation-wide protests, including outside the conference centre in Edinburgh, RBS has...

WDM's 2010 annual general meeting (AGM) will take place during our activist gathering in Sheffield on Saturday 19 June. Further information and booking.

AGM agenda

1. Welcome and introduction by the Chair

2. Director's report
    a) Update on WDM+10 (Strategic Framework)
    b) Plans for 2010

3. Adoption of the minutes of the 2009 AGM and matters arising not elsewhere on the agenda

4. Adoption of annual report and accounts
    a) Treasurer’s report
    b) Adoption of annual report and accounts
    c) Re-appointment of auditors

5. Election of Council members and Area Representatives.

6. Close by Chair

Accounts and annual review

The audited accounts for 2009 and WDM's annual review are available online. The minutes of the 2009 AGM will be available on the day.
 

On March 25, campaigners calling for the European Union to introduce a financial transaction tax staged a symbolic tug of war between Robin Hood and his merry men (and women) and selfish bankers outside the European parliament.

The stunt took place as European heads of state gathered for the spring summit. The campaign, supported by WDM, is calling for the European Union to introduce a financial transaction tax - also known as a 'Robin Hood Tax”. The Robin Hood Tax is a tiny tax on financial market transactions, which, at very low rates of 0.05% or less, could raise hundreds of billions of pounds annually for domestic and international projects and would cost governments and ordinary citizens nothing. At the same time, it would help reduce the high-speculative transactions that were partly to blame for the current crisis.

Over the past weeks, innovative sources of finance, including the financial transaction tax, have gained support at all levels of EU institutions. This includes the European Parliament, which just passed a resolution supporting the tax.

The event was coordinated by a broad coalition of environmental, social, health, faith and trade-based citizens' organizations. It's now up to Heads of State to decide which way the tug-of-war will go -...

Environmental and anti-poverty groups in the UK have reacted angrily to the Royal Bank of Scotland opening an 'oil and gas advisory' office in Calgary. RBS, which is 84% owned by the UK public, has been the subject of controversy in the UK over its record of being the UK bank most heavily involved in financing fossil fuel projects and companies around the world

There has recently been an Environmental Audit Committee hearing where the company created by the government to oversee the bailed out banks, UK Financial Investments, were vigorously questioned. MPs in the hearing demanded to know  whether or not RBS had been using public money to finance tar sands in Canada.

Speaking after the hearing, Martin Horwood, MP for Cheltenham and Environmental Audit Committee member, said: "The Government must stop RBS using our money to drive the most damaging projects on earth. RBS is using taxpayer's money to finance projects and companies that are driving climate change all over the world. These projects include tar sands extraction in Canada that is trampling on the rights of indigenous communities and destroying pristine wilderness."

The hearing took place on the same day that questions were being asked in Parliament, RBS announced it was opening an office in...

Euro-MPs yesterday voted overwhelmingly in favour of an EU "Robin Hood tax" on banks to help fund low-carbon development programmes for poor countries.

Last month the campaign for a global tax on banks' financial transactions was launched as a way of raising money to fight poverty, tackle climate change and boost public services. The Robin Hood tax is a way to re-balance the books after the economic damage wreaked by financial excesses.

The tax would be levied on every financial transaction between financial institutions, not on transactions conducted by individuals. The tax could raise billions to plough into combating poverty and tackling climate change at home and around the world.

A resolution approved by 536-80 votes said a 'Financial Transaction Tax' could be used for "innovative financing" for tackling climate change or vital development projects. It backed a worldwide tax but asked the European Commission to look into how to implement such a tax at EU level if a global agreement cannot be reached.

The endorsement from the European Parliament is a step in the right direction in making the banks and hedge funds pay for the crisis, slow down predatory speculation and provide the funding needed to tackle climate change. Keep checking our website or...

Update from WDM ally Jubilee Debt Campaign:

Jubilee Debt Campaign has welcomed the successful passage of the Debt Relief (Developing Countries) Bill at its second reading in Parliament today, but the charity has expressed disappointment that the Conservative Party prevented the bill from taking a further step towards becoming law, by insisting it goes through full committee stage.

All parties expressed support for the second reading of the bill, proposed by Andrew Gwynne MP and introduced by Sally Keeble MP this morning, which would effectively prevent vulture funds making huge profits out of the poorest countries in the world.

But while Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs expressed unequivocal support, Conservative Treasury spokesman David Gauke admitted to outstanding concerns and said his party would not support the measure being rushed through the House. Campaigners fear this may mean the bill does not become law before the General Election. On being pushed by Liberal Democrat MP Andrew Stunell, Mr Gauke failed to give a commitment to tackling the issue should the Conservative Party form a government.

Nick Dearden, Director of Jubilee Debt Campaign said:
“We are delighted that the vultures bill attracted cross-party support, and we understand...

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. These call on the oil giants to report on the investment risks associated with tar sands and their plans to address them.

Exploitation of tar sands by companies, which are in some cases financed by the UK taxpayer, due to our ownership of the Royal Bank of Scotland, is likely to cause a stir this week with a new report from PLATFORM investigating the role of RBS and other UK banks in tar sands extraction.

Tar sands are among some of the world's dirtiest fuels to produce. Their extraction is having a hugely detrimental impact on the lives and human rights of indigenous communities in Canada. And their extraction produces on average three times the greenhouse gases of conventional oil, which means their contribution to climate injustice is particularly high. Climate change is already hitting the...

Last November's £25 billion cash injection deemed 'unlawful' by WDM and the Treasury's intervention in bankers' bonuses strengthens our case.

WDM, together with PLATFORM and People and Planet today served the Treasury with an application to the High Court, challenging last November's decision to provide a further £25 billion of public money to the Royal Bank of Scotland.

According to the Treasury's guidance, when determining if and how public money is spent, an assessment of the likely impact the proposed spending will have on human rights and the environment has to be completed before the money can be provided. We believe that no proper assessment was undertaken and that the Treasury has failed to adequately calculate the negative impact of allowing RBS to invest taxpayers' money into harmful projects.

Rosa Curling from our solicitors Leigh Day & Co Solicitors commented: “The assessment completed by the Treasury fails completely to comply with the mandatory requirements of its own guidance and its failure to apply a consistent policy by insisting on control over the payment of bonuses but not over the lending to climate change and human rights damaging projects is unlawful.”

Legal action last year

We also took the...

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...

After Tuesday’s earthquake, which has left up to 50,000 people dead, WDM has joined the Jubilee Debt Campaign in calling for an urgent cancellation of all of Haiti's remaining debt.

"The poverty that already exists in Haiti will be even more devastating as a result of this emergency and it clearly requires high levels of aid to combat it. This should also come with wholesale debt cancellation and the need to need to ensure that aid is given in the form of genuine grants as opposed to traditional IMF-backed loans, which would undoubtedly worsen an already dire situation", said Julian Oram, Head of Policy at WDM.

We welcome the cancellation of two thirds ($1.2 billion) of Haiti’s debt in 2009, but condemn the fact that the country still has $641 million in debt on its books and in 2010 is projected to pay around $10million to International Financial Institutions.

We also think that the International Monetary Fund’s proposed offer of $100 million in new lending to Haiti is completely inappropriate. Even though lent at very concessional rates of interest, the proposal contradicts the IMF’s own policy recommendations that Haiti should not borrow more money because, even after debt cancellation, its potential for debt distress remains high.
...

At the end of last year our unprecedented legal action against the Treasury was rejected by the High Court and we have now lodged an appeal against the decision taken, requesting that the Court of Appeal overturn it.

The Treasury’s decision not to take steps to ensure public money, via the Royal Bank of Scotland, is not invested in companies and/or projects which are harmful to the environment and human rights is unlawful, immoral and undemocratic.

Our appeal concerns two legal points in particular. Firstly, whether the Treasury’s decision that RBS should only act in the “commercial interest” of the company is lawful? The Treasury has stated that it would be unlawful for it to require RBS to consider the impact of their potential investments on climate change and human rights. They also state to prevent RBS from investing in, for example fossil fuel companies, would be a “handicap” and a “burden” to it. Neither is correct.

Indeed, according to our lawyers, it is unlawful for directors of a company not to take the impact of their business on the environment and the community into account. (If you’re into the law in a big way, we’re talking about Section 172 of the Companies Act 2006.)

And the recent report we commissioned along with People and...

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...

World Development Movement response to Prime Minister speech

Commenting on the speech by Prime Minister Gordon Brown at COP15, World Development Movement Policy Officer Tim Jones said:

“Gordon Brown was strong on rhetoric but weak on substance. The Prime Minister called for the strongest level of ambition, yet did not increase the UK’s current feeble target for reducing its own emissions. A call for money was made, but the Prime Minister failed to say the UK is giving just £500 million a year, much of which was first announced in 2007. Almost all of this is loans, further increasing the unjust debts of developing countries.

“Talks in Copenhagen are stalled because rich countries are failing to make serious commitments to reduce emissions. Offers of money are small amounts to try and secure an unjust deal, rather than the real reparations needed for countries affected by climate change. The Prime Minister failed to play his part in unblocking these talks.”

ENDS

Tim Jones is inside the Bella Centre and can be contacted on +44 7817 6281962

In Copenhagen on Wednesday thousands of protestors marched to the Bella Centre where the climate change negotiations are taking place. At the same time, hundreds of delegates walked out to meet them to create a 'People's Assembly' to discuss positive solutions to climate change. The protestors were met with violence from the Danish police.

World Development Movement policy officer Tim Jones commented from within the Bella Centre:

“Today thousands of people sought to create a people’s assembly to get voices heard offering real solutions to the climate crisis. The people’s assembly was stopped by police who committed unprovoked violence on both protestors and official delegates to the UN negotiations. This is a moment in history where the right to protest is of vital importance. The threat that we are facing from climate change is overwhelming.”
 
At the same time as the protests, the Danish government was seeking to push an unjust and ineffective agreement on developing countries, outside of the transparent process. The reintroduction of a so-called ‘Danish text’ would override all the official negotiations, kill the Kyoto protocol and release rich countries from their...

We need people to act fast for real results to get a deal with justice at its heart. Already the climate talks have a distinct stench of scandal over the draft documents known as the Danish text, leaked to the Guardian and showing rich countries abandoning any principle of climate justice.

The document was described last night by one senior diplomat as "a very dangerous document for developing countries”. In particular, the text is understood to:
• Force developing countries to agree to specific emission cuts and measures that were not part of the original UN agreement;
• Divide poor countries further by creating a new category of developing countries called "the most vulnerable";
• Weaken the UN's role in handling climate finance, whilst strengthening the role of the World Bank;
• Not allow poor countries to emit more than 1.44 tonnes of carbon per person by 2050, while allowing rich countries to emit 2.67 tonnes;
• Make money to help countries adapt to climate change conditional on them reducing emissions.
 

This is outrageous and cannot be allowed to happen. We need you to make a noise now.
1) Email Gordon Brown calling on him to distance...

A year ago, the British public became the majority shareholder in the Royal Bank of Scotland and to make this inauspicious anniversary, this weekend 40 leading figures including environmental and anti poverty campaigners, faith groups, trade unions, academia, MPs and the author Iain Banks have written to Alistair Darling to call on him to transform RBS into a Royal Bank of Sustainability.

The group have asked the Treasury to ensure that it and other publicly-backed banks help pay for Britain's transition from a high-carbon economy with rising unemployment to a low carbon-society that provides millions of green jobs and better public services.

In the strongly worded letter, the group accused the Treasury of failing to stop taxpayers' money being used by RBS to finance climate change and human rights abuses that spans the globe from Wales to India to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The World Development Movement, People & Planet and PLATFORM have commissioned a report that sets out the business case for transforming the bank into the Royal Bank of Sustainability. The report argues that UKFI, the company set up to manage the government's shares in the bailed-out banks, should take an 'active...

In response to Ed Miliband's energy statement to parliament today, the World Development Movement reacted with disappointment and argued that the UK's credibility at Copenhagen has been 'shattered'.

Deborah Doane, director of the World Development Movement said:
"Ed Miliband today has shattered the UK's credibility at the Copenhagen summit by going ahead with disastrous plans for new coal. His decision to allow two new dirty coal power stations to be built will see increasing emissions long into the future. He has acknowledged that carbon capture technology may not work, but nonetheless hasn't introduced a safety net to protect the climate if this unproven technology fails.

"Furthermore, he's done nothing to shut down old coal plants which can continue to pollute for decades to come. This policy flies in the face of recommendations from the government's own climate advisors.

"This will continue to increase our climate debt to the world's poorest people. And in turn, this will lock in greater inequality and injustice faced by people, like those in the Philippines or El Salvador who are currently suffering from climate-change related weather disasters, such as flooding and typhoons."

The UK government comes under fire today in a new report which reveals that the current climate finance proposals, likely to dominate the weekend’s G20 talks, are likely to increase third world debt, and will be 'grossly inadequate' to tackle the scale of the problem.

The report by anti-poverty groups the World Development Movement and Jubilee Debt Campaign calculates that the UK alone owes a 'climate debt' to developing countries of over £17 billion each year for its contribution to climate change – an amount that is significantly more than that pledged so far.

They issued a stark warning that the issue of climate debt will be a 'Copenhagen deal-breaker' for developing countries, and the hope of getting a fair deal hangs in the balance.

The report, 'The Climate Debt Crisis', heavily criticises the UK's current policy of channelling its 'climate aid' through the World Bank, and of promoting the World Bank as the main hub of climate finance. It condemns the World Bank for distributing climate finance as loans, not aid, and for allowing finance to be used for new coal power stations, not low carbon energy investment. The campaigners are...

On Tuesday an unprecedented legal battle took place in the High Court over the Treasury's failure to stop the publicly owned Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) investing in what campaigners describe as 'some of the most environmentally damaging and socially irresponsible projects and companies around.'

Update:

High Court decision: Treasury can ignore climate change and human rights in RBS' investments

Today's oral hearing will determine whether their claim can proceed to a full substantive hearing, likely to take place early next year. The Treasury has hired one of its top barristers, James Eadie QC, to handle the case.

This is a classic David and Goliath battle. But we believe we have a strong case. The Treasury's decision to allow RBS to continue to invest in companies that exacerbate climate change and are linked to human rights abuses is unlawful, immoral and undemocratic. Hopefully, this case will be a pivotal point in ending RBS' destructive lending habits that go against the...

Late last night, EON confirmed that they had shelved plans for the controversial Kingsnorth coal plant in Kent. The news of the victory spread like wild fire, and the 'Stop Kingsnorth' campaigners received it via text at a coal debate in Rochester, hosted jointly by the World Development Movement and the local campaigning group, KingsnorthClimate Action Medway, who have been working closely for nearly two years.

The official line from E.ON was that the delay is as a result of the recession. But we have been arguing all along that we just don't need new coal power stations in the UK. The recession excuse aside, meeting renewable energy and energy efficiency targets must mean that the 'the lights will go off' rhetoric from E.ON and the government has always been nothing more than a public relations exercise to sell coal power to the public.

We have been campaigning to Stop Kingsnorth because the new power station would have emitted more CO2 than Tanzania, and could have caused 20,000 people to become homeless and meant that 100, 000 more people lost their dry water season supply...