MADRID, Jan 16 (IPS) – It is no longer a secret that at the world’s biggest conferences there are more organizers than official delegates. There, they participate as ‘guests,’ and most of them work for big business companies. Their goal? To prevent the adoption of policies that conflict with the interests of their employers.
Their persuasive work often helps to reduce the urgency of taking decisive action, the need to cut off the staggering profits of private business, the fees imposed by industrial governments on poor countries that bear the brunt of their processes, and so on.
To achieve such a goal, promoters often silently show various forms of ‘gratitude.’
The Big Finance Gap in Climate Action
The clear evidence is this global organization working in more than 100 countries to end the injustice of corruption: Transparency International (TI) announces on the occasion of the World Anti-Corruption Day 2024: It is time to face the discussions of heaven and the depressed world:
“Every year billions of dollars are raised to fund programs to stop pollution, support climate change, and protect important conservation areas…
… But without strong anti-corruption measures in place, these vital resources are at risk of being diverted, and the current financial gap is at risk of being unbridged.”
“We are already seeing evidence of this happening.”
In the market for carbon credits, it explains, where the tension between reducing carbon emissions and providing financial returns has led to land confiscation, bribery, double-counted projects and the prices of carbon credits kept secret.
“Last year we saw that more than 90 percent of the carbon credits should not have been approved.”
Estimates of the world’s unknown and potentially illicit wealth range from US$7 trillion to US$32 trillion (about ten percent of all world wealth).
Such a sum is more than 100 times more than the 300 billion dollars promised by the world’s climate crisis advocates in the concept of “return” to the poorest countries.
In response to COP29 A climate finance agreement at the Baku climate conference in November 2024, where rich countries agree to pool $300 billion a year to help southern African countries deal with warming temperatures and switch to renewable energy, Oxfam International’s Climate Change Policy Lead, Nafkote. Battlehe said:
“The poor outcome of the Baku climate talks shows that the rich countries view the Global South as ultimately expendable, like pawns on a chessboard…
… The 300 billion so-called ‘deal’ that poor countries have been bullied into accepting is absurd and dangerous—a soulless victory for the rich, but a real disaster for our world and communities that are being flooded, starved, and displaced today by climate change. And as for promises of future funding? They are as void as the agreement itself.
… The money on the table is not just small compared to what is really needed – it is not even real “money”, for the most part, Nafkote added. Battle.
“Instead, it’s a mix of loans and private investment – a global Ponzi scheme of private vultures and public relations that people will now exploit.”
The Stolen Treasure of Africa
“Imagine billions of dollars raised in public money – money meant to build schools, hospitals and infrastructure – disappearing into a database of offshore accounts, luxury houses and shell companies…”
“This is not a myth; it is the plain truth of how corruption consumes resources in Africa and other regions, leaving the people to bear the cost,” Transparency International revealed in December 2024.
TI’s analysis is based on cases of corruption confirmed by court decisions, as well as credible allegations of corruption and hiding wealth offshore.
The following are some of the results recently obtained by Transparency International:
– There is an amazing network of companies, properties, bank accounts and luxury goods,
Notably, nearly 80 percent of the assets are stored abroad, often far from where the corruption originally took place:
– Companies: the ultimate tool for anonymity: In 85 percent of cases, companies and trusts are used to hide the ownership of assets. Often, complex cross-border corporate structures or multiple shell companies were used to keep corrupt people – and their dirty money – away from the assets in question.
– Real estate: The favorite for fraud: If companies are the preferred instrument of anonymity, real estate is among the top fraud options for stolen funds. In one-third of the cases we analyzed, buildings played an important role.
France, the United Kingdom (UK), the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the United States (US) were popular destinations for buying properties linked to suspicious activities.
– Bank Accounts: Hong Kong, Switzerland, the UK, the UAE and the US are seen as important locations for bank accounts used to bribe, transport or store dirty money.
– EU Golden Passport, Visa Schemes: Many countries use golden passports and visa schemes that grant immediate citizenship or residency to foreigners for large investments in the country – often in real estate.
The member states of the European Union (EU) are particularly attractive, as citizenship or residence in one country gives access to the entire EU.
Gold passports and visas are highly desirable to those involved in corruption because they provide access to a safe haven for their stolen wealth.
A high percentage of the golden visas exchanged come from the ‘mafias’ of drug and toxic trafficking, not to mention the smuggling and migrant smuggling business.
Transparency International has listed the biggest ‘dirty money’ havens: British Virgin Islands, France, Hong Kong, Panama, Seychelles, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the -United Arab Emirates and the United States.
Growing Inequality
TI, an international organization working to accelerate global progress in tackling illicit financial flows and abusive practices that perpetuate economic inequality and undermine sustainable development, warns that:
“Inequality is a key obstacle to sustainable development and social justice. This is especially true in the case of Africa, where the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated social and economic inequality.
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 on the rise, Africa’s three millionaires are richer than the poorest 50 percent of the continent’s population.”
Disproportionate impact on the poor
On the other hand, the World Bank considers corruption as a major challenge to the two goals of ending extreme poverty by 2030 and improving shared prosperity for the 40 percent of the poorest people in developing countries.
“Corruption has a negative impact on the poor and most vulnerable, increasing costs and reducing access to services, including health, education and justice.”
In addition, the World Bank explains that corruption in the procurement of drugs and medical equipment increases costs and can lead to inferior or dangerous products.
As the global community continues its fight against climate change, tackling corruption remains critical to ensuring that resources reach those who need them most and that climate finance fulfills its promise of justice and equity.
© Inter Press Service (2025) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service
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