Archived press release

World Bank Told: Stop Fuelling Fossil Fuel Addiction

8 December 1997

KYOTO, 8 December 1997 -- Delegates of industrialized countries are being challenged by citizens of the world to reconsider the role the World Bank plays in promoting fossil fuel dependency in the South. Mr Oronto Douglas from Nigeria (Friends of the Earth Nigeria and Oilwatch Africa) will deliver an NGO Declaration to World Bank Vice-President Kock-Veser as he prepares to make his official presentation at the Climate Negotiation plenary.

Oronto Douglas of Friends of the Earth Nigeria said:

“The World Bank has spent over 100 times more on fossil fuel development since Rio in 1992 than it has on climate-friendly energy projects. This Declaration presents the concerns of vulnerable communities in Southern nations who are suffering the consequences of World Bank fossil fuel development and power projects".

The declaration has been signed by over 240 Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)in 58 countries, the largest South-North coalition ever. It calls for:

• All public funds now spent by multilateral and bilateral overseas development, export credit and investment insurance agencies on subsidizing fossil fuel extraction and power projects to be used instead entirely for investments in clean, renewable, and decentralized forms of energy, with a particular focus on meeting the energy needs of the poorest 2 billion people.
• A moratorium on exploring for new fossils fuel sources in pristine and frontier areas.

*** Letter to World Bank follows ***

Friends of the Earth International

December 8, 1997

Mr. James Wolfensohn
President
The World Bank Group
1818 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036

Dear Mr. Wolfensohn:

We are presenting you today a Declaration on Climate Change, Fossil Fuels and Public Funding, which has been signed by more than 250 organizations in 58 countries. It calls for the World Bank, as well as other International Financial Institutions and bilateral aid agencies, to get out of the fossil fuel business, including extraction and power plants. It urges that your resources instead be used to provide clean, sustainable energy supplies to developing countries, and to fulfill your mission of helping the poorest of the poor. In particular, we hope you will focus the energy of the World Bank on how to bring energy services to the world's poorest 2 billion people.

This message was originated by people and communities in the South. In solidarity with them, organizations from all over the world have signed the Declaration.

Sincerely yours,

Oronto Douglas
Friends of the Earth Nigeria

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS:

[1] Mr. Douglas will be available to answer questions about the pernicious influence on communities and the environment of oil and gas development in Africa. Mr Jim Barnes,Friends of the Earth International, can explain the background of the Declaration and what groups around the world will be doing to promote it. Mr Randy Helton, Friends of the Earth Japan, can explain their investigation of Japanese aid funding, the world's biggest, which shows it has bankrolled 1.3 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions since signing the Climate Change Convention.

If you're a journalist looking for press information please contact the Friends of the Earth media team on 020 7566 1649.

Published by Friends of the Earth Trust