World Development Movement - News

Press office & press releases

Admin — Tue, 11 Jun 2019 10:31:57 +0000

The WDM press office deals with all media enquiries.

Contact the WDM press office

Kate Blagojevic
Press officer, World Development Movement
0207 820 4900/4913, 07711 875 345 Email:kate.blagojevic@wdm.org.uk

You can subscribe to WDM's press release RSS feed which contains just our press releases, or our general news feed which contains all the news and comment pieces from the website.

We also have news feeds of content organised by campaign: Climate justice, Trade, and the Financial crisis.

Ed Miliband's energy policy leaves UK's credibility at Copenhagen in tatters

Kate — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:11:10 +0000

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."

How rich countries killed Kyoto and Copenhagen in Barcelona

Kate — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:16:23 +0000

The World Development Movement condemns rich countries at the Barcelona climate negotiations that ended today for ‘killing Kyoto and Copenhagen’.

The anti-poverty campaigners believe that rich countries are talking down the possibility of legally binding deal at Copenhagen, and at the same time are refusing to make the emissions cuts already agreed as part of the Kyoto protocol. They say that rich countries are taking the uncertainty over the Copenhagen deal as a cynical opportunity to abolish the Kyoto protocol.

Tim Jones, climate policy officer at the World Development Movement said: “The fact that rich countries are trying to wriggle out of their emissions reductions targets under the Kyoto agreement and have essentially quashed any hope for a legally binding and fair deal at Copenhagen is absolutely disgraceful.

"It looks as though they are trying to kill Kyoto and Copenhagen deals. Developing countries are absolutely right to be incredibly angry. Developed countries that have caused climate change are trying to push the burden of tackling and coping with it onto poorer countries. This is unbelievably immoral.

“The extent of the rich world’s climate debt to developing nations is staggering. And if rich countries continue to ignore and actively side-line the issue of climate debt, they will be to blame for condemning the poorest people in the world to unknown suffering caused by climate change that they did not cause.”

UK owes developing world £17 billion annual ‘climate compensation'

Kate — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:42:39 +0000

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 calling for the finance to be in the form of grants not loans, and to be disbursed through the UN.

They argue the rich world has caused climate change and must compensate poor countries which will be hit hardest. And that the finance is needed to help developing countries cope with the effects of climate change and to invest in low carbon development.

The campaigners also point to the World Bank's history of forcing developing countries to adopt economic policies that have increased poverty and carbon emissions, such as fossil fuel extraction, deforestation and intensive food production for export and which they say does not look set to change.

Tim Jones, author of 'The Climate Debt Crisis' at the World Development Movement said:'It's incredibly alarming that cash the government claims will help developing countries cope with climate change will actually increase their unfair debts. This is a huge injustice because we owe a much bigger debt to compensate developing countries for climate change. The UK government needs to realise that the issue of climate debt will be a Copenhagen-deal breaker. If rich countries refuse to recognise it, deeply rooted inequality and injustice will be locked in for decades to come. And that cannot be allowed to happen.'

Nick Dearden, director of the Jubilee Debt Campaign said: 'It’s profoundly unjust to saddle poor countries with decades of debt to clear up a mess created by the rich. What’s more, to put the World Bank in charge of this lending – the institution behind 30 years of dirty development – is like putting a shark in charge of a swimming pool. This isn't just another international meeting where the rich can bully the poor to sign up to a bad deal. Developing countries will not sacrifice their development to bail out the rich world's carbon binge. This is why Gordon Brown's climate plan is grossly inadequate. If the Copenhagen talks are headed for failure, as seems increasingly likely, it is because rich countries are refusing to pay their climate debt.'

Ricardo Navarro, a climate change campaigner from Central America said: 'If you look at the history of the World Bank, you will see that they have been at the centre of many problems in Central America. The UK should not give this World Bank fund a pound, I would rather that the UK government bought flowers for every household in the UK than spend this money on a World Bank coal fund.'

The campaigners are also warning strongly against the proposal to use the carbon market to raise climate finance for developing countries and instead are calling for the rich world's climate debt to be paid through innovative measures, including taxes on international transport and large financial transactions, as well as stronger measures to prevent tax evasion.

The World Development Movement's Tim Jones continued: 'Carbon trading is heavily touted by rich countries as a silver bullet that cuts emissions and delivers climate finance to the developing world. But it's not a solution; it's a stitch-up. The carbon market allows the rich to continue to pollute, and place the burden on poor countries to clean up our mess. This is a massive threat to poorer nations, which we and campaigners from developing countries will strongly resist at Copenhagen.'

Copenhagen climate summit

Admin — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:02:36 +0000

This December 7-18 negotiations will take place in Copenhagen in an attempt to reach an international agreement to tackle climate change.

The World Development Movement, along with social movements and governments from the global south, has been calling for the UK and the rest of the rich world to repay its ‘climate debt’ at Copenhagen – the money the rich world owes to the world’s poorest people for causing climate change.

The World Development Movement will be in Copenhagen for the duration of the summit keeping an eye on the negotiations and taking part in events outside the conference centre. We’ll be blogging on this website to keep you updated.

On the 5th December we’ll also be at The Wave in London and Glasgow where tens of thousands of people will demonstrate their support for a safe climate future for all.

Repaying our climate debt at Copenhagen

The UK has grown rich on the back of burning fossil fuels, which has driven us to the point of climate catastrophe. The global south should not have to pay the price of a crisis it didn’t create.

However, rather than acknowledging this massive debt to the global south, rich countries and corporations are seeking to use the negotiations to promote their own financial benefit and political power.

Against the wishes of the global south the UK government, along with other rich countries, is insisting that climate finance be channelled through the World Bank, an institution controlled by rich countries and well known for its support of fossil fuels. This finance would be delivered as loans rather than grants pushing the global south into further unjust financial debt. Rich countries are also insisting that offsetting, which often fails to actually cut emissions, should count towards their debt. World Bank and corporate lobbyists will be attending the negotiations in order to push these ‘solutions’ which benefit the rich. For more on this campaign click here

Copenhagen: the line up

Here are some of the events and actions going on during the week. Exact times will be confirmed in the near future. If you are going to Copenhagen during the summit we can send you a detailed pack of information about the city and events during the week. Get in touch with us at camp...@wdm.org.uk for more information.

Global day of action 12th December

Here’s what will be happening in Copenhagen on the 12th:

Morning: Christian Aid pledges are handed over by Desmond Tutu.

Later: The Flood – people will ‘flood’ through the streets of Copenhagen to call for climate justice.

Afternoon: March to the conference centre as part of world-wide synchronised demonstrations to call for action on climate change

Klimaforum

From the 7-18 December the Klimaforum in Copenhagen will provide a space for people from across the world to discuss and develop ideas on how to create a socially just and sustainable future.

The programme includes workshops, debates, exhibitions and cultural events looking at climate change from a global perspective. You can find out more and see the draft programme here

If you are interested in coming to Copenhagen please contact camp...@wdm.org.uk for more information.

Scotland News

Admin — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:39:32 +0000

This page features news from WDM Scotland only - for news from WDM UK visit the main news page.

For press inquiries please contact the press office.

We have RSS feeds for all our news, or listed by category.

You can also follow us on twitter for reactions and news about events as they happen.

The most recent news items are below, you can also view a complete list of all our news.

For older items visit the archive of the old WDM website.

WDM takes the Treasury to court over RBS

Admin — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:25:33 +0000

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 interests of UK taxpayers, the climate and people whose human rights are being violated.

Updates will be posted on twitter as soon as we know the outcome

Read the full press release

Take action:

Sign our joint petition with People & Planet, PLATFORM and 38 Degrees to ask Alistair Dalring to clean up the bailed-out banks

Campaign success in Scotland as the case for new coal continues to crumble

Admin — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 13:56:44 +0000

World Development Movement Scotland greeted with delight the news that Danish energy giant Dong Energy has dropped plans to develop a new coal fired power station at Hunterston in Ayrshire, citing financial difficulties and a strategic change of direction towards lower carbon investments.

The remaining investor Peel Holdings appear to want to continue with the project but need a partner who knows something about coal and energy ... and most of those are backing off coal at a rate of knots!

WDM has been campaigning against coal for the last two years. Only last week we welcomed the news that energy giant EON had shelved plans to build a new coal plant at Kingsnorth. Coal is the most polluting way to generate electricity. Globally, it’s a huge contributor to climate change, the effects of which are being felt most acutely by the world’s poorest people.

It’s clearer now more than ever that dirty coal is a risky investment. Energy companies are finding it impossible to justify such climate-trashing developments. Banks that continue to invest heavily in coal – such as Scotland’s RBS – should also beware the writing on the wall, and switch their investments to support renewable energy instead.

WDM will continue to put pressure on investors in coal. Later this month we’ll be taking our campaign to the High Court as we challenge the UK government's decision to ignore environmental and human rights considerations in the Royal Bank of Scotland bail out, by allowing RBS to continue investing our money in climate-trashing projects.

So perhaps we will have more good news to report…

Campaign success: EON shelves plans for dirty coal at Kingsnorth

Admin — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 22:14:41 +0000

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. This news is a massive victory for those people. And it has come about through a massive alliance of diverse campaigns from WDM, Greenpeace, the Women's Institute, grassroots movements, like the Camp for Climate Action and campaigners from Kent and the global south. It is evidence that the pressure brought by these varied groups and the different tactics employed has made a huge impact that has stopped Kingsnorth.

It's not yet clear what the government's official reaction to this news will be, but UK's already massive and growing climate debt to the global south means that the UK must radically reduce its carbon emissions now. So the UK government must rule out new coal in the UK straight away, ahead of crucial international talks at Copenhagen. We can’t rely on energy companies to do it because of concern about profits in the recession. This is about people not profits.

Coal vigil met by Ed Miliband

Admin — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 10:51:24 +0000

After months of fantastic coal campaigning as part of the Big If campaign, World Development Movement activists joined other organisations in a vigil outside the Department for Energy and Climate Change to mark the end of the government’s consultation on coal, which closed on 9 September.

Ed Miliband was enticed out of his office by the sound of classic anthems as diverse as the Beatles (Let coal be) and Pink Floyd (All in all it's just more CO2 in the air) that had been transformed into coal songs by the ‘disciples of justice’! The crowd stood beneath giant COAL KILLS letters, alongside pictures people had chosen of the things that would be at risk if Kingsnorth went ahead.

Ed Miliband confronted the crowd, who quizzed him on his coal policies. Ed was clearly impressed by the depth of people’s knowledge on the issue.

A huge thanks to all the hundred of supporters who made submissions to the coal consultation. We will keep you updated on upcoming announcements on the UK’s coal policy.

See the coal songs in the songbook below and watch a video of the protesters on YouTube.

Downloads

Coal Vigil songbook

coalvigilsongs01102009.pdf 43.12 KB