By External Source
Jan 16 2025 (IPS-Partners)

 
Adenike Oladosu is a leading Nigerian ecofeminist, climate justice leader and researcher. She was appointed as an ECW Global Climate Champion on World Environment Day in June 2024. In December of last year, Adenike was honored by #BBC100Women, selected as one of the BBC’s 100 most influential and inspiring women from around the world. She was also a finalist for the Pritzker Emerging Environmental Genius Award.

Adenike earned a first-class degree in Agricultural Economics. She is one of Africa’s most vocal environmental activists. In 2019, she became a recipient of the Ambassador of Conscience by Amnesty International – Nigeria for her fight for climate justice and human rights. She is a writer both for her blog post and for the international newspaper. Adenike is a two-term Nigerian youth delegate to the United Nations Climate Change Conference since COP25 in Spain and subsequent COPs. She started her pan-African climate justice movement called “I Lead Climate Action Initiative”. Through her initiative, she has empowered more than 30,000 Indigenous women and girls in different communities and mobilized millions of people for climate action as the initiator of the Fridays For Future in Nigeria, and the first African to join the movement in 2018. Adenike has developed a curriculum on climate change and ecofeminism in Africa. She is also pioneering the interconnection between climate change and democracy.

Oladosu holds a residency fellowship at the Panel on Planetary Thinking at Justus Liebig University in Giessen, Germany on using Earth Observation to restore shrinking Planetary Spaces: A Case Study of Lake Chad. She was a past fellow at The New Institute in Hamburg, Germany on black feminism and polycrisis. Oladosu was awarded the International Climate Protection Award by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation on the protection of Lake Chad as a peace and conflict resolution pathway, achieving protection through mapping and data generation.

ECW: Congratulations on being honored as a #BBC100Women 2024: one of BBC’s 100 most influential and inspiring women from around the world! As ECW’s Global Climate Champion – and a leading advocate on climate, education and gender equality – what are three key messages you want to send to world leaders on the climate-education crisis?

Adenike Oladosu: Number one. Education is one of the most powerful weapons we have to solve the climate crisis.

Number two. Empowerment in education is key to unlocking the potential of innovation.

Number three. Education must be included in the climate finance decision-making process. It is a necessary tool to prevent even more crisis-impacted children from being pushed from the safety and protection of quality learning environments. It will also be key in addressing the growing displacement crisis and can be used as a mechanism to address loss and damage to critical infrastructure.

ECW: At this year’s COP29 in Baku, you joined the ECW delegation to connect the dots between climate action and education action. Why should education be embedded into climate finance decisions to accelerate the ambition of Nationally Determined Contributions, National Adaptation Plans, and other climate actions?

Adenike Oladosu: Education is important because we need to deal with the immediate impacts of the climate crisis Right Here, Right Now. In the most vulnerable countries, education can be used as a tool to prevent forced migration and internal displacement. Think about it this way: climate crises, such as droughts and floods, regularly lead to displacement. This results in more out-of-school children. The number of hours or days lost in school might not be replaceable.

These are all avoidable consequences of climate change, especially if there is financing to respond to those realities. Climate financing could serve as an aid to prevent current and future loss and damage. In terms of education, this includes the loss of valuable infrastructure like the tens of thousands of schools destroyed by the floods in Pakistan, lives lost because sufficient early warning systems are not in place, and the economic losses that prevent communities from building resilient economic systems. If those out-of-school children – or children that lack access to consistent quality education – are brought back to the classroom, we could see amazing impact on all Sustainable Development Goals and the goals outlined in the Paris Agreement. We can also use education as a system to pay back communities for the loss and damage generated by climate change.

Schools are valuable community hubs. Free education and healthy school meals could serve as an incentive to children. Quality education can also foster a learning environment that prepares tomorrow’s leaders with the green skills they need to strive and set the pace for innovation and technology.

Everyone has a solution to give. I urge every country to include education in their Nationally Determined Contributions and National Adaptation Plans. Education in itself is an adaptation strategy. No investment in education is a waste; it is both an adaptation and mitigation measure. Connecting education with climate finance can save lives, build resilience and foster peace. Children – especially those on the frontlines of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises – did not cause the climate crisis, and yet they bear the brunt of its impacts. It is our responsibility to do whatever it takes to keep them in the classroom. Education Cannot Wait and its donors and strategic partners are creating a value proposition to connect education with climate action. Education provides a key entry point to address loss and damage, anticipatory action, disaster risk reduction and resilience building, and is an essential element of our plans to address this devastating crisis.

ECW: In your homeland of Nigeria, the climate crisis is derailing development gains, triggering conflicts and displacing children. In all, 18 million girls and boys are out of school. How is climate change impacting education in Nigeria and the Lake Chad area, and how can education be leveraged as a tool to build climate resilience?

Adenike Oladosu: In Nigeria, 18 million girls and boys are out of school. This is a loss and damage issue directly related to the climate crisis. Throughout the country, and especially in the Lake Chad area, we are faced with the multiple effects of climate change; from slow to rapid events including droughts and floods. When these events occur, millions become victims.

For families who cannot afford a daily meal and earn less than $1 a day, education is not a priority. Their priority is survival. So, girls are pushed into marriage at a young age. They are also tasked with many of the household chores, such as walking long distances to get water. This eventually leads to dropping out of school due to the loss of livelihood and drought respectively. Meanwhile, boys are becoming vulnerable to recruitment into dangerous terrorist groups. They become the perpetrators of violence in their communities rather than the changemakers. If those millions of children out of school are educated, they could become innovators, technicians, educators, and other professionals to add value to their society and become pacesetters. With education, the dreams of the 18 million girls and boys who are out of school could become a reality. They could become agriculturalists, providing climate-smart innovations to tackle hunger and climate change, or public health experts to tackle environmental health issues – even become the president of a country, leading the way in making better decisions that could position citizens and cities towards sustainability. Furthermore, education could also open the space for solving pressing issues so that, one day, we can save Lake Chad from drying out.

Education could help in making the right choices and delivering on the promise of Universal Human Rights. This entails children and adolescents knowing their rights to clean water or preventing them from joining harmful groups. Education is a human right, along with the right to life and liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of opinion and expression, and the right to work and play an active part in society. Climate justice must also be considered a human right.

ECW: Climate change affects girls differently than boys; with girls more impacted, especially when it comes to their education. What steps would you take to empower girls in our global efforts to save our people and our planet from the catastrophic risks of climate change?

Adenike Oladosu: The most outstanding empowerment for girls is skills acquisition and education. I encourage other girls to have both because it will become useful at every stage of one’s life. It is a lifesaving tool in providing solutions to the world’s biggest problems.

My recent documentary with ZDF, tells the reality of a girl child whose life and future has been impacted by the climate crisis. Providing them with an enabling environment that could support their continuous learning can be both lifesaving and life-transforming. One example is the ability to get water within their reach rather than walking a long distance. This could save time and energy, which could be converted to reading their books. Another example is the educational approach of enlightening the traditional rulers on the best practices that could help value and support the rights of the girl child. Furthermore, education can support the livelihood (a climate-smart livelihood) of the parents so that the girl child is not used as a hawking tool around the streets and to prevent them from being exposed to sexual violence and other threats. We can also provide scholarships and other incentives in return for commitments from girls and their communities to attend school. Additionally, climate finance could help in preventing those crises and offers a quick and effective response, because at displacement camps, girls are vulnerable to human rights abuses and other grave violations.

ECW: We all know that ‘readers are leaders’ and that reading skills are key to every child’s education. What are three books that have most influenced you personally and/or professionally, and why would you recommend them to others?

Adenike Oladosu: Becoming by Michelle Obama, Unbowed: A Memoir by Maathai Wangari, We Should all be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. These three books have one thing in common: they are deeply and closely related to the entanglement of the women’s vision of the world and how society perceives us. The struggles and the pain of how they evolve to be a great woman. It ties to my life story of where I came from and who I have become. Professionally, it gives me the courage to use my skills, platforms and activism to change the world. And reminds me that I can be what I want to be and break gender biases.

They are all educated women who have risen to affluence and become powerful. I have a story to tell and a solution I can offer to the world in different ways. From politician to activist to writer. They are all changemakers trying to transform the world. If they can do it, I can and so can we. Their story is our story.

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By Kester Kenn Klomegah
MOSCOW, Jan 16 2025 – With heightening geopolitical interest in building a new Global South architecture, Ghana’s administration is considering joining the ‘partner states category’ of BRICS+, an association of five major emerging economies (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa).

The National Democratic Party (NDC) and the elected President John Mahama, while crafting future pathways and renewing commitments over democracy and governance, designing a new economic recovery programme as top priority, could initiate discussions to put Ghana on higher stage by ascending into the BRICS+ platform.

Certainly, ascending unto BRICS+ platform would become a historical landmark for Ghana which has attained prestigious status in multilateral institutions and organizations such as the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS), the African Union (AU), the United Nations and also, from Jan. 2025, the head of the Commonwealth Secretariat.

Unlike South Africa, which has acquired a full-fledged membership status in 2011, and Ethiopia, Nigeria and Uganda were taken into the ‘partner states’ category, Ghana has all the fundamental requirements to become part of BRICS+ alliance.

It is necessary to understand the basic definition and meaning of BRICS+ in the context of the geopolitical changing world. The BRICS alliance operates on the basis of non-interference. As an anti-Western association, it stays open to mutual cooperation from countries with ‘like-minded’ political philosophy.

BRICS members have the freedom to engage their bilateral relations any external country of their choice. In addition to that, BRICS+ strategic partnership has explicitly showed that it is not a confrontation association, but rather that of cooperation designed to address global challenges, and is based on respect for the right of each country to determine its own future.

South Africa and other African countries associated with BRICS+

South Africa is strongly committed to its engagement in the BRICS+. It has, so far, hosted two of its summits. In future, Egypt and Ethiopia would have the chance to host BRICS+ summit. Egypt and Ethiopia have excellent relations with members, and simultaneously transact business and trade with other non-BRICS+, external countries.

The New Development Bank (BRICS) was established in 2015, has financed more than 100 projects, with total loans reaching approximately $35 billion, and it is great that the branch of this bank operates from Johannesburg in South Africa. Understandably, South Africa can be an investment gateway to the rest of Africa. In 2021, Bangladesh, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Uruguay joined the NDB.

The BRICS bank works independently without any political strings, and has further pledged financial support for development initiatives in non-BRICS+ countries in the Global South. Its tasks include investing in the economy through concessional loans, alleviating poverty and working towards sustainable economic growth.

According to President of the BRICS New Development Bank, Dilma Rousseff, “The bank should play a major role in the development of a multipolar, polycentric world.”

Ethiopia and Egypt are the latest addition to BRICS+ association from January 2024. South Africa and Egypt being the economic power houses, while Ethiopia ranks 8th position in the continent. In terms of demography, Nigeria is the populous, with an estimated 220 million people while Uganda has a population of 46 million.

South Africa, Ethiopia and Egypt are full members, Algeria, Nigeria and Uganda were offered ‘partner states’ category, but have the chance to pursue multi-dimensional cooperation with external countries. BRICS+ has absolutely no restrictions with whom to strike bilateral relationship.

From the above premise, Ghana’s new administration, within the framework of BRICS+, could work out a strategic plan to establish full coordination with and request support from African members, including South Africa, Egypt and Ethiopia. Worth noting that membership benefits cannot be underestimated in this era of shifting economic architecture and geopolitical situation.

Queuing for BRICS+ Membership

Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger which historically share the cross-border region of West Africa, are in the queue to ascend into the BRICS+ association. The trio formed their own regional economic and defense pact, the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) in Sept. 2023, and aspiring for leveraging unto BRICS+, most likely to address their development and security questions.

Brazil, as BRICS 2025 chairmanship, has set its priority on expansion of BRICS+, the enlargement wave began by Russia. More than 30 countries are the line join, hoping for equitable participation in bloc’s unique activities uniting the Global South.

Perhaps, the most crucial moment for Ghana which shares border with Burkina Faso. Its military leader, Capt. Ibrahim Traoré was heartily applauded for attending the inauguration of the new President John Dramani Mahama on January 7th.

Burkina Faso, without International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, is transforming its agricultural sector to ensure food security, building educational and health facilities and sports complex which turns a new chapter in its political history.

In early January 2025, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) took over political power from the New Patriotic Party (NPP). Historically, the political transition has been quite smooth and admirable down the years. Ghana was ranked seventh in Africa out of 53 countries in the Ibrahim Index of African Governance.

The Ibrahim Index is a comprehensive measure of African governments, and methods of power transfer based on constitutional principles, rules and regulations.

Ghana produces high-quality cocoa. It has huge mineral deposits including gold, diamonds and bauxites. it has approx. 10 billion barrels of petroleum in reserves, the fifth-largest in Africa. President John Dramani Mahama, has reiterated to unlock the potentials, creating a resilient and inclusive economic model that would empower citizens and ultimately attracts foreign investments.

Ghana reduced the size of government, a required condition to secure funds from the IMF for development and resuscitating the economy. Ghana’s involvement in BRICS+ will steadily enhance the dynamics of its traditional governance in multipolar world.

Outlining Ghana’s potential benefits

Currently, Ghana has myriads of economic tasks to implement, aims at recovering from the previous gross mismanagement. It could take advantage of BRICS+ diverse partnership opportunities. Closing related to this, Ghana’s headquarter of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) further offers an appropriate collaboration in boosting further both intra-BRICS trade and intra-Africa trade.

With Egypt, Ethiopia, Uganda, South Africa, Nigeria and Ghana, these put together paints an African geographical representation in BRICS+, and presents their collective African voice on the international stage.

After studying the report titled “Ghana Should Consider Joining the BRICS Organization” (Source: http://infobrics.org), the author Natogmah Issahaku, explained, in the first place, that Ghana’s relations with other external nations, particularly, those in the West, will not, and should not be affected by its BRICS membership.

According to the expert, Ghana needs infrastructural development and sustainable economic growth in order to raise the living standard of Ghanaians to middle-income status, which could be achieved through participation in BRICS+. In return, Ghana can offer BRICS+ members export of finished and semi-finished industrial and agricultural products as well as minerals in a win-win partnership framework.

As an Applied Economist at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, Natogmah Issahaku emphasized the importance of the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB), that could play roles by financing Ghana’s development agenda. BRICS development cooperation model is based on equality and fairness, Ghana can leverage its relations to optimize potential benefits.

Given the colossal scale of economic problems confronting the country, President Mahama should take strategic steps to lead Ghana into the BRICS+ without hesitation.

Notwithstanding world-wide criticisms, BRICS+ countries have advanced manufacturing and vast markets as well as technological advantages. As often argued, BRICS+ is another avenue to explore for long-term investment possibilities and work closely with its stakeholders.

These above-mentioned arguable factors are attractive for advancing Ghana in the Global South. Based on this, it is time to grab the emerging opportunity to drive increasingly high-quality cooperation, focus on hope rather than despair and step up broadly for a more constructive parameters in building beneficial relations into the future.

Kester Kenn Klomegah focuses on current geopolitical changes, foreign relations and economic development-related questions in Africa with external countries. Most of his well-resourced articles are reprinted in several reputable foreign media.

IPS UN Bureau

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By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS, Jan 16 2025 – As the United Nations plans to commemorate its 80th anniversary later this year, it is “reflecting on the steps taken to advance implementation of the Secretary-General’s Strategic Action Plan for addressing racism in the UN Secretariat.

The UN’s Anti-Racism Office, which was created in 2023, has hosted several online events that reached over 13,500 participants and generated 2,000 comments, and welcomed 2,700 visitors to its iSeek page (accessible only by staffers)—possibly a reflection of the rising complaints and concerns of UN staffers.

In a circular to staffers, the Office claims it has “collaborated closely with other UN entities and a growing global network of Anti-Racism Advocates, to foster a workplace that is safe, inclusive and equitable for all UN personnel, regardless of their race”

Together with the Office of Human Resources (OHR) and the Department of Operational Support (DOS), the Anti-Racism Office has been working on increasing fairness in recruitment processes through projects such as strengthening “blind hiring” practices and requiring diversity on hiring panels, which will be fully implemented in 2025.

Ian Richards, former President of the Coordination Committee of International Staff Unions and Associations (CCISUA), representing over 60,000 UN staffers, told IPS some of the practices being proposed, such as “blind hiring” and “mixed panels”, make sense. The unions have been requesting this for years. Although defining racial diversity in a legal manner may prove challenging.

At the same time, he pointed out, there are many competing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, (DEI) initiatives right now: Anti-racism, gender parity, disability inclusion, LGBTQIA, regional diversity, age diversity.

Each has their own office, coordinator, focal point network, action plan, policy, task force, ICSC agenda item, quota system or communication strategy. And each response to a legitimate grievance, said Richards, an economist specializing in digital business environments at the Geneva-based UNCTAD.

However, some of these conflict with each other, and HR officers and staff in general are finding it a bit hard to keep up.

“For any of this to be really effective, there needs to be some consolidation and prioritisation. Hopefully the SG can have a strategic think about this so we have the best outcome for all”, he declared.

A survey by the UN Staff Union in New York in 2021 was equally revealing.

According to the findings, 59% of the respondents said “they don’t feel the UN effectively addresses racial justice in the workplace, while every second respondent noted they don’t feel comfortable talking about racial discrimination at work”.

Meanwhile, the UN Secretariat in New York, faltered ingloriously, as it abruptly withdrew its own online survey on racism, in which it asked staffers to identify themselves either as “black, brown, white., mixed/multi-racial, and any other”.

But the most offensive of the categories listed in the survey was “yellow” – a longstanding Western racist description of Asians, including Japanese, Chinese and Koreans.

A non-apologetic message emailed to staffers read: “The United Nations Survey on Racism has been taken offline and will be revised and reissued, taking into account the legitimate concerns expressed by staff.”

Meanwhile the UN Special Adviser for Addressing Racism in the Workplace, Mojankunyane Gumbi of South Africa, has been “actively visiting different UN duty stations worldwide, holding town hall meetings with staff and leadership from various departments to discuss and address issues related to racism within the organization”.

The Special Adviser, who as appointed January 2023, has been providing “strategic advice to the Secretary-General on addressing racism and racial discrimination, as well as oversee the implementation of the long-term Strategic Action Plan adopted by the Organization in 2022 to address racism in the workplace.

Following the adoption of the Strategic Action Plan, every Secretariat entity was asked to develop and implement its own action plan, while an Implementation Steering Group under the leadership and stewardship of the Special Adviser will monitor and guide corporate-level actions to implement the Strategic Action Plan.

An Anti-Racism Team has been established to support the Special Adviser.

Dr Palitha Kohona, a former Chief of the UN Treaty Section, told IPS the Secretary-General’s Strategic Action Plan is a welcome initiative.

The UN has always prided itself of its inclusive approach to hiring but, in reality, many staff harbour, often publicly unexpressed but privately discussed, reservations that race and gender influence hiring and promotions, he said.

“Unfortunately, it is widely felt that political considerations influence recruitment and promotions. Some countries have made lobbying a fine art, said Dr Kohona a former Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the UN, and until recently Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China

Some of those who were responsible for staff management, he pointed out, tended to be influenced by considerations that were not necessarily consistent with the clearly stated principles of the United Nations, especially in sensitive areas, often conceding to external pressures.

“While equitable geographical distribution must be a guiding principle, staff recruitment, promotions and placements must be done transparently and with due emphasis on merit. Today, this is not too difficult a goal to achieve given the ready availability of talent from most countries of the world. In fact, the steady flow of talent from developing countries to the developed world is an acknowledged reality.”

The goals of the Organisation will be best served if recruitment, placements and promotions occur transparently and relevant information is disseminated as widely as possible through the media, in particular, the social media, he pointed out.

Vacancies, he said, should be advertised in the languages widely used/accessed by applicants around the world. The offices processing applications should also be constituted by geagraphically representative officers.

“The UN must also proactively address the concern that the recruitment of General Staff tends to be biased in favour of certain nationalities,” he declared.

Speaking strictly off-the-record, a senior UN staffer told IPS the official statement outlines the Anti-Racism Office’s efforts within the UN Secretariat, but it lacks a critical examination of the concrete impact of these initiatives.

While the creation of the office and its collaboration with other UN entities is a positive step, there is limited transparency regarding the actual outcomes of these actions. The implementation of “blind hiring” and diversity on hiring panels are mentioned as key initiatives, however, the statement does not provide any data, including status quo, or specific examples showing how these changes have improved or will improve fairness or representation within the Secretariat, he said.

“To effectively evaluate progress, it is essential to highlight measurable results and ongoing challenges in these areas together with the baseline data.

Additionally, while the Special Adviser’s visits and town halls with staff are commendable, the statement fails to address whether the concerns raised during these engagements by staff have led to substantive changes or policy adjustments”.

The numbers of participants and visitors to online events and iSeek are notable, but without demonstrating how these interactions have directly influenced policy changes, decision-making or led to tangible outcomes, the impact remains unclear, he noted.

“It would be more effective to provide specific examples of changes that have resulted from the efforts by the Anti-Racism Office such as improve hiring diversity, more inclusive workplace policies, or shifts in organizational culture, in particular, how the mandate of the Anti-Racism Office has impacted in addressing racism and racial discrimination within the UN”.

To truly advance its mission of fostering an inclusive and equitable workplace, he said, the Anti-Racism Office must go beyond activity metrics such as the number of participants to its virtual events, but focus on outcomes in order to achieve the goals and objectives set in the Secretary-General’s Strategic Action Plan, that was launched four years ago in 2021.

In a circular to UN staffers, Catherine Pollard Under-Secretary-General for Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance Chair of the Task Force on Addressing Racism and Promoting Dignity for All in the United Nations Secretariat, said “the Secretary-General has called upon us to condemn racism wherever we see it, without reservation, hesitation or qualification”.

“This includes looking into our own hearts and minds. The global outcry in 2020 caused us all to look inward and recognize that, in order to fight racism, we have to be proactively anti-racist.”

“As an organization, we were founded on the principles of the dignity and worth of the human person, proclaiming the right of everyone to enjoy all human rights and fundamental freedoms, without distinctions of race, colour or national origin. We have always recognized the prevalence of racism and racial discrimination in society and played a key role in supporting Member States in the development of legal instruments to address this scourge”.

“I want to urge all personnel, of every race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin, to come together in the spirit of human decency and collegiality to educate ourselves on how racism may operate in society and in the workplaces of the Organization. I encourage all of you to participate in the ongoing dialogue and awareness campaigns to gain insight into how racism manifests at the workplace and how we can prevent it and support those who experience such behaviour.”

Ultimately, progress in addressing racism and racial discrimination will require unwavering commitment from senior leaders and the full participation of United Nations personnel to ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity to participate in the work of the Organization and is treated with respect and dignity. Let us stand in solidarity against racism, she declared.

IPS UN Bureau Report

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By Baher Kamal
MADRID, Jan 16 2025 – It is no longer a secret that at major global summits there are more lobbyists than official delegates. There, they participate as ‘guests,’ and most of them work for big business corporations. Their goal? To deter the adoption of policies that conflict with their employers’ interests.

Their persuasion exercise quite often helps water down the urgency of taking decisive actions, the need to cut the private business staggering profits, the financial dues of the industrialised powers to the impoverished nations that bear the heaviest brunt of their policies, and so on.

To achieve such a purpose, lobbyists often quietly show different sorts of ‘gratitude.’

The Big Financial Gap in Climate Action

A clear evidence is what the global movement working in over 100 countries to end the injustice of corruption: Transparency International (TI) informs on the occasion of the International Anti-Corruption Day 2024: Time to tackle the murky world of climate negotiations:

“Every year billions of dollars are mobilised to finance initiatives that curb emissions, fund climate adaptation, and protect crucial conservation areas…

… But without strong anti-corruption measures in place, these essential resources are at risk of being diverted, and the current finance gap is at risk of never being closed.”

“We can already see evidence of this taking place.”

In the carbon credits market, it explains, where the inherent tension between reducing emissions and providing financial returns has led to land grabbing, bribery, projects being double-counted and the prices of carbon credits being keptsecret.

“Last year we saw that in total over 90 percent of carbon credits should not have been approved.”

Estimates of total global anonymous and potentially illicit wealth range from US$7 trillion to US$32 trillion (around 10% of total global wealth).

Such an amount is more than 100-fold the 300 billion US dollars promised by the world’s major climate carnage promoters in the concept of “reparation” to the most impacted poor countries.

Responding to the COP29 climate finance agreement in Baku’s climate summit in November 2024, in which rich countries agree to mobilise $300 billion a year to help Global South countries cope with warming temperatures and switch to renewable energy, Oxfam International’s Climate Change Policy Lead, Nafkote Dabi, said:

“The terrible verdict from the Baku climate talks shows that rich countries view the Global South as ultimately expendable, like pawns on a chessboard…

… The $300 billion so-called ‘deal’ that poorer countries have been bullied into accepting is unserious and dangerous —a soulless triumph for the rich, but a genuine disaster for our planet and communities who are being flooded, starved, and displaced today by climate breakdown. And as for promises of future funding? They’re just as hollow as the deal itself.

… The money on the table is not only a pittance in comparison to what’s really needed –it’s not even real “money”, by and large, added Nafkote Dabi.

“Rather, it’s a motley mix of loans and privatized investment –a global Ponzi scheme that the private equity vultures and public relations people will now exploit.

Africa’s Stolen Wealth

“Imagine billions of dollars siphoned from public funds – money meant to build schools, hospitals and infrastructure – vanishing into a web of offshore accounts, luxury real estate and shell companies…”

“This isn’t fiction; it’s the stark reality of how corruption drains resources from Africa and other regions, leaving people to bear the cost,” Transparency International unveiled in December 2024.

TI analysis is based on cases of corruption confirmed by court decisions, as well as credible allegations of corruption and hiding of wealth offshore.

The following are just some of the findings that Transparency International has just uncovered:

– There is a staggering network of companies, properties, bank accounts and luxury goods,

Notably, close to 80 percent of assets were held abroad, often far from where the corruption originally occurred:

– Companies: the ultimate anonymity tool: In 85 percent of cases, companies and trusts were used to obscure the ownership of assets. Often, complex cross-border corporate structures or multiple shell companies were used to distance corrupt individuals – and their dirty funds – from the asset in question.

– Real Estate: The laundering favourite: If companies are the preferred tool for anonymity, real estate ranks among the top choices for laundering stolen funds. In one-third of the cases we analysed, properties played a central role.

France, the United Kingdom (UK), the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the United States (US) were the preferred locations for purchasing properties connected to suspicious activities.

– Bank Accounts: Hong Kong, Switzerland, the UK, the UAE and the US appear as key destinations for bank accounts used to pay bribes, move or store dirty funds.

– EU Golden Passport, Visa Schemes: Many countries run golden passport and visa programmes which offer fast-track citizenship or residency to foreign nationals in exchange for substantial investment in the country – often in real estate.

Member states of the European Union (EU) are particularly attractive, as citizenship or residence in one country grants access to the whole EU.

Golden passports and visas are highly desirable for those associated with corruption because they offer access to a safe haven for their stolen wealth.

A high percentage of the golden visas exchanged money proceed from the ‘mafias’ of trafficking in drugs and toxic substances, let alone the business of trafficking and smuggling migrants.

Transparency International listed the major destinations of the ‘dirty money’: British Virgin Islands, France, Hong Kong, Panama, Seychelles, Singapore, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates and United States.

Ever Growing Inequality

TI, the international movement working to speed up global progress in tackling illicit financial flows and abusive practices that perpetuate economic inequalities and undermine sustainable development, warns that:

“Inequality is a key impediment to sustainable development and social justice. This is particularly true in the case of Africa, where the COVID-19 pandemic has further aggravated social and economic inequalities.

Despite two decades of high economic growth, resource-rich Africa is home to 10 of the world’s 20 most unequal countries.

“While extreme poverty is rising, three African billionaires have more wealth than the poorest 50 per cent of the population across the continent.”

Disproportionate impact on the Poor

For its part, the World Bank considers corruption a major challenge to the twin goals of ending extreme poverty by 2030 and boosting shared prosperity for the poorest 40 percent 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.”

Furthermore, the World Bank explains that corruption in the procurement of drugs and medical equipment drives up costs and can lead to sub-standard or harmful products.

As the global community continues its struggle against climate change, addressing corruption remains critical to ensuring that resources reach those who need them most and that climate finance fulfills its promise of justice and equity.