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A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release
Contact: Diana Duarte, Media Coordinator,Phone: +1 212 627 0444,Email:,media@madre.org

NGOs Sign On to Stop Climate Funds for World Bank

MADRE has signed onto the statement below. Endorsements should be sent
to korenstein@foe.org (the
deadline for signatures is 10PM Bonn time Wednesday, June 9, 2010).

Dear President Obama:

WASHINGTON

MADRE has signed onto the statement below. Endorsements should be sent
to korenstein@foe.org (the
deadline for signatures is 10PM Bonn time Wednesday, June 9, 2010).

Dear President Obama:

The success of global climate negotiations -
and the fight against climate change - largely depend on developed
countries meeting their responsibilities to transfer hundreds of
billions of dollars each year to support developing countries to deal
with global warming and to transition to sustainable and equitable
economies. This money will only be as effective as the institutions
through which it is channeled. We urge you and your negotiating
team to publicly state that the World Bank and regional development
banks should not have a role in managing global climate finance.

Funding
to fight climate change must be managed by an institution that is
governed democratically, has environmental integrity, and ensures the
participation of local communities and peoples who suffer the impacts of
climate change. The World Bank is not that institution.

  • The World Bank's track record of imposing policy conditions
    and programs on developing countries and its undemocratic governance
    structures seriously discredit the institution. Developing countries,
    who will bare the heaviest burden from climate change, are the least
    represented inside the Bank.
  • The World Bank continues to be a
    top financier of fossil fuels. As of April 2010, it had already hit a
    record high for annual fossil fuel lending, with (US) $4.7 billion
    primarily for coal.
  • The World Bank is not effective in ensuring
    that communities and peoples determine the policies and programs that
    impact them.

There is an alternative. We call on the US to
support the creation of a multilateral climate fund under the UNFCCC
that has an equitable governance structure, prioritizes the
participation of affected communities, operates with full transparency
and accountability, and provides direct access to funding.

Sincerely,

Endorsing
organizations so far:

ActionAid International
Alternatives
Asia
Campagna per la Riforma della Banca Mondiale - CRBM
Eurodad
Freedom
from Debt Coalition-Philippines
Friends of the Earth International
Indian
Social Action Forum
Institute for Essential Services Reform
Jubilee
South
Jubilee South- Asia/Pacific Movemen on Debt and Development
MADRE
Pan
African Climate Justice Alliance
Sustainable Energy and Economy
Network at the Institute for Policy Studies
Sierra Club
Tebtebba
Third
World Network

MADRE is an international women's human rights organization that partners with community-based women's groups to advance women's human rights, challenge injustice and create social change in contexts of war, conflict, disaster and their aftermath. MADRE advocates for a world in which all people enjoy individual and collective human rights; natural resources are shared equitably and sustainably; women participate effectively in all aspects of society; and all people have a meaningful say in policies that affect their lives. For more information about MADRE, visit www.madre.org.