Good news on climate loans

Dear supporter,

Climate loans success!

After months of pressure from campaigners like you, the UK government has finally announced it will grant £10 million to the UN Adaptation Fund, the fairest international climate change fund.

Our campaigning alongside the World Development Movement over the last two years has put a huge amount of pressure on the UK government to do this.

From the £1 coins many of us sent to Andrew Mitchell which he refused to pass on to the UN, to the thousands of postcards and emails we've sent to the International Development and Climate Change departments, every action taken has helped make these issues that the UK government could not ignore.

See a slideshow of some of the highlights of the campaign >>

The government has also announced that it will give most of its climate adaptation funds as grants instead of loans to enable developing countries to deal with the impacts of climate change. This is a big change from its previous policy and will help prevent further unjust debt in the name of climate change.

But there is still a way to go. The majority of the UK’s allocated funds will still go through the World Bank’s adaptation fund. And the UK will continue to give funds helping developing countries transition to low carbon technology as loans.

So, whilst not perfect, there has been considerable movement. Thank you all for your support and energy and let’s hope our continued pressure means the government’s approach shifts further in 2012.

IRISH CAMPAIGNERS SAY 'NOT OUR DEBT'

Earlier this week I dressed up as a zombie outside the Irish embassy in London to show my support for debt justice.

For someone more used to campaigning against the debts of countries like Zimbabwe, Egypt, Ecuador and Zambia, it was an unusual experience. But Ireland's financial crisis has much in common with countries across the developing world.

The country has been brought to its knees by an enormous debt, which originated not with excessive public spending, but a footloose financial sector that gambled with the future of the country. Without so much as a vote, Ireland's people found themselves on the hook for tens of billions of euros of reckless investments.

Anglo Irish Bank is the most extreme case. It is known as a 'zombie bank' because it has ceased to exist - except for the repayment of debts taken on by the Irish government when it nationalised the bank in 2009. Payments from the Irish government could reach over €47 billion by 2031.

People in Ireland feel they have joined millions of people worldwide repaying unjust and illegitimate debts. That's why our sister organisation, Debt and Development Coalition Ireland, has joined the new Debt Justice Action coalition calling for the Irish government to halt repayments and renegotiate.

And when we expressed support for them outside the Irish embassy this week, it made the front page of the Metro newspaper in Ireland.

Read my article for the Guardian explaining why we're supporting the Irish group's campaign >>

A GLOBAL ECONOMY FOR THE 99%

Over the last few months the Occupy movement has helped take the issues of inequality and a people-first economy to a new level. Even the Financial Times has produced a special section 'Capitalism in Crisis' with a focus on inequality and global finance.

Our national conference in Manchester on Saturday 17 March – organised jointly with the World Development Movement – aims to contribute to this shift. It will bring together activists from the UK, Europe and beyond to share ideas, stories and tactics for strengthening the global economic justice movement.

Sessions at this FREE event range from resisting unjust debts in Egypt, Ireland and Zimbabwe, to alternative ways of building a fairer economy, globally and locally. Speakers include:

• Dinah Makram Ebeid, Popular Campaign to Drop Egypt’s Debt
• Nessa Ní Chasaide, Debt and Development Coalition, Ireland
• Nick Dearden, Jubilee Debt Campaign
• Sarah Bracking, author of Money and Power
• Hilary Wainwright, Transnational Institute
• Sargon Nissan, former city trader turned activist
• John Christensen, Tax Justice Network
• Almudena Serpis, Spanish indignados movement

We hope you can join us for what promises to be an exciting event in Manchester:

Register now >>

Invite your friends on Facebook >>

If you'd like copies of the A5 flyers or A4 posters for this event, please email with your postal address.

Thank you for all your support.

Til next time,

Nick Dearden
Director

Contact details

Jubilee Debt Campaign
The Grayston Centre
28 Charles Square
London
N1 6HT
United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0)20 7324 4722
Fax: +44 (0)20 7324 4723

Email - for general enquiries and materials requests:
info@jubileedebtcampaign.org.uk

Web - http://www.jubileedebtcampaign.org.uk/