"WDM's Miriam Ross told Deutsche Welle that most of the aid from Britain
has been earmarked for Ethiopia and South Africa. "Those are two of the
countries which are most closely aligned in their negotiation with
Britain," she said. "So that sends a clear message that climate finance
from the UK is there for those that toe the line."
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15573638,00.html?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf
Corruption | 02.12.2011Developing nations cry foul over alleged bribery at
climate talks
As the climate talks in Durban continue, Western countries have been warned
against reverting to 'bullying' tactics to forward their own agendas.
A new report by the World Development Movement (WDM), makes serious
allegations relating to the climate talks in Copenhagen and Cancun.
Developing countries have described pressure tactics used on the sidelines
as 'deceitful' and 'unfair'.
Representatives from many of the world's poorest nations claim that they
were harassed by officials from Britain and the United States, and
pressured to sign agreements that were against their interests. Many of the
negotiators who gave information to the report's authors have done so
anonymously.
Attempts to kill Kyoto
The report, tited 'The End Game in Durban?' says key points from the
Copenhagen Accord were decided in secret meetings which many developing
countries were excluded from.
Delegates from almost 200 countres are participating in the talksIn an
interview with Deutsche Welle, Miriam Ross, a campaigner with the WDM, said
those talks were steered away from the binding emissions targets of the
Kyoto Protocol towards a new system of voluntary pledges. "Western
countries abandoned the multilateral UN process," she said.
Ross accused leading industrial nations of using bullying tactics. "By
making finance dependent on their political acquiescence, developing
countries were forced to accept a deal that goes against what they intended
to negotiate for."
Developing nations claim they were effectively bribed into signing the
agreements in Copenhagen as Western funding, which would make it possible
for them to tackle climate change, was available on condition of their
compliance.
Talks Doomed
But some analysts think poorer nations were naive and had unreasonable
expectations.
"It was never a process where developing countries were involved in the
most immediate negotiations," said Matthew Sinclair, author of the book
'Let Them Eat Carbon'. "This was always going to be the case."
Climate change its taking its toll in places like the Sahel region of
AfricaSinclair supports those calling for a decentralized climate policy.
"It's one of the reasons why having policy which relies upon these grand
international agreements are doomed because you're never going to get
agreements where the smallest nations are able to make sovereign
decisions," he said.
Negotiators for developing nations told the report's authors that a
combination of tactics were used to confuse and coerce delegates. At one
stage, said one representative at the Copenhagen conference, there were 26
meetings taking place simultaneously. Another claimed that negotiators who
dared to speak up were later demoted or fired, as a result of external
pressures.
Britain promises aid
Just ahead of the opening of the Durban conference, the British government
revealed details of a £1 billion (1.16 billion euros) aid program to help
African nations deal with climate change. Campaigners said the timing was a
cynical attempt to make it clear that countries that fail to support
Britain's position in the negotiations had something to lose.
WDM's Miriam Ross told Deutsche Welle that most of the aid from Britain has
been earmarked for Ethiopia and South Africa. "Those are two of the
countries which are most closely aligned in their negotiation with
Britain," she said. "So that sends a clear message that climate finance
from the UK is there for those that toe the line."
Protests continue outside the UN climate change talks in DurbanBritain's
Department of Energy and Climate Change denied that developing countries
were "being forced to do anything".
In a statement, the government office said, "The UK's international climate
finance is in response to requests for assistance to adjust to the impacts
of climate change and to move to low carbon development paths".
When asked to comment on the report in an interview with Deutsche Welle,
British officials declined.
Undo the damage
The World Development Movement has urged Western countries to stop trying
to wriggle out of their commitments on emissions targets and put things
right in Durban.
"No more secret backroom deals," said Ross. "No more attempts to play
developing countries off against each other. And the transfer of finance
from developed to developing countries should be routed through the UN,
rather than being used, as it has for the last two years, as a tool for
governments to get what they want."
Many delegates at the talks in Durban have said that they don't expect
Durban to result in any major changes. Nevertheless, the conference is
considered an important step in securing a legally binding agreement to
keep global temperature rises below 2 degrees Celsius.
Author: Nik Martin
Editor: Saroja Coelho
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Received on Fri Dec 02 2011 - 10:24:57 EST