http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=218978&version=1&template_id=38&parent_id=20

Britain's international project to help poor countries deal with climate change is facing heavy criticism for requiring those countries to pay them back with interest. The UK's environment transformation fund allocated 800 million dollars to help poorer nations deal with droughts and storms in 2007. However, more developed countries are surprised to hear that those funds will not come in forms of grants, as expected, but loans that have to be paid back with interest.

"We need urgently to prepare for climate change, but we are not in a position to pay back loans," said a spokesman for the Bangladesh high commission (embassy) in London. "The climate situation has not been created by us. The money should come spontaneously from rich countries and not be a loan."

The United States, Brazil, and Toby Quantrill, head of international government at WWF have all expressed concerns about having poor countries pay back loans when they are already in debt. "It should be grants and not loans, otherwise developing countries will have to pay twice, once for the emissions that caused the problems and then again to clean up the mess," said Tom Sharman, a policy adviser with ActionAid in London.

Gulf Times; May 18, 2008

Submitted by M. Lamarre