A fight between the US and major European and developing countries is threatening to derail the Global Environment Facility (GEF) a multibillion-dollar fund created in 1991 to help poor nations preserve rain forests, stem global warming and address other world-wide environmental concerns, writes the World Bank press review Monday.
The row has slowed, and perhaps stalled, negotiations over a new round of funding for the GEF, which helps poor countries comply with international environmental treaties.
The US has taken a hard line in the closed-door talks over how grants from the fund will be distributed, by demanding that the GEF reward countries with records of economic prudence, environmental stewardship and honest government.
Developing countries say it is reasonable to ensure that aid money is not stolen. They argue that in the case of the environment fund, they should not have to jump through excessive American hoops to get money intended to improve the environment for rich countries as well as poor.
In particular, they say that a recipient countrys budget deficit and other economic policies are irrelevant to whether it merits assistance preserving endangered species or protecting forests of global importance.
Thirty-two donor nations refill the fund every four years. The last round of donations, which runs through the middle of next year, totals 3 billion US dollar (godt 18 milliarder DKR), with about 20 percent of that pledged by the US.
Bush administration officials warn their foreign counterparts that unless the fund becomes stricter about allocating money, Congress will likely slash the American contribution. The US, however, is 140 million dollar behind in its past pledges to the fund, irritating other donors at a time when the Bush administration is trying to exert greater influence in how the fund spends its money.
Meanwhile, a group of organizations in the UK, including ActionAid, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, Oxfam and the New Economics Foundation, will address a report entitled “Africa: Up in Smoke?” to the G8 on Monday, in which they state that attempts to alleviate poverty in Africa will fail unless urgent action is taken to stall dangerous climate change.
As about 70 percent of Africas population depends on rain-fed agriculture for their livelihood, the disruption that climate change is causing or exacerbating – such as increased desertification – is having a dire effect on many people.
In Mondays leader, the Financial Times writes that leaks of the G8 draft plan on global warming from next months G8 summit at Gleneagles show it to have been holed below the (rising) waterline by US objections.
There is suspicion that Tony Blair may be preparing to soft-pedal on global warming in exchange for Bushs support on aid for Africa.
That would not only be short-sighted but horribly ironic, since Africa is one of the principal victims of climate change, across a range of phenomena spanning desertification and disease, migration and ensuing conflict over scarce resources, the paper argues.
Kilde: www.worldbank.org
