Two-thirds of the money for the project would need to come from public funding - in other words, our taxes. Campaigners wrote to Clare Short, the UK government minister responsible for Britain's contributions to the World Bank, urging her to delay any decision on funding for the project. The campaigners argued that the project had not been designed for public benefit, and therefore should not currently be eligible for public money.
This campaigning seems to be paying off - the financial institutions are getting more nervous about the pipeline, and demanding more assurances from BP. More delay could see the whole complex negotiation process start to unravel. To do this, we'll need even bigger campaigning than before. If you don't want your taxes spent on this project, then join the campaign!
UK campaign (01865 200550, ilisu@gn.apc.org)
Local action (manchesterbaku@wildmail.com
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