MADRID, Jan 16 (IPS) – It’s no secret that major global summits have more lobbyists than official delegates. There, they participate as ‘guests’ and most of them work for large companies. What are their goals? Discourage the adoption of policies that conflict with employers’ interests.
Their powers of persuasion often help to undermine the urgency to take decisive action, the need to cut hugely profitable private businesses, and the financial burden of developed countries on the poorer countries that are hit hardest by their policies.
To achieve these goals, lobbyists often quietly offer various types of ‘thank you’.
Big financing gap in climate action
The clear evidence is the global movement working in more than 100 countries to end the injustice of corruption. It’s time for Transparency International (TI) to address the dark world of climate negotiations on International Day Against Corruption 2024.
Billions of dollars are mobilized each year to finance plans to curb emissions, fund climate adaptation and protect important conservation areas.
… But without strong anti-corruption measures, these vital resources risk being diverted and the current fiscal gap risks never being closed.
We can already see evidence of this happening.
In carbon credit markets, the inherent tension between reducing emissions and providing financial returns has been described as land grabbing, bribery, double counting of projects and the secrecy of carbon credit prices.
“Last year we found that more than 90% of all carbon credits should not be approved.”
Estimates of global anonymous and potentially illicit wealth range from US$7 trillion to US$32 trillion (about 10% of total global wealth).
This amount is more than 100 times the $300 billion promised by the world’s major climate genocide instigators as “compensations” to the poorest countries most affected.
Reply to COP29 Climate finance deal at Baku climate summit in November 2024, where rich countries agree to mobilize $300 billion a year to help countries in the Global South tackle warming and transition to renewable energy, Oxfam International’s head of climate change policy , Nafkote good nightsaid:
“The damning verdict from the Baku climate talks shows that rich countries see the global South as ultimately expendable, like a pawn on a chessboard.
… The so-called $300 billion ‘agreement’ that poor countries have been forced to accept is not serious and dangerous. A soulless victory for the wealthy, but a true disaster for our planet and communities experiencing floods, hunger and refugees today. Climate collapse. And what about future funding commitments? They are as empty as the deal itself.
… Not only is the money on the table a pittance compared to what is actually needed, it is usually not even real “money,” Nafkote added. good night.
“Rather, it is a motley mix of loans and privatized investments. Now it’s a global Ponzi scheme for private equity investors and public relations people to exploit.
Africa’s stolen wealth
“Imagine billions of dollars being taken out of public funds (funds needed to build schools, hospitals and infrastructure) and disappearing into offshore accounts, luxury real estate and shell companies…”
“This is not fiction. “The stark reality is that corruption is draining Africa and other regions of their resources and putting the costs on the people.” Transparency International announced in December 2024.
TI analysis is based on credible allegations of corruption and the concealment of wealth abroad, as well as cases of corruption confirmed by court rulings.
Here are some of the findings just revealed by Transparency International:
– There is a huge network of companies, real estate, bank accounts and luxury goods.
In particular, approximately 80% of assets were stored overseas, often far from where the corruption originally occurred.
– Companies: The ultimate anonymity tool: In 85% of cases, companies and trusts are used to obscure asset ownership. Complex cross-border corporate structures or multiple shell companies are often used to separate corrupt individuals and their dirty money from the assets in question.
– Real Estate: The Most Preferred Laundering Tool: If corporations are the preferred tool for anonymity, then real estate is one of the best options for laundering stolen funds. In a third of the cases we analyzed, real estate played a central role.
France, the United Kingdom (UK), the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the United States (US) were preferred countries for purchasing properties linked to suspicious activity.
– Bank accounts: Hong Kong, Switzerland, the UK, UAE and the US appear to be the main destinations for bank accounts used to pay bribes and move or store illicit funds.
– EU Golden Passport, Visa Scheme: Many countries have golden passport and visa programs that offer expedited citizenship or residency to foreigners in exchange for making a significant investment (often real estate) in the country.
Member states of the European Union (EU) are particularly attractive. This is because citizenship or residency in one country grants access to the entire EU.
Golden passports and visas are highly desirable for those involved in corruption. This is because it provides an opportunity to keep stolen property safe.
A significant portion of the money exchanged for golden visas comes from immigrant trafficking and smuggling businesses, as well as ‘mafias’ who traffic drugs and toxic substances.
Transparency International lists the main destinations for ‘dirty money’ as the British Virgin Islands, France, Hong Kong, Panama, Seychelles, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates and the United States.
growing inequality
TI, an international movement working to accelerate global progress to address illicit financial flows and abusive practices that perpetuate economic inequality and undermine sustainable development, warns:
“Inequality is a major obstacle to sustainable development and social justice. This is especially true in Africa, where social and economic inequality has deepened due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite high economic growth over the past two decades, resource-rich Africa is home to 10 of the world’s 20 most unequal countries.
“While extreme poverty is on the rise, three of Africa’s billionaires own more wealth than the poorest 50% of the continent’s population.”
Disproportional impact on the poor
The World Bank considers corruption a key challenge to its twin goals of ending extreme poverty by 2030 and promoting shared prosperity for the poorest 40% of people in developing countries.
“Corruption has a disproportionate impact on the poor and most vulnerable, increasing costs and reducing access to services, including health, education and justice.”
Moreover, the World Bank explains that corruption in the procurement of medicines and medical equipment can drive up costs and produce substandard or hazardous products.
As the global community fights against climate change, addressing corruption remains critical to ensuring that resources reach those who need them most and that climate finance delivers on its promise of justice and equity.
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