Oxford WDM Press Releases

Oxford Campaigners Dress as Power Stations For Climate Campaign!

2009-09-14T09:45:00.000-07:00

On Saturday 12th September, members of Oxford WDM were dressed as cooling towers from coal-fired power stations in Cornmarket St, Oxford, campaigning for the Big If, against more of these power stations in the UK. The group asked passersby to do anything, from writing to their MP to organising a protest, if Ed Milliband, Minister for Climate Change and Energy, decides to go ahead with new coal-fired power stations without committing to stop all carbon emissions from the outset.

The proposed new dirty coal power station at Kingsnorth in Kent could by itself be responsible for:

More than 20,000 people being forced from their homes as climate refugees
100,000 people losing their dry season water supply due to glaciers melting
50,000 people being at risk of hunger due to drought and lower crop yields

Letting this happen would completely undermine the UK’s targets on climate change, and mean we have no credibility at crucial international climate talks in Copenhagen.

Chris Manley, secretary of Oxford WDM said: "The largest coal power stations in the UK emit more carbon dioxide than the whole of a country like Tanzania. By pledging to take action if the government goes ahead with dirty coal power stations, ordinary people in Oxford are sending a clear message to the government that they will not stand idly by when climate change is already devastating the lives of millions of people across the planet."

Ends; notes below

1. For more details please see www.thebigif.org/

Local Euro MPs back trade justice campaign

2009-05-25T10:42:00.000-07:00

L-R: Philip Vander Elst (UKIP), Caroline Lucas (Greens), John Madeley (chair),
Sharon Bowles (Liberal Democrats), Janet Keene (Labour)

Two of the South East’s Euro MPs have this week backed campaigners' calls for Europe to change its policy on trade deals that are bad for developing countries and the environment.

Two of the MEPs for our area, the Greens’ Caroline Lucas the Lib-Dems’ Sharon Bowles have signed a pledge brought to them by Oxford World Development Movement (WDM). The WDM is campaigning with the Trade Justice Movement to stop the EU pushing unfair trade deals with poor countries that will exploit poor people and the environment.

The Green Party’s Caroline Lucas said:

"I have signed the pledge to stop Europe's unfair trade deals because I believe that Europe should prioritise development, environmental sustainability and human rights in poor countries. If I'm elected I will do everything I can to make sure this happens."

Caroline Lucas (Greens) signing the trade pledge

Campaigners claim new EU trade deals will stop developing countries from being able to protect local food production and key natural resources like forests from the worst excesses of the market. And the deals could lead to more dumping of European products on developing countries – putting farmers and home grown industries out of business. The Trade Justice Movement is calling on the European Commission to review Europe’s trade strategy and place the interests of the world’s poorest countries ahead of profits for Europe’s biggest companies.

Sharon Bowles, Liberal Democrats, presenting her signed trade pledge

Julieanne Porter from Oxford WDM said:
"It's very encouraging that these two MEPs have pledged to support our campaign to put an end to unfair trade deals. Europe is trying to negotiate trade deals that will hurt people and the environment in developing countries. It's vital that this is stopped and that the needs of the poorest people are put first."

ENDS

Contact: Oxford WDM Press Officer, Jenny Nicholson
07766 676371
jenny.nicholson@live.co.uk

Notes to editors:

1. Photographs follow in separate email

2. To find out more about the campaign to stop the EU's unfair trade deals, and see the pledge, go to www.tjm.org.uk

3. The World Development Movement (WDM) tackles the underlying causes of poverty. We lobby decision makers to change the policies that keep people poor. We research and promote positive alternatives. We work alongside people in the developing world who are standing up to injustice.
See: www.wdm.org.uk or the Oxford Group on: http://oxfordwdm.blogspot.com/.

4. Candidates present: Caroline Lucas (Greens), Sharon Bowles (Liberal Democrats), Janet Keene (Labour), Philip Vander Elst (UKIP)

Oxford Campaigners Ask South East MEPs Tough Questions about Trade, Jobs and Climate Justice at Hustings

2009-05-18T10:41:00.000-07:00

This Thursday 21st May, at 7:30pm at RISC in Reading, five MEP candidates for our region will be answering questions about their positions on EU trade policies and their effects on the poor in developing countries, as well as their positions on introducing a ‘Green New Deal’ across Europe to address problems of trade, jobs and environmental justice. A busload of Oxford WDM campaigners will be leaving from Norfolk Street at 6pm to ask some challenging questions of the candidates.

Representatives from groups such as Oxford World Development Movement (WDM), Reading International Solidarity Centre and other social justice and environmental campaign groups, are campaigning with the Trade Justice Movement to stop the EU pushing unfair trade deals with poor countries that will exploit their people and the environment. They are asking the MEPs to sign a pledge aimed at enabling developing countries to protect local food production and key natural resources like forests from the worst excesses of the market. Two of the MEPs for the region, the Greens’ Caroline Lucas and the Lib Dems’ Sharon Bowles have already signed the pledge.

Caroline Lucas, Green MEP, said: "I have signed the pledge to stop Europe's unfair trade deals because I believe that Europe should prioritise development, environmental sustainability and human rights in poor countries. If I'm elected I will do everything I can to make sure this happens."

The proposed deals could lead to more dumping of European products on developing countries, putting farmers and home grown industries out of business. The Trade Justice Movement is calling on the European Commission to review Europe’s trade strategy and place the interests of the world’s poorest countries ahead of profits for Europe’s biggest companies.

Julieanne Porter from Oxford WDM said: "It's very encouraging that these two MEPs have pledged to support our campaign to put an end to unfair trade deals. Europe is trying to negotiate trade deals that will hurt people and the environment in developing countries, so I am looking forward to hearing what the other parties - the Conservatives, Labour and UKIP - would do about these issues if they were voted into power."

To book a free place on the bus from Oxford anyone can ring Julieanne on 01865 236 088 or email: oxwdm@phonecoop.coop.

ENDS

Contact: Oxford WDM Press Officer, Jenny Nicholson
07766 676371
jenny.nicholson@live.co.uk

Notes to editors:

1. To find out more about the campaign to stop the EU's unfair trade deals, and see the pledge, go to www.tjm.org.uk

2. The World Development Movement (WDM) tackles the underlying causes of poverty. We lobby decision makers to change the policies that keep people poor. We research and promote positive alternatives. We work alongside people in the developing world who are standing up to injustice.
See: www.wdm.org.uk or the Oxford Group on: http://oxfordwdm.blogspot.com/.

3. Event details:
Thursday 21st May 2009, 7:30pm, Reading International Solidarity Centre (RISC), 35-39 London Street, Reading RG1 4PS.
Candidates: Caroline Lucas (Greens), Sharon Bowles (Liberal Democrats), Janet Keene (Labour), Nirj Deva (Conservatives), Philip Vander Elst (UKIP); http://oxfordwdm.blogspot.com/.

Oxford campaigners net 'fat cats' to stop the great trade robbery

2008-10-22T12:40:00.000-07:00

On Saturday 25th October, from 10am until 12noon in Cornmarket Street in Oxford, campaigners from Oxford World Development Movement (WDM) will be catching 'fat cats' in a net as part of a campaign for fairer European trade laws that will put people before profits.

Sam Partington, Secretary of Oxford WDM, said, "This is particularly relevant in light of the current global credit crunch - at the moment the European Union is negotiating trade deals with half the countries around the world, which will benefit big business at the expense of a billion people who are living in poverty."

Big companies are making handsome profits while developing countries' economies take a battering as prices for commodities fall. Coffee is one example: coffee farmers are now selling their coffee beans for much less than they cost to produce, while there is no evidence of prices falling here. And in Mexico a trade deal led to two million people having to leave their land as the price for maize collapsed - whilst corporate giants reaped the profits.

Kevin Meaney, Chair of Oxford WDM said, “There are over 15,000 lobbyists in Brussels who are dedicated to influencing European policy on behalf of their corporate clients, working secretively and unaccountable to anyone but their clients. Removing regulations on overseas operations is of key interest to these corporate lobbyists in their quest to maximise new profits and this is shown in the new trade deals that Europe is negotiating. This is wrong - people are suffering, so we must speak out against it.”

Susanna Pressel, Mayor of Oxford, supports WDM in its campaign, "We need to support Gordon Brown in his campaign for fairer trade laws in the EU that will reduce the appalling poverty still found in some developing countries. I congratulate WDM for the work they are doing to publicise these important issues. Reducing global poverty is not only morally right, it is also in our long-term economic interests."

It is possible to trade in a way that benefits the poor; WDM is campaigning for a system that works in the interests of people and the environment, lets developing countries choose their own development policies, is not dominated by corporate interests, and is transparent, democratic and truly representative.

ENDS

Notes:

1. Photo opportunity at 11am, Cornmarket Street.

2. For more details about this campaign please see
http://www.wdm.org.uk/campaigns/trade/index.htm

3. The World Development Movement (WDM) tackles the underlying causes of poverty. We lobby decision makers to change the policies that keep people poor. We research and promote positive alternatives. We work alongside people in the developing world who are standing up to injustice.

Contact: Jenny Nicholson, Oxford WDM: 07766 676371 jenny.nicholson@live.co.uk

Radical action is needed to avoid climate crisis

2007-02-23T05:11:00.000-08:00

Speakers L-R: Martyn Powell, Ricardo Navarro, Jacqueline Walkden
23rd February 2007

Oxford World Development Movement (WDM) held a 'Climate Change Kills' public meeting last night, with talks by Ricardo Navarro, a respected environmental activist from El Salvador and Martyn Powell, WDM's Campaigns Officer, with Jacqueline Walkden from Oxford Friends of the Earth chairing. The evening launched WDM's campaign on climate change, discussed its impact on the developing world, and considered what we can do about it.

Martyn Powell said, "Climate change is the single biggest threat to the world's poor, and could undo decades of development work. If we do not tackle it now a sixth of the world's population could lose their drinking water supplies, more will be seriously affected by flooding and drought, and life-threatening diseases will increase hugely."

Rich countries emit 80% of the world's emissions which cause climate change, while the world's fifty poorest countries altogether emit 0.5%. However, it is people in the poorest countries that are already suffering the effects: at least 160,000 people die every year due to the effects of climate change, over 3,000 a week, and 185 million people in sub-Saharan Africa alone could die of disease directly attributable to climate change by the end of the century.

Ricardo Navarro said, "Impoverished countries are suffering now while the rich cause the problems. It is like a train going over a cliff: the poor are at the front already going over the edge, but the rich nations are at the back and must surely follow if climate change is not stopped. Radical action is needed to combat this catastrophe. The struggle must be at an individual, environmental, social and political level and we must all play a part however we can."

Our world is not for sale

2006-11-23T05:19:00.000-08:00

23rd November 2006

Oxford World Development Movement (WDM) hosted a talk on Wednesday 22nd November at the Town Hall entitled, 'The World Bank and International Monetary Fund: Reform or Abolition?' Turn-out was really good and people heard three top speakers talk on the future of the World Bank and IMF: Dr. Stephen Hurt, Senior Lecturer in International Relations at Oxford Brookes, Patrick Watt, Senior Policy Officer at ActionAid, and Peter Hardstaff, Head of Policy at WDM.

Both the World Bank and IMF lend money to developing countries, often in times of crisis. However, they impose harmful conditions on those countries: among other things they frequently demand cuts in social spending – on health, education and water – and demand that these services are privatised, which plunges people deeper into poverty. Stephen Hurt gave an interesting and accessible introduction to the subject. Patrick Watt said that the IMF is facing a crisis of legitimacy, a crisis of role and a crisis of funding, and said they "make the Freemasons look like a model of probity" when it comes to transparency. Peter Hardstaff added that the World Bank are undemocratic, non-transparent and that the conditions they put on poor countries are unfair.

There was general agreement that there need to be huge changes in how these institutions are run; it was pointed out that they were set up in a completely different world, before international corporations existed, and when colonies didn't get their own votes. Today's world is so different that there needs to be a serious rethink of both the World Bank and IMF's roles. This is not going to be easy to achieve: the USA has a veto, even on votes about changing the voting system!

Peter Hardstaff pointed out that campaigners need to break down big goals into achievable, smaller ones, and explained that this is why WDM has been focusing on Parliamentary scrutiny. He also stated that the way to achieve change is to put pressure on our government to use its leverage in these institutions, and said that he feels more optimistic now than he has for a few years that change can happen.

ENDS

1. The World Development Movement was founded in 1970. We campaign to tackle the underlying causes of poverty and lobby decision makers to change the policies that keep people poor. We research and promote positive alternatives, working closely with grassroots organisations in the developing world to stand up to injustice.

2. For further information please see: http://www.wdm.org.uk/resources/briefings/debt/outoftime.pdf

Contact: Jenny Nicholson, Press Officer, Oxford WDM: 07867 993100 or jenny.nicholson@live.co.uk