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Let's be friendsLib Dems and Tories support Ditch Dirty Development
In the last week, both the Lib Dems and the Conservatives have published policy papers which call for an end to development aid for oil and for increased support for renewables.
Oil spill in the Niger Delta
Human Rights Watch
There is an emerging political consensus that climate change concerns must be mainstreamed into development policy. Following the publication of policy papers by the two main opposition parties, the Labour government’s position on using development aid to fund fossil fuels is looking increasingly untenable.
Liberal Democrats call for an International Leapfrog Fund
At their party conference today, the Liberal Democrats voted for a policy which would provide a much needed boost for support for renewable energy technologies and energy efficiency. The Lib Dem report, Zero Carbon Britain - Taking a Global Lead, calls for an International Leapfrog Fund, managed by the UN, to provide funds for low carbon and renewable energy technologies and energy efficiency in developing countries. The Lib Dems are also calling for universal climate-proofing of development assistance and export credit to ensure that climate change is mainstreamed into development programmes and initiatives.
Conservative ‘Blueprint for a Green Economy’ calls for a phase out of fossil fuel funding
Last week the Conservative Party’s Quality of Life Policy Group published its recommendations on dealing with climate change. The Blueprint for a Green Economy calls for development assistance in the energy sector to focus on overcoming energy poverty, rather than subsidise oil companies, and for development aid to be focused on supporting developing countries in such a way that they can leapfrog conventional technology.
The report goes on to recommend that:
“We should require DFID to produce an energy and climate strategy, covering both bilateral and multilateral energy funding, which will work towards the phasing out of support for all fossil fuel extraction projects and an increase in access to energy in the developing world through the promotion of decentralized and low carbon forms of energy, and energy efficiency projects.”
The Blueprint for a Green Economy report is not official Conservative party policy, but makes recommendations to the Shadow Cabinet, which will be discussed and debated by the party before final decisions are made as to which recommendations become party policy.
Labour looking isolated
These calls for climate change to be mainstreamed into development assistance from both the major opposition parties highlight the reluctance of the Labour government to address this issue. The UK supports the use of development aid to subsidise fossil fuel extraction and exploration projects through multilateral development banks. The World Bank increased funding for oil and gas extraction from $462 million in 2005 to $842 million in 2006. The climate impact of such lending was pointed out by the Environmental Audit Committee in 2006, which concluded that “DFID’s climate change policy lacks coherence … it is directly and indirectly responsible for very significant emissions of carbon into the atmosphere through the projects it funds”.
Take Action: ask your MP to sign EDM 1200
With the publication of these two policy papers we should be able to get even more support from MPs for the Ditch Dirty Development Early Day Motion (EDM). Early Day Motion 1200 calls on DFID to develop a new energy and climate change strategy, end support for oil and gas extraction, and massively increase support for renewables.
It’s crucial that as many MPs as possible sign the EDM for it to have a real impact. In the last parliamentary session a similar EDM got 137 signatures - our aim is to get more signatures this time round. If your MP is a Lib Dem or a Conservative why not take along the relevant policy paper and show them that their own party is already supportive of the campaign?
MPs can sign the EDM until 31 October 2007.
Find out more about how to lobby your MP to sign EDM 1200.
If your MP is supportive, the next step is to get all the political parties to include the commitment to switch funding from fossil fuels to renewables in their election manifestos. Ask your MP to push for this to be included.
