The front page of today’s Guardian offers cold comfort for people in the developing countries worst affected by climate change. The UK wants to help them, but only if they get a little something in return. That’s right, the UK treasury only wants to offer climate adaptation funds in the form of conditional loans, fully repayable with interest and administered by the World Bank.
When the Environmental Transformation Fund (ETF) and its £800 million pot for developing country adaptation was being discussed and promoted at the climate change talks in Bali last December, it was clear that the UK was using it as a major tool in the negotiations to highlight the government’s commitment to (and moral authority on) climate change. But the intention to disburse the fund in the form of loans (although it will, of course, still be earmarked as aid) belies the government’s good intentions. Additionally, the Guardian article confirms rumors which have been circulating for some time that the UK government is trying to get other G8 governments to also donate in the form of concessionary loans, ahead of a media push when the international adaptation funds are announced at the G8 meeting in Japan in July. However, other G8 countries, including the US, prefer to offer adaptation funding in the form of loans. Furthermore, the World Bank, the UK’s loan distributor of choice, is well known for its enthusiastic funding of fossil fuel projects in the development world, and its refusal to cease this form of lending when its own independent review told it to do so.
“It should be grants and not loans, otherwise developing countries will have to pay twice, once for the emissions that caused the problems and then again to clean up the mess,” said Tom Sharman, a policy adviser with ActionAid in London. And therein lies the rub: although the UK, the progenitor of the industrial revolution, is fully culpable in creating the current climate crisis, they refuse to redress the balance. Countries like Bangladesh, where 20 million people are under the threat of displacement from rising seas, will be expected to repay all their ETF adaptation assistance at market rates. It’s yet to be seen how a relatively poor country like Bangladesh could ever come up with the money, let alone island nations like Vanautu or Kiribati who may be entirely flooded by rising seas.
Adding insult to injury, this weekend sees UK debt campaigners celebrating the 10th anniversary of the human chain during the G8 meeting in Birmingham. A landmark moment in the global Jubilee Debt Campaign, the 70,000 strong human chain pushed debt onto the G8 agenda and led to widespread forgiveness of unpayable developing-country debt. The movement is so strong in the UK that Gordon Brown himself is expected to deliver a videotaped address at tomorrow’s rally in Birmingham. He is not expected to explain his ministers’ new plan to increase the indebtedness of countries who can least afford to pay it back. After all, climate change isn’t just a global catastrophe. It’s a business proposition.
Subscribe by Email!
Subscribe by RSS!
Share on Facebook
Hi erinamelia,
That’s completely fucked. Do you know which Minister in the UK would be the best to contact about this?
As an aside, Australia is doing very little to either mitigate or help the majority world adapt to climate change, even though we are the #1 coal exporter and my city is home to the world’s biggest coal export port. Our last budget included $140 million for “clean” coal, $0 for renewables, and $20 billion over a few years to expand our coal export ports, industrial rail and to build roads.
So Australia has no high horse to preach from, but as a human creature I still want to write to the people who are trying to govern the country you live in. I hope some mad activism comes out of this. Maybe we could lend politicians their salaries, or better still, lend them our fines and taxes.
My dear Erin,
thanks for blogging on this. I have been following this topic for a few months, and it’s worst that it sounds. The hypocrisy has reached unprecedented levels, particularly from the UK, Japan, and the US. The idea for the fund was originally conceived by Japan, so that they can have something to show at the G8. the UK jumped on board, and the US… well, its the US… Unfortunately, other donor countries have accepted the imposition of the ETF, and although are not happy about, have agreed to the ball roll. Moving the UK, US, and Japan might seem impossible, and moving the World Bank is difficult as well, but at least other progressive countries should speak up. Consultations have been held all over the world, and the opinion of NGOs, CBOs, and other members of civil society has been against these funds, but the creation of the fund goes on BAU. Unfortunately, when it comes to “consultation”, the World Bank concept so far is to have a talk show where they allow civil society to vent and then respond to their questions stating that they will do something about it and with great politeness that the creation of the ETS will carry on.
The creation of the Fund is wrong from all perspectives. It even goes against the creation of the World Bank bastard child, the Global Environmental Facility that is supposed “to do the work” when it comes to climate change in developing countries.
I wish i could expand more, but internet is limited. My regards from Mozambique to you.
Thanks for your support, Jonathan. For the UK I’d recommend writing to the following people:
Gordon Brown, Prime Minister
http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page821.asp
Alastair Darling MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer (it’s his department that made the decision)
darlinga@parliament.uk
Hilary Benn MP, Head of Defra/Environment Minister
bennh@parliament.uk
Douglas Alexander MP, Head of Dfid/Int’l Development Minister
ALEXANDERD@parliament.uk
It’s also very much worth contacting the international development minister in Australia (and possibly the treasury?) to make sure that their adaptation assistance is in the form of grants, not loans. It’s going to be quite a big agenda item at the G8.
Juan, I’d love to have more of a conversation with you about this as it’s an issue I’ve had my eye on for some time. I’ll drop you a line when I’ve got a bit more time.